The Baronet’s Song by George MacDonald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Love this classic re-read. Chosen for a book club, it got mixed reviews. I look at it from a big picture viewpoint. There are definitely theological and moral aspects to the book that would not fly in this generation, not necessarily because they are anti-biblical, but because we have a better understanding of human nature and how to deal with the victims of abusive situations. Also, Gibbie is supposed to be the idealistic Christ-figure in this story and he often makes decisions that the author claims is pure love, when it looks more like enabling. However, as he grows and receives good counsel, he understands that boundaries must be set in place in order for Love and Grace to not be cheapened by being a crutch for the sinner.
Still, this is pure George MacDonald, bringing us a story from his beloved highlands and I cannot say enough good about how warm and fuzzy this made me feel after several long years away from its pages.
There are a lot of things that I would say were because George MacDonald was a man of his time (like Noah being a righteous man FOR his time) and then there are things that make me believe he is rather forward thinking in an era where women were property, the abuse of street children and disabled people was rampant, and the minister in the pulpit was often more concerned for his standing in the community than whether he preached God’s word and lived it out.
MacDonald subtly reproaches these practices and brings the pure love of Christ into the story, through heart poetry, forgiveness, and the wild, carefree living on the mountainside.
Worship of God does not come from the liturgies and creeds, though they may have their place. Worship of God comes in the very nature He created and the hearts and minds of simple people of the soil who seek and serve him with earnestness and joy.