When I hear the term fiction, I think of truths, mixed up and refashioned words to explain a theory or concept or simply to entertain. However, after visiting a recent blog post on Zondervan's site, there seems to be the ye old favored talk of fiction simply being lies marketed in the name of Christian Fiction.
On Facebook, Mukwemba had a friend say that as Christians we should hold fast to the truth and lies dressed up in the "name of being good". Sue, the Executive Editor at Zondervan posted a response to encourage Mukwemba and the rest of us stating:
"When Jesus wanted to teach something to his disciples, he used story—Parables. Fiction is truth in story form. It makes concepts more accessible to the reader because the reader relates to the characters and sees themselves in the story."
The bible shows that Jesus told a story to uplift and to explain. Anything that uplifts, explains, and teaches is a plus and I agree with Sue on that one. In fact more than commenter to that particular post argued that Christians who say fiction are lied must clearly don't watch television nor let their children learn to read via fun children's books(which are also fiction, think Dr. Seuss or even Narnia by C.S. Lewis).
Here's a summary of what fiction can mirror for us when done biblically:
The Power of the Parable- This is fiction Jesus used to highlight a problem and make a person think through their thoughts and actions. he told the parable of the Prodigal Son, and in the Old Testament David had a visit from the prophet Nathan and Nathan told him the story about the traveler and the rich man to show David his sin-found in 2 Samuel 12:1-18.
The Power of the Truth- On Zondervan's blog, it is mentioned about Upton Sinclair's classic, The Jungle, which highlighted problems with food regulations int he meat packing industry. Does it really matter if this was fiction or not? Did it not change how we view cleanliness and foods forever?
The Power of Good Fiction- It is okay to be entertained. As humans we like seeing interactions and people solve problems in ways we may not have thought. In the bible there were festivals and probably many other forms of entertainment.
To find out more on fiction and biblical principles and about this particular topic please go to : http://zondervan.typepad.com/zondervan/2012/01/does-fiction-lie-thoughts-truth-christian-storytellers.html#comments
Live in Norfolk, Va? Find Christian Fiction in these places:
BN.com , Norfolk Public Library , or as always Amazon.com for your reading pleasure!
Erica J. Smith is author of The Prayer Monologues and is a contributing writer for The Norfolk Christian Fiction Examiner. Her poem, Tender Breath I Hear was published in the University of Maryland’s Constellation Journal and now she offers free writing tips, reviews and an online book club on her blog The Write Web. Contact her at: rain200@msn.com
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