‘A Willingness To Be Enchanted’
E. Stephen Burnett, Nov 22, 2012
More people are saying self-distraction and materialism don’t bring real happiness. That’s true, but moralistic rules cannot fix this idolatry; only a willingness to submit to Christ, and submit to Godly enchantment.
‘The Hobbit’ Story Group 3: A Short Rest
E. Stephen Burnett, Nov 20, 2012
Do your fantasy-world Elves sing “tra-la-la-lally” from treetops? J.R.R. Tolkien’s do. And he entreats us to meet these unique Middle-earth residents in “The Hobbit,” chapter 3.
The Parable Of The Platypus
Fred Warren, Nov 20, 2012
“The platypus is one of the world’s great wonders. People should be coming from miles around to buy one.”
Inside Another Mind
Laura Popp, Nov 16, 2012
The entire plot of Treasure Traitor unfolded before me from the single image of this outcast girl with a bird on her shoulder. While my creative process sure took a round about way to get me from that original childhood short story to my first published novel, the journey was not in vain.
Reading Is Worship 12: Desiring God As Fantasy Fans
E. Stephen Burnett, Nov 15, 2012
As we come to the end(?) of this series, I’m curious: How is your God-glorifying, worshipful, speculative-story “singing” voice? What fantastic fiction have you read, seen, or heard that moved you to worship the Author?
A Meandering Thank You
Yvonne Anderson, Nov 14, 2012
Yvonne Anderson, author of the science-fiction “Gateway to Gannah” series, shares her journey to publication in her first column as a new Speculative Faith regular contributor.
‘The Hobbit’ Story Group 2: Roast Mutton
E. Stephen Burnett, Nov 13, 2012
In chapter 2, Bilbo Baggins, the reluctant member of Thorin Oakenshield’s Dwarf-company, first tries to put his “burglar” skills to the test.
Old Soldiers
Fred Warren, Nov 13, 2012
Veterans Day, aka Armistice Day, has a particular resonance for me, since it’s also my birthday. It’s a sobering thing to discover, at a very young age, that you were born on a day that commemorates the ending of a war—and not just any war, but arguably the most horrendous war in human history.
Wars And Warriors
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Nov 12, 2012
Certainly thanking those who served in the military is appropriate as is commemorating those who died. And what better way than to think about wars and warriors in speculative fiction. After all, there are plenty of them. Fantasy is filled with armed conflict–good fighting evil. Science fiction isn’t short on military engagement either, Avatar being a prime example.
The Fine Line Between Reality and Fantasy
Merrie Destefano, Nov 9, 2012
When I started writing my recently released young adult novel, Fathom, I knew there would be otherworldly creatures involved and that they would play a big part in the story. However, I always felt that at its heart, Fathom was a contemporary story
Reading Is Worship 11: Glory Spectrum Of Stories
E. Stephen Burnett, Nov 8, 2012
If God’s multihued glories shine in all of reality, how do we find such glories in stories and be moved to worship Him?
The Greatests
John Otte, Nov 7, 2012
I want to know: who are the greatest heroes and villains you’ve encountered in fiction?
Redeeming Culture In Stories and Politics
E. Stephen Burnett, Nov 6, 2012
The Church is not anti-culture or pro-culture, but a gracious proclaimer of the Biblical Story, and what in culture reflects God’s truth or does not. This applies to stories, speculative and otherwise. And this applies to politics, the governance of culture.
Voting And Speculative Fiction
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Nov 5, 2012
I don’t see democracy held up in fantasies or in science fiction as The Answer to the ills of the world. Rather, it seems as if democracy is not an option or it has led to a despotic take over, a la Rome or, in modern times, Germany. The Answer to the ills of society seems instead to be either the benevolent rule of a King or hero, or the anarchy of the individual.
Classic Sci-Fi Meets A Christian Worldview
Ashley Hodges Bazer, Nov 2, 2012
What is it about science fiction that draws us in? Mom, wife, and debut author of Asylum: The Circeae Tales Ashley Hodges Bazer shares why she chose to write science fiction and discusses how Asylum went from concept to published book.
Reading Is Worship 10: Glory Spectrum Of Reality
E. Stephen Burnett, Nov 1, 2012
Before seeing how God glorifies Himself across a glory spectrum in many kinds of stories, often without their authors knowing, we must explore how He glorifies Himself in Scripture and in people’s real-life choices.
Halloween, Horrors, and ‘Star Wars’
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 31, 2012
Do you “observe” or not observe Halloween? Have you changed from one view to another? Share your thoughts on that, or on the “Star Wars” empire assimilation, the horror genre, or that evidently heresy-flooded “Noah” movie.
Interview With The Werewolf
Fred Warren, Oct 30, 2012
Today we’re visiting Resurrection Church for an interview with one of its most unusual parishioners…
Evil And The One Ring To Rule Them All
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 29, 2012
Tolkien, as most speculative readers know, was not attempting an allegory. Nevertheless, his mythopoetic world, the result of his sub-creation, contains parallels with reality. In fact, his world throws revelatory light on what he believed about certain things in the real world. One of those things is evil.
Speculative Politics 4: Rebuttal By Marc Schooley
Marc Schooley, Oct 28, 2012
In this series conclusion, Marc Schooley says Christians should be political “Hobbits,” and defends his views with Scripture and support from fiction.
Reading Is Worship 9: Spectrum Of Glories
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 25, 2012
All this talk of God’s glory, and enjoying fantastic stories for His glory. Yet what is His glory? How do we often imagine it as shades of white when it’s really a dazzling rainbow?
Holy Terror
Fred Warren, Oct 23, 2012
Today, I’d like to toss a recent article from Christianity Today onto the table for discussion. It deals with horror, a speculative genre we don’t frequently chat about here…
The Success Of Fantasy By The Masters
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 22, 2012
According to Dr. Drout, Tolkien, and I would argue Lewis, created a bridge for contemporary readers to step into the realm of the fantastic. These writers tied their magical, mystical worlds to the world readers knew and recognized. Interestingly, they did so in vastly different ways.
Speculative Politics 3: Rebuttal By Kerry Nietz
Kerry Nietz, Oct 21, 2012
Author Kerry Nietz agrees with fellow author Marc Schooley on politics in fiction. But he opposes some of Schooley’s views on politics in reality.
What Makes Novels Mediocre?
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 19, 2012
How does sin influence our mediocre expectations? What makes reading novels a duty rather than a delight — or even makes you put down the book and refuse to read further?
Reading Is Worship 8: Source Of All Stories
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 18, 2012
Scripture is the source of all stories — the story of reality, the smaller “stories” of us as real people, and the stories we subcreate. We must recall that truth when we’re discussing how our stories glorify God.
Anonymizing Novel Reviews
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 17, 2012
Would Christian speculative novel reviews be more useful, even honest, if they were written anonymously? And at least for some novels, would you prefer writing reviews anonymously?
Oz Four Ways: Wicked, The Musical
Fred Warren, Oct 16, 2012
See and hear the Merry Old Land at its very best in our carefree Musical Tour of Oz!
Ingredients Of A Good Story
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 15, 2012
Whether on blogs or in conference writing instruction or how-to writing books, it seems to me there is much more discussion about point of view and avoiding passive verb constructions and steering clear of forms of “to be” than there is about what ingredients go into a good story.
