by Jason Joyner | Apr 25, 2008 | Blog, reviews, speculative fiction, theology
Okay, so the CSFF tour has moved on, but I want to post quickly on two questions that may arise from the book The Begotten.
First of all, what made this book “speculative”?
The book is set in a historical time (1300’s Italy), so it is clearly not science fiction. It is not really a fanatsy. Why did it end up in a book tour for speculative fiction? Well, it might be a little of a reach for the core audience for a focus of Christian sci-fi and fantasy. However, it focuses on alternative history with a mix of supernatural power and “speculation” on what would happen if certain letters of Paul, containing prophecies, was found at some time that led to the plot of the book. In my opinion, that premise is enough to support highlighting it during the CSFF tour. Plus, it was a very well written and enjoyable book, so what is the harm in promoting such a product when it is pretty close to the intention of the tour?
The other question is, isn’t the idea of a “lost” book of Scripture dangerous territory?
Yes, this premise is dangerous territory. If it was done by someone without respect for the Bible and Christian tradition, it would most likely be a book that I could not support and recommend. Again, a comparison to DaVinci Code comes to mind. Lisa Bergren clearly holds to ideas that show her deep love for Jesus and the gospel message. The book has a rich spiritual message (that doesn’t come across preachy), and it overall is a vehicle that combines truth and entertainment in a good way.
Now, there was some liberty with how her characters responded to the lost Corinthian level, and they probably acted a little too out of character for the time frame. They sounded like modern day Pentecostals a lot of the time, not like Roman Catholics confronted with strange new teaching that would be heretical. I think the answer to this will come in the conclusion of the series, but this could be a critique of the first book.
Fiction in general is only a “what if” that happens in the author’s mind. Intertwining fiction and the Bible can be a tricky issue. Randy Ingermanson has two novels about time travel that deal with the apostles. Anne Rice is writing a series based off of Jesus’ childhood, in areas of history that we have no record for, at least Biblically. One commenter suggested that it made the premise of the book a little harder to handle since Bergren used Paul. However, it also gives the premise more legitimacy since Paul did actually make extra correspondence to Corinth that we don’t have in the Bible.
Ultimately, I think Lisa did well in her book, and it must come down to that this is fiction, and not Bible study or teaching. We have to use discernment in ANY book we read, even if it is from a respected scholar, and whether it is fiction or non-fiction. Fiction is meant to be false, yet it can be an avenue for us to examine issues in the hypothetical. Fiction is above all creative, art, and entertainment, so we have to hold to that as a baseline regarding any book.
by Jason Joyner | Apr 25, 2008 | Blog, reviews, speculative fiction, theology
Okay, so the CSFF tour has moved on, but I want to post quickly on two questions that may arise from the book The Begotten.
First of all, what made this book “speculative”?
The book is set in a historical time (1300’s Italy), so it is clearly not science fiction. It is not really a fanatsy. Why did it end up in a book tour for speculative fiction? Well, it might be a little of a reach for the core audience for a focus of Christian sci-fi and fantasy. However, it focuses on alternative history with a mix of supernatural power and “speculation” on what would happen if certain letters of Paul, containing prophecies, was found at some time that led to the plot of the book. In my opinion, that premise is enough to support highlighting it during the CSFF tour. Plus, it was a very well written and enjoyable book, so what is the harm in promoting such a product when it is pretty close to the intention of the tour?
The other question is, isn’t the idea of a “lost” book of Scripture dangerous territory?
Yes, this premise is dangerous territory. If it was done by someone without respect for the Bible and Christian tradition, it would most likely be a book that I could not support and recommend. Again, a comparison to DaVinci Code comes to mind. Lisa Bergren clearly holds to ideas that show her deep love for Jesus and the gospel message. The book has a rich spiritual message (that doesn’t come across preachy), and it overall is a vehicle that combines truth and entertainment in a good way.
Now, there was some liberty with how her characters responded to the lost Corinthian level, and they probably acted a little too out of character for the time frame. They sounded like modern day Pentecostals a lot of the time, not like Roman Catholics confronted with strange new teaching that would be heretical. I think the answer to this will come in the conclusion of the series, but this could be a critique of the first book.
Fiction in general is only a “what if” that happens in the author’s mind. Intertwining fiction and the Bible can be a tricky issue. Randy Ingermanson has two novels about time travel that deal with the apostles. Anne Rice is writing a series based off of Jesus’ childhood, in areas of history that we have no record for, at least Biblically. One commenter suggested that it made the premise of the book a little harder to handle since Bergren used Paul. However, it also gives the premise more legitimacy since Paul did actually make extra correspondence to Corinth that we don’t have in the Bible.
Ultimately, I think Lisa did well in her book, and it must come down to that this is fiction, and not Bible study or teaching. We have to use discernment in ANY book we read, even if it is from a respected scholar, and whether it is fiction or non-fiction. Fiction is meant to be false, yet it can be an avenue for us to examine issues in the hypothetical. Fiction is above all creative, art, and entertainment, so we have to hold to that as a baseline regarding any book.
by Jason Joyner | Apr 17, 2008 | Blog, fiction, theology, writing craft
Oh hi. Remember me? I’m the guy that used to blog here regularly…
The last few weeks (and few months in general), have really played havoc with my posting. I haven’t given this up, like so many blogs that fade away. Unfortunately, Real Life Interferes (TM) has reared its ugly head in my world recently. I may have found a way to get back to a better schedule, but we’ll see when I prove it, eh?
Oh, also I found out I didn’t crack my wrist after all, just aggravated a cyst in it. Much better now, thanks.
I wanted to say a few words about God’s sovereignty in Christian fiction. I had been talking about it over a few posts (see here for the 4 days of posts) and I didn’t want to leave it hanging with nothing else said.
Overall, I briefly described a few ways that authors could deal with the idea of sovereignty on day 4. The books The Shadow and Light and Legend of the Firefish tackled the idea more straightforward in the plot and the worldview of the characters. Ultimately, it is like a lot of things when writing about God: He is transcendent, and it is hard to bring His glory, power, and sovereignty down to the level of human understanding or experience.
Is saying this a cop out? Admittedly, yes. I lost my train of thought with my disruptions. However, I think that God’s greatness should challenge Christian writers to take great risks and become the most transcendent authors because of the wonder of Who they write about. And literature does show this: Les Miserable, The Brothers Karamazov, Robinson Crusoe are books with great themes of faith.
Sovereignty is a specifically tricky issue since it means God is in control, but in fiction it can clash with the the author supposedly in control. It will take a great honing of skill to see this issue mastered.
by Jason Joyner | Apr 17, 2008 | Blog, fiction, theology, writing craft
Oh hi. Remember me? I’m the guy that used to blog here regularly…
The last few weeks (and few months in general), have really played havoc with my posting. I haven’t given this up, like so many blogs that fade away. Unfortunately, Real Life Interferes (TM) has reared its ugly head in my world recently. I may have found a way to get back to a better schedule, but we’ll see when I prove it, eh?
Oh, also I found out I didn’t crack my wrist after all, just aggravated a cyst in it. Much better now, thanks.
I wanted to say a few words about God’s sovereignty in Christian fiction. I had been talking about it over a few posts (see here for the 4 days of posts) and I didn’t want to leave it hanging with nothing else said.
Overall, I briefly described a few ways that authors could deal with the idea of sovereignty on day 4. The books The Shadow and Light and Legend of the Firefish tackled the idea more straightforward in the plot and the worldview of the characters. Ultimately, it is like a lot of things when writing about God: He is transcendent, and it is hard to bring His glory, power, and sovereignty down to the level of human understanding or experience.
Is saying this a cop out? Admittedly, yes. I lost my train of thought with my disruptions. However, I think that God’s greatness should challenge Christian writers to take great risks and become the most transcendent authors because of the wonder of Who they write about. And literature does show this: Les Miserable, The Brothers Karamazov, Robinson Crusoe are books with great themes of faith.
Sovereignty is a specifically tricky issue since it means God is in control, but in fiction it can clash with the the author supposedly in control. It will take a great honing of skill to see this issue mastered.
by Jason Joyner | Mar 18, 2008 | Blog, fiction, theology, writing craft
I’m not going to be too prolific tonight. I found out today I cracked a wrist bone at the base of my right thumb, and it makes typing a little…challenging.
So how does an author reconcile God’s sovereignty and a good heroic character in fiction? I must say that I see a lot of Christian fiction books that deal with this issue in a variety of ways. There may be a non-Christian hero who acts without turning to God until a conversion toward the end of the book (though if a unsaved person is just not acknowledging the leading God is giving them, what is the difference?). The action may happen so fast and furious that the characters can only react, and don’t have time to really “give it to God”. I am reading a book currently where some of the characters are in mortal danger and mainly dealing with the trouble with occasional “help us God” prayers, but there are other saints interceding for them.
The books The Shadow and Light and The Legend of the Firefish are pretty distinctive in how they clearly address the issue. Oh, and in thinking about this subject, the series Legend of the Guardian King also shows the characters wrestle with sovereignty throughout the action.
Okay, this typing thing is getting tricky for today. I’ll pick it up tomorrow most likely.
by Jason Joyner | Mar 18, 2008 | Blog, fiction, theology, writing craft
I’m not going to be too prolific tonight. I found out today I cracked a wrist bone at the base of my right thumb, and it makes typing a little…challenging.
So how does an author reconcile God’s sovereignty and a good heroic character in fiction? I must say that I see a lot of Christian fiction books that deal with this issue in a variety of ways. There may be a non-Christian hero who acts without turning to God until a conversion toward the end of the book (though if a unsaved person is just not acknowledging the leading God is giving them, what is the difference?). The action may happen so fast and furious that the characters can only react, and don’t have time to really “give it to God”. I am reading a book currently where some of the characters are in mortal danger and mainly dealing with the trouble with occasional “help us God” prayers, but there are other saints interceding for them.
The books The Shadow and Light and The Legend of the Firefish are pretty distinctive in how they clearly address the issue. Oh, and in thinking about this subject, the series Legend of the Guardian King also shows the characters wrestle with sovereignty throughout the action.
Okay, this typing thing is getting tricky for today. I’ll pick it up tomorrow most likely.
