By Nick at The Mockingbird BlogMy two-and-a-half year old daughter is really into Disney movies now. She has gone through phases of loving everything from
Snow White to
Ratatouille. Their catalog is extensive enough that we don't have to repeat very often, though she often gets stuck in a rut, requesting the same film over and over again.
The Lion King and
Beauty and the Beast are her two favorites. Last night, though, we watched
Peter Pan, and, as I sometimes am, I was struck by a theological chord in the first scenes.
When Peter tells the Darling children that they can go with him to Neverland, they ask how to get there. He tells them that they'll fly. When they try and fail, Peter is puzzled. "This won't do," Peter murmurs. "What's the matter with you? All it takes is faith and trust." I could almost hear the frustrated preacher behind those words. "What's the matter with you, congregation of mine? Why aren't you doing Good Christian Thing A or Good Christian Thing B? All it takes is faith and trust!"
Most pastors, and for that matter, Christians in general, have too high a view of human ability (anthropology). We are left wondering what is the m
atter with us when we try to do something and fail. We wonder why our minds drift to the same selfish or impure places day after day, despite our efforts to control them. We wonder why our children exasperate us so...they're just kids. We wonder why our relationships seem to falter when we've tried so hard to make them work.
But Peter Pan is forgetting something: "All it takes is faith and trust. Oh! And something I forgot...dust! A little bit of pixie dust." And so, the magic ingredient introduced into the situation, flight is possible. Sure it helps to set your mind on "the happiest things," but the pixie dust is the key. It's the fuel that makes the flight go.
In the same way, it is the Holy Spirit that makes our "Christian" lives possible. But unlike Tinkerbell's dust, we can't grab the Holy Spirit and shake a little out. No, it's better than that. The Holy Spirit is promised to us.
But it's the pixie dust that allows for flight, not the quality of the faith and trust of the Darling children, and the Holy Spirit that allows for Christian life in the Christian. Someone said that as one's anthropology increases (as one's opinion of human ability goes up) one's Christology decreases (one's reliance on Jesus goes down). Let's always remember that, without that pixie dust, no one's getting to Neverland.
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Comments (10)
Did you just compare the Holy Spirit to magical fairy dust? *blinks*
Oh, this was so wonderful. Thank you so much for writing this. My heart, literally, lit up as I read this... it was just a beautiful analogy. Be blessed...
Well put! We do a really thorough job of forgetting Who's on our side.
(And I hope your family has library cards--our library has tons of videos!)
Let's always remember that Neverland is Never Land.
I don't think that you can use Peter Pan as an analogy for Christianity. Although there may be similarities, Neverland is no heaven and just what or who are the Darlings putting their faith and trust? Also, pixie dust is nothing like the personal Holy Spirit. I can appreciate your enthusiasm for Christianity, however theologically Peter Pan just does not give the same message as the Bible in regard to God, heaven, or Christian behavior. As Christians, lets not use pagan-based fairy-tales to teach Christianity. It will only dilute the truth. Instead of trying to find similarities between fairy-tales and the Bible we should make sure that we can understand the differences. Christianity and the Bible is so much more than a fairy-tale.
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that people on here are getting offended. You picked the wrong place to post something that's both Christian AND fun. The only responses you're going to get on here are "OMG YOU'RE OFFENDING JESUS!!!111one!!!"
I think this is a great post, however. People on revelife take everything way too seriously. Everyone on this dreaded site could learn something from this post.
To: TheyCallMePaulNow...you took the analogy too far...any analogy taken to an extreme breaks down. This post isn't trying to paint broad brushstrokes...it is simply referencing a child's movie and reminding us of a foundational truth. It's a great analogy, when not taken out of context, as you have done.
Jesus referenced familiar things of His day to help people understand the Kingdom of God...and if anyone ought to be able to tell us exactly what the Kingdom of God was, it should be the Son of God Himself. But instead of giving us a bullet-pointed and factual explanation, Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is like..." If you were to apply your methods of interpretation to any one of Jesus' parables, you would find, they, too, break down the farther you take them away from their original point.
There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with drawing spiritual comparisons to the things we encounter in every day life, provided God is still given His rightful place and the Gospel is not distorted. I think this was a very good analogy and wonderful reminder that the work of righteousness is God in us and not of ourselves.
Fairy dust is so pagan-esque.
@barefootbette@xanga - How am I taking it out of context? Are you saying that Peter Pan isn't about magic in a magic land? I don't it referencing Jesus Christ, God or any "foundational truth." I completely understand that the author was just trying to remind us that Christianity is based on faith and trust and that the Holy Spirit is what turns something natural into supernatural. I do. But let's not use a story full of magic and nonbiblical philosophies to teach the gospel. Not only does it dilute the truth, but can also lead away from biblical truths by mixing in the pagan beliefs and magic. And since it is a child's movie, it's a good idea to make this analogy for the child's sake, but this is revelife. Shouldn't we have SOME sort of standard for spiritual maturity? Using a pagan story in a child's movie to show Christianity is just not right. When Jesus used things that the people would understand he never used stories from the pagan beliefs of the day like Greek or Roman gods, mythology, etc. He used examples such as farming. Something relate-able yet not unbiblical. I am just trying to express my personal conviction about pagan/secular media and philosophy in relation to Christianity. I think that their differences rather than their similarities are much more noticeable. I do not judge anyone for watching Peter Pan, but they better know that Peter Pan is not biblical. To say such is rather offensive to me as a Christian. Is it wrong to use Peter Pan as an analogy? Maybe not for a child, but I hope that we have matured enough that we can move past using pagan children's movies as analogies...
Maybe I just shouldn't have said anything at all, but I wanted to post my opinion. I applaud the author's enthusiasm. But I cannot agree with something that I believe isn't biblical...
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