My Life with Charlie Brown

Peanuts as Profession of Faith

20 Peanuts as Profession of Faith a n interviewer once wrote that one of my characters, Charlie Brown, mirrors some of my own childhood troubles. That may be true, but he is also a reflection of the troubles of millions of others—or so I gather from those who write me. I think Charlie is a reflection of something in all of us which needs constant reassuring that the people round about us really do like us. Linus’ affection for his blanket, on the other hand, is a symbol of the things we cling to. Our first three children, when they were small, all carried blankets around the house with them. But some of our adult habits are ridiculous. Not long ago I had Linus’ blankethating grandmother come to his house for a visit. She tried to get him to give up his propensity for the blanket; so he threw up to her the fact that she was drinking 32 cups of coffee a day! I grew up an only child, and my mother died the very week I was drafted. This was a tremendous blow to our little family. I was assigned to the 20th Armored Division and eventually became a machine gun squad leader. Our division was shipped to Germany just before the war ended, and we took part in the liberation of Dachau and Munich. We were also assigned to the proposed invasion of Japan which never materialized. Before going into the armed forces I met a minister from a local congregation. He walked into my father’s barbershop one day in St. 21 Peanuts as Profession of Faith Paul, Minnesota, and we became friends. It was not long after that that we called him to preach my mother’s funeral sermon. After coming back from the Army, I began to attend services at his church. We had an active group of young people—all of us were in our twenties —and we began studying the Bible together. The more I thought about the matter during those studying times, the more I realized that I really loved God. I recognized the fact that He had pulled me through a depression in which I had been torn apart from everything I knew, and that He had enabled me to survive so many experiences. These realizations did not come upon me at any particular great moment of decision. I never went forward at a Sunday evening service. I cannot point to a specific time of dedication to Christ. I was just suddenly “there,” and did not know when it happened that I arrived. I accepted Jesus Christ by gratitude. I have always been grateful for the things the Lord has provided me with: good health, education , family, and the experiences of World War II which have now passed into history. Since those youth group days, we have all moved to different areas, and many of us have become active in other churches. I teach the adult Sunday School class in a church in Sebastopol, California. I am trying to encourage the new members in particular to raise questions and to present their views in class without fear or embarrassment . It is terrible, of course, to be a beginner in anything and to feel that you don’t know enough about the subject. Most people feel that way about the Bible. The idea is to create a climate in which people will not be afraid to ask even little questions. And it is such a thrill when you find someone saying that he is doing some outside reading and that for the first time in his life he is studying the Bible on his own. In my cartooning I draw for two kinds of editors: secular editors and church editors. I work for the secular press through a newspaper syndicate, and naturally I must exercise care in the way I go about expressing things. I have a message that I want to present, 24 My LIfe but I would rather bend a little to put over a point than to have the whole strip dropped because it is too obvious. As a result, all kinds of people in religious work have written to thank me for preaching in my own way through the strips. That is one of the things that keeps me going. Sometimes people...