On the Multiplication of Dragons – Part 3: Stories and our Children
“Stealing past watchful dragons, is then… getting past dry (sometimes we might say legalistic) pictures and perceptions of God and Jesus, and making them come alive.” (from ‘On The Multiplication of Dragons’) We as adults should be careful that we do not brush off a child’s imagination and the way they see things. We have put so many facts and dragons in our own paths that our imaginations are not as vivid as they once were. Embracing the ‘wonder’ in God’s story is a little more difficult when you are grown than when you are a child.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the third book of the Narnia series and has always been one of my favorites. Towards the end of the story, one of the children, Eustace, is talking to Ramandu. Ramandu is in human form, but he is really a star. Eustace is bewildered that a star could look like a person. “‘In our world,’ said Eustace, ‘a star is a huge ball of flaming gas.’ Ramandu replies, ‘Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of.’”
For adults – especially those of us who are older and grew up in a thoroughly modern world – we frequently forget that there is a difference between what a star is and what a star is made of. Children tend not to have this problem. However, because the adults forget, we sometimes place watchful dragons in place to make sure that we only tell them what a star is. It is easy to tell them that they are wrong for imagining and should use only the facts. We start when they are in preschool… “Horses are never blue, why would you color that horse blue?”. Even as teens we try so hard to limit them to only being realistic.
So….what do we do? We have a few (hopefully) helpful suggestions. They revolve around one core concept: Embrace story.
“The most influential Christian authors of the twentieth century believed that every human soul was caught up in a very great story: a fearsome war against a Shadow of Evil that has invaded the world to enslave the sons and daughters of Adam. Yet those who resist the Shadow are assured that they will not be left alone; they will be given the gift of friendship amid their struggle and grief. Even more, they will find the grace and strength to persevere, to play their part in the story, however long it endures and wherever it may lead them.” C.S. Lewis (2)
(1) Read books together. Go to movies together. Talk about both. Do not downplay the importance of this. It isn’t fiction alone that has a place at the family discussion table. “…let’s get our semantics straight. Story does not equal fiction, much less ‘lies.’ It’s the world we Christians inhabit as ‘people of the Book.’ We are story people.” (3) Fiction is important and has its place- but there are fascinating and amazing true stories being told in the media, through books and through the Bible that we need to not discount. So let’s read books and watch movies with our kids- fiction and nonfiction ones!
(2) Without compromising teaching, remember what is going to stick. This is a tough balance. “Youth in our Sunday school class can repeat almost verbatim some obscure parable we dramatized last year, and yet they forget the core doctrinal statement we taught last week. Why is this? Why does story stick with us for so long?” (3)- Sarah Arthur. Like the minor prophets, sometimes the best lessons are lived and acted out through story. Acting things out and role playing are good tools and sometimes leave a larger impact than a lecture.What stories are sticking with your kids right now?
(3) Don’t forgo the basics: “The cure for competing narratives is nothing more or less than the Apostles’ Creed. Yes, I’ll say that again: the creed is our story, succinctly stated.” (3)- Sarah Arthur. Yet, how often do we talk with kids about the basic foundation of our faith? Repetition of the basics is something that we sometimes fear because it might ‘take away the significance.’ If we can go back and read the same passage of Scripture a year later and it takes on a whole different meaning- can we not also apply that to the stories and foundation of our faith? We tend to assume that our kids know the basics already so we don’t need to repeat them. But repetition is one way we learn things.
One of the reasons we provide discussion guides is that we believe movies are some of the most powerful stories today. Let’s use them to increase faith and grow spiritual maturity for ourselves and for our kids.
Sources
(1) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. C.S. Lewis. HarperCollins, San Francisco, 2009 (Kindle edition)
(2) A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-18. Joseph Loconte. Nelson, Nashville, 2015.
(3) The God-Hungry Imagination: The Art of Storytelling for Postmodern Youth Ministry. Sarah Arthur. Upper room, Nashville, 2012.
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