The Problem With Christian Fiction
“The problem with Christian fiction? What? How hypocritical of him…”
It’s true. I’ve been known to enjoy Christian fiction, and I still count people like Frank Peretti and Sigmund Brouwer to be among some of my favorite authors. However, I think both of those authors are, for the most part, fairly immune from the problem discussed in this article, which I think is right on the money. Many talented writers sell themselves and their stories short by falling into the trap discussed here.
Jeffrey Overstreet at Looking Closer brought to my attention this blog post by L.B. Graham (whose works I am not familiar with). In a nutshell (my own paraphrase), Graham says that too much Christian fiction fails to create realistic stories and realistic characters with realistic problems that all ultimately reflect a Christian worldview, instead opting to become mired in moralism, crafting instead an overly simplistic tale that not only fails to engage the reader, but comes off as didactic and/or unrealistic.
Though I suggest reading the full thing, here are some highlights:
- “Christianity is not about moralism, and Christian fiction shouldn’t be either. Christianity revolves, not around good behavior, but around God’s mercy shown to man in the death and resurrection of Christ.”
- “I’m constantly surprised at how often fictional stories are judged to be Christian or not, based more or less on how well the characters behave themselves.”
- “…we should remember that portrayals of characters with ‘good morals’ doesn’t mean a book is Christian…We can certainly say that the moral standards of a book or story are consistent with Christianity, but that doesn’t make the book Christian.”
Now that I think of it, much of what Graham is saying can apply to movies and books, too. In fact, in my opinon, this presents part of a good defense for people who think that Christians should unequivocally refrain from things like R-rated movies and secular music.
I welcome your thoughts and opinions in the comments, so have at it!
Reader Comments
COULD NOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE. My mom constantly buys me christian fiction which I rarely read because so much of it falls in the trap of being too simple and having characters that are way too one-dimensional. Not to write off an entire genre, because honestly I have mostly ignored it in the past few years.
I’d really like to see a Christian fiction book with characters that are Christians and yet still have quirks and flaws… ones that still lie, care about themselves above others, don’t close the toilet seat like their wife asks, because shouldn’t real life tell us that that is what people are really like? Christians are still fundamentally people, and they don’t fit in neat boxes.
Anyhow. Vent over.
Yup. If art is to reflect truth, it should do so even when truth is uncomfortable or unpleasant. As Graham somewhat says, not in a way that is glorifying the sin or allowing us to wallow in it, but in a way that holds up a mirror to what’s wrong in such a way that helps us see it needs to be fixed.
Authors like Stephen Lawhead do this very well, presenting truly human, terribly flawed characters that still have (or find) deep faith and experience redemption. They grow, they change, and despite their stumblings are better for their journey by its end.
My favorite Christian authors, Bodie and Brock Thoene, do this very well. In fact I have been greatly challenged in my Christian walk by their writing and by the lifestyles of their characters not because they are perfect, but because they struggle, learn, and overcome.
There are two other authors that I enjoy who are Christian and their characters live that world view even though they have human flaws, although the message is not generally overtly Christian. They are Charles Dickens and Oliver North. I agree with Aaron about Stephen Lawhead, too.
Aaron,
While I think Peretti’s breakthrough …Darkness books may have confused too many Christians re: angelology, I’m with you in that he’s a good writer. Have you read Monster? I’ve heard very good things about it.
Also, Flannery O’Connor’s name is bandied about often as a pre-post-modern Christian writer. I only vaguely remember reading some of her work in high school. Are you familiar with O’Connor’s stuff? Any comment?
Looks like a quality web log!
Hey, Joe! Good to hear from you. I don’t take too much in the way of theology from Peretti’s writings, but he’s good at what he does, on the whole. I wasn’t a fan of Monster, though. Sadly, I felt it was too heavy handed and too much in the vein of what this post was talking about. Plotwise, too much like the last few Michael Crichton novels — too much agenda and not enough story.
I have heard similar things about O’Connor, but have not delved into anything from her. I should add her to my Books list!
I gave up on Christian fiction quite some time ago. None of the authors seemed be able to weave a convincing enough story, which, as you know, hangs on convincing characters. Convincing characters hang on conflict, and on them behaving in a truthful (i.e., believable) way. (It’s also a failure to write good dialogue… Elia Kazan said, “Dialogue is decoration on the skirts of action.” Maybe the dialogue sucks because nothing interesting happens.)
I fear that Christian authors and artists have taken Philippians 4:8 (“whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure…”) to the extreme; to where their output is formulaic; merely bland, unrealistic and unhelpful. It also shows a misunderstanding concerning the reflective nature of art, as both you and Graham are saying. A tragic ending can teach us as much as an uplifting one.
Their approach also shows a serious misunderstanding of the nature of the Christian life. If all that separates us from “heathens” is abstaining from drinking, smoking, swearing, what is it that we DO? Become a Christian, move to suburbia, and smile beatifically all the time? Is Christianity really that shallow? Why can’t authors find stories to tell that are true to human nature and to the nature and the glory of God instead of merely peddling a message through books?
(An interesting blog on Philippians 4:8 can be found at http://www.christandpopculture.com/film/philippians-48. It’s from a theatrical/cinematic viewpoint, but it’s still relevant.)
Aaron, you mentioned in your post and comments two of the very few authors I feel are exceptions to the rule. I really enjoyed Stephen Lawhead’s take on the King Arthur legends (at least the first three in the series), and I reread those many times. I also reread the two Peretti Darkness books a few times, and whenever I would start one of them, I would never be able to put it down. I didn’t realize until I was older how vividly I imagined the spiritual realm because of his books!
I think most of this trend or whatever I should call it comes from Christian fiction misunderstanding the difference between morality and character. Honestly we should be set apart from the world by holy and sinless lives just like Jesus was. It shouldn’t come, thought, because those are rules placed on us, but because we have the Spirit of God developing the character of God on the inside of us. Then what’s on the inside of us comes out in our actions, resulting in holy lives that glorify God. Then we won’t be acting upright like the Pharisees, we’ll actually be upright.
This, to me, is the truth that we are saints now, not sinners, and we are being transformed from glory to glory, which means we’re already glorious. Obviously, we’re not perfect yet and ugliness gets rooted out of us as we become more like Christ. And there’s the reality and drama that can create a good story, especially because it’s so often extreme circumstances that press our character to and beyond it’s current limits making us grow. That’s the truth that I look for art to express so that it’s neither wallowing in sinfulness nor glorifying insincere and empty morality.
And I can vouch for Flannery O’Connor. I read some of her stuff in college and it’s amazing. She is a Christian author, but it’s buried deep in some very rich imagery and woven into beautiful (though not always pleasant) stories. I highly recommend her.
Haven’t ready Flannery O’Connor? I’m not sure you’re allowed to talk about Christian literature without reading O’Connor.
I haven’t read her novels (Wise Blood, The Violent Bear It Away), but her short stories should definitely be on your reading list. Heck, they’re short. If you read just one, start with “A Good Man Is Hard To Find.”
I agree completely with this. Christian movies are even worse (shudder).
Peretti is awesome. I’m a huge fan of Ted Dekker too. I haven’t read his latest books since I’ve been back in school, but I loved some of his past novels. He has a very rich imagination.
I also like Billerbeck (she writes Christian “chick lit.”) Her writing is really funny and sometimes a bit irreverent, which is why I like it so much.