In every third Australian newspaper there certain to be a Leunig cartoon and approximately 8.35 times out of 10 I have little idea what they are about.
Given enough time, you will eventually hear a Leunig quote said in a church. It may be to kick off or close a meeting. It may even be included in a church service.
Trouble is, I'm not exactly sure he is a Christian (perhaps he is, but neither his website or wikipedia page say so). I suggest he would more fall into the spirituality-from-the-shelf-of-Oprah's-book-club category. To put this in perspective for those abroad. It would be in the same ball park of "Conversations with God" or "Tuesday's with Morrie."
I'm not saying that secular quotes can't ever be uttered in a church, but I'm just not sure churches should be so dependant on Leunig's "prayers" and poems.
1 comment:
Hey Graham,
You probably wouldn't be surprised at my view but something about your post peaked my interest... I'm not commenting to challenge or change your idea... I just think it raises some interesting ideas worth exploring.
I think your post asks a question about whether God is active outside the 'church' and engaged in people's spiritual search. When it comes to prayer, sometimes the most powerful prayers express questions, doubt, frustration or wonder. Using the specific example of Leunig... I believe Michael is deliberately vague about his own 'label.' As you acknowledge you don't always understand his cartoons/ideas and that will be true for many people... I wouldn't extend that to automatically mean his stuff is of questionable value.
I think as God is bigger than I can comprehend I'll access anything that helps explore... again with Leunig, in my reading I've found maybe 3-5 of his prayers really meaningful and the rest is a bit too hippie for me, but I'll use the 3-5 anytime they seem like the right question, image or words...
The bigger question of God being found outside the Christian circle is a really interesting one in the broader sense... anyhow... I found it interesting...
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