E. Stephen Burnett picks up on the discussion over comments made regarding the stories told by J. Mark Bertrand (“Russell” to his friends), asking an insightful question: “According to the Bible, what is the ‘chief end’ of story? Is it evangelism? Gritty realism? Entertainment? Or a higher goal?”
I chafe at the idea of everything we do in the world being evangelism or pre-evangelism, though perhaps it’s true. I like to think of life being more multifaceted than that. We delight in God our Father. We make disciples of his people. We fight for justice and work in mercy. What are the themes Jesus addressed in his Sermon on the Mount? Who are the blessed of God, being a life witness, the place of the law, the nature of sin (anger, lust, divorce, promises, retribution), loving one’s enemies and neighbors, mercy, prayer and more. Is all of this meant to be seen in the colors of evangelism?
No. A story may witness the glory of God to an unbeliever without having evangelism as its goal, and perhaps that’s the answer. Glory. I want to write to magnify God’s glory, to color myself and everything I see with it.
I want to write to magnify God’s glory, to color myself and everything I see with it.
Bingo.
I have a few rambling, disconnected thoughts in response. Please excuse me for not taking the time to weave them into a more unified presentation.
Thought 1.
What distinguishes fiction as Christian? I see three possible applications.
1. It comes from a Christian source. In other words, the author is a Christian, writing from a Christian’s perspective.
2. It is published for sale to Christians through the CBA market. It is designed to appeal to a Christian’s sensibilities.
3. It reflects Christian ideals, values or principles. The content is considered Christian.
My guess is that most publishers in this category are most interested in maximizing the target market, thus content and source become secondary. Burnett’s question focuses on the content portion of the equation.
Thought 2. (This was actually my first thought, but I thought the other one led into it better, even though I later decided not to spend the time to come up with a smooth transition.)
In all my years as a pastor and theology student, I haven’t seen the idea of what makes a story Christian addressed in the Bible. I do find what makes a person a Christian, that is faith in Jesus Christ unto salvation. I also find instructions for righteous living, doctrines that inform us about the character and nature of God, and other content. Yet, the stories we find in the Bible, while often gripping, are not fiction, but historical narrative, telling the account of select individuals and groups encountering God and each other. Therefore, they don’t necessarily inform us about Christian Fiction, a topic not directly addressed in Scripture. Still we may be able to glean some principles.
One of the principles stressed by my hermaneutics (Bible interpretation) instructors was that narrative is not to be used to define doctrine. That is done through didactic (teaching) sections. Rather, narrative is used to illustrate doctrine, revealing the outcome of following or not following the commands and principles defined elsewhere.
The purpose in recording and preserving those accounts is stated in 1 Corinthians 10:6, that they might serve as examples for us to not desire evil as they did. Therefore, a possible use of fiction by Christians may be to illustrate the process of moral decision making and the outcomes of various options. We see this from many writers. We also note that this use forms the basis of complaint from many critics in that the fictional situations often come across as too contrived.
In a way, though, that is the goal of all fiction, Christian or not. As Lars outlined his recent post, he writes from the formula of “Hero has problem. Tries to solve it. Fails, making things worse. Tries again. Fails again. Makes things even worse. Repeat until he either succeeds or fails in some way that’s significant.” From a Christian perspective, that approach can be used to illustrate how Biblical principles are used and misused.
Good thoughts, Grey, but I think Christian sensibilities are a big part of the Christian fiction or Christian bookstore market. Readers don’t want sad stories. They don’t want salacious details. They don’t want any language at all. They look at a moving story of God’s grace, like The Power and the Glory, and complain that it’s too difficult to read.
Of course, I’m broad-brushing, but I think that’s what we’re getting at. How many Lifeway customers wouldn’t want their kids to read Greek mythology because it has false gods in it? How many of the same customers think Osteen is a good preacher? These are the obstacles to reaching these people, and I don’t think we will.
So, What I’m hearing you say is that II Timothy 4:3 is the driving force in the Christian Publishing Industry?
Everyone in the industry isn’t, but perhaps the big players are. I remember someone telling me about a talk with a publisher who said they publish many weak titles (he may have called them garbage, but I don’t know what books they were referring to) which sell in order to publish stronger titles which are important but don’t sell.
I don’t think it’s an easy demarcation. Are all of the Amish romance novels the garbage that gives a publisher the money to print a thoughtful Christian analysis of the government? I’m not willing to say that, even though when I was looking for a novel or two to give my mother on her last birthday, I couldn’t stomach buying an Amish romance/drama because I couldn’t tell if any of them were the quality I wanted to give her. I ended up buying the latest novel from an author I believed to be good and honest. I think that novel won a Christy award (no doubt supported by the news that I had purchased it), and my mom really liked it.
The problem in Christian publishing may be the way they define their market or the way readers and booksellers define it for them. Do you judge a book by its publisher?
Many of the smaller publishers are known for the branch of theology they tend to extol. One might tend towards dominionism and another pentacostalism. In that regard I can anticipate the content of certain books based on the publisher. But in the big picture,the imprint on the book is way down my list of considerations.
I tend to look first for familiar authors, finding someone I like and then reading through their entire catalogue or at least the series that piqued my interest. Secondly I follow up on recommendations of those I trust or away from the recommendations of those I’ve learned don’t share my preferences. That’s how I’ve been introduced to many of my preferred authors. Thirdly, I may look into popular authors in familiar genres. When I started to run out of Louis L’Amour books I hadn’t read I looked other Western authors, discarding many of the popular modern writers before finding I enjoy the old timers like Max Brand and Zane Grey. They tended more to coming of age stories about learning character and integrity than the newer writers who focus on whiskey and women. The name of the publisher would probably come in down around number ten on my checklist.