svalcour@dartvax.uucp (Scott Valcourt ) (11/10/89)
Last night, some friends and I were watching "It's the Great Pumpkin,
Charlie Brown" on CBS. Our minds started to turn to theology...
Are the characters written by Charles M. Schultz liken to that of the
New Testament, in particular to those relating to the events surrounding
the life of Christ?
It seems like a far-fetched idea to contend with, but some items point
to this. Any comments from anyone? We seem to think that someone wrote
a paper about this. If anyone knows Mr. Schultz, could you ask him?
-Scott Valcourt UUCP: ..!dartvax!anselm!svalcour
Saint Anselm College <<--- At a school like that, the only thing
Manchester, NH 03102 you can do is think everything is
related to philosophy!
and Theology!
[Schultz intended his cartoon to make Christian points. There were
some books written on the subject, but because I'm in the wrong place
I don't have any of the titles handy. --clh]@sun.acs.udel.edu:spike@sun.acs.udel.edu (spike) (11/14/89)
One book written on the subject of Peanuts and Christianity is called _The_Gospel_According_to_Peanuts_. However I do not remember the name of the author. I can find out in a couple of days though if any one is interested. Todd M Nelson
bill@emx.utexas.edu (Bill Jefferys) (11/14/89)
[In response to an article by Scott Valcourt, I referred to a book about the theology in Charles Schultz' cartoons. --clh] The books you refer to were probably Robert L. Short's _Gospel According to Peanuts_ and _Parables of Peanuts_. The first was published by John Knox Press (1964), and the second by Harper & Row (1968). I don't know if they are still in print. Bill Jefferys
dhawk@lll-crg.llnl.gov (David Hawkins) (11/14/89)
anselm!svalcour@dartvax.uucp (Scott Valcourt ) writes: >Are the characters written by Charles M. Schultz liken to that of the >New Testament, in particular to those relating to the events surrounding >the life of Christ? _The Gospel according to Peanuts_ by Robert Short (who also wrote _Something to Believe In_ which greatly influenced my life.) Also, Shultz has several books of cartoons about teenagers where a lot of the stories were about Sunday School and other church interests. These were printed back in the 1960's, I think. At Golden Gate Baptist Seminary, in Mill Valley, CA, (where I graduated), they have a lot of framed Peanuts cartoons in the halls where the professors' offices are. I don't think the characters are patterned after Biblical people or events, but that Shultz uses various characters to make different points. later, david -- David Hawkins - dhawk@well.sf.ca.us - {apple,pacbell,hplabs,ucbvax}!well!dhawk + Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for our miseries and + + yet it is, itself, the greatest of our miseries. -- Blaise Pascal +
geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) (11/15/89)
If I recall correctly, Charles Schulz' testimony is printed in the back
of _Evidence_That_Demands_A_Verdict_, along with several others'.
--
Geoff Allen \ Since we live by the Spirit,
{uunet|bigtex}!pmafire!geoff \ let us keep in step with the Spirit.
ucdavis!egg-id!pmafire!geoff \ -- Gal. 5:25 (NIV)tbvanbelle@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Terry Van Belle) (11/15/89)
In article <Nov.13.11.58.45.1989.5034@athos.rutgers.edu> @sun.acs.udel.edu:spike@sun.acs.udel.edu (spike) writes: >One book written on the subject of Peanuts and Christianity is called >_The_Gospel_According_to_Peanuts_. I have never read this book, but I do remember vividly the book that started this discussion, _It's_the_Great_Pumpkin,_Charlie_Brown_. In it, Linus is the only kid on the block who believes in the Great Pumpkin. In fact, he is scorned by his sister for making her look bad & ridiculed by Snoopy. He finally gains Sally as a convert and they both give up trick-or-treating one Halloween to wait in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin. The only person who shows up all night is Snoopy, who causes quite a false alarm, but in the end, Linus is humiliated by the non-appearance of the Great Pumpkin. I found the whole story extremely depressing. So what was Schulz trying to say? Was it an attack on Christianity, or an illustration of a Christian's worst fears? Linus is undoubtedly the theologian of the Peanuts gang. His name comes from a letter of Paul, and he is often found expounding on some Biblical passage. He's the smartest of the gang, and yet he carries a security blanket with him wherever he goes. Another interesting book to compare would be _A_Charlie_Brown_Christmas_. Just as Charlie Brown has almost given up on finding the meaning of life amidst all the commericalism of Christmas, Linus recounts the Christmas story as told in Matthew. Terry Van Belle tbvanbelle@watcgl.Waterloo.edu [Perhaps Shultz is simply being realistic. How often do Christians confidently expect God to appear in a particular place in a particularly way, and go sit out in the pumpkin patch waiting for him, when he's really busy at work elsewhere in our lives? --clh]
thweattj@ncar.ucar.edu (John Thweatt) (11/17/89)
You might have asked the question what must we do to be saved? First you must understand that you are a sinner or as we usally think of that we have done things wrong. Rom. 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. We all have sinned and this sin keeps us from the Glory of God. Another way of saying this is that our sin keeps us from God. So we will never have a relationship with God if we have sin in our life. But there is Good News: Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our sin is worthy of death (seperation from God) but Jesus Christ has paid our payment for this sin because of his death on the Cross. His death now provides us a way to enter in to a releationship with God thereby we may have eternal life. Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. God loves you and he sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for you that you may now be united with God forever. Now what must you do to have this eternal life with God. Romans 10:13 For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:9-10 For if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe with your heart that God has raised Him from the dead; you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes resulting in rightousness, and with the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation. So now admitt to God you are a sinner and that you want to accept God's love for you. That you will make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life and believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Your next step to growth should be to find a Church that You can grow in. But make sure that teach that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and there is no other way to the Father (God) then through Jesus. It is a very exciting life when you are living for the Lord, one that you will never regret. God Bless and if you would like to know more about Jesus contact. (602) 581-4801 or 395-0228 John T.
ncramer@bbn.com (Nichael Cramer) (11/17/89)
In article <Nov.13.12.29.54.1989.6893@athos.rutgers.edu> well!dhawk@lll-crg.llnl.gov (David Hawkins) writes: >_The Gospel according to Peanuts_ by Robert Short (who also wrote >_Something to Believe In_ which greatly influenced my life.) It is probably worth noting that --other than granting permission for the strips to be used-- Schulz had nothing to do with the writing of the book or its sequel _The Parables of Peanuts_. >Also, Shultz has several books of cartoons about teenagers where a lot >of the stories were about Sunday School and other church interests. >These were printed back in the 1960's, I think. They were called _What Was Bugging Ol' Pharaoh?_, _"Teenager" Is Not a Disease_, _Young Pillars_ and _Two-by-Fours_. Cheers NICHAEL P.S. Personally, I'm anxiously awaiting the publication of Snoopy's book on theology: _Has It Ever Occurred To You That You Might Be Wrong_. ;)