Christian Fiction: what is it? Fiction is all about finding truth in a created world. Well, good fiction is. And good fiction is a natural home for Christian creativity.
Not because Christianity is a fiction, but because Christianity is truth. Fiction is basically story and a good story is truth brought to life and made real.
Jesus and the use of fiction
The parables that Jesus told are basically stories. They follow the classic rules for a good story and they all contain truth - sometimes obvious, sometimes a bit more obscure.
Even people who argue against the Christian religion find little ground to disagree with the truth of Jesus 'made up' stories which carry the essence of his teaching and our faith.
More than stories about Godly people
Jesus’ stories were rarely about Godly people. And when they were, they were unlikely to be about the good things that happened to them. Jesus stories are about fools, villains and rogues as much as they are about wise men, saints and heroes.
Jesus knew that the best way to talk about the good things of God was to tell stories story about life in their absence. Many of Jesus stories don’t mention God at all. It’s up to the listeners to find God in there for themselves.
How Christian fiction works
Discovering God in a story has a much greater impact than being told by an expert theologian. There’s a huge number of factual studies that tell exactly how many people lived and died in the filth and poverty of Victorian London. But if you want to know what that really means, read a story by Charles Dickens.
Fiction shows what it means to live and be human. In fiction human beings make decisions, make mistakes fall in and out of love and show us what drives and what holds them back. You might not like them or what they do but in understanding them to some extent, you can better understand yourself.
Why Christian fiction is important
You don’t have to read only Christian fiction. Any 'truthful' story will have something that relates us back to our original God created state. But Christian fiction - and by that let’s mean fiction that deals with issues and themes that should concern followers of Christ, ought to tell us something about that state.
It isn’t necessary for an author to be a Christian in order to write a book of interest to Christians. But as all true authors can’t help but be true to themselves, you’d expect most books honestly exploring Christian themes to be written by Christians.
Range of Christian authored fiction
Christian authors are writing everything from fiction enriched re-tellings straight from the Bible, original historical romances, present day mysteries, science fiction, graphic style, youth culture and darker novels.
There really is something for everyone who wants to explore Christian themes and concerns through fiction and imagination.
High quality production values
With high quality print and production values, Christian fiction competes on equal terms with commercial offerings. Promotion and marketing of Christian books has also stepped up to the challenge of staking out a claim in the world market place.
And with striking cover art, hard hitting titles and content that lives up to the dust jacket, Christian fiction makes a gift that's as exciting to give as to get.
Quick Guide to Christian Fiction
What is it?
- Fiction that engages and explores big themes through story and imagination.
- Enriched Bible re-telling, romances, mysteries, science fiction, youth and darker novels.
- Presented with modern, attractive titles, covers and designs for all ages and readers.
What will it do for me?
- Get you into a good story with a fresh take on Christian themes and ideas.
- Help you explore a deeper understanding of man and God through story.
- Provide a gift to encourage another to explore God through inspired fiction.
March 6th, 2012 - Posted & Written by Les Ellison
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