blog Faith-Based Fantasy

[skip.knox]

Why is everyone hearing the words 'Faith Based Fantasy', and assuming Christianity? There are [gasp] other religions, you know!

I think that was acknowledged early in the thread.

I had asked if anyone could speak to other fantasy stories specific to another religion, but haven't see anything yet. There is time; threads are immortal. I might take this opportunity to clarify a bit. I'm not talking about a fantasy story in which this or that fantasy religion is drawn from Islam or paganism or whatever. Rather, I'm talking about the faith-based themes and issues that arise within that religion. Many of these might have little resonance outside their own context, but they matter a great deal within that context. I simply don't know what are the central and abiding themes of doctrine and practice within Jainism or Buddhism or Shinto or even Judaism. It would be interesting to know if there is a fantasy literature that incorporates them, whatever they might be.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I think that was acknowledged early in the thread.

I had asked if anyone could speak to other fantasy stories specific to another religion, but haven't see anything yet. There is time; threads are immortal. I might take this opportunity to clarify a bit. I'm not talking about a fantasy story in which this or that fantasy religion is drawn from Islam or paganism or whatever. Rather, I'm talking about the faith-based themes and issues that arise within that religion. Many of these might have little resonance outside their own context, but they matter a great deal within that context. I simply don't know what are the central and abiding themes of doctrine and practice within Jainism or Buddhism or Shinto or even Judaism. It would be interesting to know if there is a fantasy literature that incorporates them, whatever they might be.

I wish I could be more helpful, but I was raised aethiest, so even though I'm an American who's been drenched in Christian mythology - I think of it as contact faith - there are a great many cultural touchstones that I miss. I stopped reading the Chronicles of Narnia when I was about nine-years-old because I realized I was being preached at, and it made me uncomfortable. (I also think that every time a radio station plays 'Jesus Take the Wheel,' it should be immediately followed up with 'Shut Up and Drive'... but that's just me and my squirrely brain.) As a result, I actively avoid fiction that has religious underpinnings.

When you're a medievalist you become saturated with Christianity, but it's an older form of it. No King James Bible. And you learn a lot about affective piety. You learn about indulgences. And you learn that religion can pivot on a dime. It's very weird.

 

[skip.knox]

True Confessions: My PhD is in early modern. Still more on the Continent than Bloody, er, Merry Olde England, but King James is familiar territory. As an atheist, I find pre-modern Christianity fascinating. I start to lose interest somewhere around the middle of the 17thc. About the time everyone started wearing those silly wigs. <g> Never have had much patience with historical fiction set in 18th or 19thcs.

But it's worth reiterating that thinking there's just one "Christianity" is to miss out on much. Even in the Middle Ages (especially so?), there were flavors and variations and nuances, not to mention outright heresies, each of which regarded itself as genuinely Christian. And as far from modern Christianity as medieval economics or political theory is from their modern counterparts.

 

[Miles Lacey]

The most obvious example of non-Christan faith based fantasy is Journey To The West. Another example is Japanese anime and manga fantasy which are mostly rooted in both Japanese culture and Shintoism.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I haven't read it, yet (although I own it), but Throne of the Crescent Moon is said to be brilliant.

https://www.amazon.com/Throne-Crescent-Moon-Kingdoms-Book-ebook/dp/B0064VQDHI/

 

[Mad Swede]

Well, if you want Norse myhtology inspired fantasy, how about Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword? Or maybe Neil Gaiman's American Gods series?

 

[Ban]

Well, if you want Norse myhtology inspired fantasy, how about Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword? Or maybe Neil Gaiman's American Gods series?

As explained before, there's a difference between "inspired by" and "faith-based".

The Lord of the Rings was inspired by Norse mythology. That does not mean it was written from the perspective of a practitioner of Norse paganism.

 

[Rosemary Tea]

Well, if you want Norse myhtology inspired fantasy, how about Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword? Or maybe Neil Gaiman's American Gods series?

American Gods is eclectic mythology. I wouldn't say Norse inspired, exactly. Sure, the first god or two to show up is from the Norse pantheon, but we meet gods from multiple other pantheons, often in the same room. And we get concepts from multiple Pagan religions. Norse is one, but hardly the only.

In Pagan practice, calling on multiple pantheons in the same ritual is considered eclectic, through and through. Purists would never do that. It's not done in Wicca or Asatru--those are purist forms of Paganism. It is done in eclectic Paganism. And regarded as heresy by followers of the more purist forms of Paganism. So, if American Gods is Pagan fantasy, it's definitely eclectic.

 

[Mad Swede]

As explained before, there's a difference between "inspired by" and "faith-based".

The Lord of the Rings was inspired by Norse mythology. That does not mean it was written from the perspective of a practitioner of Norse paganism.

Which brings us back to what we mean by faith-based.

Yes, the Lord of the Rings is based indirectly on Norse mythology. And in that sense it certainly isn't faith-based Christian fantasy as claimed in the blog article. The same is true of the Narnia stories, they're inspired by several mythological sources and take their themes from several of these.

If by faith-based we mean something with a very clear message which is related to the faith concerned then we're looking at things like David Gemmell's books. They don't take their inspiration from any other mythological or religious sources.

And that brings us to another question. Do we think that only practitioners of what we here in the West might call the established faiths (read Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Shintoism, Buddism, Sikhism etc) with documented historical roots can write faith-based fantasy? Or do we also accept that those who follow modern pagan religions like Wicca and Asatru can write faith-based fantasy? Because if the answer to one or both of these question is yes, then certain religions (like proper Norse paganism) can't be the basis for any faith-based fantasy since there are no practitioners of it, so those religions can only ever be a source of inspiration. It limits what we mean by faith-based fantasy.

 

[Cady]

I began writing in childhood, long before becoming a Christian. When I did become a Chrisitan, I found my writing full of things that made me cringe before the eyes of Jesus. I destroyed much of what I wrote because it was based in paganism (my pre-Christian beliefs).

Since then I have found myself in more than one crisis of conscience regarding my writing before God. As a Christian, my first desire is to honor Christ in all I do. But what does it mean to honor Christ in my writing? After meditating on this for a while, and seeking counsel, I have come to believe it means upholding the morality of Scripture (among other things).

This is not to say that I brain people over the head with preachy writing, or make all my characters goody-two-shoes, but that if the Bible clearly says something is morally wrong, my writing consistently sends the same message. Example: homosexuality. The Bible makes it clear that those who engage in this as a life-style have no part of Jesus Christ. As a Christian, I would be dishonoring Christ to contradict that in my own writing. It doesn't mean I couldn't write about sexual sin; the Bible is full of flawed human beings who committed grevious sins, many of them of a sexual nature. In each case in the Bible, those flawed individuals faced consequences for their actions (some of which we are still seeing to this day.) In cases where those flawed individuals in the BIble (yes, even homosexuals) repented of their sins before God, they received forgiveness, grace and mercy. My writing, as a Christian, should emphatically reflect this truth of God: That He is forgiving, gracious and merciful to those who repent and believe.

As for CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, I don't believe either of them set out to write what we would refer to as 'faith-based fiction;' Christian or otherwise. Rather, their beliefs simply influenced their writing. Though Lewis did not set out to write an allegory, the Chronicles of Narnia are allegory. LOTR has allegorical elements, but is not an allegory per se. I believe this is due to the fact that Lewis and other Christians provided feedback to Tolkien as he wrote the trilogy.

As a Christian who is a writer, I am convinced that the task of writers who are Christians is to write the best story/novella/novel/screenplay/comic strip possible in a way that honors God, but also to understand that no one will ever be saved through a work of fiction. It doesn't mean the fiction doesn't have value. I've read some great Christian fiction that has encouraged me in my faith; rather I am speaking of being clear and purposeful with your intentions in each project. As a Christian, if you wish for your words to be salvivic in nature, please create a gospel tract to share with others. Don't turn the gospel into entertainment as it was never meant to be presented as such.

For those on this board who are not Christians (and I've seen the comments, so I know there are more than a few of you , I would say that you are correct, there are other belief systems besides Christianity. At the end of the day, as with Tolkien and Lewis, whatever any writer believes will work itself into the writing. I can find many tenants of Mormonism in Brandon Sanderson's writing because he is a devout Mormon. Everyone believes in something, even athiests. And what you believe might surprise you when it does come out in your writing.

Consider this: the amount of faith it takes to simply write a story; if nothing else, it takes faith to believe it is worth the time of the writer; It takes faith to believe that someone else might want to read it; and it takes faith to attempt to publish it. T<span>his is faith in an idea, an action, but not the faith of Christianity. </span>In this sense, though, every book ever written is 'faith-based.' <span> </span>

 

[TheKillerBs]

I think that was acknowledged early in the thread.

I had asked if anyone could speak to other fantasy stories specific to another religion, but haven't see anything yet. There is time; threads are immortal. I might take this opportunity to clarify a bit. I'm not talking about a fantasy story in which this or that fantasy religion is drawn from Islam or paganism or whatever. Rather, I'm talking about the faith-based themes and issues that arise within that religion. Many of these might have little resonance outside their own context, but they matter a great deal within that context. I simply don't know what are the central and abiding themes of doctrine and practice within Jainism or Buddhism or Shinto or even Judaism. It would be interesting to know if there is a fantasy literature that incorporates them, whatever they might be.

I found a podcast recently (bout a couple of months ago) called Speculate! While it wasn't to my liking, the first episode talks about three stories featured in issue #18 of Apex Magazine which are specifically fantasy that raise specifically Muslim questions: "The Green Book" by Amal El-Mohtar, "50 Fatwas for the Virtuous Vampire" by Pamela K. Taylor, and "The Faithful Soldier, Prompted", by Saladin Ahmed. The episode is a bit dated, as it's from 2011, and I don't know how easy it'd be to track down the stories, but you could always give the episode itself a listen.

 

[Graham J. Darling]

It's worth remembering that when C.S. Lewis talks about "allegory", more often than not (being an English prof, and indeed a leading scholar in this specialized field: see his "The Allegory of Love", 1936) he means it in the strictest formal sense of the personification of abstract concepts, such as Dangier in "Le Roman de la Rose" (13th century), Giant Despair in Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress" (1678) or the similar Spirit of the Age in Lewis's own homage and actual protracted allegory "The Pilgrim's Regress" (1933). Furthermore, it's clear that, in Lewis's multiverse, Aslan doesn't merely stand for or symbolize Christ, as the Unicorn does in medieval bestiaries, but actually is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, following His modus operandi in that parallel world as He does on other planets in Ray Bradbury's "The Man" (collected in his "The Illustrated Man", 1951).

 

[Karlin]

The most obvious example of non-Christan faith based fantasy is Journey To The West. Another example is Japanese anime and manga fantasy which are mostly rooted in both Japanese culture and Shintoism.

I can't let "Journey to the West" go by without, well, saying "wow!". I've read it twice. In English, I'm afraid. And as some here know, I'm working on something based o nit.

 

[Graham J. Darling]

Dragon Ball!

Roger Zelazny's "Lord of Light" (1967; Hugo Best Novel 1968) is based on the Hindu-Buddhist mythos, and Creatures of Light and Darkness (1969) on the Ancient Egyptian. The Finnish Kalevala influenced Tolkien (especially in Tom Bombadil and The Silmarillion) and was retold as SF in four novels by Emil Petaja (1967-1968), as was the Book of Mormon in Orson Scott Card's Homecoming Saga (1992-1995).