The Gospel According to Dogs: What Our Four-Legged Saints Can Teach Us
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Bestselling author of The Gospel According to Peanuts Robert Short reveals what man's best friend can teach us about life. Dogs do much more than just keep us company and give us love and attention—they are models for how we can live better lives as humans. From humility and obedience to singleness of purpose and unconditional love, Short shows us how we can learn from the remarkable qualities of dogs. Using examples from more than forty classic comic strips, including Peanuts, Blondie, Family Circus, Luann, Mother Goose & Grimm, Fred Basset, and more, as well as charming photographs of real dogs, The Gospel According to Dogs is a delight-fully entertaining book for dog lovers, comic enthusiasts, and anyone looking for reassuring wisdom for the good life.
Robert L. Short
Robert L. Short has been writing and lecturing on Charles Schulz's Peanuts cartoon strips and the gospel for more than forty years. He is the author of the huge bestsellers The Gospel According to Peanuts and The Parables of Peanuts. An ordained minister and a widely traveled speaker in theology and the arts, Short was a close friend of Charles Schulz and holds graduate degrees in theology and literature from S.M.U., North Texas University, and the University of Chicago Divinity School.
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The Gospel According to Dogs - Robert L. Short
The Gospel According to Dogs
What Our Four-Legged Saints Can Teach Us
ROBERT L. SHORT
For Sparky
Schulz—How we miss him!
If it is for this life only
that Christ has given us hope,
we of all people are most to be pitied.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:19 (REB)
Contents
Epigraph
Introductory Yelp
Begin Reading
Notes
Glossary
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books by Robert L. Short
Copyright
About the Publisher
Introductory Yelp
JESUS, in attempting to get people’s attention and also in attempting to make himself clear once their attention was got, would often use similes. He would say, The kingdom of heaven is like…
and then he’d go on to say just that—what the kingdom of heaven was like. Using images in parable, comparison, and simile, Jesus would show
us (Luke 6:47) a picture that in some way resembled his Father’s kingdom: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
(Matthew 13:31); the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened
(Matthew 13:33); the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field
(Matthew 13:44); the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls
(Matthew 13:45).
In using cartoons in my books, I’m trying to do the same two things—to get people’s attention and then also to make clear my own take on the meaning of Jesus. I’m not trying to interpret the cartoon or tell you what was in the mind of the cartoonist. For anyone to claim they know what is in the mind of another person is not only presumptuous but impossible. Shakespeare was always warning us about this kind of thing. For instance, there’s a semi-comic scene in Richard III in which the Bishop of Ely asks Buckingham if he knows what Richard is thinking. Buckingham replies:
Who, I, my lord! We know each other’s faces,
But for our hearts, he knows no more of mine
Than I of yours—
Nor I no more of his than you of mine. (III, iv, 10–13)
So I just want to be clear that in this book I’m not at all intending to say what any cartoonist intended. I’m only attempting to say what I think the person of Jesus intends. The cartoons I’m using should only be seen as beautiful little pearl-like illustrations. The kingdom of heaven is like when Red says to Rover…; it is like Snoopy when he…; it is like Daisy’s love of…; etc. These are similes, mere similes, and in no way am I attempting to read the mind of any cartoonist. Sometimes it’s hard enough for me to know what I’m thinking myself without trying to guess what’s going on in anyone else’s head.
And I’ll be doggoned if this isn’t so!
I’ve had a lot of kind and generous help in putting this little book together. In particular I’d like to thank Monte Schulz, Charles M. Sparky
Schulz’s older son, who, since his dad passed away, graciously initiated a friendship that fills a lot of the large empty place left in my life by Sparky’s absence. I hope I’ve done something of the same for Monte. Indeed, the Charles Schulz family as a whole are very gracious to allow me to use the Peanuts strips in this dog tract,
¹ and for that I sincerely thank them. Also, special thanks to Kim Towner of Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates. At Harper San Francisco, Kris Ashley and my most excellent editor Cindy DiTiberio have turned out to be the best of friends. As for my Little