If you haven’t yet read The Hunger Games, no worries: 
This post is spoiler-free.
I’m a latecomer to the Hunger Games bandwagon, and found about Julie Clawson’s book The Hunger Games and the Gospel: Bread, Circuses, and the Kingdom of God just days after blowing through The Hunger Games trilogy in 2 days. I respected Julie Clawson and her thoughts on pop culture and theology enough to promptly plunk down my $5, and was soon reading it on my Kindle.
In The Hunger Games and the Gospel, Clawson interprets The Hunger Games in light of the Christian faith, and specifically through the lens of the Beatitudes. While The Hunger Games is not a “Christian” book, the applications to the Christian faith are numerous. Ultimately, it’s a story about the power of hope, and love:
The good news that Jesus taught of the Kingdom of God offered tangible ways for how a world full of injustice and oppression can be transformed into one of hope—which was a message of good news back when Jesus first preached it and still is for us today. And it’s a message that resonates all throughout the imaginative narrative of The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is not the Gospel, or even an allegory of the Gospel story, but it reflects the good news, helping to illuminate the path of Kingdom living for readers today.
I liked The Hunger Games and the Gospel for its sheer originality and interesting take on The Hunger Games. The applications Clawson draws between the dystopic future of Panem and our current world is fascinating–especially for U.S. citizens, who may may have more in common with the citizens of The Capitol than we’d like to think. Clawson’s assessment is both convicting and encouraging.
I do think Clawson’s overlay of the Beatitudes onto The Hunger Games breaks down, damaging the book’s structure. I disagree with her interpretation of the Beatitudes (which is crucial to her text). Clawson evidently believes the Beatitudes set forth qualities we should have as Christians: poverty, meekness, mourning, etc. are blessed conditions.
But I have been greatly influenced by the interpretation that Dallas Willard sets forth in The Divine Conspiracy, in which he says that the Beatitudes are pronouncements of grace: the Kingdom of God is so great that even the poor (the meek, the mourning…) will see God.
I am not a theologian, and I may very well be wrong on this point. But regardless of your take on this passage, The Hunger Games and the Gospel provides truly excellent food for thought. I absolutely agree with Clawson’s assertion that “well-written fiction presents the reader with opportunities to make choices about the world and to interrogate his or her own society.” The dystopic future of The Hunger Games provides a safe place for today’s Christians to wrestle with the larger themes of love, compassion, and justice, and Clawson’s commentary will help them do so more effectively.
Final assessment: The Hunger Games and the Gospel: Bread, Circuses, and the Kingdom of God is a worthwhile read for any Hunger Games fan.
Thanks for this review! I still have not read Hunger Games. I am really not a huge fiction reader for some reason…so I drag my feet. I usually devour non fiction.
Thanks for this review. I put this book on my wish list. I read an article by Clawson in the Huff Po along these lines last week as well.
I’m sad to see some Christians getting on self-righteous soap boxes about The Hunger Games (often, I wonder if they have actually read it!). It’s one of the best engaging stories that gets into big themes that we have had in popular culture in a long time. The characters are imperfect but there is much to admire. Much to discuss and think about. And there is beautiful depictions of sacrificial love. There is not sexualized strong female character. There is a lot to admire. Thanks for engaging with it!
This book is on my To Read list so I was interested to see what you thought of it. I can definitely see the relationship between our society and Panem, especially after watching the movie which made the comparison more obvious. That is an interesting distinction regarding the Beatitudes. I’m not sure where I come down on the matter.
“The good news that Jesus taught of the Kingdom of God offered tangible ways for how a world full of injustice and oppression can be transformed into one of hope.”
I’d have to disagree with Clawson on that, at elast insofar as it suggests that Jesus came to teach us how to be better. That’s not the good news of the Gospel of Christ at all, though. The actual good news found in the Bible is that, despite our own best efforts, the Holy Spirit is the one doing the transforming by making us new creations through the work of the Son. The good news is not that any of us can transform anything for the better, but that God transforms us for his glory.
Cheers,
Tim
[...] Julie Clawson, The Hunger Games and the Gospel: Bread, Circuses, and the Kingdom of God. As the author of Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices and a self-described sci-fi/fantasy geek, Clawson has the background to tackle The Hunger Games from a theological perspctive. Clawson claims that “the imbalances and injustices described in Panem don’t just exist in speculative fiction” and unpacks the similarities she perceives between privileged Americans and The Capitol. You can read my full review over at Anne with an E. [...]
Just thought I’d drop by and wish you Easter blessings Anne.
Take care
Hi Anne,
I’m still working through The Hunger Games and the Gospel. I’ve been too busy to do much reading, and I find that this is one book I prefer in smaller chunks – so I can ponder the author’s thoughts and take a look at the Scriptures. I’m really appreciating it, though it does get preachy at times and Clawson repeatedly gets on a soapbox about certain issues.
I’m barely half-way through, but my favorite chapter is the second one on mourning. I love her insights on the importance of mourning well, as individuals and societies. There’s great healing that comes with that…and the Capitol maintained control partly by not allowing it.
In recent years, I’ve often been concerned with those Christians who prefer to withdraw their families from society and live in a bubble of sorts. Some do that by sending their kids to Christian schools or homeschooling and attending church functions or socializing with Christian friends to the exclusion of any interaction with non-believers. None of these things are bad in and of themselves but there’s sometimes a lifestyle choice of withdrawal rather than an attempt to be salt and light. Clawson challenges us to ponder Jeremiah 29 and: “Settle down. Plant gardens. Seek the welfare of Babylon.” In part, she says “living for the sake of others is difficult for those used to managing their own purity as their primary form of worship.” I find this a very concerning trend in the American church.
Well, enough said. I look forward to reading the rest of the book, and one day I’ll read Dallas Willard’s insights on the beatitudes. You’re a better D.C. grad than I!
A blessed resurrection day to you and your family!