If you’ve hung around Christian writers much, especially those outside the publishers who produce books for the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association), you’ve no doubt ran across the accusation that Christian fiction often contains an “obligatory” conversion scene. As if it is a required event.

Yes, much Christian fiction does show conversions.

I’ve even got a couple in my Christian books, and it isn’t through a CBA publisher.

But author Robin Lee Hatcher disagrees on the “obligatory” idea.

The interesting thing to me is that I’ve written 18 novels for five CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) publishers thus far, and never once has an editor asked me to include a conversion scene.

Adding that the real reason you see so many in Christian fiction is:

Readers of fiction are drawn to stories that entertain them, but they also look for stories that will affirm their beliefs. Readers of romance want their belief in two people finding lasting love to be affirmed. Readers of mysteries want their belief that justice will be done to be affirmed. And readers of Christian fiction want the truths of their faith to be affirmed. Conversion scenes are a natural part of that affirmation.

I’d say yes and no. I get what she is saying: conversion scenes aren’t generally included because a Christian publisher refuses to publish a story without one, but because it is a genre expectation. However, a genre expectation also makes a particular concept or event obligatory.

Like in romance, the happy ending with the protagonists walking away hand in hand and head over heels in love, if not also walking down the wedding aisle, is the expected outcome. In fantasy, the hero is expected to win in the end, even if through great cost. There are exceptions to these, but they are the expected conventions.

But she has a point. Within Christian culture, like much any other culture, we like to have our beliefs and experience affirmed.

That is why Christian novels tend to have conversions, not in the hopes of saving a sinner, but to encourage a saint. This is exactly what so much of worship is about. We sing that song we’ve sung all our life not because we expect it to reveal an unrealized truth, but to affirm our faith in Christ. Much like people sing the national anthem or go to clubs with like-minded individuals.

The bigger issue in my mind isn’t whether a story has a conversion scene or not, but how well it is portrayed.

On one end of the Bell curve, conversion scenes low on motivation and high on author arbitrariness give them a tacked on feel. It happens not because the character is sufficiently motivated to change, but because the author wants it to happen at that point. In essence, the conversion scene isn’t connected as part of the fuller character arc.

On the other end are conversion scenes so organic to the story and character that the reader hardly notices them. Indeed, for the conversion to not happen would make the story unrealistic.

Between those two ends lands the bulk of conversion scenes. I know, I know. I can hear the protest. “No, no. Most conversion scenes fall into the first category!” Or “You’ve got it all wrong. Most conversion scenes I’ve read fit in the second category.”

You know what? You are both right. How?

A reader’s experience will dictate whether most conversion scenes come across as realistic or not.

To a person who grew up in the church, where conversion was more a realization of what they believed than a decision made at one moment, most conversion stories aren’t going to feel as realistic. In contrast, someone who had a radical conversion moment, such conversions are going to feel real.

Someone who grew up seeing people converted regularly will tend to have fewer issues with conversions in fiction. In short, one’s overall experiences will vastly influence the believability of a fictional conversion that lands in the middle of the bell curve.

By way of example, in growing up and through most of my adult life, I rarely spent much time around people who cussed a lot. Sure, I experienced it here and there, but by and large the people I hung out with didn’t cuss. If they did, not around me.

Consequently, a book with a lot of cussing doesn’t feel realistic to me. It takes me out of the story. Meanwhile, someone else whose parents cussed regularly, or most of their friends do, is going to feel like such language makes the story more true to life.

Believability is based on our own beliefs and life experiences.

Take the conversion of the “journalist” in the God is Not Dead movie. The whole movie she is out to prove this whole God thing is nonsense. Within a few minutes of confronting the Duck Dynasty group about their faith, she talks with the singing group and converts, seemingly out of the blue.

From my perspective, that conversion falls into the first category. Not that it is impossible, but there wasn’t much character arc foreshadowing indicating she was struggling with her faith that God didn’t exist.

However, someone who had such a Pauline conversion, or watched it happen frequently at church, that conversion will look quite believable. It all goes back to any one person’s experience and beliefs as to whether it feels realistic.

Can you name some conversions in novels you’ve read that felt real to you? Can you identify some that didn’t ring true? Why or why not?

It’s time for another Spec Faith Writing Challenge.

By way of reminder, here’s the way this particular challenge works:

I’ll give a first line, and those who wish to accept the challenge will write what comes next—in 100 to 300 words, putting your entry into the comments section of this post.

“What comes next” may be the opening of a novel, a short story, or a completed piece of flash fiction—your choice.

In keeping with Spec Faith’s primary focus on the intersection of speculative fiction and the Christian faith, writers may wish to incorporate Christian elements or to write intentionally from a Christian worldview, but neither is required. Likewise, I’d expect speculative elements, or the suggestion of such, but entries will not be disqualified because of their omission.

Readers will give thumbs up to the ones they like the most (unlimited number of likes), and, if they wish, they may give a reply to the various entries, telling what particularly grabbed their attention.

By the way, I encourage such comments—it’s always helpful for entrants to know what they did right and what they could have done to improve.

After the designated time, I’ll re-post the top three (based on the number of thumbs up they receive) and visitors will have a chance to vote on which they believe is the best (one vote only).

I’ll again sweeten the pot and offer a $25 gift card (from either Amazon or Barnes and Noble) to the writer of the entry that receives the most votes (as opposed to the most thumbs up). In the event of a tie, a drawing will be held between the top vote getters to determine the winner.

And now, the first line:

The way Tag judged his circumstances, he could die if he stayed or die if he left.

Finally, those silly little details we all need to know:

• Your word count does not include this first line.

• You will have between now and midnight (Pacific time) this coming Sunday to post your challenge entries in the comments section.

• You may reply to entries, giving thumbs up, this week and next. To have your thumb-up counted to determine the top three entries, it must be checked before Sunday, July 27.

• Voting begins Monday, July 28.

Feel free to invite any of your friends to participate, either as writers or readers. The more entries and the more feedback, the better the challenge.

R. J. Larson is the author of numerous devotionals and is suspected of eating chocolate and potato chips for lunch while writing. She lurks online at Facebook

R. J. lives in Colorado with her husband and their two sons. The Books of the Infinite series marks her debut in the fantasy genre.

– – – –
When the inspiration for Prophet [finalist in the 2013 Clive Staples Award] first hit me in early 2010, I dismissed it almost immediately. How could I possibly trust an idea that had emerged in a dream-fragment? Presenting beloved storylines from the scriptures in a fantasy realm seemed, well, delusional.

After I drank my coffee, however, I was forced to reconsider my initial decision. The dark-haired girl I’d glimpsed in my dream now had a name—Ela—and her storyline was unfolding even as I tried to ignore it altogether.

Ela had been called to serve as her Creator’s prophet—her world’s first female prophet—knowing that she’d die young. Knowing that she couldn’t live without Him.

I had to admit that I was intrigued by the idea, but harbored doubts. Would the Lord’s Word carry weight with readers in a fantasy realm? What about the theological quandary—if the Messiah died only once for all our sins forever, which included every sin in the entire universe, how could I possibly portray another world compiling its own Bible to honor our Creator? Didn’t Israel stone scribes for such offenses in ancient times?

Ignoring the storyline for three weeks didn’t help in the least. I emailed my agent, begged her forgiveness for abandoning my work in progress, and told her that I had to write this story before it drove me insane. When she graciously agreed to present Prophet to publishers, I sat down and wrote a record three chapters that week.

With each chapter I prayed. Whenever I was compelled to write dialogue between Ela and her beloved Creator, the Infinite, I prayed and studied the scriptures for reassurance. What had the Lord said to His prophets in similar situations on planet Earth? Could I merge storylines to create fresh other-world scenarios, yet remain faithful to the Word?

For sixteen months, I worked on Ela’s story, presenting her world and its Books of the Infinite, in Prophet, then Judge, and King. By the time I wrote the last line in King, I had my answers.

Presenting the Scriptures in a fantasy realm allowed readers to view our beloved Bible through new eyes, and many have written letters to share their feelings after reading the series. Yes, the Messiah had truly died only once for all sins forever, yet my main characters were able to honor His promise and look forward to their future as followers of the Infinite.

And, no . . . stoning hasn’t yet been mentioned.

Above all, I was astounded at how easily the Lord’s living verses could be woven together in a different realm with its own history. Because our Creator is unchanging, and His Word is eternal and alive, the Scriptures translate beautifully into other realms.

The story continues . . .

Read this only if you’ve already seen all three seasons of the television series Avatar: The Last Airbender.¹ My wife and I have been re-viewing this story on DVD, ending with the third season, “Book 3: Fire.” All over again we have been gripped by the powerful pictures of love and reconciliation so beautifully drawn in the series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

Recommended in case you have ever needed to ask or give forgiveness.

Avatar bends the dual assumptions that many people have about when and how we forgive — assumptions that I often encounter when discussing incidents of abuse and other sins.

• Therapeutic forgiveness. “I’ll forgive him because it’s wrong to hate, but that doesn’t actually change anything beyond my feelings. I’ll never have anything to do with him.”

In a recent article about an evangelical leader who is apparently unrepentant for spiritual and sexual abuse, one victim said, “I forgive him, but I have no wish to reconcile with him.” I suggested this doesn’t qualify as “forgiveness,” which according to Scripture is both feeling and action — and it is conditional on an offender’s repentance. That is, if the offender does not repent of his sin, there is nothing to forgive. Until then, Christians must avoid thoughts of vengeance (because vengeance is only the Lord’s), and love our enemies (Rom. 12), and we must long to be reconciled with a repentant offender — if not now, then in the New Earth.²

• Blatant revenge fantasy. “Forgiveness is for wimps. That person hurt me and those I love! So no matter how the offender now feels, JUSTICE demands I punish him forever!”

Is it my imagination, or are we seeing many more slasher movies that take the side of the story’s victims and give them carte blanche excuse to punish their offenders by any means necessary? Perhaps this is in response to incomplete views of “forgiveness” that seem to leave no place for justice. But the answer is not by endorsing sick parodies of “justice” that leaves audiences cheering for the most depraved and violent responses to sinful violence.

Instead the Avatar — and friends — bring balance to the world of mercy and justice.

Over this series I hope to explore what I mean, following the stories of three Avatar heroes: Fire Prince Zuko, Katara of the Water Tribe, and Aang, the titular last airbender.

Zuko’s journey

Zuko’s first “repentance” is proved a false one.

Today Zuko is beloved by Avatar fans. He was recently seen in the sequel series The Legend of Korra, back on Nickelodeon this summer. But before he was Fire Lord and the Avatar’s ally, the Fire Nation prince spent all Avatar’s first season hunting Avatar Aang and friends.

Near the end of season 2, Zuko begins to change. The influence of his eccentric yet truly good Uncle Iroh is slowly winning over him. Imprisoned with Aang’s friend Katara, Zuko shows remorse and apparent repentance — and Katara is touched. She even offers to try to heal the scars Zuko received at the hand of his father, the evil Fire Lord Ozai.

But at the last moment Zuko turns again to his lifestyle of sinful self-love. His remorse was only a feeling, blasted away by his fiery and idolatrous desire for his own “honor.”

Only halfway through season 3, when Zuko has regained all of what he thought he ever wanted, does he truly begin to change. This time we behold his true and final repentance from sin and it is glorious. Zuko’s heart is changed as if by supernatural regeneration. He is at complete peace as he confronts his evil father and proclaims he will join the Avatar.

Over several stories fans watched as Zuko humbled himself and repented to his enemies. When they reject him, refusing to forgive, he does not fight back. He retreats and waits, in anguish but understanding their refusal. But circumstances force them to give him a try anyway, and Zuko proves this repentance is genuine. We see him serving the group in small ways — making them his uncle’s teach — and big ways — teaching Aang how to firebend. Zuko takes risky “field trips” with each member of Team Avatar. And perhaps most striking, when Katara angrily says she will never forgive him, he does not. Even. Try. To fight back.

Zuko is reconciled with his former enemy, Avatar Aang.

Even after the group accepts him, Zuko laments seeing his own life and hatefulness brought to life by a Fire Nation theater troupe. The play is a farce. But at this part, he isn’t laughing.

Actress Azula: Well, my brother, what’s it going to be? Your nation, or a life of treachery?

Actor Iroh: Choose treachery. It’s more fu-un!

(Actor Zuko walks toward Actor Iroh.)

Actress Azula: No way!

Actor Zuko: (Pushes Actor Iroh over and walks to Actress Azula.) I hate you, Uncle! You smell! And I hate you for all time!

Katara: (To Zuko) You didn’t really say that, did you?

Zuko: (Quietly) I might as well have.³

Later during an intermission, Toph asks Zuko what’s wrong.

Toph: Geez, everyone’s getting so upset about their characters. Even you seem more down than usual, and that’s saying something!

Zuko: You don’t get it. It’s different for you. You get a muscly version of yourself, taking down ten bad guys at once, and making sassy remarks.

Toph: Yeah, that’s pretty great.

Zuko: But for me, it takes all the mistakes I’ve made in my life, and shoves them back in my face. My uncle — he’s always been on my side, even when things were bad. He was there for me, he taught me so much. And how do I repay him? With a knife in his back. It’s my greatest regret. And I may never get to redeem myself.

And Zuko never does — because despite the talk of “earning” honor, following one’s own destiny, and the usual catchphrases people may too easily dismiss in stories, it’s not any Eastern view of honor and shame but a purely Christian view of mercy that rules this story. In a scene that still brings tears to my eyes (and once again, please do not read this if you have not seen the series yourself), Zuko finds his uncle. The show’s creators in the DVD commentary directly admit they were inspired by the Biblical story of the prodigal son.

(Zuko sits nearby as Iroh wakes up and stretches. He glances back slightly and sees Zuko, but says nothing. We watch Zuko from in front.)

Zuko: Uncle — I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me. But I want you to know … (Starts to cry) I am so, so, sorry, Uncle! I am so sorry and ashamed of what I did. I don’t know how I can ever make it up to you. But I’ll —

(He is cut off. Iroh pulls him into a hug, while starting to cry as well. Iroh starts to smile, but Zuko becomes shocked and confused.)

Zuko: How can you forgive me so easily? I thought you would be furious with me!

Iroh: I was never angry with you. I was sad because I was afraid you lost your way.

Zuko: I did lose my way.

Iroh: But you found it again. And you did it by yourself. And I am so happy you found your way here.

Zuko: (As the scene draws to a close) It wasn’t that hard, Uncle. You have a pretty strong scent.⁴

Zuko is forgiven by his merciful Uncle Iroh.

What did you think of Zuko’s journey to reconciliation with his enemies and his uncle? Did you see the Eastern-flavored honor-and-shame labels ultimately subverted by Biblical concepts? What did you think of Zuko’s feelings-based “repentance” in season 2, compared with his true feelings-and-action repentance in season 3? And of course, are you enjoying the new Avatar: The Legend of Korra season 3 stories?

(Next week: Katara’s journey away from vengeance and toward true forgiveness.)

It’s now my turn to join the SpecFaith round table on why romance novels predominate Christian fiction. Rather than give a single, complete theory, I’m going to offer a handful of reasons on why this might be. I’m going to start by citing numbers and referring to distribution models because no one on the round table has been so mundane yet, and you should never discount the mundane when trying to explain things.

Theory #1: Romance is predominant in the Christian market for the same reason it’s predominant in the secular market. As Randy Ingermanson pointed out, romance is predominant in the general market, just as it is in the Christian market. The Romance Writers of America has compiled statistics from various sources to prove the dominance of the romance genre. The most important statistic, for the purposes of this discussion, is this: In 2012, romance led all genres in revenues, with an estimated $1.438 billion.

And sci-fi/fantasy came in – second? Third? No, fourth, with $590.2 million. (Mystery came in third, by the way. I’ve never seen any theories as to why mystery, like romance, beats speculative fiction. Anyone care to theorize on why mystery is more popular – or on why there are no theories about why mystery is more popular?)

The predominance of romance, as a genre, is not a specifically Christian, let alone evangelical, phenomenon. Maybe romance rules in the Christian market for at least some of the same reasons it rules in the secular market. As for what those reasons are, I don’t know, and I frankly don’t care to speculate.

Theory #2: Romance publishers have a direct, established channel to their audience, and speculative publishers do not. Last year, at the Realm Makers conference, I listened to Jeff Gerke explain that SF does not sell well for traditional Christian publishers because they sell through Christian bookstores, which is an excellent place to find Christians who like romance, but not necessarily Christians who like SF. (That’s about the concept, though not the words. I’m working from memory, not notes.)

The explanation makes sense to me. But practically speaking, it means this: Those who publish and those who read Christian romance have an open channel to each other through Christian bookstores. It’s not so easy for those who publish and those who read Christian science fiction or fantasy. And your sales can really take a hit from that.

Theory #3: Science fiction’s low presence in the Christian market is related to Christianity’s low presence in science fiction; or, Who is the Isaac Asimov of the Christians? Science fiction and anti-Christian philosophy do not go hand in hand. They have, however, had a long and intimate association. From Jules Verne and H. G. Wells to Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, from Stanislaw Lem to John Campbell, the paramount figures of science fiction have usually rejected Christianity.

It is common to see, in sci-fi, those evolutionary ideas that are entirely incompatible with Christianity: that humans are blank slates, imprinted by their environments; that Man was created by blind nature, and God was created by Man; that humanity will evolve past this primitive religious stage. Star Wars and Star Trek – culturally omnipresent, the two great pop hits of sci-fi – mostly ignore God and occasionally slight Him. When they reveal their fundamental assumptions, those assumptions are of a God-less universe.

There’s no reason why science fiction shouldn’t be discernibly Christian, but it usually hasn’t been. Maybe that old estrangement, whatever its causes, is one of the reasons why speculative fiction has made slower inroads in the Christian literary world.

So there are my theories – none of them the reason why romance predominates, but all possibly a reason. What about you? What are your theories?

Speaking of discernment, remember the Christian witch-hunt over Harry Potter? If ever Christian’s gave themselves a black-eye of an embarrassing nature, that was it.

Embarrassing because reports began to surface about the rise in new members for Satanic groups and Wiccan covens due to kids reading Harry Potter, only to discover the “facts” and quotes being used as proof were lifted straight from a satirical story by The Onion. You can read the details of it at Snopes. At the end of the Snopes article is a quote that sums up the whole mess:

If The Onion’s parody has demonstrated anything, it’s that we should be worrying about adults not being able to distinguish between fiction and reality. The kids themselves seem to have a pretty good grasp of it.

A scathing indictment on many ministers and Christian leaders, who failing to use discernment and do any fact checking, swallowed whole-hog information dished out to them as factual, but in reality based on a fictional, satirical article. Let’s hope they subjected their theology to more academic rigors than just accepting as fact what their professors said.

Is this type of Three Stooges behavior endemic of the Christian culture?

Not really. You don’t have to look any further than politics to answer that question. Talking points with a group’s own spin on them are used in lockstep by most news organizations, usually without any fact checking. Opinion quotes are used as self-evident truths.

Even I fell to this temptation. I wrote an article on my blog titled, “Stop Online Piracy Act” and Indie-Publishing. I based my info on a New York Times article. It wasn’t until a few days after that article went live that I actually read the act itself. I realized it wouldn’t do what I’d been led to believe it would. YouTube and the like wouldn’t be doing anything different.

Lynch Mob Mentality

We are all subject to it at times. It is easier to take someone’s word for it than to check it out yourself. Especially if you tend to trust them. The problem is, no one is infallible, no matter how wonderful you might think they are.

Trust But Verify

Not too many months ago, Goodreads had to step in because readers lynched an author. She committed a faux pas that certain readers latched onto, and it snowballed into various tactics like putting her book into derogatory categories and posting a lot of one star reviews.

I’ve come to the point when anyone yells the sky is falling, I want to see their sources and decide for myself before jumping on any band wagons.

All too frequently those band wagons aren’t running to worthy goals, but away from unworthy fears.

Perhaps if we practiced a little more discernment in all our lives, we’d use it without thinking when it comes to Christian fiction. Then we can base our reviews on actual analysis rather than an Onion article.

Last week I highlighted short fiction, particularly the new speculative imprint of the Splickety Publishing Group, Havok. Today I thought it would be interesting to explore novel length fiction released in 2014, whether self-published or traditionally published.

I’ll be honest—my reading budget is very small. I get some books from my (excellent) church library, but those are rarely the most recent releases. Consequently for new books, I rely on (1) books I receive from publishers as part of a blog tour; (2) ebook promotions that price novels from $0 to $1.99; (3) books I receive as a judge of various contests.

In reality I have more books than I can read, and yet there are some I wish I had, some I wish I could afford, either monetarily or time-wise.

This year several books have or will release which culminate a series. It’s interesting that so many acclaimed authors are bringing a continuing story to a conclusion. Here are the ones I know about:

* Sigmund Brouwer’s Blades of Valor (January), the conclusion of the Merlin’s Immortals series
* Patrick Carr’s The Staff & The Sword series, ending with The King’s Lot (January)
* James Rubart’s Well Spring series, concluding with Spirit Bridge (May)
* Robert Treskillard’s The Merlin Spiral series, ending with Merlin’s Nightmare (May)
* Andrew Peterson’s The Warden And The Wolf King (July 24), concluding the Wingfeather Saga,
* Jill Williamson’s The Safe Lands series, ending with Rebels (August 26)
* Stephen Lawhead’s Bright Empires series, finishing with The Fatal Tree (November 4)

How many of you have been eagerly waiting for one or more of those books? Which ones?

There will also be some authors who are starting a new series or who are new to speculative fiction and have released or will be releasing their first title:

* Donita Paul, One Realm Beyond (February), first in the Realm Walkers series and Two Renegade Realms (December 23), second in the Realm Walkers series
* Chuck Black, Cloak of the Light, first in the Wars of the Realm series
* C. E. Laureano, Oath of the Brotherhood, first in the Song of Seare trilogy (April)
* Wayne Thomas Batson, Dreamtreaders (May) and Search for the Shadow Key (December 9)
* Ashlee Willis, The Word Changers (May)
* C. J. Darlington, Jupiter Winds (May)
* Angie Brashear, Of The Persecuted, Legends of the Woodlands, Volume 1 (May)
* Nadine Brandis, A Time To Die (October)

Other speculative authors with books coming out this year include the following:

* Jessica Thomas, This Quiet Tyranny (January)
* Krista McGee, Luminary, Anamoly Book 2 (January)
* John Otte, Failstate: Nemesis (October)
* Anne Elisabeth Stengl, Golden Daughter (November 10)

My guess is, many of the books listed in these three categories will be among those nominated for the Clive Staples Award next year, so why not get a jump on reading them?

What other Christian speculative novels do you know about that have been or will be released in 2014?

Those of us in the US are celebrating our Independence Day. Anyone anticipating a new post today may wish to take this occasion to browse through the Spec Faith Library or read a review or two.

You also might like to check out the dystopian fantasy “Blood’s Kiss,” a continuing short story by Rachel Marks posted at Ruby Slippers Media (Part 1 and Part 2). There are other Fiction Friday posts available at RMS as well.

Have fun reading, and for those celebrating the United States of America’s Independence, happy 4th of July!

If you wonder why most Christian readers love romantic fiction over fantastical fiction, the reasons are many but should start with this: it’s the fault of “Family Christianity” faith.¹

R. L. Copple on Tuesday explored one possible reason for the romance genre’s dominance:

In romance, external conflicts don’t exist or are only to enable the inner and relational conflicts, which take center stage. Those kinds of conflicts don’t violate God’s involvement in our lives since God doesn’t force someone to love God and their neighbor. It is usually up to the characters to resolve those issues.

Which may explain why romance dominates Christian fiction. Speculative fiction, which tends to be as dependent upon external conflict as it is upon internal/relational conflict, if not more so, runs aground on the conflicting expectations between the Gospel and an engaging story.

But I’m convinced this is a fruit and not the root of the real reason.

Let me explain, starting with my simplistic reasons why Christian readers love romance:

1. Safe
2. Female
3. Escapism.

After some more discussion, R.L. rightfully challenged me further:

[Y]ou’re not really answering the “why” question concerning the disparity between romance and spec fic compared between the general and Christian markets, and in this case, you’re addressing the motivation for romance’s dominance among readers. But I don’t think it tells us much about why romance succeeded and spec fic didn’t [among Christian readers].

I believe I started to answer that very question here:

The only reason I cite the possibility of escapism playing into the popularity of romance novels (or period-drama TV shows, etc.) among Christians is that many Christians wrongly conclude that a certain genre is perfectly safe. Some believe it is “safe” not because romance is free of temptation — it’s not — but because it is closer to what many American Christians do: venerate marriage and especially Family. But these good desires can also be corrupted. They’re not “safe.”

Now I’ll flesh out what I mean.

Why do most Christians love romance over fantastical fiction when both can be escapist?

The answer is found in the default belief of American evangelicals about their “chief end.”

Is the Gospel about a Good Life today based on healthy marriages and family values?

Or is the Gospel about an epic story of a Hero Who saves people from evil for His Kingdom?

How you answer will determine your favorite fiction.

Christians agree on the basics of faith: that Jesus Christ, Who is both God and man, died to save sinners.² But many Christians disagree on what comes next: how do we live in light of that Gospel?

Choice 1: ‘Family Christianity’

A particularly American flavor of evangelical faith makes the Christian’s mission quite limited. It is based on pragmatic contemporary needs. A good Christian must make it his/her goal to build a healthy marriage, raise a nice family, avoid interference by powerful government leaders, and learn the true meaning of life: that home is where the heart is. It emphasizes moral values and the success or decline of the nation, not necessarily for the common-grace good of everyone in society but for personal family safety. And it rarely gets to discussing eternity because it keeps running up against that dreaded great barrier of End Times Speculation (which is the most “speculative faith” this version of faith usually offers).

Call this Family Christianity. It seeks to put family first and all other concerns second, such as the invisible Church and local church, Biblical social justice, and Christ-imaging art.

Choice 2: Kingdom Christianity

Historic Christian faith in all Biblical denominations does not discount marriage, family, or even political advocacy in perspective. But it does rank them as means to a greater end. The greater end is the Story found in the Bible, the story of Jesus Christ’s hero journey first as suffering servant then as King, to save humans and then the cosmos from evil. This view emphasizes life in eternity when Christ will rule and fill the world with His love and glory.

Call this Kingdom Christianity. It usually seeks to put Christ’s Gospel and Kingdom first and other concerns second — love and marriage, family, home, education, political action.

Whatever Gospel application you truly believe will affect your favorite fiction genre.

Family Christianity —> romantic fiction

If you quietly accept Family Christianity — which is often based on genuine saving faith but does limit the Gospel’s joyful applications — what stories will you most find acceptable?

You will presume that “clean” evangelical romantic fiction, with its emphasis on love and marriage (and family, in the story or assumed to follow), is the “safest” or most spiritual genre. This is joined by a default posture of belief that “it’s just entertainment” or “it’s just a story,” which often — not always — is used to excuse a personal failure to discern.

You will care little for fantastical stories (beyond Disney movies for children), not based on objections to fantasy magic, but simply because they’re not even on your radar screen.

If life’s chief end is marriage and family, why bother with stories based on other themes?

Kingdom Christianity —> fantastical fiction

But if you quietly accept Kingdom Christianity — a larger view of the bigger Biblical picture of what Christ the King is doing to bring in His Kingdom — what stories will you prefer?

You will likely veer toward fantastical stories whose creators (knowingly or not) honor the original Christian emphasis on epic struggles, mythic hero journeys, and the inheritance of fantasy tales from medieval history — all of which are blessed with a Christian foundation.

After all, even great “secular” fantastical fiction has withstood erosion by Christo-American pragmatism. With few exceptions, even these stories’ secular notions are only veneer; their structure is based on historic Christian themes of good versus evil, heroes who reflect the original Chosen One Hero of Christ, a Church of the Chosen One’s friends who announce the true Kingdom, and fantastic worlds where abstract spiritual concepts are personified and Biblical history is reflected by imagined supernatural activity and monsters and villains.

Apply

That’s my explanation.

I leave you to discuss possible applications. But I suggest they should start with this:

1. Michelle is absolutely right when she says it does little good to complain about Christian romance publishers. They are only fulfilling a market need.
2. Let’s help change the vision of the Christian “good life,” starting with ourselves.
3. How to do this? Start with conversations, sermons, and books about how Kingdom Christianity is based on Christ’s epic Story, which changes the world for eternity and expands our joy.
4. Even better, we need better stories about this — stories that can sneak past conservative Family Christians’ watchful dragons.
5. In fact, I’ll close with a direct challenge for wise and shrewd Christian romantic fiction writers: go undercover. Create an enjoyable and conservative-Christian-friendly romance novel that will quietly, subversively challenge the very Family Christianity on which most of the Christian romance fandom is based. Take down Family Christian assumptions about “safe” fiction from the inside.