You’d think she had written an enormous essay declaring her exit from Christianity’s stage.

But author Anne Rice’s July 28 announcement, posted on her Facebook wall, was short enough to quote here almost entirely.

Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

And her followup, posted just minutes later, outlined some of the reasons for her frustration:

I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

Either way, it was a very public exit. And it caused plenty of public acclaim, with some sporadic outrage. Rice herself posted many of them to her own fan page. Of course there were the usual threats that she’s surely going to Hell, but the author also posted several more-gentle rebuttals.

I understand the whole I’m-fed-up-with-the-Church part. Most Christians do; most have also been there.  Still, except for the “anti-life” part, Rice’s exit seemed directly to stage left.

That’s another topic, though closely related.

Instead, my first question is not just for her, but for any professing Christians who say they follow Jesus, but can’t stand “organized religion.” And, though we know false believers are plentiful, Church critics imply they dislike all other true followers He has called to His Church:

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46).

(My second question: what can Christian artists and authors learn from Rice’s story thus far?)

Why not do what He says?

Author/blogger Mike Duran beat me to this point earlier today. Responding to Rice, he asked:

Frankly, I’m not sure where all these anti-everything folks are. They’re not at my church. Or the churches I know. […] So what “Christianity” is Anne Rice quitting? […] I just get so tired of these broadbrush, wholesale condemnations of Christianity based on extremists and fringe positions. And isn’t that what the “Follow Christ / Quit Christianity” folks do? They portray a caricature and then reject it.

And I’m still left wondering how exactly one can claim to love Christ and not do what He says.

The fringe types, the Westboro “Baptist” sign-wavers, the gay-beaters and others — they’re already not doing what He says. So how, exactly, does throwing out more of the Word help?

Absolutely, “Christians” are jerks. Those who use their faith as a means to their own favorite ends — and the Bible only as a Life Instruction Manual for how to change society, oppose actual or real evils, or ignore their own sin shrapnel — are guilty of idolatry. Few Christians would deny that they have also been guilty of being more anti-this-or-that than they are pro-God, as He has revealed Himself, and pro-Gospel — the only way we can be saved from sin.

“My glory I will not give to another,” God proclaims (Isaiah 48:11).

True Christians should want Him personally, for His own infinite, loving and holy Self. We must fight remnant impulses to use Him and His gifts for our own goals. Scripture is clear about that.

But how is it any different to claim that it is more important to be anti-anti-humanist, anti-anti-gay, anti-anti-feminist, or whatever? People on either “side” fail to base their faith on being pro-God. Either side is guilty of using Jesus is a means not to Himself, but Fixing a Problem.

Either side is also guilty of promoting Religion over Relationship.

For a real relationship, one must know something about the other person. And if the Person is actually the God-Man Himself, to Whom we owe all fear as well as love and gratitude, those who claim to love Him should want to know as much about Him as we can. That includes the “liberal” parts and the “conservative” parts, the “tolerant” parts and the judgmental parts.

Rice seems to understand that, at least in part. I base this on her July 29 post, in which she quotes from Matthew 10 about following Jesus causing strain in human families.

Yet the very same Jesus also observed that God created marriage to be between a man and a woman. Quoting from Genesis 2, which describes God’s creation of Adam and Eve and the institution of marriage, Jesus upheld the what of marriage (Matthew 19: 1-8).

That same day, the author reminded her readers of wise words from the Apostle Paul: any Christian, including himself, could have all the spiritual gifts in the world (real or hypothetical) yet they are useless without love (1 Corinthians 13). But that same Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had hard things to say about homosexuals (Romans 1). Even better, he revealed God’s mysterious why behind human marriage: to show Christ’s love for His Church (Ephesians 5).

I sympathize with anyone who may have honestly only seen Christian activists acting as though their political work, and not God Himself by His grace, is the world’s only hope from societal collapse. And I’ll say this as carefully as I can: many professing Christians, including the Catholic Church, have not done the best of jobs in the world saying why Christians defend marriage. It is not to Preserve Society or Uphold Tradition. It’s to show the world what Jesus’ love for His Bride is like, and what His Bride’s love for Him should be like.

Apparently Rice has not seen this. She says she wants Jesus, but she can’t stand His wife.

Curious Christians wonder if she really has met His actual wife. I’m forced to wonder also if she has ever met Himself. Only the end of the story will let us know for sure.

But from what I’ve read from her, I’d sure like to think she will still attend His wedding.

Next: What can Christian artists and authors learn from Rice’s story thus far?

The author of multiple Star Wars novels and the sci-fi trilogy Firebird, Kathy Tyers, is coming to Christian fantasy-and-sci-fi indie publisher Marcher Lord Press.

This comes from (among other sources) TitleTrakk.com. From yesterday:

As [Marcher Lord Press’s] publisher and acquisitions editor, Gerke long pursued Tyers, trying to sign her for Marcher Lord Press. But in the end it was the Marcher Lord Press authors and books, not Gerke’s efforts, that swayed Tyers’s heart.

“I read several excellent novels that were recently released by Marcher Lord Press,” she said, “and I decided this was the best place to finish the Firebirdseries. I’m delighted to be part of a great and growing team.”

Firebird is one of the first science-fiction novel series with Christ-honoring themes that I ever read, and I loved it.

Now, if things go as planned, Firebird fans will find even more novels coming in the no-longer-a-trilogy, published by Marcher Lord. Also, you may want to wait on re-reading the already published novels: Marcher Lord is also planning a Special Extended Edition-style treatment of the trilogy, an “author’s preferred version.”

So what do you make of the promise of a coming “author’s preferred version” of the Firebird trilogy? What about the new novels?

And now that almost any Christian publisher’s rare foray into speculative fiction is limited to fantasy (perhaps another Narnia-like series), what, if any, future might there be in Christian markets for Christ-honoring science fiction?

Several noteworthy items. First is the return of Speculative Faith, with a new address and a bit of a makeover. We’re happy to be back in business providing news and discussion about speculative fiction (the Speculative part of our name) from a Christian worldview (the Faith part of our name.)

Second up concerns the 2010 Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction. Here’s the info from the award site:

Voting begins today!

Please read these instructions carefully.

CSA is not a popularity contest. The award has been established to recognize the work of fiction which readers designate as the previous-year’s best. Consequently, voters must adhere to these basic rules.

• You MUST have read at least two of the nominations.
• You may vote only once for a first, second, and third choice.
• You may not vote for the same book as your second or third option that you voted for as your first choice.
• Your votes for second and third options may not be for the identical book.
• You may mark the “none of these” option if you do not have a second or third choice.
• Voting will close September 1, 2010.
• Second and third choice options will only be considered if a clear winner is not determined by the first choice vote.

You’ll find the link to the ballot at the end of the award site post.

OK it’s been silent around here for a few months now, and spammers have taken over too many of the comments!  But we’re going to be fighting back.

Speculative Faith will be moving to a new home in the coming months, and will resume regular posting!  Until that time I have disabled commenting.

We’ll be seeing you all soon. …

I was supposed to have finished this review months ago, but a lot of things jumped in the way, namely school, work, other books, etc. Anyway, I’m back in the saddle, and ready to proceed with my special double review. I purchased two Christian fantasy books not too long ago at about the same time.Each of them has a similar premise, and I decided for fun to review them bothat the same time. The two books are Ryann Watters and the King’s Sword by Eric Reinhold and Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow by the Miller Brothers.

I’ll briefly recap what both stories are about. In Ryann Watters, the titular character is visited by an angel who gives him special items and a mission to find the King’s Sword. He eventually enters the land of Aeliana, a land inhabited by talking animals. In Hunter Brown, the titular character and a friend of his end up in the land of Solandria, where Hunter joins a force called the Codebearers, who fight for the Author against the evil Venator and the forces of Sceleris, a being who once was the Author’s scribe.

Given the growing number of Christian fantasy authors, we’ve got an opportunity to how they put spins on a familiar theme. In this case, we have two good stories that take the same idea:young person ends up in fantasy world to fight evil-and fashion different takes on it. I’ll first look at each book separately.

Hunter Brown reminded me a lot of Wayne Batson’s The Door Within. Both stories feature a villain that was once favored of the God-like character (The Author in Hunter Brown, King Eliam in The Door Within), but became greedy for more and instead is punished for his transgressions by being thrown into a lesser state-Paragor from TDW) both attend a dinner and are acclaimed as a special guest that is chosen for a special duty. Aidan and Hunter are surrounded by colorful warriors with boisterous personalities, and also are paired up with a strong warrior-gal. Both boys have a vision that the elder warriors take seriously,with one going to consult in private about the matter. Both books feature a battle against a city by the evil army (though in Hunter Brown it occurs off-page), and a subsequent journey into the dark forces’ lair. Hunter Brown even slips in at least two times the phrase “Never alone.” (I’m not saying Hunter Brown is a rip-off, I just found the similarities interesting. I have seen stories that seem like shameless rip-offs; this isn’t one of them)

Okay, some of the story elements weren’t all that new, but the execution was very good. But the last few chapters took the story from cool to awesome land. The revelation about Venator actually wasn’t that surprising considering Ventator’s age, but it was still great. But as it goes on, the story just gets plain…unpredictable. Things happen that you don’t expect, and Hunter doesn’t always make the best choices, or even choices you think he’s going to make. Even his allegiance-to the Shadow or the Codebearers, isn’t really settled until the final few pages, and for a moment,Hunter actually makes a choice that protagonists usually don’t make in these stories-(SPOILER)-he decides not to choose either side. Granted, his choice doesn’t work out like he wanted, natch, but I actually like that for a moment that he doesn’t know if he should trust anybody but himself. The last part of this story is a head-spinning, riveting conclusion, and it hands this story a big thumbs up.

Stylistically, I like the book cover and the illustrations that popped up at times. Also, the book is written from a first person perspective, which is not very common in these fantasy books,and the authors deserve kudos for making it work. It’s generally hard to write in this fashion because you can’t cut away from the main character, at least not very easily.

Now to Ryann Watters. This story focuses on three human characters and three talking animal characters, with the main hero being Ryann. While it is a fantasy story, it actually doesn’t focus a lot on the fantasy world of Aeliana.Ryann and his friends make brief stops there for about the first two thirds of the tale, while being pursued by their arch-nemesis Drake. The emphasis in this story is actually on Ryann’s spiritual education. To solve mysteries, he frequently consults the Bible, and many of the good guys quote Scripture extensively.

The story is pretty straightforward, and it won’t knock your socks off with a “wow, I wasn’t expecting that” moment. But it’s a pleasant read. One of things I liked is the dual storyline of hero and villain. In this case, the antagonist, Drake, is another teenager, matching Ryann with a peer opponent, a reverse of the “chosen one”trope. Here the bad guys also recruit a young person for adventure, albeit a bad one. And Drake isn’t entirely unsympathetic. He’s a villain, but one who’s had a hard life, and you wonder if Eric has redemption plans for him down the road.

On the downside, Aeliana is not described much in detail. There’s very little to distinguish this place from say, Narnia, and many of the visits don’t build the world up very much.

So, how do these two stories compare? Hunter Brown was more allegorical in its spiritual themes, while Ryann Watters is a lot more direct, with few or no stand-ins for God, Scripture,and angels. For example, Hunter consults the Author’s Writ for wisdom, while Ryann goes right to the Bible itself. The protagonists themselves are different. Hunter is an unbeliever who spends the whole story trying to pick his allegiance, while Ryann is already a good kid who’s trying to mature in his faith. They’re both good avenues to explore; I think you need stories about an unbelieving protagonist who finds the light, and about a believer who learns to persevere and mature.

Tone-wise, you could compare Hunter Brown to Nickelodeon, with gross-outs, rebellious kids, and lots of action. Ryann Watters on the other hand is more like Disney, with a lighter, more “magical” world with talking animals and plucky, good-natured protagonists. Actually, I was struck by how non-violent Ryann Watters was. It has some action,but it’s actually quite light for this genre. I could see this book as very accessible for the younger set, a stepping stone for other works in this genre.

I’d say pick up either one of these books. I think both of them are good, though I’d give Hunter Brown a higher grade. Both stories also have sequels out,which I hope to review again, perhaps in another double-review. And hopefully,I will have that review out in a timely fashion-before book number three in both series debuts on the bookshelves…

For the longest time, the Oscar Awards were the only recognized and coveted prize in the movie industry. But times change and along came the Golden Globe Awards. While the Oscars reflect the preferences of  members of “The Academy,” the Golden Globes are chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. But there’s more. Now there’s the Viewers’ Choice Award, which includes actors and actresses as well as musicians and athletes—all chosen by viewers.

All that to say, the Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction (CSACS) is starting at the Readers’ Choice level. But time is running out. You have exactly one week to vote. The survey closes at midnight (Pacific time), November 30.

Be sure to make your voice heard—for the sake of the book you think most qualified and for the sake of the Christian speculative genre. The one requirement is that you must have read at least one of the nominated books (listed in alphabetical order below):

A Dark Orange Farewell by George L. Duncan (OakTara Publishing)
All My Holy Mountain by L.B. Graham (P&R Press)
Cyndere’s Midnight by Jeffrey Overstreet (WaterBrook)
DragonLight by Donita K. Paul (WaterBrook)
Havah by Tosca Lee (NavPress)
Hero, Second Class by Mitchell Bonds (Marcher Lord Press)
Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow by Christopher and Allan Miller (Warner Press)
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (WaterBrook)
Shade by John B. Olson (B&H)
Summa Elvetica: A Casuistry of the Elvish Controversy by Theodore Beale (Marcher Lord Press)
The Battle for Vast Dominion by George Bryan Polivka (Harvest House)
The Book of Names by D. Barkley Briggs (NavPress)
The Infinite Day by Chris Walley (Tyndale House Publishers)
The League of Superheroes by Stephen L. Rice (The Writers’ Cafe Press)
The Restorer’s Journey by Sharon Hinck (NavPress)

One last request. Tell your friends about the Clive Staples Award so they can participate as well. But hurry. Only one week to go!

Book one of the Berinfell Prophecies, Curse of the Spider King, by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper, is the November feature of the CSFF Blog Tour. A couple of observations about the tour and the book.

So when this group of eclectic readers review the featured books, we often have criticisms–which holds true for Curse of the Spider King. And yet, perhaps the harshest critic still praised the book, saying “This didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book. It’s still a great adventure.”

Brandon Barr/ Justin Boyer/ Amy Browning/ Valerie Comer/ Amy Cruson/ CSFF Blog Tour/ Stacey Dale/ D. G. D. Davidson/ Shane Deal/ Jeff Draper/ Emmalyn Edwards/ April Erwin/ Karina Fabian/ Todd Michael Greene/ Ryan Heart/ Timothy Hicks/ Becky Jesse/ Cris Jesse/ Jason Joyner/ Julie/ Carol Keen/ Krystine Kercher/ Tina Kulesa/ Melissa Lockcuff/ Rebecca LuElla Miller/ Mirtika/ Nissa/ John W. Otte/ Donita K. Paul/ Cara Powers/ Chawna Schroeder/ James Somers/ Robert Treskillard/ Fred Warren/ Jason Waguespac/ Phyllis Wheeler/ Jill Williamson/ KM Wilsher

This month the CSFF Blog Tour is featuring Eric Wilson’s vampire novel, Haunt of Jackals (Thomas Nelson), the second book in the Jerusalem Undead Trilogy. A number of tour participants have weighed in on the religious elements including Rachel Starr Thomson, Keanan Brand, and Fred Warren. Interestingly, Rachel focused her thoughts on the absence of Christ. Fred concentrated on the use of blood—Judas’s and Jesus’s. And Keanan saw the story as a mixed bag. Yes, God was missing:

But where’s God in all this evil and darkness? Aside from a glance or two toward prayer, and several mentions of the Nazarene and His blood, God doesn’t seem to be a major player in the story. I understand Wilson not wanting to bludgeon his readers with a sermon or excessive scripture, but the Collectors seem to have more faith in God as their enemy than the humans have faith in God as their friend.

But he also asks “How can the light be seen unless there is darkness? What is a candle in the sunlight?”

The place of God in speculative fiction seems central if an author claims his work is Christian or informed by the Christian worldview. From my perspective, how much God shows up determines how dark a work of fiction is.

Some people think of darkness as a result of letting sin be sin. If a novel shows demonic activity or sexual exploits outside marriage or the use and abuse of children, this is considered dark. And it is. But if that darkness goes unanswered, then it overwhelms. Hence the need for God to be present.

As far as I’m concerned, a novel can address sin of any kind as long as some credible character acknowledges it is sin and God is God.

In Haunt of Jackals God seems very real to the vampire characters known as Collectors. They think Him foolish and His ways ineffective. They clearly hate Him. But the characters who are part of Those Who Resist seem more attached to god stuff than to God. Consequently, He feels absent through most of the book, and the result is a work that seems to be dark with glimpses of light here and there.

But even those glimpses of light seem specialized and therefore unattainable to real people. Salvation, for example, comes to characters when they drink a drop of the Nazarene’s blood contained in vials attached to a pair of earrings. What does that say to a reader who has no vial of blood? I suggest it implies that salvation is a fictitious construct not attainable to real people.

I know from reading interviews with Eric and comments on his Web site that he intends to use his fiction as a missionary endeavor. Is that possible when light seems so unimportant to the characters combating darkness? Honestly, unlike Vanish by Tom Pawlik,  Haunt of Jackals has done nothing to convince me that Christian horror is a viable genre.

Take time to see what others on the tour are saying: Brandon Barr Wayne Thomas Batson Jennifer Bogart Justin Boyer Keanan Brand Amy Browning Karri Compton Amy Cruson CSFF Blog Tour Stacey Dale D. G. D. Davidson Jeff Draper April Erwin Karina Fabian Beth Goddard Todd Michael Greene Timothy Hicks Becky Jesse Cris Jesse Julie Carol Keen Dawn King Melissa Lockcuff Rebecca LuElla Miller Mirtika Nissa John W. Otte James Somers Rachel Starr Thomson Robert Treskillard Steve Trower Fred Warren Phyllis Wheeler Jill Williamson KM Wilsher

I posted a review of The Vanishing Sculptor, the newest release by Donita Paul, over at A Christian Worldview of Fiction.

My one criticism was that the antagonist shows up late. For a good portion of the story, the main objective of the protagonist is connected to a problem that seems a result of accident. Only toward the latter part of the book does an antagonist surface to thwart the protagonist and her companions from fulfilling their quest.

Even then, the antagonist doesn’t seem to be connected to any greater evil. He is simply out to dominate the world for his own aggrandizement. He is prideful and controlling and evil, but he also seems opportunistic. He didn’t cause the initial problem—at least not that we can discern from this story—but he saw an opportunity to use these circumstances for his own machinations.

As I was reading The Vanishing Sculptor, I asked a hundred or so pages in, Where’s the antagonist? I liked the characters, I knew what they wanted, but the achievement didn’t seem like it was going to be hard or that anyone would try to thwart its accomplishment.

For me there was a significant reduction of tension.

Perhaps that’s OK for a change. Uniformly, the reviews I’ve read so far are positive. My own review is positive. I liked the book a lot. But I can’t help but wonder, if the antagonist showed up sooner, how would that change things? If there was a greater degree of difficulty early on, how would that alter the tone of the book, the themes, the character development?

In essence, I’m wondering, how important is the antagonist?

Some writing instructors say an author needs to understand what the antagonist wants just as much as what the protagonist wants. Others go a step farther and say the antagonist must have strengths and weaknesses, that no antagonist should be painted as pure evil.

The latter position would seem to undermine the good vs. evil fantasy motif. But doesn’t leaving the antagonist out do the same thing? Or downplaying his role by having him come in late?

Which again brings up the question, how important is the antagonist?