“I Don’t Read Fiction,” She Said, Disapproving.

Apparently the church connection reassured her that I was safe to talk to. But to make sure we’d have no misunderstandings, she told me with self-righteous conviction, “I don’t read fiction.”
— Yvonne Anderson in April 2013 —

Life Is Change, But God Isn’t

An eight year old boy enjoying a day out with his family is watching the race and the very next moment he is taken violently from this world. Moments like this remind us all that we are not as “in control” as we think we are.
— Christopher Miller in April 2013 —

Resurrection, Part 4: Creation Will Rise

Jesus resurrected from the dead. Yet God’s Story also says resurrection will spread to “the creation itself,” Earth and beyond.
— E. Stephen Burnett in April 2013 —

Fiction and The Meaning Of Evil

“What is the meaning of it, Watson?” said Holmes solemnly as he laid down the paper. “What object is served by this circle of misery and violence and fear? It must tend to some end, or else our universe is […]
— Christopher Miller in April 2013 —

Resurrection, Part 3: We Are Risen; We Will Rise

Christ is risen. Next comes a truth echoed by heroes such as The Iron Giant and Iron Man: human resurrection, which comes in at least two stages.
— E. Stephen Burnett in March 2013 —

We Are Not Storyless!

The Author has never lost control or taken a back seat in his writing. His will is always moving forward. So who are you, O Character, to claim you know better than the Author what is needed in his story?
— Christopher Miller in March 2013 —

Resurrection, Part 1: Prelude

Every good hero in fantasy and science fiction must experience some kind of death and rebirth. Only one Hero has truly done it. And only He can share the joy of His Resurrection.
— E. Stephen Burnett in March 2013 —

How Can They Hear?

A common complaint with Christian fiction is that it’s too preachy. Personally, I’m more apt to be dissatisfied because it’s not preachy enough.
— Yvonne Anderson in March 2013 —

Fiction Christians From Another Planet! VII: Attack Of The Spiritoids

From the misquote “you are a soul, you have a body,” to spiritual-warfare “only unseen realities matter” assumptions, to end-times evacuation-from-Earth tropes, Gnostic spiritoids infect some Christian fiction.
— E. Stephen Burnett in February 2013 —

Where Are All The Superheroes?

From the halls of Odin to the exploits of Beowulf, the graphic-art mythos of Superman, the school day victories of colorful Power Rangers—why are superheros so super?
— Yvonne Anderson in February 2013 —

Idolatry And Reading-Fandom

Religion scholar David Chidester has famously argued that baseball, Coca-Cola, rock ‘n’ roll, Tupperware—and even the Human Genome Project—serve, for their biggest fans, as “religious fakes,” meaning they play the role of religion, though they aren’t the real thing.
— Rebecca LuElla Miller in February 2013 —

Riding The Negative Waves Of Dystopian Fiction

From dystopian genre’s long past to fears of our own futures, “Mask” author Kerry Nietz explores why such stories are so popular.
— Kerry Nietz in February 2013 —

Dust You Are

One of the things I’ve gotten used to, being a Lutheran in an industry filled with . . . well, mostly not-Lutherans, is that there are times when I’ll reference a belief or practice of my denomination, only to have […]
— John Otte in February 2013 —

Teaching Story Transitions 5: Middle-Grade Exploration

As parents transition children from the early tools of discernment, they may challenge middle-grade children to discern more on their own.
— Jared Moore in February 2013 —

Fiction Christians From Another Planet! V: Pagan Straw Men

Lame theology may lead to alien non-Christian characters. They’re made of straw that’s been cut from official-ministry “manuals” about how pagans think and built on un-Biblical foundations of “ministry platforms.”
— E. Stephen Burnett in February 2013 —

More About Characters

The subject of characters in Christian fiction has been coming up on this blog a lot recently. I’ve appreciated E. Stephen Burnett’s excellent series “Fiction Christians From Another Planet” — Patrick Carr’s guest post about writers using real people as […]
— Yvonne Anderson in February 2013 —

Fiction Christians From Another Planet! IV: Terror Of The Megachurchians

If we only ever meet in Christian novels pagan characters overcome by platitudes like “Really? There’s a God who loves — me?”, the author has gone beyond corny. Worse, our Hero and the Gospel look ridiculous.
— E. Stephen Burnett in January 2013 —

Offended

One day, while I was still attending Seminary, one of my professors came in and admitted to doing something heretical. I remember it well, even fifteen years later.
— John Otte in January 2013 —

The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

When we strum chords to accompany the song in our hearts, or sand a tabletop to release the wood’s beauty, or write a story that echoes God’s, I expect He’d call that the sincerest form of flattery.
— Yvonne Anderson in January 2013 —
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