It's A Small World - A Disneyland Theology

The family and I went to Disneyland for a little vacation back before Thanksgiving. It was a blast, especially seeing our daughter Peyton enjoy the characters and the magic of it all.

While we were there, the It's A Small World ride reopened after being closed around a year for a full rehab. It was all decked out for the holidays, had brand new boats and dolls and a few new features. What stuck out to me the most was the meaning of the ride which hasn't ever changed.



The message is peace on earth, restoration of human unity and the like, very similar to what the Bible describes. You begin by looking at the many nations desiring this restoration. They are all separated from each other, singing in their own languages and with their own cultures, but their cry is the same, for unity and restoration. In the end you enter a room in which everything is white, everyone is together, cowboy and Indian, American and Russian, you name it and everyone is singing in the same language (English of course!). The only thing that the ride does not explain is how the transition occurred. It seems that the assumption is that by wishful thinking, by the innate power within humanity desiring unity and peace, it will happen. It is at its heart a humanist message. that we can do it through our own strength.

It seems to be the overall message of Disneyland the more I thought about it. If you cover up the dirtiness, cover up the pain, cover up reality, you will have a magic kingdom where everyone can be happy and live together in harmony. It doesn't seem to take into account that our separation from one another is only indicative of our separation from God. And that only reconnection with God can reconnect humanity in peace. This reconnection cannot occur through our own strength or wishful thinking but occurs only because of what Jesus did on the cross. Kind of like my high school football coach always said, you can't keep doing what you've been doing and expect the same results. We can't just keep thinking happy thoughts and singing kumbaya hoping world peace will come, but being the tough work of reconciliation that begins by leaning on the on saving grace of Jesus Christ which constitutes our reconciliation with God.