One of the earliest installments in this series covered how to write about false religions, those that aren’t even real within your world. But today I want to cover the separate issue of how to write about religions that are designed to reflect the truth of who our God is within the context of a fictional world.
As always, this is intended to be food-for-thought, not the one proper Continue reading “How Should Christians Write About… Allegorical Religions?”
Last year, I read two books back-to-back (Wishtress and Once I Knew) in which God or the allegorical God figure speaks directly to the characters. (Actually, I’m not sure I’ve read a Nadine Brandes book in which this isn’t the case.) As such, this topic was near the top of my thoughts and I mulled over it quite a bit because the idea of God speaking directly to characters in a work of fiction is something I always wrestle with to some degree or another when it comes up.
This post might sound familiar to those who follow my social media or are subscribed to my newsletter, since I wrote out my thoughts sometime last year, but I wanted to compile and expand on them here as part of my “How should Christians write about…?” series. As always, these posts are intended as food for thought and your conclusions should be guided by Scripture and your conscience, not Continue reading “How Should Christians Write About… How God Speaks”
This is the first of a couple posts I have planned on controversial topics among Christian authors of fantasy. Beyond this post, I want to write one about writing magic and I might add one about writing God’s speech (or the speech of an allegorical God figure). They won’t be consecutive, but they will all crop up eventually.
Do note that while these are titled “How should Christians write about xyz,” these are all topics I think are dependent on personal conviction and spiritual maturity and my goal is more to present my thoughts and provide food for thought and biblical insight than to say “This is the one right way to do things.”
With all that out of the way… How “should” Christians write about false gods?
Some Christian authors will say it’s never a good idea to write about false gods, whether because it’s idolatry, it detracts glory from God, it could mislead readers, or for some other reason. And some of these are valid concerns (certainly any of them can be depending on Continue reading “How Should Christians Write About… False Gods?”
Religions have a significant hand in shaping the cultures around them, and developing them can be a powerful tool both in developing those cultures and in exploring worldview. While I’ve talked before about the basics of creating a fantasy religion, today I want to talk about some of the complexities and details that will deepen that religion (or really any organization or culture) and make it feel more organic and complete. Continue reading “How to Deepen a Fantasy Religion”
Religion—or even lack of religion—is something that will deeply affect the way people live in your world, both individually and as collective cultures, so let’s get into the basics of worldbuilding a religion. (And if you want to go deeper, check out this post next!) Continue reading “Discovering Your World: Religion”