In re-posting the Christian Speculative Fiction Panel, I perused the discussion again and was reminded of an observation I have that remains unaddressed.
My second question to the panel concerned the disproportionate popularity of speculative themes in the general market as opposed to the Christian market. For instance, of the 50 highest-grossing movies of all-time, more than half contain speculative themes (The Dark Knight, Lord of the Rings, The Sixth Sense, Spiderman, etc.). The Harry Potter and Twilight series have, likewise, sold millions. Yet despite its popularity in the general market, spec titles comprise a relatively minuscule portion of the religious fiction market. Why?
The panel’s answers were insightful. Suggestions ranged from demographics (a largely female readership), to limited shelf space for spec titles in religious bookstores, to a lingering suspicion of the speculative genre by Christian publishers.
But one possible theory went un-addressed.
Is speculation inherently un-Christian?
In 1988, Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Temptation of Christ opened to protests, boycotts and denunciations. It’s based on Nikos Kazantzakis’ controversial book, the central thesis of which is that Jesus, while free from sin, was still subject to every form of temptation that humans face. Along the way, the author explores what it might have been like for Jesus to undergo the temptations of the flesh. Despite the fact that Scripture tells us Christ was “in all points tempted as we are” (Heb. 4:15), the subject matter proved too offensive for many Christians.
I think The Last Temptation of Christ controversy illustrates the inherent problems Christians face in approaching speculative titles: Some subjects and beliefs are sacred to believers, and thus, untouchable.
At the heart of the Christian religion is a well-defined set of articles, a non-negotiable series of dogmas, an unbending theological level. To question these things is to undermine one’s own faith. On the other hand, “questioning things” is at the heart of the speculative genre. Thus, Spec-fic is best when it “speculates” — when it tweaks reality, reinvents the rules, rewrites histories, and tinkers with the facts.
In this sense, Speculative fiction, by its very nature, grates against the core of Christianity, which states that some things — yea, some of the most important things! — are beyond the pale of speculation. Because of this, it is not uncommon to see Christian reviewers questioning the theology of a work of Christian fiction. Why? Because theology is at the heart of what defines Christian fiction.
I wonder if this isn’t why so many secularists gravitate toward science fiction. The list of humanist, agnostic or atheist sci-fi authors is a veritable who’s who of the genre. H.G. Wells (atheist), Isaac Asimov (atheist), Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (humanist), Ben Bova (atheist), Robert Heinlein (atheist / humanist), Douglas Adams (atheist), and Gene Roddenberry (humanist), just to name a few. Without God or absolutes — without a theology and a group of devotees to that theology — writers are truly free to speculate.
So one of the theories I want to add to the discussion of why Christian speculative fiction lags is this: Christian spec-fic, by its very nature, cannot be speculative enough.
I’ve been blown away by Non-Christian Spec Fiction a number of times, appreciating certain characters or concepts while recognizing a deficit in my imagination in the same area because of self-imposed boundaries.
I’m not referring to the salacious, gory, or puerile, but more a particular angle, a nuance, an extrapolation, into a perspective I’ve labeled a dead-end, or untrue, or thin ice.
Some psychologists have posited that religious absolutes stifle creative insecurity, similar to what you mention here. I think I agree but also rage against that verdict. I’m supposed to know and serve the Creator of the entire Universe, as well as be made in His image. His Spirit is supposed to dwell in me, and ‘holiness’ doesn’t exclude creativity.
Some people used gravity as an argument against the idea of manned flight. I think God put it there so we don’t spiral out of orbit and wind up lost forever.