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February 19, 2008
Christian Lit
Hi, my name is WonderGirl, and I don't like Christian fiction. (Should I be ducking the firing squad now?) I occasionally come across a sweet, pioneer love story that holds my attention for a while, but generally speaking, I am not a fan. Especially the post-apocolyptic, second coming of Christ, angelic/demonic warfare.
It just doesn't do it for me.
Maybe I'm not reading the right ones, but I find them too sensationalistic. They feed on the anxieties of today's Christian, the mysteries of the second coming, the abundance of evil in the world. Things that I just don't think God intends for us to focus on! There is a temptation there to wallow in despair at the sin around us, to believe there is no hope, no redemption, for a people so lost. But the Bible says, where sin abounds, grace abounds even more! I wince when people talk about how "bad" the world is, and that it can't be long before Jesus comes again. Like the only solution is to wipe the slate clean. There is nothing new under the sun-- sin has always been this bad, people have been this bad! Cultures rise and fall, some better, some worse than ours. We have not invented a newer, more evil sin in our lifetime. It's exactly the same as it's always been.
It doesn't mean sin isn't bad and we shouldn't repent as a culture. But is God still working in your life? Of course He is. Is He still blessing you, guiding you, shepherding you? Yes. Is He able to do all things He wishes? Yes. So why not revival in this land? Why do we feel irredeemable, abandonded, doomed? Are we not taught that we serve a God who is almighty and sovereign? One that delights in doing the impossible? Healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, raising the dead? The more broken people are, the more glory to God in their salvation.
Judgement waits for the unrighteous, this is true, but no one, and no culture, can go so far from God that His hand can't reach out and save them. Should we look up at the sky, waiting for the brimstone to start raining down upon our heads? Or instead, look down, at our feet, and our hands, and see that they are doing the work of the Lord? Faithful in every step, in every motion, living daily with the hope of Christ. Our optimism and happiness should be a beacon in this world! We should not be wringing our hands in worry over the second coming, or Armageddon, or the rise an antichrist.
I'm not saying to live in a shroud of denial, with a fake smile pasted on your face, even as the walls come down around you. I'm just saying, don't forget who we serve. When people look at us, they should see the joyful expectation of Christ. They should see it in the way we treat others, in our ministry to the needy, in the way we raise our families and run our homes. Even in the books we read.
But that's just my opinion. Thoughts?
Spiritual Places | By WonderGirl | 10:13 AM
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Comments
Sacrilege! Apostasy! Heresy!
Posted by: Cousin at February 19, 2008 12:08 PM
I get that a lot.
Posted by: WG at February 19, 2008 12:56 PM
I don't see anything wrong with Christian books because I think that in ANY book, there has to be conflict, and a Christian book recognizes that conflict to be derived from sin,recognizes it for what it is. We could be talking about different types of Christian lit; I am talking about the ones that deal with social and moral issues, not the second coming type ones. But I think addressing sin in a novel is good because it makes the fact of God's grace that much more evident.
Having said that, I will say that Christian lit has a tendency toward the cheesy. The ones I have read are all written pretty much the same and are all pretty predictable. And the plots usually always involve a teenage pregnancy, especially in the amish books.
Posted by: ashley at February 19, 2008 1:00 PM
I don't have a problem at all with a novel addressing a sin issue. Life is a sin issue! Books about redemption, whether they are specifically Christian plots or not, are great. I am more specifically, talking about the whole Left Behind genre.
However, as a whole, I do feel that much of Christian literature, and music, lacks something. I am not taking a potshot at all the good folks out there striving in the industry. But you have to admit that that market is flooded with mediocre material, for some reason or another. Whether they are trying to be counterculture, or whatever, it's often just not that good! I'm much more likely to enjoy a regular fiction book written by a Christian author, than a specifically Christian novel that is just a cookie cut version of a hundred other ones just like it.
But that sounds overly critical. I realize that if the message is good, I shouldn't be so hard on it. But from a literary standpoint, WHERE is the good Christian fiction?
Posted by: WonderGirl at February 19, 2008 1:11 PM
I'm totally with you on this one.Where is the next Lewis or Tolkien?
Posted by: Dolly at February 19, 2008 1:48 PM
The reason why the stuff you described is so bad is because it is written from a pre-mil perspective. It doesn't make sense and is all the things you described. I wouldn't even call that Christian literature. Those are books authored by professing Christians.
Good Christian Lit: Lewis, Tolkien, and I would even say Rowling, N.D. Wilson (Leepike Ridge and 100 Cupboards), Flannery O'Connor. These authors recognize and distinguish good as good and evil as evil, use words well, recognize human nature, frailties and tendencies, have a sense of humor, and write good stories. I may even go as far as suggesting that any book that has these attributes could be considered Christian Literature, regardless of the author's profession, because the books at least accurately reflect some attributes of our Creator.
The left behind stuff doesn't accurately reflect/imitate God's love for beauty, goodness, strength, bravery, truth, skill, laughter, etc.
Posted by: Debby at February 19, 2008 2:26 PM
Try Karen Kingsbury and Mindy Starnes Clark.
Karen will make you cry and Mindy is a mystery writer. I enjoyed the Million Dollar Mystery series.
They read like secular fiction with faith interspered throughout.
Posted by: kasey at February 19, 2008 7:19 PM
Have you read any Francine Rivers? I think she might be one of my favorite Christian writers - no fluff (or second comings, either).
Posted by: Moriah (Please Pass the Salt) at February 19, 2008 9:31 PM
Bad Christian Lit?!?!? You've got to be kidding!!!! Lemme guess, you've also got a problem with the Christian movie industry, Contemporary Christian Music and TBN!!!
Speaking of TBN, I was flipping channels the other day and that piano player/talk show host Dino has got the scariest eyebrows I have ever seen. And is it a prerequisite for TBN men (and women?)to have a bad hair rug?
As far as Christian lit goes, here's a pattern I notice: Cheesy, uncreative, boring, sensationalistic stories = baptists (or some non liturgical derivative). Beautiful, creative, intelligent, moving stories = catholics or anglicans (liturgical).
I'm just sayin...
Posted by: Brian at February 19, 2008 10:01 PM
Whoo buddy, you are opening up something there, Brian!
Posted by: WG at February 19, 2008 10:56 PM
Could I suggest a title to you? It is not pre-mil, and you may find the writing original. One reader compared it to C.S. Lewis. The title is "Outcasts of Skagaray", by Andrew Clarke. It would be good to see your comments on it if you want to check it out.
Posted by: Andrew Clarke at February 20, 2008 2:14 AM
Loved this post, WG. And Debby's comment.
Thanks for the thoughts.
Posted by: Teri at February 21, 2008 2:28 PM
LOVED your post! I feel exactly the same way (perhaps we've read some of the same books?), but couldn't have expressed my thoughts as clearly and beautifully as you did. I am so turned off by the kind of Christianity that promotes fear of judgement/hell to motivate belief instead of demonstrating (as Jesus did) the amazing love, compassion and grace of God in our everyday lives. Brava! :)
Posted by: Lorelei at February 28, 2008 12:31 PM
