Christian Fiction's Bad Rap

On Monday I posted about how some Christians stray away from any type of entertainment that doesn’t fulfill their idea of good Christian morals and ethics.

I’m not going to venture near that hornet’s nest today. Instead I’m going to talk about the sadness within me that is Christian fiction in today’s society. Not ALL Christian fiction. I love me some Tosca Lee and Ted Dekker, and a handful of others. But that’s it – a handful.

I think the issue I want to rant about today pertains to the lack of exciting and/or realistic Christian fiction in today’s writing market and the impact it is having on the attitude of readers (both Christian and non-Christian) venturing out to give Christian fiction a chance. This is the main reason why I created the umbrella Edgy Christian Speculative Fiction under which I contain my Black Earth series. It is Christian fiction but it contains the elements – violence, sexual themes, cursing, magic, other worlds, aliens, rape, etc – missing from much of today’s typical Christian fiction.

Now, to start off, I’m not saying that Christian fiction HAS to have any one of these things to be good fiction. I’m also not saying that I include these elements in my own fiction simply to appease a particular demographic. The problem is that I have a hard time finding authors who can craft great Christian fiction to begin with because they veer so far away from these elements that they end up on the other side of the pendulum putting out corny, generic, watered-down religious fiction.

I know one of the main problems is that many Christians believe that Christianity and any one of the elements listed above clash in such a way that there is no way for fictional entertainment to contain the both of them without our reality imploding from the very act. If the f-bomb is dropped, it can’t possibly be considered Christian fiction, right? If a woman is raped, if a villain wipes out a church camp in a spread of gunfire, if a character refuses the path of redemption by the end of the book, it can’t possibly be appropriate for Christian audiences or be publicly revealed as having been written by a Christian author. Right? Right?! Please, say yes so that you feed my insecurity issues about writing outside of the Christian box religion built for me! Say it!!!

Sorry, I’ve had a lot of coffee with my sugar as of late, and I’m growing a bit passionate about this topic. Aside from Christian romance, which is a different animal altogether, I've noticed that most Christian fiction falls into three specific categories:

The Ambush Novel - You have Christian fiction that is written for non-Christians specifically – a sermon in the guise of a ‘great’ and/or ‘epic’ fantasy, science fiction, or horror novel. When the reader gets deep into the story, they are hit with what is clearly a sermon preaching a clear message of repentance and the need to turn to Christ or there will be much burning in Hell. This leaves the reader dumping the agenda-driven book on the floor in disgust, wishing it wasn’t against their beliefs to burn books for being stupid. And yes, I call books like that stupid. Because they are. Get over it. People read FICTION books to be entertained, not preached to. Trying to poorly disguise a religious agenda in a story only to ambush the reader with it after they’ve invested much of their time is stupid and gives Christian fiction a bad name.

This isn’t to say that Christian fiction or mainstream fiction can’t have some sort of agenda, but it needs to be brought through the story naturally. Of course, writing fiction, there’s always some sort of message we’re trying to get out to the world whether we are fully aware of the issue or not. Readers don’t need one that’s going to jab them in the eyes and pull the rug out from under them.

Christian-Themed Stories – These books are great stories written by talented authors such as Ted Dekker, Tosca Lee, and Frank Peretti. These are books that clearly or semi-subtly advertise themselves under the Christian fiction category. They contain great stories, with great characters, with Christian symbolism or themes throughout. These are the ‘handful’ I mentioned earlier that can get away with telling a great story without having to include my many fictional vices – although they too are ‘edgy’ in their own right.

Secular Fiction Written By a Christian (Crossovers) – These books hold Christian themes that are not plainly obvious. These themes are found threaded throughout a book full of violence, sexual themes, and occasional cursing. These books resemble the literary equivalent of Switchfoot. Switchfoot’s music is enjoyed by both Christian and non-Christian’s alike because the themes carried through their music are evident to Christians but not overbearing (and sometimes not apparent) to non-Christians. I applaud books with this quality because they have the ability to entertain Christian and non-Christian alike. Brent Weeks is the only author so far that I have read from who exemplifies this type of fiction. Read the Night Angel trilogy. Now. Do it! In fact, my good friend Paeter Frandsen did an audio interview with Brent Weeks where Brent speaks about his clear Christian faith. Check it out here.

The stigma that I see going around is that the term 'Christian fiction' just isn't well-accepted in non-Christian circles. I know some of it is because some people are just genuinely not interested in religious fiction of any nature. But I also know that some of the reason Christian fiction is avoided is because it is stereotyped as being preachy, boring, corny or any other number of lame descriptions. And it's a shame because not all fiction with Christian themes falls into these descriptions. But the ones that do leave such a sour taste in reader's mouths that it's hard to rise above this generalized idea of what Christian fiction entails.

I guess some of it boils down to who you’re writing for. If you’re only writing for Christians and you want to approach that demographic specifically, then by all means keep your fiction clean cut and relevant to Christians. However, my advice would be to try and reach both Christian and non-Christian alike in a non-preachy manner. You – oh wait, you want me to go back to what I said about keeping your fiction clean cut and relevant to Christians? I did say that, didn’t I? The problem is, what is relevant to Christians as opposed to what is relevant to non-Christians? Don’t we all struggle with the same things in this life? The only difference is that Christians have accepted Christ’s redemption on the cross. But we all – Christian and non-Christian alike – struggle with the elements of evil in this world. Violence, death, suicide, drug addiction, alcoholism, abuse, jealousy. We are all sinners, so is it safe to assume that a Christian fiction story that contains the struggles of this world in a realistic light can be relevant to both non-Christians and Christians?

This isn’t by any means an argument to conform to the world in order to appeal to it, but remember that as a Christian, we are ‘in’ the world. And to write fiction that mirrors the world we live in – with all of its vices – appeals to a larger audience of readers because it is believable fiction. And I think it’s a step that SOME of us Christian writers may be called to take. I assure you, not everyone is called to write fiction like this, but those of us that want to take a step outside the boundaries that the Christian market would like to put us in should do so now. And remember, it’s not simply the act of wrapping a sermon in an f-bomb burrito, but it’s more about telling a great and entertaining story and threading themes of redemption, holiness, and forgiveness throughout.

I think we as Christian writers should also take more pride and put more effort into the fiction we do write. But the quality of Christian fiction is a post for another day. Friday. See you then.

Green (Book Review)

 

 
So, when I finished White - Ted Dekker's third book in the Circle trilogy - back about a year ago, I figured Dekker was done with the circle trilogy altogether. He seemed to wrap things up nicely, not really giving any cause to start another book. Then came Green, the fourth book in the Circle series.


Referred to as Book Zero, Green is advertised as being able to be read either as an introduction for new readers of the circle trilogy or as a nice continuation for those that already read the first three books. In essence, the series is a full circle. Quite extraordinary...in concept.


Before I go any further, I would like to state that I have nothing against Green as a story. It was superbly written, as Dekker's other Circle books are, and kept me captivated to the very end. However, I strongly feel this is the wrong book to start out the Circle series with. Anybody who hasn't read Black, Red or White should go back and read them - in that order -  and then pick up a copy of Green. I assure you, it will make a whole lot more sense than if you pick up Green and try to get into Dekker's world.


Saying that, I admit there are spoilers ahead. You've been warned.



***SPOILERS***

My brief synopsis of the circle series goes like this: A deadly virus is spread in our world, threatening to kill off the world's population. Thomas Hunter, after being shot in the head one night, begins to dream/travel of another world, our world, but 2,000 years into the future. A world after the Apocalypse has already taken place. A world where God (known in the series as Elyon) has started things over so to say. But evil still resides in the form of a strange bat-like creature known as Teeleh. Teeleh poisons the minds of Elyon's followers, casting them into the desert. The series goes from there into the dynamic relationships between those that have a scabbing disease, known as the Horde, to those that have decided to drown in Elyon's waters - waters that cure the scabbing disease. These are known as albinos. There are also those that have drowned, then turned Horde and then fled into the forests, taking the name of Eramites.

The tension between those that aren't Horde and those that are mounts up in Green, setting the stage for a well-laid Christian allegorical layout. Thomas, by the time Green starts, is trapped in the future world, now the leader of those who have chosen to drown. Many are getting tired waiting - many years have passed since White - for Elyon to fulfill His promise and return to claim the albino as His bride. Bickering and complaining abound while Thomas and his wife, Chelise, once Horde herself, try to keep everyone on track to loving the Horde, avoiding bloodshed. It is Thomas' son, Samuel, who decides to stand up and move everyone to pick up arms to kill the Horde, convincing those that would listen to him that Elyon isn't ever coming back for them and that the time for hiding from the Horde is over with.

These matters escalate when Thomas finds the Books of History that allow him to go back in time, to our world again. Thomas manages to change history as a war between Horde and albino and Eramites begins, facilitated by Teeleh, the source of all evil. Another epic battle between good and evil commences, told in spectacular fashion.

What Dekker began in Black, continued in Red, and ended in White, he only made better in Green. The characters in Green are all older and some have moved on in their lives. It seems that Dekker raised the bar of emotional strife and struggle in this book and even deepened the series' portrayal of faith. The book seems a bit gorier and even a bit more sensual in some areas. Most of it adds to the story though. And I'm glad to see that a book that falls under the Christian Fiction category has taken a few liberties with worldly viewpoints. I’m not saying we have to litter a Christian fiction book with sex and violence, but too many times nowadays I see Christian authors shy away from taking things to an edgy level that might bring about the contrasts of good and evil in a much more profound way instead of sugar-coating everything so it’s easy to swallow.  Bottom line: Dekker doesn’t really pull many punches, which pays off for making a great series.

Dekker, as always, does bring about strong values through the story. Faith, friendship, sacrifice and love all play an important part. As does the worship of Elyon. The book doesn't sound preachy and really did a good job of telling a story instead of preaching a sermon. That's what I've always loved about Dekker...well, from what I've read from him, which at the moment is only the Circle series.

Another unique thing about the Circle series is that apparently characters and plot elements from the entire series leak into Dekker's other books, like the Paradise series and the Lost Books. I have yet to check those out but they will definitely be on my list in the coming months.

Now come my ponderings and issues with Green.

By the end of the book, which loops into the beginning of Black, I had a slightly confused mind as to why the book loops to begin with. At the end of Green, before Thomas is sent back to our world by Elyon, he requests Elyon to save his son, Samuel, who ends up dying at the hands of his mother's father, Qurong, the leader of the Horde army. Elyon grants his request, sending him back, but I'm not sure how that resolves how Samuel could be saved. I see how it could give Thomas another chance at saving Samuel because he is starting things - the series - all over again, but he has no memory of what happened before he was sent back, meaning he would more than likely follow the same path that he did the first time around, still resulting in his son's death.

My overall feeling on Green is that it is a great book, especially if you have already read the first three in this series. Ted Dekker's writing style in the Circle trilogy lives on in Green, however fans may find that Green is a bit more violent than the three books prior. The novel goes into great detail to chronicle the blood sacrifices that Teeleh demands and it doesn't shy away from a gore factor. The book even makes connections to vampirism, which I’ll admit threw me off a little. I understand the connections that Dekker makes to vampires, but didn’t understand why he made those connections in a book like this.

I also found that Green seems to be aspiring to a lofty goal trying to bring readers who haven’t read the three books prior up to speed on what is going on in the entire series. It does an okay job of glazing over the more dominating plots, but I fear that readers new to the series are going to be more confused than drawn in by reading Green first. This book is more of an ending that wraps into the beginning, not a starting point so to say.

I think in the coming months I am going to sit down and read Black, Red and White once again. Then I’ll pick up the Lost Books and the Paradise series and see how everything really ties together. I’m hoping Dekker comes out with another book that maybe explains how things loop, but until then, I’ll cough this up to a great series that is definitely worth reading. In order.

Official website of Ted Dekker