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Religion Forum Index » Christian Methodist Forum » UMNS: The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss
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 Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 5:33 am |
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Pastor puts Dr. Seuss among theological giants
Apr. 7, 2004
By Bob Smietana
Religion News Service
When he was a student at Duke Divinity School, the Rev. James Kemp
studied the great theologians of the Christian faith - the Apostle Paul,
St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther and John Wesley, founder of
the Methodist Church to which Kemp belongs.
But his favorite theologian was the one he first read at the public
library in Lexington, Ky. - Dr. Seuss.
His favorite theological work? Horton Hatches the Egg. "It is the first
book I remember reading or having read to me," recalls Kemp in his new
book, The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss.
Since its release in February, The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss has
already sold more than 14,000 copies, and has headed into a second
printing.
It got a boost in early March, when Barnes and Noble featured it as part
of a national celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2.
During his 15 years as a United Methodist minister, Kemp often used Dr.
Seuss' stories as illustrations in his sermons. For example, Horton the
elephant, who keeps his promise to sit on a bird's egg till it hatches -
despite ridicule from those around him - is a model of faithfulness of
Christians, Kemp says.
"In the face of challenges, persecution and ridicule," he writes,
"Horton remains faithful 'one hundred percent.'"
Each chapter focuses on a single Dr. Seuss book, and was condensed from
Kemp's old sermons. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back becomes a story about
the "restoring power of Jesus Christ." Yertle the Turtle a lesson about
greed. Green Eggs and Ham a parable about embracing change, and The
Sneetches one about overcoming discrimination.
Two chapters focus on The Grinch Who Stole Christmas: one about
materialism and another about loving difficult people. Kemp sees a
parallel between the Grinch and the biblical story of Jesus and
Zacchaeus. Jesus treats Zacchaeus, a despised tax collector, with
respect and completely changes his life, Kemp says.
"If we are to follow Jesus," he writes, "we too must learn to recognize
and love people, who, like the Grinch, are miserable and difficult
because they are in so much pain."
In an e-mail interview from his home in Lexington, Kemp said he likes
Dr. Seuss as theologian "because Jesus told us to come as a child, and
Dr. Seuss makes us look at things through the eyes of a child."
Kemp, 48, suffers from severe multiple sclerosis, a condition that
forced him to retire from the ministry in 1996. The Gospel According to
Dr. Seuss is the third book he's written since then.
The first, Who Says I'm Dead? deals with his struggles with MS, which
has made him a quadriplegic. The title comes from an incident in 2000,
when Kemp's bank accounts were frozen after the federal government
mistakenly decided he had died. A 2002 book focused on ideas for
children's sermons.
For a time, Kemp wrote using a computer with speech recognition
software. His speech has declined so that the computer can no longer
recognize him, so he dictates his writing to his mother, who acts as his
secretary. His wife Barbara interprets for Kemp during interviews.
He says he wrote the book to show that people with great limitations can
still be productive, as long as they have the right support system. He
says he relies on his faith, family and church friends to help him keep
going, despite his circumstances.
Hope is another of the themes Kemp finds in Dr. Seuss. One of his
favorite characters is the Cat in the Hat, he says, "because through him
we see that something good can come out of bad circumstances; we are
never hopeless." That's the overall message of the book, he adds.
"There is always hope," Kemp said. "There is always hope in the
unlimited richness of God. Most of our problems are trivial."
Since the release of The Gospel According to Peanuts by Robert L. Short
in 1975, there've been a number of similar books that combine
spirituality with pop culture. There have been "Gospels According to"
the Simpsons, Tony Soprano, J.R.R. Tolkien, Harry Potter, and even "The
Gospel Reloaded," tied into the Matrix phenomenon. And then there's the
2003 spoof, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.
Linda Peavy, associate publisher for Judson Press, Kemp's publisher,
says the book connects with readers because so many grew up reading Dr.
Seuss.
She says Kemp's book "is a joy to read."
"This book will appeal to readers because it is easy and enjoyable to
read," she says, "but also because it contains insights that will change
their lives for the better. Hopefully, they will see Dr. Seuss's stories
in a whole new light."
Kemp says he enjoys the attention the book's success has brought him -
"I've always liked attention," he admits - and that it allows him to
continue his ministry. He's even done a few book signings, with his wife
stamping his signature.
During a signing at a Cokesbury bookstore in Lexington, the store sold
75 copies in 15 minutes and had to order 100 additional copies. But the
signings will be limited, Barbara Kemp says. The physical toll is just
too much for Kemp's limited stamina.
Still, he hasn't given up on being a famous author. "One of my lifetime
goals was to be on the best-sellers list," he told the Kansas City Star,
"and I hope I can do that."
********************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org |
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