Holy...I mean, holy...I just don't have the words to describe how much this article means to me. As both a lifelong reader and Christian, I have never liked "Christian fiction" because it feels...shallower. And I totally get some readers wanting to step into a lighter world when the real world feels too dark and heavy, but you cannot afford to turn away from the darkness entirely, because when it catches up to you...then what will you do? Will you be prepared? Thank you so much for this article.
"We are most like our Creator not when avoid human depravity and sin, but when we see human depravity and sin the way He does, and lead others to see the same."
I just read The End of the Affair by Graham Greene, and some members of my (Christian) book club refused this one because "I'm not reading about infidelity" or they read the first thirty pages and abandoned ship because "Bendrix is the worst person on the planet and I hate him!"
What a terrible pity. It's possibly the most profoundly Christian novel I have read in recent years--even with a somewhat sympathetic adulterous woman and fairly oblique but recognizable references to scandalous lovemaking and intimate body parts. I want to tell those who refused to read it: I promise you that these characters hate themselves far more than you do, but one of them deciding to accept God's love, at great cost, despite their deep (and justified!) self loathing is a terrifically beautiful illustration of the miracle of divine forgiveness. Greene understands and explores truisms of faith and sin far more deeply and deftly than any of the airheaded, dingbat, bridal-font Christian women's fiction that insults our intelligence merely by existing.
Actual faith as experienced in real hearts and real lives contains the agony of deciding, when he reveals himself to us, whether we will accept the invitation or not, and what are the costs of going to him vs the costs of refusing. Actual faith will force us to confront the reality of our sin and the emptiness of what we think of as love but pales in comparison with the love our Father has for us. You have to talk about the sin and why people do it to understand the depth of atonement and reconciliation, and we have a responsibility to understand these things! Not to mention, it is possible to shine a light on something, by making art about it, for the purpose of saying, "This is awful and let's talk about why" rather than "Wow isn't this great and fun!"
I can see both sides of this one. Even with consequences, repentance, and forgiveness on the other side, reading a book that focuses deeply on sinful actions can be discouraging. I personally would rather read books that encourage me about what I can do to honor God, than about the painful journey of overcoming a sin that I have not experienced. Vicarious guilt is not my thing. I have enough of my own sins without processing someone else’s.
I'm inclined to agree with some of what you say, but I think you go too far at times. Message is not everything.
Consider two short pornographic videos or texts. In one the acts are framed as an illicit tryst. In another, they have the participants address each other as husband and wife and express proper spousal devotion.
The message of the latter is clearly superior. But does that make it a good way to spread that message? The experience of sexual arousal is what many will be turning to it for, not the message, implicit or, pardon the pun, explicit.
But by your argument, it seems the latter is laudatory rather than risky or immoral.
Thank you so much for bringing this up, as I think it's an area that could be expounded on more, though I tried to get at it in the "So anything goes?" sub-section.
I would say that a pornographic scene (or erotica scene, in literature) should not be in film or literature because it would (to your point) lead the audience towards voyeurism rather than leading them to a Scriptural understanding of human relations.
If there is a ditch on both sides of the road, Christians in general are not equally likely to err in either direction. They are overwhelmingly more likely to make the error of essentially pretending that evil does not exist than to make the error of portraying too much that is evil.
As a Christian who is an artist and a school teacher, I resonate deeply with most of this. I have always wanted to make art for Christian adults, stuff that deals with things or could be expressed by people who had experienced abuse, abandonment, divorce, shame, doubts, etc, because the caricature of faith that is "safe for the whole family" doesn't have answers for that stuff and probably of my youth group had already experienced abuse and many were dealing with suicidal thoughts or eating disorders, etc.
As a school teacher that gets confusing sometimes because I see my students as small adults and I believe there is almost always an appropriate answer to their hardest questions and I want to be someone they come to with those questions even if some topics I will just say "ask your mom." Parents and administration don't always seem to realize how mature, capable, or worldly their kids are either. But also, my students are always curious but my published music isn't made for them and has mature themes so that has been awkward when they do discover it sometimes.
Anyways, good stuff. Definitely reading half the books in a Christian bookstore would be more destructive to your faith than helpful at all, and I am thinking about the non-fiction section.
I find myself in the middle here. As a Christian writing the “clean” version of romance for teens my heart is for an alternative, but not for Christian teens only, for any teen. But, and perhaps this is where I differ slightly from you but also agree with what you said, the Christian message is me, my life. Yes, my books have honorable and Christian values, but no stated “come to Jesus” moments. But I see my life connected to my books as the true visual of Him. My platform to talk anonymously Him. I personally have never felt called or convicted to write sex scenes or anything even dealing with that in my books because that’s not the point. I don’t see myself as the person to teach other peoples kids about those topics. And I don’t see my ya science fantasy medium as the place for it either. That could change (as I rely on the Spirit to lead) but thought I’d throw in my pov here.
I specifically thought of your work (and our previous conversations) when writing this, and I think those reflections tempered me quite a bit. In fact, I would say that wondering how you would feel reading this is the very reason I went back and included the section, "So sex and violence in everything?" Thank you for that. Also, for what it is worth, I would trust you to approach difficult topics in books that my children would read. I do believe you contain the wisdom for it.
Ah thanks Phil! I mean, I don’t disagree with anything you said for sure, just that there is nuance (which I think you added well). But I also think that’s the beauty of His Spirit leading and guiding us all in what we write when we pause to listen. We shall see where He leads me in the future 😅
The importance of acknowledging real things, but also not creating inappropriate and unnecessary detail. Viewing a romance instead of pornography. Viewing the difficulty and reality of death instead of romanticizing violence.
Once again you remind me of Jerram Barrs. Shakespeare, for instance, IS a Christian writer because he sees the world, human love, anger, depression, humor, depravity the way God sees it. Thankful for you and others who have your “glasses” on straight and challenge us to look into the word to straighten our own.
I think you’d enjoy his books on evangelism, too. I’m not sure you’ll agree with everything he says 100% (I’m not sure I do) but he’s the kind of guy you’ll find sharpening of your thinking. He is wise and kind - he was a favorite mentor of many of us at Covenant Seminary.
Apologetics and Outreach, a Christian Worldview in Shakespeare, Tolkien, Pastoral Theology, several weekend courses on movies, film, the arts, and a couple more I can’t currently remember. He retired about five or so years ago. Time is flying! My husband graduated with his MDiv in 2011 and I graduated with my MAEM in 2019.
Defining “Christian stories” as that which “…leads the reader to draw the same conclusions about humanity and violence that the Bible does” is about as perfect a definition as I can think of.
I stand with you on this one. My favorite authors are brutal. We can omit the dirty all we please, but the world is filled with the violent, the dirty, the sexual, and the depraved. It is our job as Christians to see those things plainly and recognize sin’s influence on the world.
If we skip out on the uncomfortable parts of the human experience, how can we treat others who have experienced those things with genuine compassion?
Yes, yes, and a thousand times yes. I've been looking for a way to accurately pinpoint my thoughts on this topic, and you've gone and done it for me.
When it comes to secular literature or media, it's so important to distinguish between when it *promotes* evil or wickedness and when it is accurately depicting it as a reality in this broken world.
This post is so well written. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here.
I have been thinking about this matter for a while now. Seeing I'm more into films, I've often questioned why Christian movies are repetitive, shallow and boxed. I had to make a little reasearch on it and having understood why, I made a conclusion that, by God, I will strive to change the narrative. I'm really glad to see how much more light you've brought to me with this article. God bless you, my brother.
Wholeheartedly agree with this on so many levels— we are completely removing the discernment piece from ourselves and our kids if we never encounter pieces of reality in what we read! This could be a really, really long discussion, but I’ll leave it at ‘thank you for writing this’!
Holy...I mean, holy...I just don't have the words to describe how much this article means to me. As both a lifelong reader and Christian, I have never liked "Christian fiction" because it feels...shallower. And I totally get some readers wanting to step into a lighter world when the real world feels too dark and heavy, but you cannot afford to turn away from the darkness entirely, because when it catches up to you...then what will you do? Will you be prepared? Thank you so much for this article.
Thanks for spending the time reading and processing it and I'm so grateful the Lord could use it.
"We are most like our Creator not when avoid human depravity and sin, but when we see human depravity and sin the way He does, and lead others to see the same."
Amen, bro.
I just read The End of the Affair by Graham Greene, and some members of my (Christian) book club refused this one because "I'm not reading about infidelity" or they read the first thirty pages and abandoned ship because "Bendrix is the worst person on the planet and I hate him!"
What a terrible pity. It's possibly the most profoundly Christian novel I have read in recent years--even with a somewhat sympathetic adulterous woman and fairly oblique but recognizable references to scandalous lovemaking and intimate body parts. I want to tell those who refused to read it: I promise you that these characters hate themselves far more than you do, but one of them deciding to accept God's love, at great cost, despite their deep (and justified!) self loathing is a terrifically beautiful illustration of the miracle of divine forgiveness. Greene understands and explores truisms of faith and sin far more deeply and deftly than any of the airheaded, dingbat, bridal-font Christian women's fiction that insults our intelligence merely by existing.
Actual faith as experienced in real hearts and real lives contains the agony of deciding, when he reveals himself to us, whether we will accept the invitation or not, and what are the costs of going to him vs the costs of refusing. Actual faith will force us to confront the reality of our sin and the emptiness of what we think of as love but pales in comparison with the love our Father has for us. You have to talk about the sin and why people do it to understand the depth of atonement and reconciliation, and we have a responsibility to understand these things! Not to mention, it is possible to shine a light on something, by making art about it, for the purpose of saying, "This is awful and let's talk about why" rather than "Wow isn't this great and fun!"
I can see both sides of this one. Even with consequences, repentance, and forgiveness on the other side, reading a book that focuses deeply on sinful actions can be discouraging. I personally would rather read books that encourage me about what I can do to honor God, than about the painful journey of overcoming a sin that I have not experienced. Vicarious guilt is not my thing. I have enough of my own sins without processing someone else’s.
Fair enough, but the dynamics are the same, no matter what the sin is. It has much to say about processing sin, not processing this sin.
I love Graham Greene and I 100% agree, The End of the Affair is so profound.
I'm inclined to agree with some of what you say, but I think you go too far at times. Message is not everything.
Consider two short pornographic videos or texts. In one the acts are framed as an illicit tryst. In another, they have the participants address each other as husband and wife and express proper spousal devotion.
The message of the latter is clearly superior. But does that make it a good way to spread that message? The experience of sexual arousal is what many will be turning to it for, not the message, implicit or, pardon the pun, explicit.
But by your argument, it seems the latter is laudatory rather than risky or immoral.
Thank you so much for bringing this up, as I think it's an area that could be expounded on more, though I tried to get at it in the "So anything goes?" sub-section.
I would say that a pornographic scene (or erotica scene, in literature) should not be in film or literature because it would (to your point) lead the audience towards voyeurism rather than leading them to a Scriptural understanding of human relations.
Thanks for highlighting that.
If there is a ditch on both sides of the road, Christians in general are not equally likely to err in either direction. They are overwhelmingly more likely to make the error of essentially pretending that evil does not exist than to make the error of portraying too much that is evil.
I think you mean explicitly "Christians marketing art as such", otherwise you may need to support that to be convincing.
But my concern was not messaging, but that message isn't everything; some things by their mere portrayal are affecting regardless of context.
As a Christian who is an artist and a school teacher, I resonate deeply with most of this. I have always wanted to make art for Christian adults, stuff that deals with things or could be expressed by people who had experienced abuse, abandonment, divorce, shame, doubts, etc, because the caricature of faith that is "safe for the whole family" doesn't have answers for that stuff and probably of my youth group had already experienced abuse and many were dealing with suicidal thoughts or eating disorders, etc.
As a school teacher that gets confusing sometimes because I see my students as small adults and I believe there is almost always an appropriate answer to their hardest questions and I want to be someone they come to with those questions even if some topics I will just say "ask your mom." Parents and administration don't always seem to realize how mature, capable, or worldly their kids are either. But also, my students are always curious but my published music isn't made for them and has mature themes so that has been awkward when they do discover it sometimes.
Anyways, good stuff. Definitely reading half the books in a Christian bookstore would be more destructive to your faith than helpful at all, and I am thinking about the non-fiction section.
You have so clearly articulated what I had intuited, but not been able to explain clearly, even to myself. Thank you.
You are so welcome, and I'm just grateful the Lord gave me the words.
I find myself in the middle here. As a Christian writing the “clean” version of romance for teens my heart is for an alternative, but not for Christian teens only, for any teen. But, and perhaps this is where I differ slightly from you but also agree with what you said, the Christian message is me, my life. Yes, my books have honorable and Christian values, but no stated “come to Jesus” moments. But I see my life connected to my books as the true visual of Him. My platform to talk anonymously Him. I personally have never felt called or convicted to write sex scenes or anything even dealing with that in my books because that’s not the point. I don’t see myself as the person to teach other peoples kids about those topics. And I don’t see my ya science fantasy medium as the place for it either. That could change (as I rely on the Spirit to lead) but thought I’d throw in my pov here.
I specifically thought of your work (and our previous conversations) when writing this, and I think those reflections tempered me quite a bit. In fact, I would say that wondering how you would feel reading this is the very reason I went back and included the section, "So sex and violence in everything?" Thank you for that. Also, for what it is worth, I would trust you to approach difficult topics in books that my children would read. I do believe you contain the wisdom for it.
Ah thanks Phil! I mean, I don’t disagree with anything you said for sure, just that there is nuance (which I think you added well). But I also think that’s the beauty of His Spirit leading and guiding us all in what we write when we pause to listen. We shall see where He leads me in the future 😅
The importance of acknowledging real things, but also not creating inappropriate and unnecessary detail. Viewing a romance instead of pornography. Viewing the difficulty and reality of death instead of romanticizing violence.
I appreciate your perspective on this.
Once again you remind me of Jerram Barrs. Shakespeare, for instance, IS a Christian writer because he sees the world, human love, anger, depression, humor, depravity the way God sees it. Thankful for you and others who have your “glasses” on straight and challenge us to look into the word to straighten our own.
You are too kind! Also, I’m Googling “Jerram Barrs” right now lol. Is there a place I should start with his writing?
I think you’d enjoy his books on evangelism, too. I’m not sure you’ll agree with everything he says 100% (I’m not sure I do) but he’s the kind of guy you’ll find sharpening of your thinking. He is wise and kind - he was a favorite mentor of many of us at Covenant Seminary.
Hi, @Kelsey Reed, Jerram Barrs was after my time at Covenant but I've heard the name in Alumni publications. What does/did he teach?
Apologetics and Outreach, a Christian Worldview in Shakespeare, Tolkien, Pastoral Theology, several weekend courses on movies, film, the arts, and a couple more I can’t currently remember. He retired about five or so years ago. Time is flying! My husband graduated with his MDiv in 2011 and I graduated with my MAEM in 2019.
how about: Echoes of Eden: Reflections on Christianity, Literature, and the Arts ;)
Defining “Christian stories” as that which “…leads the reader to draw the same conclusions about humanity and violence that the Bible does” is about as perfect a definition as I can think of.
That’s paradigm shifting.
I stand with you on this one. My favorite authors are brutal. We can omit the dirty all we please, but the world is filled with the violent, the dirty, the sexual, and the depraved. It is our job as Christians to see those things plainly and recognize sin’s influence on the world.
If we skip out on the uncomfortable parts of the human experience, how can we treat others who have experienced those things with genuine compassion?
By the time I was in high school, I was so sick of the ”knock off” versions of art.
Yes
Yes, yes, and a thousand times yes. I've been looking for a way to accurately pinpoint my thoughts on this topic, and you've gone and done it for me.
When it comes to secular literature or media, it's so important to distinguish between when it *promotes* evil or wickedness and when it is accurately depicting it as a reality in this broken world.
This post is so well written. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here.
Thank you for your kind words! I’m so grateful it could be a blessing.
I aspire to all of this in my own fiction, but never articulated my stance so well as this article does. Thank you.
I have been thinking about this matter for a while now. Seeing I'm more into films, I've often questioned why Christian movies are repetitive, shallow and boxed. I had to make a little reasearch on it and having understood why, I made a conclusion that, by God, I will strive to change the narrative. I'm really glad to see how much more light you've brought to me with this article. God bless you, my brother.
Wholeheartedly agree with this on so many levels— we are completely removing the discernment piece from ourselves and our kids if we never encounter pieces of reality in what we read! This could be a really, really long discussion, but I’ll leave it at ‘thank you for writing this’!