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Is Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Redundant?

February 20th, 2007 | CSFF, christianity, fantasy, publishing

A friend asked me that question last month. And it has been bugging me ever since.

The Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy (CSFF) blog tour is talking about Jeff Gerke and WhereTheMapEnds.com this month, so it seemed a good time to get input from others.

Here’s what I know about Jeff Gerke. I’m an unpublished Christian Fantasy writer myself, and every person I know in CBA suggests I go to Jeff Gerke with my manuscript. From my friend the “high-powered consultant” to Alive agents (when they were at Alive) to independent agents and NavPress editors. Clearly the guy has branded himself as the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy guy. And that’s good.

Mr. Gerke, I salute you. Thanks for loving the genre.

Now I have to return to my opening question. Is it redundant to talk about Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy? By Christian, I mean genre fiction published within the CBA. The “mainline” publishers already tap into the fantasy and science fiction market. And much of this material is inherently spiritual—often inherently Christian.

Consider the latest issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The first novelet “Dance of Shadows” uses imagery that explores the relationship between the soul and art. The highest form of art involves taking someone’s shadow—an act which often leaves them less than human. In some ways Fred Chappell’s story is not unlike the series, His Dark Materials. But where Philip Pullman is decidedly anti-Christian, Chappell leaves his images open.

And I’m wondering, what do we mean by Christian science fiction and fantasy? Do we mean simply SFF published by the CBA? Do we mean SFF that preaches a message opposite to Pullman (but still preaches in the end)? Or do we mean something larger like Tolkein and Lewis originally wrote?

I’m not trying to challenge anyone or alienate anyone with these questions, I just wanted to hear what you all thought.

Here are the other CSFF participants: Nissa Annakindt Jim Black Grace Bridges Jackie Castle Valerie Comer Karri Compton CSFF Blog Tour Gene Curtis Chris Deanne Janey DeMeo Tessa Edwards April Erwin Kameron M. Franklin Linda Gilmore Beth Goddard Andrea Graham Todd Michael Greene Leathel Grody Katie Hart Sherrie Hibbs Sharon Hinck Christopher Hopper Jason Joyner Kait Karen K. D. Kragen Tina Kulesa Kevin Lucia (and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium) Rachel Marks Shannon McNear Rebecca LuElla Miller Eve Nielsen John Ottinger Robin Parrish Cheryl Russel Hanna Sandvig Mirtika Schultz James Somers Steve Trower Speculative Faith Daniel I. Weaver Timothy Wise


Viewing 20 Comments

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    I've been wondering about this myself, having spent 12 years writing and rewriting an SFF book and then deciding it was rubbish. Partly because of the preaching thing and partly because it just was.

    I don't think I'm a big fan of preaching in story (though story in preaching is good!), but I like to be able to recognise Jesus and redemption sneaking around in the things I read.

    Jenn

    P.S. Isn't it His Dark Materials? :)
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    Jenn, good catch. Elements, Materials. What's the difference?

    I'm glad to know I'm not the only one thinking about this stuff.
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    Yeah. Sorry. That's the wannabe copyeditor in me.
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    One of my hugest pet peeves is "preachy fiction" to the point where it takes me a long time to pick up anything with 'Christian' in the genre description. So, I wonder - what makes it decidedly Christian? I wonder this about music too - is it only music/literature that talks about Christianity/God? Or is it music/literature that is written by Christians?

    I just finished reading "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams. While I didn't personally find it a gripping tale (I have been told that I am wrong, and that it is the BEST SERIES EVER!!!), it was interesting how the religion in it was just Catholicism/Christianity by another name (I don't know if it meant to be Catholic or not, it just seems to me that our world in that time period was decidedly Catholic and not so Prodestant). That part was kind of interesting, and honestly I find that theme very common in a lot of fantasy.
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    Fantasy in particular is about good vs. evil, so if there is truth in the story, there should be some parallels with God and what opposes Him. Does that make it Christian?

    Good question, one a number of other Christian writers have asked from time to time (See Speculative Faith--it was one of the early topics on the blog).

    I will say this: if Christians don't write SFF, then we basically are letting non-Christians define what is good and what is evil.

    As to "preachy" I agree. I'm reading a book right now with a thin veil between the fantasy religion and Christianity. The language the characters use seems too much like the phraseology used so often by Christians.

    The problem with that, I think, is that it prevents readers from looking at our spiritual side in a fresh way--part of what story should do, I think.

    Good topic, Marcus and Kait.

    Becky
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    Kait, I'm with you one hundred per cent. On the other hand, I've heard people make the same preachy complaint about Lewis. He's just written an allegory, they say. Neil Gaiman has some pretty scathing things to say about Lewis in his book American Gods. (Another book that is definitely not Christian.)

    The complaints against Lewis remind me that there are degrees of preaching. Some people like a lot of preaching. Others very little.
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    Jenn,

    I'm a content editor by trade--which makes me something of a copy editor too. One of my duties is to be on the "proofing committee." Sounds fun, huh?

    All that to say, copy edit away, hon! Every writer needs all they help they can get!
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    Becky,

    Thanks for the encouraging note. I was having some post regret after I put this up. I'm afraid it was a little grouchy for the blog tour.

    I certainly didn't mean to suggest that Christians shouldn't write sci-fi and fantasy. I'm just wondering if we need to target the CBA for publication.

    I like supporting the good books that do get published there--like Ingermanson and Batson and a few others.

    The preachy thing is a problem for CSFF CBA authors. I've heard the same editor describe the same fantasy manuscript as both some of the best writing he's seen in a long time and just a little too far-fetched for CBA.

    I like what Jeff said about the CBA market being mostly women--and that demographic being espeically resistant to CSFF. It was on one of the interviews yesterday. Now if I could just remember which one...
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    I don't believe that Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy is redundant. I believe the tendency to write SFF fiction that reflects the same ideals that are present in Jewish/Christian/Muslim monotheism is because those are the most predominant ways of thinking in our world. To write variations or interpretations of those in our own fiction doesn't seem out of the ordinary or even unlikely.

    Also, I think there is a sincere difference between CSFF and SFF because there is an inherent desire to write with strong Christian themes in the former. Much like Card has said in the past, most Science Fiction and Fantasy recently tries to stay away from any sort of religion because there's the fear of a) offending the reader b) alienating the reader or c) converting the reader. The writer only wants to entertain for the most part and writing in something that might limit the readability isn't a good thing.

    I think the one thing to keep in mind is that Science Fiction and Fantasy is about speculation - pure and simple. Christian Science Fiction and Christian Fantasy is about speculation within the realm of a Christian world or Christian-inspired psuedo-world. They're different markets in my mind, and I would be hesitant to publish a CSFF story outside of a Christian market.
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    JB, thanks for the comment! What a splashy looking site you have. Let me know when it's ready so I can dig deeper there.

    And a very thoughtful comment. I agree with you completely that Christian SFF has "an inherent desire to write with strong Christian themes." I'm just not convinced that mainstream SFF is hostile to that desire. Maybe I'm just naive.

    Or worse, maybe I'm thinking too broadly. One of my biggest fears is that I'm not zealous enough.

    Me? I would love to publish CSFF outside of the Christian market. In part because I'm an egotist. But also because I want to share the Christ with people who read SFF in a way that might touch them.

    Of course, there's still definitely a place for the CBA. Christians need to encourage Christians.
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    Nope, it's not redundant at all. SF and Christianity work well together when done right.
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    Thanks for the kind and thoughtful post, Marcus.

    I think the question could be asked in a larger way--and is being asked in this way: what is Christian fiction? What makes something Christian fiction, speculative or not?

    The answer, I believe, is multifaceted and amorphous. And to me that's okay.

    Is "Christian fiction" fiction written by a Christian and containing Christian themes? Certainly. Is it fiction published within the CBA marketplace by CBA (i.e., Christian) publishers? Yes. Is it any fiction written by a Christian, even without Christian themes? Hmm. Is it fiction with Christian themes written by a non-Christian? Um...

    I think different people define it differently according to their situation and role. Christian publishing houses and the Christian publishing industry must define it in a narrow way. Others can be more flexible.

    I'm not even sure we need to try to come up with a fixed definition that applies to everyone in all situations. I'm not sure such a thing is possible, without making it so broad as to be useless.

    Many of my author friends, many of whom are Christian and write speculative fiction, write exclusively for the general (i.e., secular) market. Their idea is to be fishers of men and to use stories with Christian resonance as the bait. I think Jesus did this with His parables in the marketplace, calling to Himself those with ears to hear.

    Is that Christian fiction?

    That's one way to do it, but not the only way or the "right" way.

    It's a good discussion, but ultimately I'm not sure there is a good answer--or even that we need one.

    Thanks again for the support for www.WhereTheMapEnds.com!

    Jeff
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    I don't know that mainstream SFF is hostile to the idea of embedding Christian themes in its writing; however, I do believe that there is a strong sense of religious fervor that surrounds science. There is a lot of faith put in science - a vast majority of it rightly so - but it tends to dull the visible effects of true faith and religion to a large population of the reading audience of SFF.

    I also think that because of the uprising of fanaticism across the globe, there is a sense of fear that religion in a story might limit the spectrum of readers for any one particular author. So there isn't a desire by the authors to create something unique - there is simply a desire to avoid the subject altogether.

    I do think, though, that if there were going to be a particular religious "brand" published in the mainstream media (and I mean that in no sort of offensive manner), then it would be Christian SFF long before there was Jewish or Muslim. On the other hand, though, there has been a surge in popular culture in eastern philosophy that I think is very present in contemporary SFF because of the seemingly less virulent nature of such philosophies. Plus, being that they're less "religious" and more "ritualistic", they are more easily adapted into story (on a more logical note).

    Also, I will certainly have the site up in the very near future, and I will also have my own very brief and somewhat regular blog on editing, publishing, and writing in general when it gets up and running. Thanks for the interest.
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    SolShine, I certainly agree that SFF and Christianity work well together! So well that I wonder what makes a work of SFF exclusively Christian. Do such works contain a kind of altar call? Do they just use Christian imagery? Are they just written by Christians?
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    Jeff, you rock. Thanks for posting a comment here. Normally, I'm more on board for the blog tour, but I'm really really busy at work right now. Sad because I hear so many good things about you from friends in the CBA.

    I agree completely with your thoughts about defining CSFF or even just Christian fiction in general.

    You say we don't need to resolve the issue, and I hesitently agree with that. But I also know that presses have to be practical about product consistency.

    How about your dream for Marcher Lord Press? Wouldn't such a press need a clearly defined target market and a clear vision for what kind of book product met that market's needs?

    What would make a book Christian to the standards of Marcher Lord Press? Maybe a more important question would be the opposite. What fantasy, written by a Christian, might not fit the market for Marcher Lord Press?
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    JB, great thoughts. And you provide some good logic for the viability of Jeff's dream press--if any kind of religion can support an SFF press, Christianity can. (Funny to think of religions as brands, and not necessarily a bad exercise.)

    Good point also about the SF tendency to be deify science. That's a really good point in fact. One specific task of CSFF could be to enjoy the speculative nature of SF and technology without denying God.
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    Good questions, Marcus. Certainly Marcher Lord Press needs (and already has) a clearly defined target market.

    As I mentioned earlier, publishing companies need to have a working definition of what constitutes Christain fiction, and MLP would be no exception.

    But I thought you were looking for an overarching definition of what makes something Christian SFF. That depends on your perspective.

    To fit in MLP, a novel would have to be cool, speculative, and written from the Evangelical Christian worldview. That's the kind of working definition a publisher needs in order to operate. But the larger reading public doesn't need such a definition.

    Jeff
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    Thanks for the response, Jeff.
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