-
Website
http://goodwordediting.com/ -
Original page
http://www.goodwordediting.com/is-christian-science-fiction-and-fantasy-redundant/41/ -
Subscribe
All Comments -
Community
-
-
Top Commenters
-
Popular Threads
All Comments
I don't think I'm a big fan of preaching in story (though story in preaching is good!), but I like to be able to recognise Jesus and redemption sneaking around in the things I read.
Jenn
P.S. Isn't it His Dark Materials? :)
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one thinking about this stuff.
I just finished reading "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams. While I didn't personally find it a gripping tale (I have been told that I am wrong, and that it is the BEST SERIES EVER!!!), it was interesting how the religion in it was just Catholicism/Christianity by another name (I don't know if it meant to be Catholic or not, it just seems to me that our world in that time period was decidedly Catholic and not so Prodestant). That part was kind of interesting, and honestly I find that theme very common in a lot of fantasy.
Good question, one a number of other Christian writers have asked from time to time (See Speculative Faith--it was one of the early topics on the blog).
I will say this: if Christians don't write SFF, then we basically are letting non-Christians define what is good and what is evil.
As to "preachy" I agree. I'm reading a book right now with a thin veil between the fantasy religion and Christianity. The language the characters use seems too much like the phraseology used so often by Christians.
The problem with that, I think, is that it prevents readers from looking at our spiritual side in a fresh way--part of what story should do, I think.
Good topic, Marcus and Kait.
Becky
The complaints against Lewis remind me that there are degrees of preaching. Some people like a lot of preaching. Others very little.
I'm a content editor by trade--which makes me something of a copy editor too. One of my duties is to be on the "proofing committee." Sounds fun, huh?
All that to say, copy edit away, hon! Every writer needs all they help they can get!
Thanks for the encouraging note. I was having some post regret after I put this up. I'm afraid it was a little grouchy for the blog tour.
I certainly didn't mean to suggest that Christians shouldn't write sci-fi and fantasy. I'm just wondering if we need to target the CBA for publication.
I like supporting the good books that do get published there--like Ingermanson and Batson and a few others.
The preachy thing is a problem for CSFF CBA authors. I've heard the same editor describe the same fantasy manuscript as both some of the best writing he's seen in a long time and just a little too far-fetched for CBA.
I like what Jeff said about the CBA market being mostly women--and that demographic being espeically resistant to CSFF. It was on one of the interviews yesterday. Now if I could just remember which one...
Also, I think there is a sincere difference between CSFF and SFF because there is an inherent desire to write with strong Christian themes in the former. Much like Card has said in the past, most Science Fiction and Fantasy recently tries to stay away from any sort of religion because there's the fear of a) offending the reader b) alienating the reader or c) converting the reader. The writer only wants to entertain for the most part and writing in something that might limit the readability isn't a good thing.
I think the one thing to keep in mind is that Science Fiction and Fantasy is about speculation - pure and simple. Christian Science Fiction and Christian Fantasy is about speculation within the realm of a Christian world or Christian-inspired psuedo-world. They're different markets in my mind, and I would be hesitant to publish a CSFF story outside of a Christian market.
And a very thoughtful comment. I agree with you completely that Christian SFF has "an inherent desire to write with strong Christian themes." I'm just not convinced that mainstream SFF is hostile to that desire. Maybe I'm just naive.
Or worse, maybe I'm thinking too broadly. One of my biggest fears is that I'm not zealous enough.
Me? I would love to publish CSFF outside of the Christian market. In part because I'm an egotist. But also because I want to share the Christ with people who read SFF in a way that might touch them.
Of course, there's still definitely a place for the CBA. Christians need to encourage Christians.
I think the question could be asked in a larger way--and is being asked in this way: what is Christian fiction? What makes something Christian fiction, speculative or not?
The answer, I believe, is multifaceted and amorphous. And to me that's okay.
Is "Christian fiction" fiction written by a Christian and containing Christian themes? Certainly. Is it fiction published within the CBA marketplace by CBA (i.e., Christian) publishers? Yes. Is it any fiction written by a Christian, even without Christian themes? Hmm. Is it fiction with Christian themes written by a non-Christian? Um...
I think different people define it differently according to their situation and role. Christian publishing houses and the Christian publishing industry must define it in a narrow way. Others can be more flexible.
I'm not even sure we need to try to come up with a fixed definition that applies to everyone in all situations. I'm not sure such a thing is possible, without making it so broad as to be useless.
Many of my author friends, many of whom are Christian and write speculative fiction, write exclusively for the general (i.e., secular) market. Their idea is to be fishers of men and to use stories with Christian resonance as the bait. I think Jesus did this with His parables in the marketplace, calling to Himself those with ears to hear.
Is that Christian fiction?
That's one way to do it, but not the only way or the "right" way.
It's a good discussion, but ultimately I'm not sure there is a good answer--or even that we need one.
Thanks again for the support for www.WhereTheMapEnds.com!
Jeff
I also think that because of the uprising of fanaticism across the globe, there is a sense of fear that religion in a story might limit the spectrum of readers for any one particular author. So there isn't a desire by the authors to create something unique - there is simply a desire to avoid the subject altogether.
I do think, though, that if there were going to be a particular religious "brand" published in the mainstream media (and I mean that in no sort of offensive manner), then it would be Christian SFF long before there was Jewish or Muslim. On the other hand, though, there has been a surge in popular culture in eastern philosophy that I think is very present in contemporary SFF because of the seemingly less virulent nature of such philosophies. Plus, being that they're less "religious" and more "ritualistic", they are more easily adapted into story (on a more logical note).
Also, I will certainly have the site up in the very near future, and I will also have my own very brief and somewhat regular blog on editing, publishing, and writing in general when it gets up and running. Thanks for the interest.
I agree completely with your thoughts about defining CSFF or even just Christian fiction in general.
You say we don't need to resolve the issue, and I hesitently agree with that. But I also know that presses have to be practical about product consistency.
How about your dream for Marcher Lord Press? Wouldn't such a press need a clearly defined target market and a clear vision for what kind of book product met that market's needs?
What would make a book Christian to the standards of Marcher Lord Press? Maybe a more important question would be the opposite. What fantasy, written by a Christian, might not fit the market for Marcher Lord Press?
Good point also about the SF tendency to be deify science. That's a really good point in fact. One specific task of CSFF could be to enjoy the speculative nature of SF and technology without denying God.
As I mentioned earlier, publishing companies need to have a working definition of what constitutes Christain fiction, and MLP would be no exception.
But I thought you were looking for an overarching definition of what makes something Christian SFF. That depends on your perspective.
To fit in MLP, a novel would have to be cool, speculative, and written from the Evangelical Christian worldview. That's the kind of working definition a publisher needs in order to operate. But the larger reading public doesn't need such a definition.
Jeff
Speaking as a "mainstream" SF writer who is also Christian, I don't think mainstream publishers are at all averse to publishing good stories that happen to contain Christian (or other) religious themes. The head of SF/F publishing at my own publisher is Roman Catholic, and he publishes tons of books by Orson Scott Card, a Mormon.
My own books are secular SF novels with an underlying Christian worldview. I personally dislike preachiness and proselytizing, and deliberately keep overt religious content out of my stories, while at the same time telling stories that invite a Christian understanding if one is open to viewing them that way. I prefer to think of my writing as a very gentle, understated invitation to view life the way a Christian does.
At the same time, I once heard from a reader (an atheist) who could not get past an offhand comment by a (minor) (alien) character that she was Christian! Therefore, the reader wondered, why was I clearly a loony who dismissed science and denied the Big Bang and evolution? I had to break it to him that none of those things was true. (Well, the loony part, maybe.)
There are plenty of secular SF writers who are Christian. If any of you are interested in trying the stuff I have written, the closest to being overt is probably Dragons in the Stars, and the most secular and "hard SF" while still showing an underlying Christian worldview is probably Neptune Crossing and the other books in The Chaos Chronicles.
I hope this is helpful.
Jeffrey A. Carver
http://starrigger.blogspot.com
Orson Scott Card has long been one of my favorites. I have read all of the Ender books, but little else by Card. (It's shameful, I know.)
Your comment about non-Christians reminds me of a study by the Baylor Institute for Religious Studies. In that study, they found that folks who follow a faith (not only Christian) have a much lower rate of believing in superstitions like ghosts and goblins and UFOs. Ironic.
I hope you found the blog help you were looking for! I'll be happy to give my advice.