Interview With Jonathan and Chelsea Boes (Part 2)
In Part 2 of their interview with Know Why, Jonathan and Chelsea Boes (World Magazine) share insight on consuming secular literature, searching for the good in a broken universe, and the complicated facets of the Christian conscience. Parents of two, they also share thoughts on fostering a love of stories in children and embracing the mysteries of faith. Don’t miss this fun, thoughtful conversation!
Can Christians Enjoy Secular Literature?
Chelsea shares a story about blacking out the curse words in The Catcher in the Rye, which she was assigned to read in high school. Since, then, she’s realized that Christians don’t have to be afraid to interact with stories that portray sin. “If you can’t read John Steinbeck because he swears, you can’t possibly be talking to your plumber,” Chelsea said. At the same time, however, “Our relationships with conscience as Christians are complicated.” She thinks that one’s ability or willingness to withstand certain content in literature or other forms of art may have to do with when in their life they became a Christian.
“We are surrounded by darkness,” Jonathan added, “And if we are totally unwilling to stick our hands in there and get a little messy, we’re going to miss the goodness and beauty of God that is hidden there.”
“In Christ, evil does not have power over us.”
Jonathan Boes
He also said that while Christians should be wise about what is healthy for us to consume, we don’t need to be afraid of secular content.
“In Christ, evil does not have power over us,” he told Know Why. “We do not need to approach the world with this default sense of fear that something will infiltrate us and infect us. We can actually go out with confidence knowing that we can look for the redemptive.”
Talking to Kids About Story and Reality
When it comes to passing a love of stories on to one’s children, Chelsea and Jonathan admit that it’s hard. Jonathan says you should gently nurture a love of stories, allowing kids to discover what they love for themselves. Chelsea shared about creating habits, like reading the Bible with coffee in the mornings with her daughters, and also creating fun experiences for her kids, like a book club for her third grader’s friends.
While talking to children about stories and literature is important, so is talking to them about the real world. Former host of the Concurrently podcast, Jonathan said that when it comes to talking to kids about the hard realities of the world, honesty is key—even if that means acknowledging that we don’t have the answer to every problem.
“There can sometimes be a temptation to pretend that we have all the answers,” he said. “That might work for a season but eventually will be seen through. I think it’s a lot more powerful to be honest.”
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