Horton Hears a Who as Theology

Who knew that "Horton Hears a Who" is a great theological treatise?  Jerry Dodson that's who, here's a snippet of Jerry's, from me to you on hearing who's (yeah, yeah, Dr. Seuss is under no threat from me).

One of the main reasons that we don’t hear Jesus or recognize him, as god or as risen, is that our worldview won’t let us see or hear him. We have ruled out belief in things that we can’t see, hear or touch—like Jesus. This is precisely the belief of the Kangaroo in Horton Hears a Who, the Dr. Seuss book and movie. HHAW is a story about Horton the elephant who discovers that there is an entire world of mites that live on a spec, a spec which is on a flower that he carries. On occasion, when the mites are very loud and Horton is very quiet, he can hear the mayor of the mites. Horton is opposed by the Kangaroo who is the king of the jungle. She says that it is impossible for there to be a world of mites on the spec because she can’t hear them, see them, or touch them. Kangaroo assumes that her senses provide her with all the information she needs in order to make sense of her world.

But she has a problem. Her individual experience and knowledge can not account for everything in the entire jungle.

Comments

[Troy]

This is my page for thoughts concerning the movie release of Horton Hears a Who, by Dr. Seuss. The story at first glance appears as a basic kids story used to entertain children. It is about a lovable, affable elephant named Horton. This elephant, one day, discovers a sound coming from a floating speck. He pursues this speck until it settles on a clover. It is soon discovered that on this tiny speck there is a village called Who-Ville. It is up to Horton to save the people of Who-Ville by finding a safe place for the speck.
Deeply rooted in this story are a lot of adult type themes. One of them is the idea that people are important no matter who they may be. Horton repeats this sentiment throughout by saying, “A person's a person, no matter how small." No matter how insignificant they might seem, all people are important and worth saving. This concept is a great moral concept and an idea taught in scripture. I think this idea transcends into the realm of the unborn child.
The unborn child at the moment of conception becomes a person. Even though that child cannot be “seen, heard, or felt.” Scripture tells us in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” The fact that God knows us before he forms us in our mother’s womb tells us we are important.
Another message I got from this movie was that even though we don’t see, hear, or feel God, he exists nonetheless. The kangaroo in this story did not believe in the message that Horton had concerning the Who-Ville people. Not only was she not believing this message, she was intolerant to his sharing it with others. So often the world responds this way concerning our faith in God. When people don’t see, hear, or feel God they dismiss Him as non-existent. Many do not stop there. When we of the Christian faith share our belief, those who don’t believe become intolerant of the gospel message.
Horton becomes persecuted for his belief. This persecution goes all the way to the point that all but one, out of the whole jungle, end up against him. Horton, running for his very life, ends up cornered and surrounded. He is given a chance to live. He is told that all he has to do is denounce his belief in the existence of Who-Ville. If only he will say Who-Ville does not exist, he will be allowed to go free. Such an easy request, but does he do it? No, Horton knows the truth. He has heard the voice from Who-Ville. He cannot speak against his faith, even if it should cost him his life.
This is a great message of faith. We as Christians need to stand firm in what we believe in. We need to stand in our convictions no matter the cost. Truth is truth, and worth dying for if the need be.
Horton wasn’t about to go down without a fight. He worked frantically to prove the existence of these small people. He kept encouraging the jungle animals to stop and to listen. None of them heard, and yet Horton pleaded. Just at the moment that you think all is hopeless, a small child, the Kangaroo baby, reaches out and saves Who-Ville. He has listened to Horton and come to the belief that Who-Ville exists. He believes and has heard the voices too. Then due to his belief all the others are led to the conclusion that Horton was right.
I see this as an example of where Jesus tells us that unless we have faith like a child we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. The faith of that one led the multitude to understanding.
Now, there is another side to this story that need not be forgotten, the story of the people of Who-Ville. They are a happy group of people, not wanting to change. They are satisfied with their happy little lives not caring a bit about anything beyond their world. They are living a life that is in danger of destruction. When one speaks to them of such destruction, they look at him as if he is crazy. They don’t want their lives disrupted by his message of the need for salvation.
This idea is a look at the need for evangelism. The world today does not want to hear about a God of judgment. People do not want to hear that unless they change and trust God they will suffer destruction. There is a message of the gospel, which must be told. The mayor is much like the prophets of old. He continues to speak about the voice he heard, the voice of the one who is much bigger than their known universe. As crazy as it might seem to them, he knows that Horton exists. He knows that Horton can save Who-Ville, if only they believe and help by calling out to him too.
The problem the mayor faces at first is the fear of humiliation. The council calls him a “boob”. His own family rejects his belief. He is alone in what he believes and he fears rejection. So often, I think we as Christians can relate to the mayor. We fear what others might think. We fear being called names. We fear what our own families might say. Such fear does not save those in need.
The mayor comes to a point where he must convince the entire Who-Ville that Horton exists. At this point he becomes very bold. He gets them one and all to start shouting, “We are here!” What a wonderful cry. Imagine if we could convince the world to cry out to God. To cry out to God that we are here, we need Him.
There is so much good I can think of and see in this simple story created for children. I think it is amazing how this story can be used in so many ways as analogy for the Christian faith. I am also amazed that in the making of this story, Hollywood, did not loose the underlying meanings. There was only one line in the entire movie that caught my ear as being anti-Christian. There was a line spoken by the kangaroo in which she spoke close-minded about faith and then stated, “That is why I choose to pouch school my child.” This statement makes it look like home school parents are close-minded to truth that is being taught in public schools. I was very disappointed in this one line.
I would encourage anyone with children or without to go and see this movie. I think it is a fun story to hear for children of all ages. And please keep in mind, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

[Pauline]

You know I saw this movie with my son and had a lot of the same thoughts!

Very nice. Thanks for this!

In Christ!
Pauline Young
www.benotashamed.net

[Dayngr]

Many people don't know this but before Dr. Seuss was writing children's books he was actually a political cartoonist. He was passionate about speaking out on issues like injustice, racism and inequality. Many of his characters used in the stories originated in political pieces. He was very outspoken on so many issues so I am not surprised that one of his stories could be viewed as a lesson in theology. Each story is amazing if you think about the moral of it.

[Jonathan Dodson]

Thanks for the hat tip. FYI, its Jonathan, not Jerry. :)