The term “Inspirational Fiction” has become synonymous with much of what is labeled Christian fiction.
- Hopeful
- Uplifting
- Positive
- Wholesome
These are words commonly associated with the genre. But does “Inspiration” rightly portray the essence of the Christian Gospel?
At the outset of our current recession, one columnist noted that Christian fiction thrives during economic crisis:
Local Christian publishers who launched or expanded their fiction lines in recent years are enjoying the fruits of their labors thanks to an unlikely source — the flagging economy.
While sales of Christian nonfiction have stalled during the recent economic crisis, sales of Christian fiction remain strong.
Karen Ball, executive editor at Southern Baptist-owned B&H Publishing Group [Ball is no longer with B&H] , said that people are looking for a way to escape from the bad news of layoffs and plummeting stocks. “When reality gets ugly, fiction takes off,” she said.
Along with escape, Christian novels specialize in Christian hope.
“There’s some wonderful secular fiction out there, but it’s not offering any hope,” Ball said. “If anything it’s discouraging. In Christian fiction, there’s hope in the midst of trouble.” (Emphasis mine)
This portrayal of Christian fiction as an agent of hope is common, and I think it captures the essence of what many readers expect from the genre. They want something uplifting, inspirational, encouraging, and/or ultimately optimistic.
So is this why the genre exists, to evoke or inspire hope in those who despair? Is this why readers seek out Christian fiction, to recharge their Inspirational battery? If so, I think that’s a problem. Let me offer three reasons why the term Inspirational Fiction can be dangerous for both writers and readers.
LITERARY PREDICTABILITY: If readers buy Christian fiction primarily to feel good and extract hope, then no matter how bleak a storyline, they should always expect a somewhat uplifting resolution. This is a common charge against Christian fiction. Not only does this expectation hurt the genre (i.e., people know what to expect), it also hamstrings Christian fiction writers into more predictable plot-lines. Things have to work out, or else it’s not… inspirational.
SUPERFICIALITY: Another problem with defining Christian fiction in terms of Inspiration is that it potentially glosses over the “darker” elements of life and faith (i.e., that humans are depraved, do depraved things, reject God, and can ultimately spend eternity in hell) and opts for convenience (happy ending) rather than complexity. Stories that move predictably toward uplifting resolutions often sacrifice deeper issues (and biblical clarity) for superficial resolutions.
AN INCOMPLETE GOSPEL: It’s been said, The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable. Before the Gospel “frees,” it makes us “miserable.” While the Holy Spirit infuses God’s children with love, joy, and peace, He also convicts world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (Jn. 16:8). The Gospel damns before it releases. Much Inspirational Fiction misses this “miserable” part of the Gospel. It conditions us to see God as The Fixer and our stories as Pep Pills for troubled times. The ultimate message is, “Come to Jesus and everything will work out.” But is that the essence of the Gospel?
This last point is the most important, and potentially the most charged. Does Inspirational Fiction (or, at least, our expectations of it) trivialize the Gospel, turn it into a bandaid for all our ills? Does the genre substitute theological depth for feel-good fluff? I think it can. Sadly, many Christians have replaced theological “steak and eggs” with a Chicken Soup for the Soul mentality. And Inspirational Fiction potentially caters to that mentality.
Yes. The Gospel offers inspiration and hope. It is good news! But real biblical hope is based on a sense of hopelessness, not humanistic, formulaic, emotional quick-fixes. We can’t save ourselves, we need a Savior. And following Him means carrying our cross along a very narrow road. That road is often rocky, strewn with unpredictability and hardship. Multitudes have died seeing their hopes and promises left unfulfilled.
But does Inspirational Fiction accurately capture that reality?
I don’t have a problem with escapism. I do have a problem with legalism and “higher ups” dictating their own code of morality upon others, in areas where Jesus’ message allows for gray area. I touched on that a bit in my Wednesday post.
That being said, one of the most inspirational movies I’ve seen is Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks. Everything that could go wrong did, and yet they were able to prevail by stubbornly refusing to give up. That’s a great inspirational message. Although we are sinful, we do have amazing strength to overcome trials. Some may not realize God is helping them through the trials, but he is nonetheless.
Taking it a different direction, there are a lot of people struggling with depression in this world. They (including me) need stories that “lift” at the end, not drop the reader into a pit just prior to “the end.” (Perhaps that’s not necessarily what you’re getting at, but just saying.) Yeah, I know life’s like that sometimes, but I don’t need to be reminded in fiction. If some are into that, however, they should have books to read too, so publish away.
In my own writing, I personally prefer my stories to uplift. In Martyred, I take my character through dark places, but she’s victorious in the end. Isn’t that the ultimate message of the Bible? God has already won. We’re on the winning team! Doesn’t mean all the lose ends have to be tied up though. Even this approach allows room for subtlety, which is acheived through good writing.
Jessica, please don’t misinterpret me as suggesting all our stories should be gloomy or ambiguous. Christian fiction SHOULD contain inspirational elements. What I find confounding is that “Inspirational” has been attached ad hoc to the entire genre. It gives the impression that our stories are little more than literary cotton candy — sweet and substanceless. It’s why “dark” fiction seems so out of place in the Christian market.
The more I read of your blog the more convinced I am that there is a coming sea-change for books dealing in overtly Christian content. Unfortunately for those of you called to write those things, you have a battle that you seem to be fighting on the wrong turf.
1. Current publishers want to publish what the know will sell. And that’s the grace Livingston Amish stuff.
2. Buyers want to carry books in their store that people buy.
3. More people are buying books online in greater numbers. They are discovering those books through word of mouth. Blogs, Goodreads, etc.
4. The current Christian publishing bloc has devalued its product in the online market by giving so much of it away free.
So here’s the thing. Y’all need to realize that you will not be embraced by the behemoth and need to create your own market. That’s the only way to popularize your types of story.
I’ve been saying this for quite a while now. If the marketplace your book is being sold in will not produce enough sales to be sustainable then a new marketplace has to be created. Jeff Gerke has done this at Marcher Lord Press and even those in traditional CBA circles are having to acknowledge the superior overall quality of the genre MLP produces compare to traditional counterparts.
Katherine and Tim, my personal goal is neither to 1.) Create another market or 2.) Be embraced by the existing market. I am simply critiquing what I feel are flaws in the existing system and its consumers. I am a Christian who wants to see Christian art and our understanding of it grow. Honestly, I really don’t have a huge agenda.
I prefer books with a Scriptural/Biblical approach vs inspirational. The latter is secular to me. I want a book that challenges my walk with the Lord or reconciles relationships (God and man). Inspirational tends to be man induced power. Scriptural/Biblical is God induced power.
Define “work out.”
Things can still work out and you can lose someone you love. Look at Jeanne D’Arc’s story. She saved the entire nation of France through her immense faith in God, and yet in the end she was burned as a heretic. Sad. Unexpected (who would expect she would be betrayed by the king she’d put on the throne?). And yet, somehow, uplifting. The good overshadows the bad and we are uplifted even while our hearts are breaking. I think Jeanne’s story, if fictional, could have easily made it into CBA circles.
What I mean to say is, it’s not the goal of inspiring that leads us down the dangerous paths of predictability and so on. It’s a narrow view of what is inspiring.
Sadly, a lot of CBA stuff is predictable and soft and potentially incomplete. I think it’s because when we think about what inspires us, usually we tend to lean toward the cliche’s, and for Christians that’s in the realm of miracles. Big events that, through faith and God, turn evil back from our doorsteps and bring light shining brightly back into our lives. And that’s good too on occasion. . .but, yeah, like you said, it’s predictable.
So yes, it is a dangerous mentality. Probably a reaction to all the depressing, definitely-not-uplifting fiction out there. But it is a problem.
Especially if you write horror.
Horror can’t scare anyone if they know the ending will be nice and neat. And in horror especially, the ending is almost required to NOT be nice and neat. . .and unless we get out of this narrow mindset of the inspirational, it’ll be an uphill battle for horror writers especially.
. . .to answer your question. No. Most inspirational stuff doesn’t capture reality. . .but it’s possible.
(Yikes, did I just write a book? Sorry. Basically: I agree. Sorta. I think.)
Tony, I agree with you about “a narrow view of what is inspiring.” That’s a great point. Perhaps it is our view of Inspiration, when, why and if we need it, that we should scrutinize.
I recently spoke to a writer friend who, while perusing his local bookstore, spotted a Christian Horror / Supernatural Thriller title in the Inspirational Reading section. He said the book looked so out of place next to the bonnets, buggies, and parasols, that he moved it to where it belonged: next to Stephen King and Dean Koontz. All that to say: Inspirational Fiction is just too narrow a label for what Christians write and read.
Thanks for commenting, Tony.
I agree with everything you say, but I also ask: isn’t there room for all kinds of fiction? If this was the only kind (and granted, it may be over-represented on the shelves of late) I’d be up in arms, but it’s just one type of Christian fiction. But everyone wants to read something uplifting now and then. Nine times out of ten, I like reading dark and bleak stuff because it accurately reflects life. Joy in the face of bleakness. Hope because of a savior. But sometimes, you just want to see something that inspires you. I roll my eyes at feel-good films, but you know, every once in a while I need to see a Karate Kid or a Rudy. I want something that accurately represents how I FEEL and how I want to feel.
But there IS joy in being a Christ-follower. I CAN say without reservation that my life is better in all aspects. Some days, obviously it’s dark and dreary, but life is pretty good. I am able to identify and appreciate God’s blessings that were there all the time, I just wasn’t looking.
And besides, using this argument, there shouldn’t be any uplifting Christian songs because they don’t accurately represent real life.
And if “incomplete Gospel” is a reason to discount any Christian fiction, then that goes back to many of the other lively discussions that have been going, in that: Does Christian fiction HAVE to present the Gospel, fully and accurately, somewhere within its pages to truly be called “Christian”? What’s the responsibility of the author to present the Gospel, and what is the responsibility of the reader to go fill in the missing details if the author chose to be more vague and mostly hint at the Gospel?
Vic, absolutely right that there’s “room for all kinds of fiction” and that Christian fiction is not only Inspirational. There are lots of different kinds of stories. I’m definitely NOT saying there isn’t or shouldn’t be uplifting elements of Christian fiction. I AM saying that the concept of Inspiration and Hope are associated far too often with what Christian fiction should be. It potentially demeans the biblical concept of hope and descends into a cliched Fireproof / Facing the Giants sort of thing.
Fireproof/Facing the Giants is my whole entry into this realm of behind-the-scenes debate over Christian fictional media. Eye-rolling cliches, absolutely. Their next film, Courageous, looks equally predictable.
That said, these films are the prefect petri dish to discuss.
Are these films successful because they fulfill a need that Christians and non-Christians seem to want filled? Or are they successful because the bean counters have decided that this is the type of film that Christians will have to watch if they want to watch Christian films?
Further, are the filmmakers meeting a need by creating a film they think people want/need to see, or are they the ones effectively determining the market simply by their successful track record and foisting upon the rest of the market their idea of what a Christian film should be?
And obviously, extrapolate that out to books, music, etc.
The question I have, is do you think the market is driven by the consumers, or by the distributors? Is so much of this fluffy content on the shelves because it’s what people WANT (and are saying so by using their pocketbooks), or is what people want DICTATED by the distributors?
The only time I ever hear the word inspirational used as a synonym for Christian fiction is when someone’s talking about romance. Ted Dekker’s work isn’t typically labeled inspy.
Romance across all genres sells during tough economic times, not just inspy romance. They all have the happily ever afters.
The genre exists to entertain people. And inspy romance is taking a lot of flak lately. I’m not sure why people make such a big deal out of it. Why not the uproar over rom coms or chick flicks?
What’s the difference between a feel good book and a feel good movie? In an insy book you won’t get the language you might in the latest Jennifer Aniston flick.
If Christians are replacing the theological steak and eggs of the Bible with their favorite inspy authors (or for that matter Highway to Heavan reruns) then they have a heart problem that goes far beyond their library choices.
I think the only difference between Christian (fill in the genre blank) and secular examples is that Christ is the means of salvation, not a genre. Rom-coms and Jennifer Aniston flicks DON’T matter in any context except debates over fluffiness. But when you put the word “Christian” in front of it, it takes on a scary responsibility. (or does it?)
As a writer, you have no idea who is going to read your books, be it a Christian strong in the faith and using your book only as a way to pass the time or feel reinforcement about the truths they know to be solid, or someone who is totally unchurched and this may be the first example of Christianity they encounter. Do Christian writers have a responsibility to err on the side of writing for that unchurched person? Should we assume that this may be the ONLY Christian book some reader might read, and therefore is it on the writer to make sure that within those pages that an accurate presentation of the Gospel has been laid out (hopefully elegantly and creatively and organic to the story)?
I love these discussions and all the different perspectives although sometimes I feel like a hamster on a wheel. We keep going ’round and ’round.
“Do Christian writers have a responsibility to err on the side of writing for that unchurched person?” I don’t think so, if we’re writing in CBA. Most unchurched people–and a lot of Christians–don’t care for Christian fiction and won’t even look at it, much less buy it. Until we can get our books into the general market, I think we’re only reaching fellow Christians, usually the ones who shop at CBA-oriented stores or in the inspy section at B&N among the “buggies, bonnets, and parasols.” (I hate seeing my novel mixed in with those, especially because the cover art makes it look almost like a prairie romance, which it most definitely isn’t.)
But whether or not we’re only reaching fellow believers, I don’t think every “Christian” novel has to include the Gospel, at least not blatantly. Art shouldn’t preach. Art should inspire. But I don’t think “inspirational” should mean being soft and sweet and predictable like a marshmallow. My, but I’m opinionated today! 🙂
I wish there was a category of “inspirational fiction” that encompassed the feel-good stories of CBA. Christian fiction or CBA gets labeled and lumped together in such a broad way that, as someone pointed out, the Dekkers and Durans of the world 😉 are placed next to the chaste bonnet romances and Christmas shoes stories.
Nothing wrong with the chaste bonnet romances, but the handicap Christian fiction has is that it is a label that doesn’t narrow things down well. It means clean language, spiritual insight of some kind, and certain tropes (for the most part). The problem is that horror has its tropes, as well as romance, suspense, etc. The CBA tropes often conflict with other genre tropes.
That’s my reason for wanting a label of inspirational fiction – to encompass those stories that want to entertain and encourage the choir. Then maybe the books that are striving to cross some boundaries can have one handicap removed (and maybe I’ll win that Hawaii vacation tomorrow…).
So much of this has to do the marketing. Two of Mike Dellosso’s novels are in Wal-Marts but his own publisher has no sway in where those books are placed. It’s published by a CBA publisher so it ends up in Inspirational. End of story.
I appreciate a good happy ending as much as the next person, and I fully believe that a day at the beach calls for a feel-good inspirational chick-lit fluffy-to-the-hilt novel, but I share your concerns about this kind of story being considered the norm in Christian fiction. “Considered” being the operative word here. People often lump all Christian fiction together as fluffy and simplistic, but there are a lot of CF publishers releasing more serious, thought-provoking work nowadays.
I think the primary end goal of CF should be to point people to the gospel, but there are different ways to do that, not all of which involve happy endings. In fact I would even go so far as to say that sometimes happy endings get in the way.
Good points, Mike. Our pastor is continually warning us not to fall for what he calls the “Prosperity Gospel.”
What is fiction’s job again?
To entertain and offer that pressure release valve, right? Avoid predictable trope by all means, but there’s nothing wrong with a happy ending. The Bible has one, after all.
I think the artist and their art portray the dynamics of the heart, so if Redemption is there facets of that will be portrayed, but to freight them, to mandate sermonizing and evangelism, is like demanding a screwdriver be a hammer. It’s not their vocation or purview and it ruins them.
I’m not advocating the frivolous, puerile or heretical here, but we’re talking fiction, and at the end of the day doesn’t the reader have a measure of responsibility to “rightly divide” their input? Don’t blame the writer for creative license – Spit out the bones.
A different question might does the average reader of Christian and Inspirational literature have enough theological grounding to not be blown about by every wind of fictional doctrine? Do they really know what they believe and why they believe it, or does a made-up kid with a scar and wand trump the Man who rose from the dead?
Thanks for this valuable information I believe, in painting a picture about life struggles, and lead others to Jesus. I don’t want to write about a weak Gospel because it isn’t.
My life was so dark, and I was completely lost; I thought there was nothing more than to experience the pain and futility until I died. (Don’t laugh-this is the greater part of the audience-melodramatic and bound) If it weren’t for ‘inspiration’, I wouldn’t have the new life I’ve been blessed with today. Christ Jesus answered my prayer of desparation through inspirational books, movies, and music. I am held in such wonder that the Lord knew exactly how to reach ME – as He knows every single one of us; individually.
(Many of my fellow Christians praise my journey, but the same also comdemn the sources of what jump-started my Faith. Then, I tell them my story.)
Now, I read my Bible in a way I never knew before – Life-giving promises that fill my heart, soul, mind, and body. (It was just a book before.) Because of inspiration, I sought Him with all my heart and He answered my prayer and made me whole! (Cliche?)
Why, exactly, do we need to put such ‘stress’ on hope, faith, and love? Is it not said, ‘I shall have Mercy; not sacrifice’? Since when does God have limits for those who seek him with all diligence of Heart? Exactly when did He stop reigning Supreme?)
I’m not ‘anyone’ to this world. (I am someone to God -praise and thanks to Jesus Christ my Saviour!) I want to share that joy, peace, love, endurance, hope, and life with others. He let me ‘unbury’ my talents – writing, drawing, singing and song-writing – all so that I may glorify Him! (Is that not reason enough?) I am blessed because my Lord Jesus let me see that I have a purpose. I thank Him for saving my life! Not to mention, we should all thank God for giving us the direction to teach (lead/guide/inspire) others that they, all, may come to know His Word -the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Call it whatever- define it any way you want – inspiration is from our Heavenly Father. If you’ve ever looked at the clouds, in the evening sky, you may have appreciated their beauty. You can paint them or write about them or sing a song detailing them – but what really blows my mind is that God started from absolutely nothing to create them. Without anything with which to compare, He spoke all colors, shapes, kinds, voices, etc. – He is where inspiration begins!
Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ for choosing me – broken and worthless – and giving me grace. Our job, as Christian artists, is TO inspire. We plant the seed. We furrow the ground. If we truly have any faith at all, we know His Spirit does the work afterwards.
God makes no mistakes. (And, yes, we do know the end of the story) Shouldn’t that, alone and by faith, inspire us?