by Scott T. Barnes
Christians writing fantasy literature face one unique challenge that most writers do not: how to deal with religion and spirituality in a made-up world? I provide here only partial answers and reflections, and would love to hear your opinions on this important topic.
‘Fantasy’ fiction comprises books as diverse as The Lord of the Rings; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; the Percy Jackson books; and arguably magic realism such as the Life of Pi.
When Dungeons and Dragons was brand new I played it with friends of all ages, including a published science fiction author. After several years of peaceful gaming, there came accusations from all over the media that Dungeons and Dragons led people to devil worship, satanic rituals, and dangerous role play. Most of the stories turned out to be made up, but the more the media reported on it, the more people did indeed try role play, which occasionally caused injury. Eventually the hysteria died down and Time Magazine just celebrated D&D’s 50th anniversary, the game beloved to many Christians the world over.
Nevertheless, the problem remains, how can I incorporate religion and spirituality in my stories without leading anyone astray?
I’ve prayed on this topic many times and God has never replied, never hinted that I was on the right or wrong track. If the story is set on this Earth, you can of course write of the real Jesus, the true Christianity, as I do in my young adult fantasy Memories of Lucinda Eco.
How to write fantasy as a Christian author #ScottTBarnes #ACFW #writing #writingfantasy #ChristianFiction Share on XBut for made-up worlds, I see three possibilities.
First, you can ignore the whole issue. I’ve done that myself. That works fine in short stories, but if stories get to any length, it seems very apparent that something is missing, that your characters are hollow. The tendency, in fact, is that you end up writing about shallow atheists who never give a thought to the afterlife or salvation.
The next possibility is that you can make up your own religion and have some fun with it as Fritz Leiber did in his Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series. I don’t know if Leiber was Christian or not, but the novels contain a completely made-up mythos. The benefit here is that no one has ever heard of or worshiped these gods. The fact that this is all make-believe should be quite obvious to the readers.
Finally, you can simply embrace the Earth’s complex history and write stories like Percy Jackson where ancient gods, whether Roman, Greek, native American, et cetera, are worshiped and very possibly running around causing mischief. Besides providing ready-made source material, no one takes those gods seriously anymore.
Problem solved, right?
On the other hand, they used to be worshiped. People were put to death for not worshiping them. In this topsy-turvy culture, might people begin again?
My just-released YA fantasy Memories of Lucinda Eco is set in present-day Baja California (and 1967 Baja). The heroes are all Mexican and Catholic, but the issue of made-up religions comes up obliquely through the subject of magic. What is it, where does it come from, etc.?
The next novel I’m working on is set in a made-up world. In the first draft I ignored religion, but as I mentioned, the characters felt hollow and atheistic. I am rewriting it with a made-up religion, and frankly, I’m having a blast.
And I continue praying, praying that my work glorifies God, praying that it leads no one astray.
I would love to hear your experiences, ideas, critiques, or especially Bible verses that might help deal with this.
Scott T. Barnes is the author of the young adult novel Memories of Lucinda Eco, which BookLife by Publishers Weekly calls “…a spellbinding blend of magic and mystery, alive with tension, laughs, and real emotional resonance.” Join Scott at www.scotttbarnes.com.
Comments 11
Fantastic topic, Scott. I don’t write in the fantasy genre, so I haven’t thought much about this. There’s apparently much to consider and lots of room for creativity.
J R R Tolkien made up a whole theological universe for his Middle Earth. Of course, the symbolism of the story is all Christian (“the Return of the King”???)
I’m neither a fantasy writer nor a fantasy reader, but I see a lot of Christian fantasy authors, including C. S. Lewis, embracing a fourth alternative—creating a religion in their fantasy worlds that clearly parallels biblical faith, though with different terminology. I’d like to share a couple of blog posts from The Christian PEN that might provide some more food for thought:
Theology for Fantasy Worlds: Seven Key Questions to Consider
Part 1: https://thechristianpen.com/theology-for-fantasy-worlds-seven-key-questions-to-consider-part-1/
Part 2: https://thechristianpen.com/theology-for-fantasy-worlds-seven-key-questions-to-consider-part-2/
I know Lewis did this in his sci-fi, creating people who did not experience the effects of the Fall. H used the lens of a biblical worldview to ask the “what if” question.
Thank you, Jayna. That is indeed a fourth alternative which I should have laid out. (I even mentioned C.S. Lewis in the story, but neglected to include it.)
I have a family member who got into Christian Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons, etc. Alas, this person ended up viewing fantasy as reality and couldn’t distinguish the difference and fell away from God and the faith and has yet to return. Thus, my mom raised me under a strict Biblical lens. I grew up hearing every verse in the Bible regarding witchcraft. To sum up, anything that involved witches, witchcraft, wizards, sorcery, spells, magic, etc., was banned regardless of whether it was written by a Christian or not.
(Deuteronomy 18:9-13.)9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. (NIV)
I have countless atheist and non-Christian friends who praise J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles Of Narnia and have no clue either has anything to do with the Bible. If such literature is so Biblically sound, why is it not pointing my non-Christian and atheist friends to God and the faith? All these fantasy influences seem to be fueling my friends to gravitate towards darker stuff like Game Of Thrones.
At the end of the day, God leads and convicts us where He does. We all have walked different paths. I’m not out to condemn or provoke. Just sharing my thoughts and experiences. 🙂
Thanks, Amber, for the Bible verse and personal experiences on this subject.
Your writing brings fantasy worlds to life in such vivid detail—an absolute escape from reality!
I wrestled with this issue intensely in my fantasy writing as well. My solution was what might be strictly called henotheism. The pagan gods are real characters with real superpowers in my works, but the Christian God is supreme over them and everything else. I go out of my way to emphasize that, as the pagan gods are not pure, they are not deserving of worship, and, in fact, I make up names for their species to avoid using the term god. They’re more like superheroes/villains in my writing-beings with superior powers to mortals, but not objects of worship. Before I came to this conclusion about writing about magic and mythology, I struggled with what the Biblical answer might be. This was an issue both OT and NT writers dealt with, and I think we find clues in Scripture on how to approach it. I posted my considered opinion on my blog if anyone would like more details: https://www.douglasbrown-author.com/thoughts-by-the-well/christians-and-harry-potter
Douglas,
I skimmed your essay on your website and find it fascinating. I will read it in more depth tomorrow. In your fiction, do you call God the “Christian God?” How do you signal that this is the true god and the others are created for purposes of the story?
-Scott
Thank you!