I wanted to share something with you guys, that I have been thinking a lot about recently (not in conjunction with my other Sci-Fi studies), due to conversations on “Magic” in Fantasy.

We often get so caught up in making sure that our stories can’t be linked with “magic”, that we forget how mysterious and creative our Lord is.

Don’t let your theology limit your creativity, guys. This is not meant to suggest that there are no moral, physical, or spiritual boundaries, but that the boundaries the Bible frames are bigger than what we often set. The more and more I thought of this, the more things in the bible came to mind. Scripture contains fabulous stories about talking serpents, flaming chariots, angelic warriors, and resurrected men. None of this is portrayed as magic, but amazing wonders that the Lord has allowed to happen in our realm. There is such a thing as heresy and false doctrine, and we would do well to “test all things” (I Thess. 5:21), but we should not limit ourselves and cause spirit quenching. Theology was never meant to strip our world of mystery and wonder, but to deepen those things.

I recently posted about theology and speculative fiction being said to war against one another. But I’m finding more and more that the tension between Christian theology and speculative fiction is on the believer’s end. Yes, some speculative fiction is contrary to the biblical worldview, incongruous with Christian theology. But a world that is completely stripped of mystery is not only boring, it is not biblical.

I have had more than one person tell me that the concept of my Diegose are unbiblical (I have a whole argument for that, but won’t go into it because it isn’t the subject at hand). And yet, we have the beautiful picture in scripture of a fire breathing terror of the sea, the Leviathan. Scripture is not meant to be limiting. If we have this view, we are looking at scripture through an umbilical perspective. Scripture is meant to make our works fuller, more vibrant, and beautiful.

We can pack incredible mystery into our God glorifying tales. If your book is stagnant, it isn’t God glorifying. The more and more I look at the arguments, the more and more I am convinced of one thing: Our goal isn’t to teach theology. No one should look at The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a textbook in systematic theology, but they should be able to recognize spiritual truths about life, love, and God, in C.S. Lewis’ work. Our goal should be to challenge the man made idea that theology cannot exist in fantasy and Sci-Fi, thus stripping God of His mystery. We should prove that God, the Bible, and His goals, plans, and purposes for our lives can and do coexist together.

So those were just some thoughts I wanted to share. Feel free to add to, or discuss the subject. We can all use encouragement in this area, as well as growth.

Good post. A mentor character and I were talking about this (well, something closely related) last week. Ditto what both you and he said.

*smiles * I knew you'd appreciate the post, Jenni I'm so glad it supported what the Lord is showing you in your life!

That is...very interesting. It's definitely a lot to think about.

My immediate objection in reading this is that supernatural acts like those you mentioned would be acts of the Lord, while we in imitating those would still be coming up with them through human mind. That just seems...strange to me. I guess you've just shaken a few of the things I believe here so I'm going to have to study this and get back to you on it *runs off to Genesis*

eruheran

I didn't say that anything goes, Andrew. I said theology shouldn't limit us. It should be the wind in our sails. The Lord does amazing things in our world today. Why is it that fantasy writers often think they have to swing the pendulum too far one way? Well, if we shouldn't have "magic", then we shouldn't write about ____. Fill in the blank. I'm challenging the idea that our writing has to be bland and boring. That our stories have to be a discourse on theology in order to be relevant (I have actually been told this statement to my face).

Just wanted to clarify some things, in case you though I had flipped my lid. I still think there are things that SHOULD NOT be done in fantasy. But I think we get a very narrow minded view of what “can” be done in fantasy. If you still have objections, that’s great. I’d like to hear them. That is how we grow.

Very good stuff.

I'm glad you liked it, Joe.

Of what, E?

*laughs * I'm glad someone likes my coarseness

Actually, since I'm in the middle of studying all of this, let me get back to you. I'm sure something will come up.

To me, fantasy and other speculative genres are perfect for epic parables that illustrate Biblical truths.


I think more than a few people do.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Theology should not be limiting, because Theology is not limiting.
If we are limiting ourselves with it, then we have got It wrong.

Amen!