Beginnings

I came to a rather unfortunate (and slightly terrifying) conclusion yesterday: All of my theology comes from Young Adult fiction like Madeline L'engle books. I say it's a rather unfortunate conclusion, because, well, I did study theology in college, and I'm pretty sure Danielle and I spent a significant amount of time in Philosophical Theology last year questioning our existence, and that means I wasted angst on something that I was okay with.

I suppose it's terrifying because, well, have you read young adult fiction like "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" or ""Many Waters?" It'll screw with your head. :) I guess I mention this because I found my journals from last year. Poor Mallinson, poor Christy, and poor Brian and Dave listened to me waver back and forth between Calvinism and Arminianism, grace and truth, and a myriad of other subjects that are, as Mallinson always said, "play."

One would think I might have figured this out ages ago, I mean, my dad is, as Patrick says "a man's man" whom I adore and love to go explore Catalina and Disneyland with.... In "A Wrinkle in Time" L'Engle talks about Meg's relationship with her dad, "She knew that if her father could not get through the wall he would stay with her rather than leave her; she as safe as long as she was in his arms." (152) I was blessed to grow up with a dad that has lived that out for me, but it's the words of the books I read at age 7 that stuck with me.

When I'm talking to Young Life kids, I don't use the language we bantered about at CCU or in the common rooms at Oxford, I lean heavily on Narnia, and Eragon and the Wallace kids and the Bloodstone Chronicles. My view of the world was shaped by Anne and Laura Ingalls, Mrs Frisby, the Cooper kids and Nancy Drew. I steeped in children's literature, my brush with theology has only lasted a few years.