“And so I tell you,
every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven,
but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”
—Matthew 12:31
I was having a conversation with someone last night who dislikes the boy’s character in my book, Genesis: Biblical Commentary Through Dialogue. She grew up in a Catholic school system and was on the receiving end of guilt, shame, and scolding if she questioned the “authority figures” in the system. She told me the boy made her uncomfortable asking all of his questions, and I correctly guessed that was her inner child’s lingering fear of getting in trouble bubbling up to the surface whenever the boy asked something she herself had but was afraid to ask because of this trauma. I told her there was an inner dichotomy between wanting to ask the questions herself and her younger self wanting to punch the boy in the arm and say, “Shh! You’re gonna get us in trouble!” Obviously, there is no authority figure to get her in trouble today, but the traumatized younger version of herself still living inside her doesn’t realize that.
This, of course, was the purpose of the boy’s character all along, while the purpose of the old man is to represent someone confident enough in his faith to patiently answer these questions where a “traditional” (and potentially less confident) authority figure might respond with guilt or shame and no answers. The whole purpose of the book is to allow the reader permission to ask the challenging questions they may feel like they don’t have the permission to ask and not be faced with shame and guilt, but instead find the appropriate answers delivered in a patient manner.
Now, if only the reviewer on Amazon who gave my book one star for “blasphemy” could see things that way.