Through a Glass, Darkly by Jostein Gaarder

Through a Glass, Darkly

Jostein Gaarder

1993 (first published in English, 1998)

Did Not Finish

This is a novel following the conversations of an angel, Ariel, with Cecilia, a terminally ill child.  There is little plot, the main emphasis being on the philosophical nature of their discussions which should make the reader ponder and think.

In 1995, when I read Gaarder's novel of philosophy, Sophie's World, I was simply blown away.  I loved how the author explained, taught, and challenged.  I read the Solitaire Mystery a few years later, and was just as amazed and enthralled.

Now, though, I'm questioning everything I've learned from Gaarder, looking at it through the lens of distrust caused by what I've read so far of Through a Glass, Darkly.

As I mentioned above, the angel Ariel comes to talk with Cecilia, who is bitter and angry about her illness. I expect that Ariel, in the end, helps her find peace with her eventual death, but I didn't get past this passage on page 44, when Ariel, speaking of being in heaven, says:

Sometimes, when we talk about how everything is and how everything might have been, God throws up his arms in despair and says, "I know that plenty of things might have been a little different, but what's done is done, and I'm not almighty, after all.

It's a simple thing, but it bothered me,  this denial of the almightiness of God.  I looked back at all the passages I had flagged as thought-provoking and profound, and wondered how does Gaarder feel about God?

After some research, I found an article in the L.A. Times from 1994 which says:

Gaarder is not a devotee of a single philosophical school, although he admits that way back when he discovered the German Romantics and the pantheistic approach to philosophy, “they made my heart beat a little quicker.” He said he subscribes to the Christian morals on which he was raised, but when pushed on whether he believes Jesus was God, he will answer only that that is a very good question.

I know that those not following the Christian faith will wonder just why I have a problem, but for me, if Gaarder won't commit as to whether Jesus is the Son of God, then it stands to reason he either doesn't think so, or is ashamed to be caught thinking so.  

Again, one might say "why does it matter?", but, for me, it does.  I don't feel I can trust Gaarder's philosophical opinions if we disagree so strongly on that point.