People are storytellers. As humans, we spend much of our lives either telling stories, dramatizing storytelling, or writing our thoughts. Author Mark Roques has made a life quest of it in his work with youth. He received his PhD in studying the films of James Bond as a worldview analysis. Although this book was written for audiences in the UK, it is an interesting view of how teachers, students, and the general public may be involved in conversations about religious belief.
In this book, The Spy, the Rat, and the Bed of Nails, Roques engages the tools of media, parable, parody, irony, and wit to draw attention to the fact that few of our conversations are about spiel: “persuasive speech that is designed to communicate an important message” (4). This is especially so in discussing matters of faith or conversing about the person of Jesus to and with youth. Using parable and movie critique, Roques engages three socially recognizable themes: James Bond 007 as hero, the symbolism of the rat as an idol of worship, and worldviews, which engage the trials, spirituality, and myths that occur across cultures.
The first four chapters of the text are devoted to communication about Jesus, about discomfort and about stories that inspire. The third chapter is a personal favorite, as I am convinced that students need hope and positive examples above all else in these years of their lives, and Roques’s stories of real people can relate to various contexts, contents, and disciplines. The fourth chapter opens doors to how artistic and gifted storytellers could evoke aspects of awe and wonder, implementing a media or historical lens and incorporating life examples and events.
Chapters 5 through 8 consider social worldviews, idolatry, and materialism, focusing on what they reap and what they omit, which is valuable to truth telling. Roques inserts significant questions to guide this section about communication, which introduces audiences to consider the story of Jesus as a contrasting lens. Chapter 6 specifically uses a philosophical lens to understand and simplify worldviews as life-living statements. Chapters 9 through 11 consider how an education can shape our view of the world, noting the decline of faith within educational instruction over time. We are educated into worldviews, and then we live accordingly. Current topics such as war, justice, and compassion are probed here in interesting ways.
Roque’s final conclusions summarize the purpose of the book: using humor and imagination in talking about Jesus and his Kingdom in order to engage conversations with non-Christians about the good news of the gospel. In meeting this purpose, Roques connects history, character, current culture, and individuals to the larger fabric of the great commission.
In critique, I am convinced that the author’s storytelling approach is an engaging way of understanding and assimilating his purpose. Words can only go so far. But storytelling also presents a particular perspective from the author that only occurs when the story is owned by the presenter. This book will not be for everyone. I do not relate that well to certain uses of irony, but I do enjoy other parts of the text thoroughly. I suggest this as a text worth reading for the creative pedagogy it may engage when embodied. In an attempt to show such ownership and embodiment by Roques, I have included some website links in my work cited section so that you can observe the author teaching and the response of students to his teaching. I have also included references to the books that Roques says have most informed his perspectives of faith engagement.
The book provides the reader with an adventurous opportunity while engaging history, British humor, and stories of inspiring people across time (be they hero or villain). Its audience is especially suited to late middle or high school students and youth groups.
Works Cited
Roques, Mark. The Spy, the Rat, and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. Leeds, UK: Thinking Faith Network, 2017.
Watch Roques teach here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3VNiqJCh94.
Watch Roques on Bond and Rats here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjmxBp-RxHg
Books that influenced Roques:
Clouser, Roy. The Myth of Religious Neutrality: An Essay on the Hidden Role of Religious Belief in Theories. University of Notre Dame Press, 2005.
Dooyeweerd, Herman. Roots of Western Culture: Pagan, Secular and Christian Options. Wedge Publishing, 1979.
Goudzwaard, Bob, and Josina Van Nuis Zylstra. Capitalism and Progress: A Diagnosis of Western Society. Wedge Publishing, 1979.
Seerveld, Calvin. Rainbows for the Fallen World: Aesthetic Life and Artistic Task. 2nd ed. Tuppence Press, 2005.
Walsh, Brian, and Sylvia Keesmaat. Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire. IVP Academic, 2004.
Christina Belcher is chair and professor of the department of education at Redeemer University College. She is a bibliophile and has taught elementary school, tertiary and higher education in British Columbia, Ontario, New Zealand, and Australia. Her interests are in writing, worldview, higher education, cultural change, technology and special education—recently in the realm of perceptions and presentations of autism.
