Grasping for the Wind

Letter to a Christian Author

Dear Sir/Madam

The trouble with Christian fiction is, it proselytizes to the converted! I'm currently in the process of reading a Christian book, a book that will never make it to the mainstream, yet is written as if some non-Christian will actually pick it up and be converted by it.

The good Christian authors, like Francine Rivers or L. B. Graham, know they are preaching to the converted and so write books that affirm their beliefs or provide support and encouragement to the readers they know will read their books.

The bad Christian authors always want to use their books as missionary tools, to preach the gospel to those who have not heard it yet. But let's be honest, no non-Christian is ever going to pick up your book. And if they did, they would know it for the tract that it is, and lump it in with the hand method for sharing the gospel or the "magazines" of Jehovah's Witnesses. They then point to this as the reason so much Christian fiction is "bad" even when it is quite well-written.

It's a sad fact, but its true.

Other Christian authors a truly great. Flannery O'Connor and J.R.R. Tolkien wrote great stories. Madeleine L'Engle and George MacDonald did the same. Their world view allowed them to delve into what it means to be human, both in the darkness and in the light. They wrote stories of excellence trying to understand the world and its fallen nature, and avoided overt attempts to proselytize in their works.

And so they found success in the mainstream by not allowing themselves to have an agenda, but simply to sought to tell a story.

The same is true of secular fiction with overt agendas. The books may sell for a while, even top bestseller lists, but eventually is seen for what it is and discarded. (Unless, of course, the agenda is the destruction of Christianity, which will always be successful in a sin dominated world. i.e. The Da Vinci Code).

You might point to C. S. Lewis as proof of the opposite in the Narnia books, but I say that one can only attribute the books' success to the notoriety of its author worldwide at the volumes' time of publication.

So many other Christian authors simple churn out bad literature for the sake of trying to make a sale. And what they are selling is Christianity. Sorry folks, but Christian fiction ain't gonna convert nobody. It will be a support and help to the converted and the saved, might make interesting stories or raise interesting questions, but only relationships with unbelievers and the power of the Holy Spirit will convert anybody.

The great Christian authors knew this, so they did their very best to delve into the world, to understand how it ticks, much like the watchmaker knows the gears of the cuckoo clock. In doing so, they gave humanity insights into its own nature, perhaps engendering a look into their soul. And they did so without proselytizing (at least not obviously). They allow the story to do its own proselytizing, without the need to insert Scripture or references to God to ensure that the reader "gets" the Christian nature of the novel.

The great Christian author will let the story God has given him or her unfold. God will use the novel to work on hearts, I don't deny that, but it shouldn't be forced. God's seed will plant without overuse of Scripture or excessive allegory.

(You might point to Bunyan and Lewis as successes, but I don't. Their popularity continues because of successive generations of Christians buying and selling their books. Besides, the exception of the popularity of Narnia does not create the rule for all allegory.)

That does not mean we shouldn't try to write Christian novels. But we should be trying less to ensure that we insert Scripture and more to ensure that we are probing the human mind, the creation of God, and our relationships.

Yours Sincerely,

A Christian Reader

PS: Care to disagree? Leave a comment.

Posted by John on July 24, 2007 03:33 PM | Posted to Christian SF&F | General Fiction | Literature and Language | Religion
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