I thought that it was interesting that you mentioned being Christian and not liking this book in your post, because I don't see anything particularly Christian in it at all. When Christ told the story of the prodigal son, it was about a FATHER and his sons, and the prodigal returned and asked for forgiveness, which was the real reason that the father wanted to celebrate. (He was glad that his son had learned his lesson and had returned safely, when that wasn't necessarily a given; if he wanted to celebrate being walked all over by his son he would have held the party before he'd left.)
So--no. I don't see it as Christian in terms of gender roles (Jesus was actually quite subversive about this--look at the whole Mary and Martha thing) or in terms of giving without expecting anything in return. This is not depicted by Jesus himself as a good or admirable thing on either side of the giving/receiving divide. I hate it when conservatives try to warp this into mothers/wives needing to give of themselves the way this tree does. It's so unhealthy and not at all what Christ ever advocated.
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Date: 2005-01-12 04:54 pm (UTC)So--no. I don't see it as Christian in terms of gender roles (Jesus was actually quite subversive about this--look at the whole Mary and Martha thing) or in terms of giving without expecting anything in return. This is not depicted by Jesus himself as a good or admirable thing on either side of the giving/receiving divide. I hate it when conservatives try to warp this into mothers/wives needing to give of themselves the way this tree does. It's so unhealthy and not at all what Christ ever advocated.