I recently asked this simple question on Facebook:
The single most defining characteristic of Christian fiction should be… what?
The comments were varied. Stephen said that Christian fiction should be about, “Glorifying God and enjoying him,” Susan singled out “transformation,” John specified “redemption,” Evan “truth,” Mike “hope,” Dave “quality,” and Sally concluded, “Christian fiction would have to be about Christ in some way.”
So is there a “single defining characteristic” of Christian fiction? And should there be?
The question illustrates how squishy the label “Christian fiction” really is. Is it about hope or truth or redemption, or can it be just plain good? An even more penetrating question: Is this apparent inability to isolate a “single defining characteristic” a good thing or a bad thing?
In a recent post, Christian Fiction and “The New Edgy” I suggested that “The term ‘edgy’ means different things for different people.” I am coming to believe this disparity is reflective of an even larger one. When Christians discuss what they want from their fiction in general, we seem to be talking about two different things. Perhaps that’s as it should be. The genre is evolving and Christians are grappling with the role of their art in society. Either way, I am beginning to see a deep philosophical, cultural divide in how Christians define faith-driven literature.
We simply view Christian fiction through different paradigms.
One such paradigm involves seeing Christian fiction as a “box” as opposed to a “continuum.” I understand the term “box” may seem loaded, but I’m using it simply as a way to define boundaries not to insinuate narrowness or legalism (although “narrowness” and “legalism” could be hazards of a “box” approach). I see Christian fiction much more as a “continuum” than a “box.” This, apparently, puts me at odds with lots of folks.
A helpful illustration for this paradigm, for me, has always been The Engel Scale. (For a more in-depth treatment of this check out my post What is Christian Art?) The Engel Scale represents a continuum or “model of the spiritual decision-making process.” Developed by Dr James Engel, director of the Billy Graham graduate program in communications at the Wheaton College Graduate School, the chart depicts the stages one goes through in moving from a general awareness of a Supreme Being (-8), to grasping the implications of the Gospel (-5), to repentance and faith in Christ (-1), to an actively growing disciple (+3) and beyond.
I first encountered the chart in John Wimber’s Power Evangelism, and it’s stuck with me as a useful tool for understanding evangelism and discipleship. We must move people along the continuum, so to speak. But what does the Engel Scale have to do with Christian fiction?
The Bible teaches that salvation is both an event and a process. As such, everyone’s always in a different place spiritually. Being effective witnesses / ministers means learning to ratchet our approach to the listener’s level. Hammering away at John 3:16 can be frustrating if our “target audience” is not past Genesis 1:1. Making this even more fun is the fact that, amidst the varied cultures, traditions, and personalities, God is constantly at work stirring hearts, bringing conviction, and orchestrating events. Recognizing where people are at — and where God’s at with those people — is integral to effective evangelism and discipleship.
When I think of Christian art (be it films, music, or literature), I think of it as existing on a similar continuum. Not only are Christian artists, at various stages of growth or ministry, sprinkled along the spectrum, their work (intentionally or unintentionally) connects with people differently. And this is a good thing. After all, somebody’s gotta go after the -8’s.
In this paradigm, some Christian fiction should be aimed at the -5’s and -8’s. The problem is, as I see it, we have drawn a “box” around the lower half of The Engel Scale. Whether it’s because of specific theology, semantics, cultural conservatism or a flat-out commercial hijacking, only the fiction that falls within certain “narrow” parameters is deemed Christian.
Perhaps narrowing Christian fiction down to a single distinction is wrong. Maybe there are numerous things that should define Christian fiction. But if the above answers are any indication, there is no consensus among Christian writers and readers as to what exactly our stories should look like.
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Question: Do you see Christian fiction as more of a “box” or a “continuum”? And do you think the difficulty of defining Christian fiction is a good or a bad thing?
Eureka!
See, I’ve never come across this scale and I would probably rate somewhere around +5 and beyond. This is a point I have argued until I was blue in the face as well as struggled with until I was weary of heart — and I don’t confine this to Christian spec fic or anything like that. I expand it into the eralm of YA/teen writing as well as writing for kids. I tend to write toward the -8, -7 (as well as dipping out toward -10 or somwhere). Mike educated me some many months ago about the whole of Christian writers writing Christian spec fic (which I thought was ridiculous at the time and felt we should be concentrating ONLY on the “outsiders”. Our discussion left me at a new place…) At any rate — this is a useful scale for me and Christian writers should be talking about it. As I am currently reading the book UNCHRISTIAN by David Kinnamar, I have become more acutely aware of the NECESSITY of getting all of our…leaves…in a pile so we can reach outsiders and woo them INSIDE…
Mike, it is definitely a continuum because, as you said, it is squishy. Great technical publishing term btw.
There are 2 things I expect from a Christian Fiction novel: 1. Clean (meaning non-usage of explicit sex and foul language); 2. Somewhere between page 1 and page last, the protag recognizes there is God and He is who helps in times of trouble. There are so many different levels of this, however. Bob Liparulo’s Deadfall and Deadlock had mentions of God, but nothing overt, and they are very clean and yet have such a huge suspense and tension quality that I’ll read anything he writes. Only a well established Christian (+3) and beyond would get the implications. Then the outright preachy kind of novel that is only one step up from a sermon. Haven’t read a lot of those lately so publishing houses must be catching on. The vastness between a Ted Dekker novel and a Robin Hatcher novel places it squarely in the continuum.
Christian Fiction isn’t a genre. It is a category of publishing, which would define it as a continuum, don’t you think? Romance has basic plot elements that differ from suspense which differs somewhat from horror. Christian Fiction can be suspense or romance or horror and still be CF.
Gina, I tend to see Christian fiction as a genre containing various subgenres for the reason you mention: It can be “suspense or romance or horror and still be CF.” The general market requires genre labels to tell its readers where to look for what. The “Christian fiction” label serves that purpose. All subsequent divisions under that label are sub-divisions.
Yes, and as you mentioned, CF doesn’t fit in a box. Neither does romance because there all these sub-genre erotic, sweet, gothic etc. At a book store, I saw “Satan Is Alive And Well On Planet Earth” stuck in the Sci-Fi section. Which, I’m guessing, is why you’ve asked this question…
Definitely a continuum for me. Perhaps this is why I like the term faith-based better. Christian fiction has come to mean “someone comes to Jesus at the end” to many. Not that I’m opposed to novels where someone comes to Jesus. It’s just, the way people come to Jesus is not as cut and dried as many writers make it. Stephen James, Partick Bowers series, has a MC who might be “coming to Jesus” but in his fourth novel Bowers still isn’t there. His spiritual journey is just that, a journey. And so it is for many.
I was just going to ask Mike if there could then be books where a character goes from -8 to -7, but if I understand your example from Stephen James, it seems so. At the end of the series a character could go from -8 to +2, which makes a lot of sense. I’m wondering how that can be done. I suppose you can take the character through a series of emotional battles that lead him to the ultimate source of wisdom and strength, but only after has gotten through some major hurdles.
The only problem with this is, without Christ, replacing one idol with another leaves you no better off in the end – maybe even worse. For example, if the character in my current project goes through a pride vs. sacrifice arc, but his idea of sacrifice is ultimately for selfish reasons, then has he really gained any points on the Engel Scale? He went from pride over his career achievements back home, but can he really just give everything away for people who don’t like him just because it’s right? Isn’t there a source of pride towards God in this that doing so could earn his way to Heaven. Maybe not, (answering own question), if he is already a believer, but then he’s not on the negative scale and I’m back into the box! 🙂
Looking back at that scale, I don’t know how I could have someone go through the above emotional battle while also gaining ground from an -8 to -6 because they seem like different directions. In one, he’s learning about his motivations while in the later he is learning about God and his message of hope.
Tim, please don’t mistake me for suggesting I’ve figured this out. I haven’t. I just tend to think the predominant view of CF needlessly pushes a lot of important faith-based fiction outside the camp because we have a “box” approach to how we see Christian art. C.S. Lewis saw parallels between pagan myths and classic Christianity and defined myth as an “unfocused gleam of divine truth falling on human imagination.” In this paradigm, even stuff that is not blatantly “Christian” can contain a “gleam of divine truth.” Am I suggesting then that we embrace all even mildly faith-based books as “Christian”? No. However, by viewing art on a “continuum” we are free to recognize God working even on the fringes. What “fringe fiction” looks like is another story.
All that to say, I’m not sure how the application of a “continuum” approach shakes out in the market, or in our individual storytelling. I’m just trying to suggest another paradigm for our discussion. Thanks for commenting!
Here’s my problem–Christ-ian, by definition, means a thing has to do with Christ.
I think Christian writers can and should write all kinds of books. (I am not a proponent of safe fiction at all, btw. ) I don’t think every book should preach the gospel. I don’t think every book should speak to disciples who already know the gospel. I think that Christian writers should write well for different audiences. You don’t send Sunday School stories to the newspaper and you don’t send news stories to the Sunday School take-home publishers. Christians should write well for various audiences, just as plumbers should fix pipes well in the various homes they go into.
I just don’t think that we should call what we write Christian fiction. I believe we should call it fiction written by a Christian, if we feel it’s important to give some kind of clarification.
My YA novel that I’m trying to sell now has all kinds of things that people who read their Bibles will recognize. But it’s not a Christina novel. It’s a fantasy. There are Christ figures and there is sacrificial love, but the novel is not a Christian novel. There’s no gospel preached, there’s no mention of Jesus Christ, there’s nothing about how we have offended a holy God and need a savior. I don’t see how it can be a Christian novel.
Since I’m a Christian and I think I owe good value for what I’m selling, I tried to write a good novel that would be worth the money the publisher would charge for it. I think that’s what Christian writers are supposed to do–give something of value to their readers.
In short, I don’t like the term “Christian fiction” at all. I think it’s a misnomer.
Sally, I know what you mean. I wrote a short story along those same lines and it’s located http://www.fictionwritersplatform.net/2010/09/come-rejoice-with-me/ I was very surprised at the number of people who didn’t get it and just thought it was “a sweet story”. Sigh… any constructive critique is welcome, btw.
Sally, I totally share your dislike for the term “Christian fiction.” But as long as Christians demand a certain type of fiction (or music, art, dentistry, etc.) we have to call it something. I’m not sure, however, I agree with your initial contention that Christian “by definition, means a thing has to do with Christ.” Ultimately, yes. But if you accept the Engel Scale concept, there are many steps that precede an understanding of and relationship with Christ. Is not coming to a rudimentary belief in God or an understanding of the Gospel just as “Christian” as full-on baptism? If Jesus is the “door” one must pass through, then the “path” has to start somewhere. Becoming a Christian is the culmination of that path. But exactly when a person is officially “Christian,” or when Christ is officially “in the process,” is another story. Appreciate your comments, Sally! Grace to you!
I guess when I say Christian has to do with Christ, I really just mean that a person can be a Christian, but a book can’t be.
Bookstores can sell books that don’t offend Christians or that promote Christianity, but they can’t sell Christian books because books aren’t Christians.
If, when we speak of Christian books, we mean books that promote Christianity, then, yes, I agree with you that there is a continuum. All kinds of books promote Christianity–even ones not written by Christians and ones that don’t speak of God or Christ.
I agree with Sally that Christians can and should write all kinds of books and I dislike the term Christian fiction. An author can be Christian and write fiction. A book in my opinion cannot be Christian, It is a book or apiece of art.
Been ruminating on this all day.
The CBA is a box with a target demographic of -4 to +1. Sure, they’ll sell to +2’s and above, but tend to avoid any content that might be perceived as an impediment to the “old creatures” on their way.
So, most Christian fiction produced by the CBA has content that falls within the -4 to +1 range. This would explain why outliers like Christian fantasy (which in general has content at +4) and Christian horror (+5) and Christian science fiction (-8 through -5) struggle to hit the marketing sweet spot of the CBA. It isn’t that they aren’t Christian or “Christ-friendly” if you will. It is that they aren’t a great match for the captured audience (primarily -4s to +1s, and the few +2s and +3s who wander in from the non-fiction racks!)
I think I looked at it this way, Mike, intuitively. I’ve always looked at our live as a journey toward or away from God/Christ, as the case may be. Any book that moves the reader, however small, toward God is “Christian based” in my opinion. And of course one author can write both kinds, those out on the -8 and those closer into the -2, and those in the + category.
I can understand the aversion to the term “Christian fiction” because few of us like labels. But the fact of the matter is, no matter what we think a book is, Christian or non-Christian, it is really the market that will label it. And even among non-Christians that will vary. Some non-Christians don’t automatically think “Christian fiction” when they encounter a Christian character or God/Christ is mentioned a few times. Others will slap that label on it at the first bare mention of God, so sensitive are they.
Consquently, many of our books are caught in the middle between two boxes in the market. They are too out there for the CBA, but are too “Christian” for the secular market (though I think that is more open to faith-based literature, if it’s written well, than the CBA is for “edgy” stuff). So, for instance, I doubt a book like mine fits into either box very well. It’s obviously “Christian” in that the main characters are for the most part, I even have someone go through “redemption,” and God is working behind the scenes. But my characters also do a lot of non-CBA approved things, like drink ale. That one fact alone would probably disqualify it.
Maybe I’m mixing an -7 with a -4, who knows. But, those labels tend to create a box in someone’s mind. Once they see one characteristic they can immediately slap a label on it and declare it good or bad. “Oh, he prayed, it’s a Christian book, no need to read further,” or “Yikes, the main character is drinking a beer.” Slaps the book shut.
I don’t think we’re going to get away from those boxes because so many draw them, and as you note, everyone draws that box a little differently. People like them because that means they don’t have to think too hard about anything. Once they can label it, they can dismiss it and go onto the next thing. “It’s got magic? Evvvvil.”
So, I like and agree with you on the evangelism model for our fiction. I have a space opera story that hardly mentions religion, much less God or anything about him. For all practical purposes a “secular” book. Except that the underlying morals and world view is Christian. So I’d stick that out there someone around -8 or -10 on planting seeds, moving people, however imperceptibly, toward God. We don’t have to take them from a -8 to 0 in one book.
Good post. I definitely think that CF should be a “continuum”, though I realize that, as with anything, there’s this human desire to make it into a “box”–strangely, though, I see this box-building coming from both sides of the spectrum.
You wrote before about “defining Edgy”, and discovering that it’s really dependent upon the person, but I think the same could be said for “Safe” fiction. What is “Safe”? I read a post on another blog recently that pretty much nuke-blasted anything that had a happy ending, anything where the good guys emerged triumphant and the villains were defeated. Anything where someone comes to know Christ by the end of the book or the gospel is shared or whatever. This was deemed “safe” and “not realistic” and, therefore, *gasp* not cool. The blogger is rebelling against the box of the conservative CBA, but, as a result, built his *own* box.
You’re always going to have the Christian audience who doesn’t want cussing, sex, etc etc in their “Christian fiction”. Or they’re gonna want an altar call or they’re gonna want things to be like Mayberry. One author springs to mind whom I know personally, whose stories are all wrapped up in that tiny bow, no one does anything shocking (like say “Gosh!”) and everyone comes to know Jesus in the end. It’s a fantasy–but this author has been through a painful divorce, has three children that he’s trying to raise in spite of this, etc etc. People are surprised when they find this out, because you’d think he’d never had a bad day in his life, based on the stuff he writes. But, he’s got problems, struggles–yet his stories are about promoting the *standard*. They *are* about promoting the ideal and saying “Hey, we’re not going to hit this mark, but couldn’t we try?” Now, I don’t necessarily agree with that approach (and I certainly don’t take that with my own writing), but I respect where he’s coming from and what he’s trying to do. But I do see that everything is this conservative box with him and he is not interested in trying anything outside of that box. He has a set audience (yes, comprised of middle class evangelical Christian housewives or pastors) and he sticks to formula. So, yeah, that’s about as “boxed in” as you can get.
What I’m discovering more and more is the other box. The one of this sort of “anti-legalism”, which has sort of become its own form of legalism. The Super Cool Edgy kids who don’t go to church, who cuss, who look at life as being this grey, messy, quagmire and there are no answers and there *shouldn’t* be answers (or whatever). I see a box there, too. Because now, if you do have right and wrong in your stories, if you do have good guys who win, if you do have happy endings, now you’re outside that Box O’ Cool and you’re branded “safe” and old-fashioned and blind to reality, etc. I seem to be on the opposing end of this box a lot lately and it really upsets me.
It’s like these two extremes, between Safe and Edgy and I wish it *were* more like the continuum, or “the spectrum”. Why can’t we have all of it? The argument could be made that the CBA is denying the Reader “all of it”. They’re cluttering the market with Amish romances and we don’t get to see much of anything else. I share in the frustration, believe me. But, there are people in the CBA now (me and you, for instance, Mike) who *are* trying to do something different. But, to be honest, I’m feeling a lot of pressure out there now. I feel like, because I’m soon to be published by a “CBA publisher”, I’m looked at as part of the Un-Cool Safe Crowd. So my response is “No! I’ve got monsters! See, I’m cool!” But I’m still “The Enemy of Good Writing” because I’m CBA. On the other hand, it also feels like I’ve got the unpublished Edgy Kids who have been shut out by the CBA, watching me to see if I’m going to break down all the walls and topple “The Man” and usher in a new age of Cool Edgy Writing. Look, I’m just me. I’m just trying to write the story I, personally, have always wanted to see in a Christian bookstore. I’m gonna be too edgy for some, too safe for others. But I’m trying to be true to myself and to accomplish what God has placed in my heart. I think, to do any less than that, *that* would be a kind of “safe” writer that I don’t ever want to be.
Great post Greg. You reflect a place I have found myself in over the last couple of years both as a reviewer for Unveiled and FictionAddict.com and as an author intent on being published in the CBA market. I have read well over a 1oo CBA suspense, mystery, Sci-fi, and speculative novels in the last 2 years as well as interviewing dozens of CBA authors. And the more I hear this argument that everything is too neat and tidy in the CBA makes me wonder if people are reading any of the market they claim to be shut out by. Have these people read Dekker’s Immanuel’s Veins or Stephen James or T.L. Hines? No doubt suspense, horror, and speculative is harder sell. That said, I chose to write in that genre. I knew the hill I had to climb. And I choose not grumble and curse those happily riding their Prairie Schooners on the fast track to CBA success.
Like you, I was on the side of some of those feeling shut out. But more and more I find myself growing weary of the multiple posts on Facebook, in the blogosphere, and elsewhere throwing stones at our Amish Romance/”everything turns out nice in the ending” brothers and sisters. Maybe I am just more eclectic that others. I still like Barney and Andy (black and white only). I also like Fringe and The Event.
Personally, I think it’s time for everyone to get back to writing that story God put in his or her heart and trust God a little more to put the story where it will do the most good.
I think the reaction against books where everything turns out in the end or where the struggles don’t feel real or whatever is a reaction by Christians who have felt shut out for a long time. I’m not saying it’s right to “throw stones” but sometimes it’s just about having one’s voice heard. Calling something Christian fiction, but only representing one kind of Christian is problematic.
Greg, thanks so much for recording your thoughts here. I feel the pressure, bro. Seriously. And I know exactly what you mean about wrestling with certain CBA elements, but now being published in the CBA. I received an email the other day from someone who recently stumbled on this site. They said they share my concerns about Christian fiction and then asked, “How did you come to be publish with a Christian publisher.” I’ll be sharing that email next week and building a post around it. But so much of it comes back to what you wrote…
“I’m just trying to write the story I, personally, have always wanted to see in a Christian bookstore. I’m gonna be too edgy for some, too safe for others. But I’m trying to be true to myself and to accomplish what God has placed in my heart. I think, to do any less than that, *that* would be a kind of “safe” writer that I don’t ever want to be.”
Well said, Greg. Hang in there!
Hear, hear!
Thanks for the reply, Tim. That has actually really encouraged me. Was having a hard day 🙂
In case my comments were taken wrongly, let me agree with Greg that, yes, one can make a box on the other side of the fence. Which actually I don’t fit in that one either. I like happy endings, myself. In my novels, the good guys win in the end, and the bad guys are defeated. So I don’t really fit in that “dark and horrible is cool” box either. But my characters sin, sometimes badly, because to me its hard to realistically show redemption if you don’t realistically show where people are at. One moves along that continuum by seeing someone else move along it that they can identify with. That’s the genius of fiction in relation to God using it to help someone draw closer to Him.
Which goes to the point that every author is different. And I agree, write what God puts on your heart. And if your audience is the CBA market, then by all means, write the best story in that framework as you can. And I know there are some good CBA authors out there. Being in the CBA or being “safe” doesn’t necessarily mean the story is horrible and forced.
My market isn’t that market, though I’m sure some cross over will happen. And I hope I can write good stories for the market I’m shooting for. That said, writers like me tend to fall between the cracks of CBA and secular, as I pointed out. I never addressed the issue of quality of writing, or that edgy is cool and safe is bad, etc.
But I still say that no matter what, the people who pick up your book will have a box to stick you in, and it may not be the one you think you’re in. It’s the market that puts us in boxes. Not me as a writer. I write what I think God wants me to write. But the market will label it.
I used to work as a bookkeeper in a Christian bookstore. I recall the owner pulling things he thought were good, but because of customers who complained about the stuff in that book, magazine, etc., being sinful and evil, he reluctantly pulled it from the shelves. Not even the CBA really defines the market and the “rules,” they are mostly concerned with what will sell to their market, and their trying to offend the fewest number of Christians to maximize the biggest market share.
Which, to bring it back to the continuum concept, I think as a writer I look at things like that, in deciding how a particular story will reach a particular market. But I know despite how I view it, and how I write what God has laid on my heart, the reality is the market will slap a label on me. And different labels depending on which market is looking at my work.
But I understand the frustration. There are those out there who make it sound as if anything coming out of the CBA is unrealistic Amish romances and equate it with the saying, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Well, something did, actually, and I know there are some good books in the CBA, even though I wouldn’t be interested in reading the majority of them, simply because the list of speculative fiction titles isn’t real long there. Some good ones, and growing, but compared to the overall output, a very small percentage.
I’m not one of those intent on bashing the CBA, even if my novels wouldn’t likely be published by them. I may be surprised some day and have one in there, but I’m not as much concerned about who the publisher is going to be as I am getting the story out there. If someday I’m a CBA author, I’ll be glad and honored to be so.
We’re writing for God’s glory anyway, not our own. At least, that should be the case. 🙂
No, no, I wasn’t referring to you. If you thought that, I wasn’t trying to give that impression. I hear where you’re coming from.
On the subject of CBA, heck, *I* read very little CBA, because I don’t see a lot of books that interest me. So, again, I wanted to write something that I’ve always wanted to see on the market. What’s funny is that I didn’t even know what a “CBA” was when I started writing my book, so it’s really weird that now I am a CBA author. For years I sent out my book to big-name Christian publishers, but everyone thought it was weird, so getting picked up by a CBA publisher is very surreal for me and it just seems odd saying it. So, I’d say I sort of fell into CBA by accident, but it’s been a happy accident. Of course, it was only after I signed on that I realized the animosity out there. I mean, yeah, I always complained because there wasn’t something akin to John Carpenter’s “The Fog” (or really anything by John Carpenter) on the Christian bookshelves, but I thought it was just because people weren’t writing it. Now I know better, and see that they’re either all with Marcher Lord :p or some other small press, self-pub, or even in the secular market. But, Realms has been really supportive of my monster-loving ways and I’m encouraged to see an ’80s popcorn movie creature feature in a Christian bookstore by a CBA house…now if I can just convince everyone to give it a shot even though it’s “approved” by the CBA :p
Great discussion!
I don’t see Christian fiction as either a box or a continuum And as you said yourself, Mike, there’s no agreed-upon definition of just what Christian fiction is — or what it should be! I love that we’re discussing it — I love that it’s growing, changing, maturing, and branching out. We’ve come a long way, but we still have far to go.
The purpose and quality of Christian fiction is a favorite subject of mine on my blog as well (www.YsWords.com).