The Great Dilemma

[Abd_Yesua_alMasih]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to put this topic and if it is can it please be moved to the right place. "Theology" seems to be the best word that suits the question I am asking.

I really love to write and naturally I want to glorify God in this hobby of mine. I would not call my stories fantasy but possibly Medieval Epic (in a created world). Anyway that is almost a mute point except for the fact that I can not fit these stories into our earthly history. I want to know how I should deal with the subject of religion.

The first problem is that I do not want to put words in Gods mouth so to speak. If I create a story how do I know what God would do in a situation - in a way creating his providence - this may not make much sense for those who have never tried to sit down and write. Should I skip religion right out of the story? That might not be as easy as liberals in this world might think. It is impossible to have someone without a worldview and especially in a more darkages society.

I then looked at other famous writers who whether we agree with their theology or not were certainly dedicated to God. For these I am thinking of JRR Tolkien, C.S Lewis and John Bunyan. None of these people actually have 'God' in their stories if I remember rightly but they certainly have a near-Christian worldview clearly within the text. They also all have a 'king' which metaphorically could be like God for the stories sake. (ie. Lewis' Aslan) The purpose in saying this is that this is how Christian writers in the past have dealt with the issue.

I will now list a few options and you can vote which one would be best theologically (and not by your taste of story)

1) I should clearly fit Christianity as we know it into the story.

2) I should put the essence of the Christian world-view into the story but not any supernatural beings (my warning would be that there does not appear to be any internal logic to this point and the world-view could appear very Buddhist)

3) I should put the essence of the Christian world-view into the story and put over the top of it supernatural being/beings.

4) I should keep the story as amoral as possible (this option makes me sick so if people vote for it I will not listen)

5) I should not be writing stories.


Thanks for your help.

Personaly I would support number 3.

 

[Contra_Mundum]

Perhaps you can come down a bit more definitely as to the genre you plan to write under. If it is fantasy-style you might follow more along the C.S.Lewis/Tolkien model. If it is an "alternate timeline/universe" you might want to define (for yourself if not for the readers) what "metaphysical facts" are the same, and what are different. If your story fits our own world, even if the names and places are imaginary--that is, if you are writing essentially a historic-sounding novel, pretending that God and medieval institutions (like various forms of the church) aren't there is unrealistic.

Use a "painting" metaphor for yourself. I suggest you establish certain "worldview concepts" that you intend to form the background or setting for your story. Incorporate the three classic philosophical pillars in your construction: metaphysical, epistimological, and ethical in building this background. Physical and/or spiritual dimensions (or more?); the place of God, religion, sin, morals, redemption, death; person's reasons for existence, means of acquiring knowledge, the place of truth (what does "true" mean), etc.

Then work hard on creating the "landscape." By this I mean "history", sciences (biology, geography, chemistry, physics), society/cultures, behaviors, customs, etc. Tolkien's work is alive in this way (even [i:9dd958a7a5]ignoring[/i:9dd958a7a5] all the explanatory maps and appendicies he included) because he made the reader feel as if a whole world existed beyond the characters themselves. They assumed they belonged in that world, and as the reader, you felt that assumption too, in the (often inscrutable) little details. A lot of the background and landscape are going to get covered up by the "subjects" of your painting, but what shows through will make a difference.

Just so, the "subjects" in the painting (as found in the books by the writers you mentioned) must also be interesting and compelling persons. But here, you may already have thought considerably, so I leave off.

I'm not going to vote. Just wish you well in your story-telling.

 

[Puritan Sailor]

I haven't read Lewis' novels yet. Bunyan's allegories are deliberately contrusted to teach Christian truth. Tolkien however, was not interested in teaching Christianity. He wanted to write a good story, or as he put it, a "mythology for the English language." You may read about his ideas behind Middleearth in his intro to The Silmarillion. He does have great virtues present and great evils, obviously taken from Christian morality, but he does so because that's what makes the story good. He even has a theology along with the detailed history of Middleearth, though you see this more in the Silmarillion than the other books. Tolkein kept God but in creating the alternate universe of Middleearth, He calls him Illuvitar, and then has Iluvitar create several supernatural angel-like beings who in turn create Middleearth, yet at the same time, Tolkein has Iluvitar providentially overseeing their work too, including their mistakes, paralling the decrees of God in Christianity. From there, he develops the history of middleearth beginning with the Elves (who are not created, but "awaken") and then later on men "awaken" too all at the direction of Iluvitar. The dwarves were created in secret by one of the angel-like beings, yet when confronted by Iluvatar, he discovers it was Iluvatars purpose anyway. And there is even a doctrine of a final resurrection in Middleearth. The two great villians of Middleearth, Morgath and his assistant, Sauron, are both types of these angel-like beings who rebelled against Iluvatar, and created the Orcs, Dragons, Balrogs, giant spiders, and turned the eastern men to evil etc. As you can see it's very detailed. Tolkien just has God essentially creating a new universe and gives Him a different name for this universe. But he has no Christ-like figure in this history who redeems men, elves, etc. from their sins. At best, the theology of Iluvatar parallels the ancient worship of God perhaps before Abraham or Noah. Tolkiens theology here only provides a foundation for morality and purpose in the history of Middleearth and provides the background of the cultures in which the story takes place. Now, if you do something like this, if you can complete it, then you will have a good story. Just make it clear that you are not trying to mimic Christianity but just trying to tell a good story.

 

[RamistThomist]

Do what TOlkien did--have vaguely supernatural beings and have a worldview shaped by a Christian ethic. Ex Nihilo could tell you how do to this one better than I.

 

[Abd_Yesua_alMasih]

Thanks for the advice. I do seperatly write down a lot of background so that I know what the world is like. Sometimes I think I write more about the history of the world than I actually write the story. I have on my computer somewhere a detailed list of kings and their actions spanning 500-600 years that was actually fun. I got inspired one day when reading chronicles and the book of judges. I also have a developed mythology and cosmology for the world and had already decided to go along lines similar to Tolkien and Lewis (probably a tiny mix inbetween) but I just wanted to check with you guys to see what you thought.

My story currently runs for about 100,000 words while I have 2 others set in the same place as concepts running between 20,000 and 30,000. I then have another 20,000 maybe in historical data and information. (What can I say - I like to create) That is not counting the huge A3 maps I have back home in my room.. (I hope mum hasnt thrown them out thinking they were school work)

 

[Puritan Sailor]

I also have some book ideas like this. Just no time to write it all down :bs2:

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Best wishes on your book Fraser. It sounds pretty interesting. I am a big fan of Middle Earth and Narnia. Imagination, I think, is a gift of God, and glorifies Him when applied to creative writing with a Christian world-view, even if the world in question is in another time and place.

I too am working on a book. It's a historical novel about the French Huguenots. They were the first Europeans to colonize North America (in Florida and South Carolina). Their story is a fascinating one and worth re-telling. It takes a long time to do it right, though. I expect to be done with my book in 2025 (maybe later)...

Have fun writing!