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And the Beagles and the Bunnies Shall Lie Down Together
Snoopy writes a book on theology, Linus dreams of becoming a prophet, Marcie waits for the Great Pumpkin, and Peppermint Pattie sees an angel
80 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1984
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About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,028 books1,637 followersCharles Monroe Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.
Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post; the first of 17 single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January, 1950.
Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957–1959), but he abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God.
Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption; during the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day's strip. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. He stubbornly refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him." In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.
Schulz often touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side. Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several books he wrote on religion and Peanuts, and other popular culture items. From the late 1980s, however, Schulz described himself in interviews as a "secular humanist": “I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post; the first of 17 single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January, 1950.
Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957–1959), but he abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God.
Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption; during the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day's strip. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. He stubbornly refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him." In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.
Schulz often touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side. Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several books he wrote on religion and Peanuts, and other popular culture items. From the late 1980s, however, Schulz described himself in interviews as a "secular humanist": “I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 11, 2025
Confession: I love Linus. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Linus. I know I have some competition because every girl wants Linus to be their own Sweet Baboo. One of my favorite things about Linus is that he's a theologian, a true thinker, a true observer.
This book is a collection of Peanuts comic strips that deal--in one way or another--with theology. At the very least, it shares comic strips that quote Scripture. At its best, it shares comic strips which reflect Scripture.
The book doesn't focus on Linus exclusively. There's plenty of Lucy, Charlie Brown, Linus, and Sally. (Plus Snoopy, of course. Let's not forget that Snoopy KNOWS Scripture too and uses it quite well to get what he wants from Charlie Brown.)
Early on, readers see that Linus identifies himself as a prophet. On the copyright page, you'll see Linus carrying a sign that says PROPHET. And one of the earliest comic strips in this one is about how he wants to be a prophet when he grows up.
My absolute FAVORITE, FAVORITE strip features Lucy and Linus. It's RAINING heavily.
This one is definitely recommended. Not every strip is WONDERFUL. But many are worth a smile at least. And some are truly worth treasuring!
This book is a collection of Peanuts comic strips that deal--in one way or another--with theology. At the very least, it shares comic strips that quote Scripture. At its best, it shares comic strips which reflect Scripture.
The book doesn't focus on Linus exclusively. There's plenty of Lucy, Charlie Brown, Linus, and Sally. (Plus Snoopy, of course. Let's not forget that Snoopy KNOWS Scripture too and uses it quite well to get what he wants from Charlie Brown.)
Early on, readers see that Linus identifies himself as a prophet. On the copyright page, you'll see Linus carrying a sign that says PROPHET. And one of the earliest comic strips in this one is about how he wants to be a prophet when he grows up.
Linus: When I grow up, I think I'll be a great prophet. I'll speak profound truths but no one will listen to me…
Charlie Brown: If you known ahead of time that no one is going to listen to you, why speak?
Linus: We prophets are very stubborn.
My absolute FAVORITE, FAVORITE strip features Lucy and Linus. It's RAINING heavily.
Lucy: Boy, look at it rain…What if it floods the whole world?
Linus: It will never do that…in the ninth chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that would never happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow…
Lucy: You've taken a great load off my mind…
Linus: Sound theology has a way of doing that!
This one is definitely recommended. Not every strip is WONDERFUL. But many are worth a smile at least. And some are truly worth treasuring!
May 31, 2019
Tenavat-strippejä tarvitsee aika ajoin :)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews