Is "A Wrinkle in Time" a Christian Book?

A Christian-Sounding Novel That Twists Scripture

A Wrinkle in Time is a young adult fantasy novel written by Madeline L 'Engle and considered one of the best-selling Christian books ever published. Really! Christian themes are more overt in A Wrinkle in Time than they are in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Madeline even quotes scripture. Or more accurately, she twists scripture. In the book, Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace travel by a tesseract to a distant planet to rescue Meg and Charles Wallace's father.

They are accompanied by three mysterious women, Mrs. What's-It, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Witch, and together they do battle with the Black Thing. There are other fighters who have conquered the Black Thing before.

John 1:5 and the Novel's Misuse of Light and Darkness

Mrs. Who quotes John 1 -5, saying, And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Jesus! Charles Wallace exclaims. But not just Jesus, also Leonardo da Vinci, Shakespeare, Bach, Einstein, Gandhi, and Buddha.

Jesus is just one of a long line of men who have defeated an evil intelligence in science fiction. Madeline L 'Engle was a universalist, believing all go to heaven and everyone is inherently good. So to her, Jesus was no more significant than Shakespeare.

The Bible's Teaching on Human Sin and Salvation

A Wrinkle in Time teaches that anyone can defeat evil with love or just being full of light. But the Bible says no one is good and everyone is full of darkness. Jesus alone is the light of men. Whoever does not believe in him walks in darkness and will be cast into hell.

But whoever believes walks in the light as he is in the light and will live forever with him in heaven when we understand the text.