Christian Fantasy?

Welcome, Mark! I'm not an expert on fantasy or fiction (Christian or otherwise), but my guess would be that it'd depend. Lol, how helpful is that! I'm thinking there are a lot of classic fantasy stories out there that loosely have "Christian" themes (good vs. evil, etc.), so I don't really know the industry standard on just how much of that rates a book a "Christian fantasy" title. You might check an agent or editor's blog (eg. Rachelle Gardner is a Christian agent looking for Christian fantasy) and ask them that question. I'd be interested in the reply, if you get one.

Hi Mark...

As a passing atheist I don't consider most fantasy with Christian themes to be exclusively Christian fiction. Ultimately, themes of devotion, sacrifice, forgiveness, humility and their opposites underpin a great deal of Western European fantasy, and remain a staple of fantasy literature today. Such themes can be found overtly in ancient classics like Le Morte d'Arthur, as well as early 20th century classics like those of C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkien, and in the more recent fantasy of Julian May, Roberta A. McAvoy and others work directly with Christian concepts and symbols at times. If you write strong fantasy with deep Christian themes, you might be reaching two markets and not one.

What Ruv said.

Basically if your fantasy is in a second world and therefore you don't have Christ or the various Churches named as such, then it's fantasy inspired by. Many fantasy readers will read it no matter what religious persuasion they are (though they might not take home/ see any message you've put in, not that you have to have a message). However, if your fantasy is set in this world and deals directly with Christ or any of the Christian churches that actually exist, then Christian Fantasy would probably apply.

Christian Fantasy Novels seem to be popular.

'The Circle' Trilogy is popular, for example, and Donita K Paul's Dragon books.

Heck - even good ol' C.S Lewis had 'Perelandra'.
(You might argue that was Sci-Fi instead ... )

Good luck !

Mac

Pat~ said:

I'm thinking there are a lot of classic fantasy stories out there that loosely have "Christian" themes (good vs. evil, etc.),

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Good versus evil could make a fantasy Buddhist, Hindu, Neo-pagan, Judaic, Occult or Atheist by that definition.

Charles Williams

caw

Christian fantasy, sure, why not? If time travel is classed as fantasy, then the book to the left is Christian fantasy.

It's being marketed as historical romance, though.

<-----And my own book to the left is being marketed as apocalyptic SF. So fantasy, yeah, why not?

Mac H. said:

Heck - even good ol' C.S Lewis had 'Perelandra'.
(You might argue that was Sci-Fi instead ... )

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*Swoon*

Thanks for mentioning Lewis.

I could see some Christians able to argue that anything fantastical could be deemed evil. While I believe Christians, as a whole, are an open-minded lot -- I wouldn't want to test my theory out. My novel is strongly tied into the bible, but I'm marketing it strictly as urban fantasy because the last thing I want to do is have some Christians of different denominations believe I'm pushing my beliefs on others.

Sure. Even if it isn't Christian themed, it may still work.
I'm trying to write a SciFi novel that, while it has nothing to do with Christianity, will be a 'safe' read for those who take a black magic marker to all the profanity and sex scenes before they let their kids read it. We'll see how it goes.

Fantasy is especially dangerous for children. While most children in the 1970s knew enough truth to place divination in the forbidden realm of the occult, today's children who often feel more comfortable with occult games than Biblical truth see nothing wrong with pagan practices. Fantasy movies, like Disney's The Lion King, are good matches for the new earth-centered paradigm or world view that is transforming children's views of reality. While God told us to continually communicate truth to our children , today's culture trains children to see reality through a global, earth-centered filter. This "new" mental framework distorts truth, stretches the meaning of familiar words, and promotes mystical "insights" that are incompatible with Christianity.

Fantasy is especially dangerous for children.

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today's children who often feel more comfortable with occult games than Biblical truth see nothing wrong with pagan practices.

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Um, excuse me?

I have to differ, providing, of course, that I've understood what you said above. Children will always like fantasy. If they cannot get it via the Christian literature body of work that's out there, they'll get it from the secular media. If they can't get it that way, they'll create their own.

Why do they love it so? Because if you look at the themes of fantasy for children, a common thread is that the child is thrust into a position of power. In many stories, the parents are absent, dead or ineffective. This puts the child character into a setting where he or she can call the shots. What's more attractive to a kid than controlling events?

I've raised my girls to know and love the Lord. That doesn't mean I'll restrict their reading to exclude all fantasy. Kids today are no dumber than we were back in the day. I don't know every child, but mine can tell truth from lies -- by the power of the Holy Spirit Who lives in them.

Our very own Jay L Young (III) has a series of 4 books that are great. They are described as "The X Men meet the new testament."

Not sure if it helps - just an FYI. I'm kinda a fan & his pimp

i hate mainstream religion in my fantasy. angels? sure. god? sure. referencing things from the bible as parts of the catalysts for the story? BOOO!

i specifically HATE when i get half to 3/4ths through a book and the big reveal is it all about Christianity! it feels LAZY and cheap and sneaky. (someone else wrote the bible and you're not coming up with your own ideas. like setting your book in wonderland. religion is a personal idea and choice and if i wasn't expecting to read about it, it's like being stuck in an awkward dinner conversation.)

if you write Religion derived fantasy then be upfront about it from the jump. there is a market for it and people look for it.

(just sayin')

Mark W. said:

This question came to me because in my WIP, it deals with a character who has to deal with issues concerning the religion of her world which I think many Christians of today could identify. I am wondering exactly how to genre fit the story so I know how and who to query when the time comes.

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well there's a difference between "the religion of her world" and Christianity.

like hot dogs and Ball Park Franks.

a lot of people can relate to the concept of having to question what you know. Jews can relate to questioning religion, as can Muslims or anyone else in an organized religion.

To me there is a big difference between the concept of organized religion in your novel and concepts derived directly from the Bible.

Maybe you could market it as an inspirational fantasy if that's how it ends (inspirationally)
Maybe it's just fantasy and you're the only one who needs to know what inspired your writing

I see no issue with any of these things. Calling your work fantasy, peddling it in the Christian market, having your characters question religious tenets, citing the Bible in your work. None of it is out of bounds for me and my work. If I as a Christian reader can relate to your fantasy-world's faith, that's fine, too.

I actually rather like when the Christian message doesn't come across heavy-handed from Page One. I don't feel it's sneaky or lazy writing. If it's so blatant in a project that I know everything right from the get-go, that's what I term preachy and I usually (not always) lose interest and pass the book on to one of my friends.

Defy, you say "someone else wrote the Bible and you're not coming up with your own ideas." Of course not. Anytime we cite the source book of any faith, that's exactly what we're doing. And on purpose. With our target market, these words are acknowledged as truth and therefore little explanation is required. That's as it should be, given a common frame of reference.

Of course, the beauty of Christian fiction is that we get to invent each character's spin on what s/he reads in the Bible, and his/her questions about it, and we get to resolve these questions and quandaries in a way that works for us and for our story. I like it that way.

Deb, I can see your point. But what if you're not a christian and you're just looking for a fantasy read? then surprise everything can be explained away with "it was all in the bible". that's pretty lazy because you're not solving your story's conflict, you're resting on the bible's laurels. and if the reader isn't a christian or faithful then it's not impactful.

i'm all for stories that a actually based around the concepts and ideas in the bible or fables or science or government, things that are generally believed to be x, y, and z by many people but I just get annoyed when authors try to hide messages.

it's one thing if it's like the graphic novel Fables which is about Jewish diaspora but in a way that you don't feel burdened or preached at. there is never a mention of Isreal or Jewish faith or religion even.

but if i'm reading a romance novel about demons and sex and doctors and vampires and fallen angles then the big reveal in book 3 of a series is that someone is a descendant of Jesus and the bible said something that predicted all this and if everyone does x christian thing then the the world will be saved. WHAT?! (that actually happened to me.)

Either be an story about something with underneath (which sounds like what Mark W is doing) or a blatantly derived story about the thing you're on about. just don't spring it on me. as a reader that makes me stabby.

personally i think a blatant christian fantasy story would be interesting. not present day though, unless it was about someone with no exposure to Christianity because they're from like another world or something (is that what Mark was doing?)...

defyalllogic said:

Deb, I can see your point. But what if you're not a christian and you're just looking for a fantasy read? then surprise everything can be explained away with "it was all in the bible". that's pretty lazy because you're not solving your story's conflict, you're resting on the bible's laurels. and if the reader isn't a christian or faithful then it's not impactful.

i'm all for stories that a actually based around the concepts and ideas in the bible or fables or science or government, things that are generally believed to be x, y, and z by many people but I just get annoyed when authors try to hide messages.

it's one thing if it's like the graphic novel Fables which is about Jewish diaspora but in a way that you don't feel burdened or preached at. there is never a mention of Isreal or Jewish faith or religion even.

but if i'm reading a romance novel about demons and sex and doctors and vampires and fallen angles then the big reveal in book 3 of a series is that someone is a descendant of Jesus and the bible said something that predicted all this and if everyone does x christian thing then the the world will be saved. WHAT?! (that actually happened to me.)

Either be an story about something with underneath (which sounds like what Mark W is doing) or a blatantly derived story about the thing you're on about. just don't spring it on me. as a reader that makes me stabby.

personally i think a blatant christian fantasy story would be interesting. not present day though, unless it was about someone with no exposure to Christianity because they're from like another world or something (is that what Mark was doing?)...

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There are plenty of stories out there that have a religious bent, Christian or otherwise, that cite texts or deal with deities, and have a particular slant that does not suddenly have at the end, "haha! we're right and you're wrong!" Some do. *shrugs*

As a fantasy reader myself, I can't count the times I've read about witches or pagan motifs. I know that bothers some people, but for many people it doesn't. Many fantasy readers enjoy reading different religious themes in books. I like to read about characters and world views that are Hindu or Muslim or Pagan or "fill in the blank."

I guess what I'm saying is that just because a story has a Christian bent doesn't mean it has to be automatically labeled Christian fiction. I wouldn't do that to a science fiction book I read where it was heavily slanted to Buddhism or a fantasy story that was mainly Pagan.

For example, I have a series in the pre-writing phase that deals heavily with Christian religious themes. Maybe some people will see it as Christian fantasy and some will see it as regular fantasy. I'll know when I'm done and if it ends up getting picked up. It has demons. It has angels. It has supernatural creatures. It is about the Christian end of times. It ties in heavily with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim lore, but mainly Christian. I see it as urban fantasy, not Christian fiction. Just because it deals with the apocalypse, doesn't mean I have to show my hand and reveal every little bit of religious or non-religious motivation from the get-go. There would be no build.

I think I get what you're saying. I've read books where I thought the story was going one way and I was unpleasantly surprised it went another. But I don't think it's fair to generalize like that.

harrywatson66 said:

Fantasy is especially dangerous for children. While most children in the 1970s knew enough truth to place divination in the forbidden realm of the occult, today's children who often feel more comfortable with occult games than Biblical truth see nothing wrong with pagan practices. Fantasy movies, like Disney's The Lion King, are good matches for the new earth-centered paradigm or world view that is transforming children's views of reality. While God told us to continually communicate truth to our children , today's culture trains children to see reality through a global, earth-centered filter. This "new" mental framework distorts truth, stretches the meaning of familiar words, and promotes mystical "insights" that are incompatible with Christianity.

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Is this some sort of satire? What is this. I don't even...

i hate mainstream religion in my fantasy. angles? sure.

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No fantasy is complete without plenty of angles, obtuse or otherwise.

Also, I keep hearing this term 'Christian Themes'. 'Good vs Evil' is not a Christian Theme. 'Good vs Evil' is a theme that's relevant to Christianity, just as it is relevant to a variety of different philosophical and religious views. The same is true of most themes/values that are attributed to Christianity. Christians do not have a patent on The Golden Rule.


Regarding the OP, I would suggest asking some people who don't share your religion to read your work. If they pick up strongly on Christian messages and it bothers them, then what you have is probably Christian Fantasy.

It's not fair to your readers to disguise your novel. There might be a reason why they're in the fantasy section of the bookstore, rather than the Christian. So don't con them into buying a book that's not what they're looking for. (I'm not suggesting this is what you're doing, just bare it in mind).

A prime example of this is the I Am Legend film. If you haven't read the novel that the film was inspired by, you may not be aware of just how absurdly different they are. The movie has a very clear message: Science destroyed humanity (with what they thought was a cure for cancer) and religion saved it (by having god send a woman to Neville to obtain the cure for vampirism). This is NOT what happens in the book. In the book, it is a bacteria that causes the vampirism, and god doesn't play a part. The point of the story is that Neville realises that it is he who has become the monster to these 'vampires' by capturing and experimenting on them. "I Am Legend" means that he has become, to them, what the idea of vampires are to us. A legendary monster. In the movie, the message is "I Am Legend" to what remains of humanity, because I found the cure.

The reason I bring that up is because I went into that movie expecting a remake of the book. Instead what I got was a commentary on scientific advancement and faith in god. I wanted my money back. Don't make people feel that way about your book.