Religion in Fantasy Novels

T

tjguitarz

New Member
I've got another question for you guys. What are the boundrys when it comes to religion in a fantasy novel? I'd give you guys examples from my book, but I can't without giving away important plot details. Here's the basic concept.

There is the King of Light and the Prince of Dark. They both interact in the world much as they do in this world with the exception that the characters will actually communicate with them. For instance, my evilest character will be taking direct orders from the Prince of Dark. My Hero, in contrast, will speak with the King of Light on occassion to provide insight to what is happening where he can not see. In the end, the good with triumph over evil, as it should.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to incorporate this kind of thing in my book, but I am hoping to explain to secular readers some of the tough questions. For example, why do bad things happen? Why are some people really evil, and others really good? Why does God let bad things happen? Although they can be tough concepts, I know that (with God's help) I can explain them in a good way.

Awaiting your reply, TJ
 
I'd like to point to Ted Dekkar's Red, White, and Black books to kind of explain how the religion will influence things in my book.

Also, as my story is set in ancient times, it will a BC setting.
 
I have read Black & Red, but not White yet. They were written for the expressed purpose of being metaphorically related to the steps to salvation, and explaining how God operates. I don't think there is any limit to how much you can incorporate religion in any fiction. You do need to be careful though. I'll use the Matrix as an example. May people feel that it represents Christianity (because of his "death" and his "rebirth" in the first movie), yet it is actually a mix of many different types of religious thought. It gives lots of truths inside of "truth". If you want to use your story to point people to Christianity and answer questions, it has to be very deliberate and intential. Good luck!
 
I feel religion is a big part in most of the book i read. i know one series of books couldnt be done with out the Gods. As i see it, as long as you dont believe in your fictional religion, or make others beleive it (which could be hard) its perfectly ok.
 
Certainly C.S. Lewis was able to incorporate Christian theology and concepts into his books without expressly stating it. The Prince of Dark/King of Light idea will get people thinking along those lines anyway-- it's up to you to be subtle enough that it remains a fantasy world, but overt enough that the real world message you want to get across isn't lost in the process. A fine line, to be sure.
 
tjguitarz said:
I wasn't sure if I wanted to incorporate this kind of thing in my book, but I am hoping to explain to secular readers some of the tough questions. For example, why do bad things happen? Why are some people really evil, and others really good? Why does God let bad things happen? Although they can be tough concepts, I know that (with God's help) I can explain them in a good way.

Awaiting your reply, TJ
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It seems to me that you're talking about expressing a Christian 'worldview' in your writing without using specific references to scripture or directly outlining your own religious convictions. Personally, I think that will happen in most of your stories whether it is your intention or not. So my advice would be to write a good story first, and let God use it as He will. And don't try to do everything with every story. Stories can entertain, enlighten, draw the reader to Jesus, convict sinners, educate, edify, enrich, and do many other things. Good stories may very well do more than one of those things, but none can do all of them. So let some of your stories be oriented towards entertainment, others towards directly and distinctly laying out the steps of salvation, others towards enlightening and educating the reader. Remember, there's a season for everything and a purpose to everything, but nothing can well-serve every good purpose simultaneously.

Paul
 
i avoid putting false deities and beliefs in my books, but i find it difficult to write about warring things and other worlds with Christianity in it too...

so i've just let my books be neutral in religion and be simply a story about another place.

also if you don't include religion, nobody can attack Christianity using your writing
 
For terrific examples of "types" of Christianity in fiction novels, read The Chronicles of Narnia and Till We Have Faces, both by C.S. Lewis. Oh, and of course, The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.

For examples of what not to do, read Dune by Frank Herbert. Terrific book, but the religion aspect was obviously influenced by New Age and Eastern religions.
 
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