1. notleia says:

    My initial, uncharitable reaction to this was along the lines of “aren’t you precious,” but obviously I’m not the audience for this message. But that leaves me disgruntled as to WHY we have an audience for this message. WHY do we need permission to like spec-fic? WHY do so many feel like they have to justify their liking by pointing out “good vs evil” themes and assorted morals and edifications?

    • Can’t agree with you more when you point out that we don’t need permission to like SpecFic! But that was never the goal of this article. I’m mostly hoping people will share it–and readers who aren’t as open will stop and think. Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she? Because SpecFic has more to offer than most readers realize. 🙂

    • Lauren Beauchamp says:

      I like your point and wish it could be that way. But a lot of us grew up in the 90’s with Christian parents who were afraid of any appearance of magic etc in books. My mother doesn’t even like Narnia, though she let us read it.

      I remember when I first found this website and articles like this really were new and insightful for me. I’m past that point now, but not everyone is.

      As for new books I’ve been reading I’m about a year behind, but Stephen Lawhead’s Fatal Tree was awesome! I’m also reading the Storm Siren sequel. And I recently read The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker. (Which I think you would really like Leah!)

  2. Although I’ve loved fantasy and scifi from a young age, and had the wonder of imaginative stories along with Bible stories and stories from real life to read in an intermixed way from the first time I started reading, and from the first time I started getting read to by my parents and grandparents, I think it’s good to think through why I love speculative fiction. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

    • Love that you’ve been reading SpecFic since you were young. Me too! The underlying parables in SpecFic are what open my eyes up to biblical truths at a young age. When I wasn’t a Christian. Maybe that’s why the parabolic nature of SpecFic speaks to me so much. Because it helped me find the truth!

  3. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. There was a time in my life when I deeply questioned whether I should write speculative fiction, because of so many messages I heard from other Christians about how speculative fiction isn’t Biblical because of factors X, Y, and Z. But speculative fiction from both Christian and non-Christian authors have profoundly influenced me spiritually. (Yes, even non-Christian books can convey enough about the truth of life to be of value to us.)

    Some Christians argue that Phil. 4:8 admonishes us only to read/write about things that are “true,” or real to life, so therefore, supernatural or fantastical elements are out. But that’s not even a valid argument, because real life IS supernatural. The Bible itself records tons of supernatural events. It is the context that establishes whether the events are of God or of the devil, but supernatural things, on a basic level, are fully compatible with a Christian worldview. I believe that sci-fi and fantasy stories, when done well, are capable of conveying familiar truths in astonishing and profound ways like no other genres can, and we would miss incredible stories if we became “too spiritual” to value them.

    As for your question, “What new books have you tried and liked?” I’ve just finished Ender’s Game and really enjoyed it. It’s made me think a lot about human nature.

  4. Barbara, great post and one that resonates with me greatly, I posted yesterday on my review blog along these lines, go here:

    http://christianfictionreviewguru.blogspot.com.au/2016/04/guest-post-why-is-redemptive-fiction.html

    David Bergsland (author and reviewer) and a few reviewrs (myself included) are issuing Awards to authors who include redemptive and spirit-filled themes and content in their novels for the very reasons you outline here.

    Thanks for posting this.

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