Today I read a blog post on NovelRocket.Com that nearly made me fall out of my chair. Author Mike Duran's article date August 27, 2012 was titled, "Must Christian Fiction Contain Sound Theology?"
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| Author Mike Duran |
I haven't read Mike Duran's work, so I'm not commenting on his books, but his question and ensuing article really floored me. I was sure after reading it, that the many replies following the article would challenge his statement that Christian Fiction DOESN'T have to have sound theology. The responses to his article left me just as stumped, as many of the commenter's agreed with him or supported his views in some way. I felt like I had to stand up and say otherwise. I posted the following comment on the blog, however after receiving confirmation that it posted, it doesn't show up in the comments section. It could be that each comment has to be approved by the blog moderator and may not show up for a while. In the off chance it doesn't get approved, I wanted to share my thoughts on this horrifying question. Below is the same comment I posted on NovelRocket.com.
TRUTH
"A Christian's calling is to live a life that witnesses of Jesus, to let His light shine through them to others and share His love. Do we all accomplish this every day? Sadly, no. Jesus knows that, it's why He forgives. And He turns those screw ups followed by forgiveness into a beautiful testimony of His grace and power. As writers, I believe we are called to witness this truth.
Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just; whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
So creating characters and stories that present situations that are true to life is a must, but without representing the Hope of Jesus, the joy found in forgiveness and the love found in a new life, where does our witness stand? Does every book need to show a conversion or baptism? Not if it doesn't suit the story. Must they all have happy endings? No. But did it lead the reader to look at life with a different eye? Did it in any way inspire them to look toward Jesus or reaffirm His truths?
The fact any follower of Jesus Christ would ask the question, Should Christian fiction contain sound theology, makes my jaw drop and it should make us take a closer look at why we write what we write. If our work doesn't reflect Jesus in a positive manner, however you choose to do that; if it only represents the evil of the world as an example of what real life is without the effort of shining Christ's light on it, then why do we even choose to separate our fiction into a CBA category? Just because we leave out the steamy sex scenes and most of the swear words, doesn't make our work a reflection of Christ - Not unless we use the truth of God's word as a foundation to show in some manner that evil is evil, even if a good character is taking part.
Must our work have sound theology? YES. There will always be differences of opinion on how certain things are done, different denominations aren't new. But God's word is unchangeable and the foundation, the truth of the Gospel should be easily agreed upon by any Christian. If we don't represent that light of Jesus Christ, then we shouldn't call our work Christian fiction. Publish it in the main stream market and call it what it is, a cleaner version of what every one else is publishing. "
I have nothing against NovelRocket.com, they've created a blog and forum for writer and readers that is very enjoyable, even when I disagree with one of the guest posters. I simply couldn't ignore my conscience.
