A Correction
One of these days, I’ll learn not to mention a book I am reading until I have finished it. I hope I learned that lesson last night.
When I first posted Learning Mamas for Thursday, November 17, I was listening to The Secret Garden. I finished it last night. After relishing so many beautiful passages, I was very sad when I approached the end. That is why I have changed the ending of Learning Mamas. I also changed the title to Learning Mamas—and Beware of Muddled Theology. Here’s my new ending:
I just finished The Secret Garden for the first time. I loved so many things about this book, but was very sad when I got near the end. The theology is a muddle. On the one hand, I was thrilled when the children sang the Doxology (written in 1674 by Church of England clergyman Thomas Ken):
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.
However, I was so disappointed when an adult the children respected showed little respect for the church. Near the end of the book, God and white magic and a sort of force for good in the universe get all muddled together. The mother I quoted above even says that she doesn’t think that force for good cares what you call it. I disagree. I believe that God cares very much that we recognize and confess Our Father in heaven as the all-powerful God of the universe.
For there is one God,
and one mediator also between God and mankind,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself as a ransom for all,
the testimony given at the proper time.
1 Timothy 2:5-6
When I told my wise husband, Ray—who knows the Bible and history so well—what I thought about the book when I finished it last night, he said, “Sounds very 1911-ish.” Sigh. Sounds very 2022-ish, too.
I still believe that “Children’s as good as ’rithmetic to set you findin’ out things.” I just wish I could rewrite several passages in The Secret Garden to give God the credit for what He does every day in the world and in our individual lives.
The mind of the discerning acquires knowledge,
And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
Proverbs 18:15
Thank you for addressing this. I read The Secret Garden as a child, which was many years ago. I loved it as a child, but as a child I certainly wouldn’t have been a good judge of its theology. I’m going to borrow it from the library so I can look at this myself.
When you do, please let me know what you think. I would love to know.
I was able to get the book from the library this weekend, and I read the last couple of chapters. I completely agree with your assessment. It’s a shame that the Doxology was intertwined with crediting “magic” to the boy’s recovery. And now that I think of it, I remember being annoyed by that way back when I read the book as a child (I had just forgotten about it).
You were a wise child, Claire. Thank you for the confirmation. It is really sad to me. It is a great book in so many ways, but one that could really confuse children today who have no Christian teaching in their hearts to filter it and who have parents who are just as confused.
I do agree with you about The Secret Garden. It was my mom’s favorite book growing up and I also loved it growing up. But I found when I re-read it as an adult there was a lot that would be downright not helpful for my young children’s minds. So I read it aloud to them and did my editing on the fly. We even talked about the fact that I was altering bits to fit the truth we understand. With my older children they’ve done the audiobook and we discussed in more detail the falsehoods included and the truth that got twisted.
I think God cares very much what you call Him.
Thank you, Kelsey. I enjoyed most of the book very, very much, but I was disturbed by the theology. I do believe the book shows how much we need to “look up” for help, which is what the children did, but they needed someone to speak the truth to them about the only true source of help. Sadly, the parents of both cousins had abandoned them and weren’t there to teach them, but Martha’s mother could have gently pointed them to Jesus and didn’t.