Why are so many of us drawn to fairy tales, fantasy, or science fiction? What makes us long to immerse our minds in a world of people, creatures, lands, objects, and cultures that cannot possibly exist – at least, not yet? Is it even good for us to let imagination run so wild? Would God approve?
When people ask what type of book I’m writing, I have occasionally stumbled over revealing my genre, Christian fantasy. Some of my fellow Christians see this term as a contradiction, at best. At worst, an insult to our faith and our Lord. I think they worry that, to associate God with anything so blatantly “make believe” is like saying He is also fictional. I understand the argument, but strongly disagree. If that is the case, all Christian fiction is guilty of the same thing.
There are guidelines, of course, but that’s another topic.
God created us to be creative. The first step in faith, hope, is born in imagination. If we can’t picture that mountain jumping into the sea, how can we believe it will? God is the author of imagination. He imagined us so He could create us in His image.
We were each created with a longing for God and for our true home with Him. Could it be possible, we are drawn to speculative fiction because of that longing? Below is an excerpt from a blog post with an interesting take on what attracts us to such stories.
Of Distant Places & Daring Sword Fights
“Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise…”
Belle’s description of her favorite book in Disney’sBeauty and the Beast has been a long-time favorite quote of mine. For me, it captures the essence of stories I love and of the speculative genre in general.
But as I penned those words today, intending to write about the necessity of truth in fiction, I at last understood why it captures the essence. Even more interestingly, it deals with four heart holes and the truths that fill them:
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Light's Scribe 