Himmelfortellinger i barnelitteratur. Hvordan fremstilles Gud i møte med døden?

Abstract

This chapter takes its starting point in two books for children, Sommerlandet (Skeie, 1987) and Mor og far i himmelen (Walgermo, 2009), which tell about intense grief and challenge easy and commonplace ways to talk about the Christian hope for eternal life. I discuss the metaphors used to provide comfort and hope to children, youth and adults, and how the authors approach existential issues related to death, grief and hope. I also ask how these concepts of God influence people’s images of God when grieving, and especially how children, through their logical reasoning, challenge the common Christian comfort of eternal life in heaven as an answer to grief. I argue that metaphorical theological language may convey notions of God’s transcendent world because it is open to different interpretations of life. Metaphorical models of “heaven”, “God images, “God’s family” and “heavenly reunion” are centered. I conclude that both children and adults share a common, often anthropomorphic, understanding of God metaphors, and the wish for a continued life in heaven is desirable to many people, not only practicing Christians.