Home

Explore the best Christian fantasy.

articles | news | library | reviews | podcast
Advertise Seek Review Questions?

How A Year Without Superhero Films Rebooted Our Universe
Articles | Jason Joyner, Jan 28, 2021

New Book ‘Reading Evangelicals’ Will Focus on Famous Christian Fiction
News | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 27, 2021

Introducing Superhero Novelist and New Lorehaven Writer Jason C. Joyner
News | Lorehaven, Jan 27, 2021

Militant Secularism Could Force Christians to Create New Subcultures
Articles | Mike Duran, Jan 25, 2021

‘One Piece’ Manga Reaches Chapter 1000: How Did This Pirate Become King?
Articles | L. Jagi Lamplighter, Jan 20, 2021

To Shape a Story is to Shape a Soul
Articles | L.G. McCary, Jan 18, 2021

Author Ted Turnau Finds The Hidden Grace of Pixar’s ‘Soul’
News | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 15, 2021

Introducing Thriller Novelist and New Lorehaven Writer L. G. McCary
News | Lorehaven, Jan 15, 2021

Join Our Jan. 21 Livestream: How Can We ‘Terraform’ the Church to Enjoy Fantastic Fiction?
News | Lorehaven, Jan 14, 2021

How Political Punditry Has Taken Over Christian Popular Subcultures
Articles | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 14, 2021

Library

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy | sci-fi | supernatural and beyond
All novels Search Add a novel
Explore all: Middle-grade books | Young-adult books | Adult books
The Terran Summit, Anna Zogg
The Xerxes Factor, Anna Zogg
The Paradise Protocol, Anna Zogg
The Awakened, Richard Spillman
The Ascension, Richard Spillman
Love's Sacrifice, Kelsey Norman
Unbroken Spirit, Kelsey Norman
Seed: Judgment, Joshua David
The Rooster and the Raven King, John Paul Tucker
Brimstone 1, Jasom William Karpf
The Horse Queen, Lavay Byrd
King of Aethon, Lavay Byrd
Tales of Elhaanai, Nicole Thomas
Still Small Voice, Allen Brokken
Reviews

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review Share review

Flight of the Raven
“Exciting twists make Morgan L. Busse’s Flight of the Raven, book 2 of the Ravenwood Saga, a very enjoyable read.” —Lorehaven

The Eternal Struggle
“Esther Wallace’s novel The Eternal Struggle forms a dark sequel that brings hero and heroine into close fellowship with loss and brutality.” —Lorehaven

Dark is the Night
“Mirriam Neal’s vampire novel Dark is the Night keeps the punches and the fangs rolling.” —Lorehaven

Blood and Bond
“This book is brilliant and engaging, expanding on the series’ world and characters while building its own plot.” —Lorehaven

Podcast

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Apple | Google | All subscribe links
Archives Feedback

49. How Can We ‘Terraform’ the Church to Enjoy Fantastic Fiction?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 26, 2021

48. What Were the Top Seven Issues for Lorehaven Readers in 2020?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 19, 2021

47. Why Do Some People Long for Escape to a Galactic Community?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 12, 2021

46. Ten Years Later, Why Did ‘Dawn Treader’ Sink the Narnia Movies? | with Rilian of NarniaWeb
Fantastical Truth, Dec 22, 2020

Webzine

Browse back issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!
SpecFaith

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

site archives | statement of faith
New articles Questions? Pitch to us

Stargate SG-1 Update: Christianity in the Episode “Demons”
Travis Perry, Jan 28

What Tolkien Taught About Fighting Evil
Travis Perry, Jan 21

The Messages of Black Horror Films
Parker J. Cole, Jan 20

The Worldview of Biocentrism–You Are One With The Force
Travis Perry, Jan 14

Beyond

Find more from Christian creators

Order the book! E. Stephen Burnett

Get exclusive shirts and beyond
in the Lorehaven store

Explore the book The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ

Does ‘Engaging Popular Culture’ Include Right-Wing Talk Radio?
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 9

Join My Livestream This Thursday: Seven Ways to Find Truth in Fantastic Stories
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 6

Home
Library
Reviews
Podcast
Webzine
SpecFaith
Store
Beyond Edit content
Lorehaven serves Christian fans by finding the best of Christian fantasy. Our free webzine, an online library, positive reviews, a thriving blog and community, and weekly podcast episodes help fans explore fantasy, science fiction, and other fantastical genres for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ News

Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas … From Christians?

Is “Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas” actually about “saving Christmas from the forces of overly-precise Christians”?
E. Stephen Burnett | Nov 12, 2014 | No comments |
facebookcover_kirkcameronssavingchristmas

It’s actually a very different sort of promo. For a Christian movie.

When the film title and trailer released for Saving Christmas starring Kirk Cameron, all the cool-kid Christians and Christianity-critics alike laughed and laughed. So did I, a little bit.

But what if I told you … all the movie’s “keep Christmas in Christmas” and “war on Christmas” slogans, and cheesy marketing, could be a clever ploy to sneak past watchful dragons? That is, all that was a cover to make conservative Christians feel more comfortable with the film that’s actually about challenging them?1 That’s what Christian provocateur Douglas Wilson believes about Saving Christmas.

The movie was not directly about saving Christmas from the Forces of Secularism (although that is related, at least indirectly). No, the movie is about saving Christmas from the forces of overly-precise Christians, who couldn’t find Christmas in their Bible search software, and who think we shouldn’t have anything to do with it. Now while this might seem kind of extra-Christiany, this is actually falling for one of the basic lies that the enemy is trying to tell us.

[…] It is not the path of discernment to judge things by what they used to be.

[…] Thor’s day is Thursday, but not anymore. I use that example because Thor’s name is not quite forgotten. […] And the reason you make a wish before you blow out your birthday candles is because back in the day a soothsayer would then come ambling up to the table and tell your fortune from the patterns that the smoke made. When was the last time you made a little smoke for the soothsayer at your birthday? Well, you made the smoke but it wasn’t for the soothsayer, because you’re a Christian and you don’t believe in soothsayers.2

I don’t always agree with Douglas Wilson. But when I do, it’s when I’m also possibly agreeing with Kirk Cameron.

And if you have a special interest in rejecting the way pagans try to “claim” fantasies, holidays, or ideas — and the way some Christians insist we ought to go along with it — then you may also agree with them. Or at least you may hope that this really was the actual idea behind the outlandishly titled and marketed Saving Christmas, starring a candy-cane and palantir-wielding Kirk Cameron.

The film arrives in theaters (for a limited run) starting this Friday.

  1. Yes, I may be engaging in wishful thinking. What if a former teen celebrity-turned-Christian knowingly infiltrated the conservative subculture from the inside, then like Jesus in the tabernacle turned the tables on it? This could be only an aspiring novelist’s idea. ↩
  2. Douglas Wilson, “God Rest Ye Merry,” DougWils.com, Nov. 2, 2014. ↩
E. Stephen Burnett

E. Stephen Burnett creates sci-fi and fantasy as well as nonfiction, such as The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ (coauthored with Ted Turnau and Jared Moore, from New Growth Press). Stephen explores biblical truth and fantastic stories as publisher of Lorehaven.com and cohost of the Fantastical Truth podcast. He and his wife, Lacy, live in the Austin area, help with foster parenting, and serve as members of Southern Hills Baptist Church.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter |

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • WhatsApp

What do you think? Cancel reply

Lorehaven magazine, winter 2020

Wear the wonder:
Get exclusive shirts and beyond

Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

Authors: Reach new fans with Lorehaven