Thank you, Airianna, for writing this.
This is something which I have thought over before. I totally agree with you. And, for some strange reasons, I don't see anything which needs edited...strange.
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| Theology Shouldn't Limit https://archive.holyworlds.org/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=4495 |
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| Author: | Airianna Valenshia [ September 26th, 2011, 1:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Theology Shouldn't Limit |
So, this is not the typical type of blog posts that I am known for writing. Why? Because I haven’t figured this all out yet. My purpose in writing this blog post it to challenge you, along with myself, to look at things differently. To let your mind grapple with something that I myself am looking at. So, let us begin this brain picker, shall we? As Christian fiction writers, 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 unbiblical 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. And now everyone gasps and throws stones at me. I’m serious though, guys. 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. That is what I feel my purpose should be in writing fantasy. We should prove that God, the Bible, and His goals, plans, and purposes for our lives, can and do coexist together. Now, in saying all of this, I do not want, in any way, to violate anyone’s conscience or make them think I am saying “anything goes, including magic”. Far from it!!! I am passionate about not violating people’s conscience. If you feel something is bordering on unbiblical magic, then by all means, flee. My intent is not to tell you to insert magic into your story. What I’m asking you to do is truly look at what scripture has to say about magic and natural ability. See if your convictions align with what scripture shows us is in the realm of possibility. We often restrict the bible, with our preconceived notions, in ways that it was never meant to constrict us. I am as zealous as anyone that our fantasies not mirror the casual attitude towards magic that the world has, however, I have found that things we call magic, in our zealousness, is in fact not magic at all. Now, 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. Theology should be the wind in our sails, not the rope that ties us to the dock. The Lord does amazing things in our world today. I want to challenge 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). If you have comments to add, or things to share about this, feel free in the comments. As I said, I am still exploring all of this, but I am enjoying every minute of it. May we all seek to grow close to Christ every day as we seek to serve Him in our writing. |
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| Author: | Aragorn [ September 26th, 2011, 3:53 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Theology Shouldn't Limit |
Airianna Valenshia wrote: As Christian fiction writers, We often... "We" should be lower cased. Quote: ...the more things in the bible came to mind. "Bible" should be capitalized. Quote: If we have this view, we are looking at scripture through an unbiblical perspective. Shouldn't scripture be capitalized? There are several more instances where scripture is lower cased, where it would need to be capitalized if capitalization is warranted. Quote: We often restrict the bible... "Bible" should be capitalized. Quote: I am as zealous as anyone that our fantasies not mirror the casual attitude towards magic that the world has, however, I have found that things we call magic, in our zealousness, is in fact not magic at all. I'm wondering if this sentence should be cut in two, with a period after "has", and "however" starting a second sentence. Quote: I want to challenge 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). I think that, after "boring", it should have a comma rather than a period, and continue as a single sentence. Quote: May we all seek to grow close to Christ every day as we seek to serve Him in our writing. Perhaps remove the second use of "seek" so that it would just be 'as we serve Him in our writing". Or should it be "with our writing"? |
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| Author: | Airianna Valenshia [ September 26th, 2011, 4:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Theology Shouldn't Limit |
*will look into those things * |
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| Author: | Calista Bethelle [ September 27th, 2011, 3:19 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Theology Shouldn't Limit |
Thank you, Airianna, for writing this. This is something which I have thought over before. I totally agree with you. And, for some strange reasons, I don't see anything which needs edited...strange.
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| Author: | Airianna Valenshia [ September 27th, 2011, 3:30 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Theology Shouldn't Limit |
*chuckles * Well, unlike my usual blog post submissions, I actually reread this one several times to try and catch most of my own mistakes. I feel bad when I post something in here riddled with editing needs and make you guys find them for me.  Baaaad bad example, Airi. So I'm glad you guys didn't find too many. 
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| Author: | Airianna Valenshia [ September 30th, 2011, 11:12 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Theology Shouldn't Limit |
*Momentarily hates herself * I am such a terrible example! I did have lots of excuses for why I didn't get this posted, but I still should have squeezed in the time to edit and post this. *goes to do *
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| Author: | Aragorn [ September 30th, 2011, 11:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Theology Shouldn't Limit |
It was on your birthday. We understand.
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| Author: | Airianna Valenshia [ September 30th, 2011, 11:26 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Theology Shouldn't Limit |
You are very kind.
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| Author: | Airianna Valenshia [ October 16th, 2011, 7:43 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Theology Shouldn't Limit |
This thread is now ready to be archived. Thanks to all for their participation. |
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