Reviewing New Conferences, Exploring Two Fantasies
Oh yes, I’m assembling my thoughts after the first Realm Makers conference, which fellow Spec-Faith editor Rebecca LuElla Miller and I have already covered here:
- Celebrating the First Ever Realm Makers Conference — Friday, Aug. 2
- Live from Realm Makers: Day One — Friday, Aug. 2
- The 2013 Clive Staples Award Winner — Saturday, Aug. 3
- Live from Realm Makers: Day Two — Saturday, Aug. 3
- The Heart of Speculative Fiction Is Not Weird — Monday, Aug. 5
More upcoming explorations:
- Realm Makers 2013 Review — Thursday, Aug. 8 (my own review of the conference)
- Realm Makers: What Could Come Next? — Friday, Aug. 9, by fantasy novelist Morgan Busse
Meanwhile, over at Christ and Pop Culture, I’ve also been exploring two bestselling franchises that Christians might assume aren’t at all alike. Yet they both include magic/miracles, secret societies, Satanic enemies, and supernatural battles between good and evil.
Once upon a time, specifically the late 1990s, these franchises fought. One was set in a world of good wizards, a dark lord, non-magical citizens, and a global battle between light and darkness. It won over bestseller lists. This surprised readers, because this series was by a Christian thriller novelist and a Christian prophecy teacher: the Left Behind series.
At that time arose another series about a boy wizard by British author J.K. Rowling.1
- The Magical Worlds of ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Left Behind’, E. Stephen Burnett at Christ and Pop Culture, Aug. 5 ↩
E. Stephen Burnett creates sci-fi, fantasy, and beyond as well as nonfiction, such as The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ (coauthored with Ted Turnau and Jared Moore), which releases Sept. 7, 2020 from New Growth Press. Stephen explores biblical truth and fantastic stories as publisher of Lorehaven Magazine and cohost of the Fantastical Truth podcast. He and his wife, Lacy, live in the Austin area, help with foster parenting, and serve as members of Southern Hills Baptist Church.
Thanks much for the coverage.
The coverage was great! I wish more folks had tweeted their experiences.
I read your article about Left Behind/Harry Potter. When the comments start going “Narnia and LOTR are the only legit Christian fantasy”, I mentally turn off. :-p