I’m 3/4 through Madeleine L’engle’s Crosswicks Journals and they are whispering sweet nothings to my mother/writer/sojourner heart. My facebook page is painfully aware of that because I’ve been slinging mad L’engle wisdom like it’s going out of style these last few weeks.
I’m well aware that my constant quoting might be annoying. I’ve tried to damper it a bit, I swear. I’m picking only the best of the best to share with you people so that hopefully you won’t unlike my page. Cause that hurts my feelings. Don’t do it.
And so far it’s been a relatively successful campaign of quotations.
Until this past week. Finally, one brave penguin in the crowd dared to be different. Someone had finally had enough, I suppose, and they schooled me a bit about my dear Madeleine. And I quote:
“Madeleine L’Engle was a Universalist. She believed that everyone was going to heaven, and therefore believed that there was no hell…… while a VERY good writer– she was sadly lost, and made a bad name for Bible believing Christians.”
Where do I begin? How about those last three words. Let’s just go ahead and get our hands dirty.
Second, L’engle being a Universalist was news to me. I’ve never read anything about her, I’ve only read her work, first hand. And I can confidently say after reading 3 out of 4 of her Journals that Madeleine took her faith seriously and had a mature understanding of God that is obviously a product of a life-long pursuit of Him.
Her books are slap-bang full of God’s truth. The end. Wikipedia indeed claims she was a Universalist but there’s not a hint of it in her journals and, frankly, I don’t care if she was. There are worse things to be in life.
At the end of the day, we are saved by our faith, not our theology.
It is presumptuous, at best, to assume only our own theology is correct. It’s not. Let me repeat, your theology is not the full truth. No one’s is. Jesus himself is the only human who ever had perfect theology. And even he admitted that there are some things that only the Father knows.
What gives (“Bible believing”) Christians a bad name is being known for our snobbery, our in-fighting, instead of our love.
Even if you produce for me right here, right now, a L’engle quote that’s theologically loopy as Hell, all you’ve proven is that she was human, and that’s a far cry from “sadly lost”.
Madeleine L’engle may have been a Universalist, she may have wrestled with Agnosticism and even the occasional bout of Atheism, but one thing I am sure of – if there is an after-life to be had, she is sitting on the side with Jesus.
So let’s not be so harsh on old Madeleine (and each other), eh?
“The Trinity is unity in diversity; the Trinity is our model for community.
When I think of the phrase The Coming of the Kingdom it means to me a restoration of community, the healing of brokenness which will enable us to rejoice once more in being one – not solitary, isolated one, but whole, body, intellect, spirit at peace; mind, heart, intuition in collaboration.
There are those who do not want this wholeness, who want to continue the process of fragmentation, and this has to be fought, with Michael and his angels by our side. If we care about wholeness, about unity in diversity, we are in battle.”
- Madeleine L’engle, The Irrational Season, 1977.
Thank God for speaking through asses and Universalists.
-Jessica
*this post proudly contains affiliate links to all four books in Madeleine’s Crosswicks Journals
Amen! I just finished Circle of Quiet and have ordered the next. I can’t work my way through a library book of hers because of the overwhelming need to highlight something on every page. Your post reminded me of this:
“I wouldn’t mind if to be a Christian were accepted as being the dangerous thing which it is; I wouldn’t mind if, when a group of Christians meet for bread and wine, we might well be interrupted and jailed for subversive activities; I wouldn’t mind if, once again, we were being thrown to the lions. I do mind, desperately, that the word “Christian” means for so many people smugness, and piosity, and holier-than-thouness.” ~Madeleine L’Engle, A Circle of Quiet
How we live is so much more important than semantic details of our differences. Madeleine’s faith shines through her words. All the more because she struggled with her faith and came out the other side.
I am not even kidding – I think I highlighted something on nearly every page. She speaks so much truth and, especially coming from the perspective of a mother and writer, it resonates with me.
NO way I love that quote. Wow if we were dangerous… and if we really were fed to lions then we wouldn’t be such pricks.
Now I’m gonna have to read her.
How often I have expressed the same thought contained in that quote… So true.
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Jess – there is, sadly, a certain way of thinking in the evangelical church that precludes disagreements on the finer points of theology. It is tough to deal with sometimes. But Madeleine needs NO defense. Her faith is obvious, her maturity evident. No, I would not agree with her on every tenet of doctrine. That has absolutely NOTHING to do with her salvation or mine. And frankly, I don’t even like that term any longer – ‘her salvation’ – as if the only truth in the Christian faith is somehow connected to the 4 spiritual laws or saying exactly the right words in the right order at the right time. God is bigger than that, faith is deeper than that, life is more real than that. And frankly, anyone who spends their time determining who is ‘lost’ is pretty dang lost themselves. So sorry for this kickback.
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I grew up in a very close-minded denomination that was pretty sure every other denomination (even the painfully similar ones) were quite possibly going to Hell. It wasn’t always said with superiority, often it was said with much sadness and worrying for their souls. It’s only in hindsight that I realize how silly such a position is.
“No, I would not agree with her on every tenet of doctrine. That has absolutely NOTHING to do with her salvation or mine.” Oh, Diana, I love you. Thank God that my redemption does not rest on my ability to say and do the exact right thing in the exact right way.
And thanks, Jessica, for being bold enough to post this. I’m reading Walking on Water for the first time (!!!) right now and it is, no exaggeration, changing my life.
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Maybe I should read that one next. :)
Walking on Water was the first of hers I read. That led me to the Crosswick journals. It’s like pouring water on my desert-dry spirit some days.
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Well said Diana.
I think Madeline is awesome, and I’ve enjoyed seeing your quotes come across my facebook feed :-) Great post!
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Thanks. And you’re welcome. :)
At the risk of being kicked fas the last dissenting commenter was, I’d have to say that I’d use caution reading such an author, however deep a spiritual person they are.
Reason? The danger of Universalism is this: it says that there is more than one way to God…Islam, Buddism, self. It says that good people figure it out and find their good thing, learn to breath deep, be good, and it’s all good. God is good. We are good. It’s all good. No stress, all love, hope, peace, joy, and help through the rough patches.
Problem is: God’s word, the Bible, clearly leaves us with this one critical thing. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” Its a hard truth. It’s not an easy truth. It’s a truth to be reckoned with. And it does not jive with “I’m okay, you’re okay, we’re all okay.” It says we are NOT okay, we need a Savior, and we aren’t going to have real, lasting peace and any answers to the big questions until we find a deep and abiding relationship with Him that carries us through it all.
You know, people have to give animal sacrifices in order to stay right with God. That this was His idea? I doubt this author finds that appealing. Most poetic writers do not. This is where Bible believing becomes elemental to the whole thing. We have to know what was required, and why it’s not now.
No animal was perfect. While they picked the unblemished, the most perfect of the flock in order to try to deal with their own sin, it was never quite enough. It was a temporary fix.
It took the death of sin to satisfy God. Remember, God told Adam and Eve if they ate of the one tree, they would die. They didn’t. Why not? It was a spiritual death…a separation from God.
Instead, God said, “Here’s what I’ll let you all do. Instead of you dying for your sin, give me the firstborn of your flock. Blood must be shed for it.” It’s ugly. It’s messy. It’s costly. The larger the sin, the more costly the animal.” People were responsible for carrying out this gory task. Eventually, God dedicated certain people to do it and make sure it was done correctly.
This is something a “peaceful” and “spiritual” person would never write about. It doesn’t make us feel good to think about.
All through the Old Testament, people waited for this perfect sacrifice that would change everything, the whole church structure. Prophets alluded to him. We read of whispers of his coming, visions of what was to come. And then…it happened. He came. And most of the most spiritual among them missed it. They were too preoccupied with roles and jobs and the status quo.
If there was no need for sacrifice, there was no need for them. If there was no need for a High Priest to talk to God for them, they’d lose their jobs.
They killed Jesus as a result. Laughable really. What they did ushered in the New Kingdom. They brought about what they dreaded. They killed a sinless man, tempted as we are, but without sin. God had come to earth, cared, healed, loved, shook some things up, and saved all who would believe on Him, even those who had, before His coming.
But, death did not hold Him in the grave. He overcame, sin, death, and the grave, proving to all that He was the Savior, sent to man, to change everything they knew.
No more animal sacrifices. Just the one.
So…we don’t have to go kill a cow, or a sheep, or a dove. We don’t have to confess to a priest. We do have to receive the one, talk to Him about our rough edges, and all that was done for us. Forgiveness of sins. THAT is peace.
So, yeah, we DO have to choose if we want any part of the whole thing. He’s not asking a lot. He did it all. We just have to take it, and decide. We gotta commit. But, we worry, and we aren’t sure if He’s for real and if He’d do all that, and if He’s worth seeking anyway, and we don’t have answers to all our hard questions…so we just figure something out on our own…something that makes us feel good, for a while. But, no peace lasts except His peace. It’s perfect peace.
I’ll take a look at this author, but little makes me feel more spiritual than just having a right relationship with God and trying to pass that on. It is the indescribable gift. If you don’t get it all, rest in that He said, “Seek me with all your heart, and I will be found by you.”
I think we need to be careful not to look at a person as a label instead of looking at a person as a person. People rarely fit in boxes. Your second paragraph is a great example of what I mean:
“The danger of Universalism is this: it says that there is more than one way to God…Islam, Buddism, self. It says that good people figure it out and find their good thing, learn to breath deep, be good, and it’s all good. God is good. We are good. It’s all good. No stress, all love, hope, peace, joy, and help through the rough patches. ”
There is not a hint of these sentiments in Madeleine’s journals. It’s unfair to smear super-glue on the back of a strict label like “Universalist” and stamp it on her forehead – and then warn others to stay away.
What a thoughtful response, Maggie. I agree with you, that we “need a Savior, and we aren’t going to have real, lasting peace and any answers to the big questions until we find a deep and abiding relationship with Him that carries us through it all.” Your words show that you truly believe that Jesus is the way to truth, peace, and life, and I would agree with you!
We should use caution when reading any author or listening to anyone, whether they tout themselves as “Christian” (another label) or not. I think it’s wise to be discerning.
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Read this just this morning from L’Engle’s Walking on Water, chapter 2. Thought you would all find it interesting in light of this lively discussion.
“To be truly Christian means to see Christ everywhere, to know him as all in all. I don’t mean to water down my Christianity into a vague kind of universalism, with Buddha and Mohammed all being more or less equal to Jesus – not at all! But neither do I want to tell God (or my friends) where he can and cannot be seen! We human beings far too often tend to codify God, to feel that we know where he is and where he is not, and this arrogance leads to such things as the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem witch burnings, and has the result of further fragmenting an already broken Christendom… We live by revelation, as Christians, as artists, which means that we must be careful never to get set into rigid molds. The minute we begin to think we know all the answers, we forget the questions, and we become smug like the Pharisee who listed all his considerable virtues, and thanked God that he was not like other men.”
Boom.
Can’t stop thinking about this post. And the comments. I mean, goes the dynamite.
Until we can let people be who they are and allow THE HOLY SPIRIT to do his job instead of insisting we know better… there is always going to be many or a few who go crazy. We can’t handle it if someone is a hint of different – and wow do we love our labels. Seriously let’s allow God to be the label-creator and just put ours away. It doesn’t help anything. It doesn’t help me know anything about you to just say: homeschooling, unschooling, no shampoo, nomad… Those labels don’t help me know you anymore than saying I am a recovering church pitbull who uses shampoo- doesn’t tell you one damn thing about my walk of faith. NOT one. So we should probably just stop castrating the holy spirit and allow him to do what he does… and stop being and reacting in fear. FEAR is a killer – it keeps us immobilized and weak.
One of the best things for me was to read Anne Lamott – it opened my eyes to Christians who DO love Jesus and claim His grace in their lives, but also believe a whole set of things I don’t. I trust what is different about me and different about you and different about all these beautiful authors to Jesus. He does a much better job sorting us out. The question is how much do we trust him to do that? And to teach us through even those who see him differently? Don’t box God. That’s so destructive and spiritually stifling.
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Amen about fear. Fear-based “hedges of protection” put up walls instead of building bridges.
Our problem starts, as Christians, when we think that trying to lead people to “salvation” by berating them about their minor beliefs and the “wrongness” of them, is that we then look nothing like the Jesus we want them to follow.
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Oops, I meant, “and then we look nothing like…”
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JESSICA! HOW U GET INSIDE MY HEAD???
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I’M VEDY VEDY SNEAKY!
Well. I have nothing to add. You are exactly on target here, and why do people have to be so judgy?
Judgy McJudgersons.
You have some excellent points, and I loved A Wrinkle in Time, which, sadly, is the only L’Engle book I have read.
May I comment on your statement “At the end of the day, we are saved by our faith, not our theology.”? Yes, we are saved by our faith, or rather by God’s GRACE, lest we have ANYTHING to boast about. But our theology is important too, for it INFORMS our faith; it determines the substance of our faith. Theology is “the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially : the study of God and of God’s relation to the world.”
If we are lovers of TRUTH, then fallowing hard after it is part of our worship of He Who IS Truth. And the Way, And the Life. In other words, truly knowing the Lover of our soul involves seeking the truth ABOUT God, even though we understand we can never completely know this Truth in all its wonderful complexity this side of heaven. I believe that, in essence, is the subject of this post.
Our faith AND our theology matter. We should all strive toward understanding the truth about what we believe, not so we can joust with each other, but that we can worship God in the beauty of holiness and truth.
I believe that people who struggle a lot with their faith, who are brave enough to ask deep questions about theology and God, who are honest and authentic about what they have been through – they have a lot of wise things to say. And I love Madeline – she was all those things. I can’t say whether a person is in heaven or not – only that they claimed Christ and he knows who are his. If they claim my Christ, then I claim them. Theology can bite it.
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