Welcome to the Summer Issue of Faith-Filled Fiction!

This is going to be an insane summer for me personally, because we are moving from Minot, ND, to Simi Valley, CA. Change in job. Change in homes. Change in climate. Change in attitudes. Even change in schooling, as I may homeschool the younger two kids. I'll be relying on faith this year, though my fiction production will slow significantly, I think.

While househunting, I took the opportunity to catch up on some reading. I read several wonderful, faith-filled books, a few of which I'll be reviewing on my blog at www.virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com. I'd like to share one of those books with you this issue.

"I loved Thy Creation" is a collection of science fiction stories by Maya Bohnhoff, a follower of the Baha'i faith. I've known Maya and admired her writing since she wrote "A Cruel and Unusual Punishment" for Infinite Space, Infinite God. These were stories with Baha'i characters and themes. What's unusual about them, however, is that they were previously published in science fiction journals from Asimov's to Interzone. These are wonderful stories, true to her faith, yet engaging and enjoyable to people of any faith. I highly recommend that anyone looking to write faith-filled fiction for a general market see how strong yet subtly she incorporated her beliefs. Click the link on the right for more.

In the meantime, Maya has graciously agreed to teach us about the principles of the Baha'i faith, with some practical applications if you'd like to have a Baha'i character.

In addition, I have a two-part series on depicting sin in literature, adapted with permission from a blog by Robert Flores. This issue, he'll give us his interpretation of the depiction of sins from lust to violence in the Bible, and next issue, applies that to our responsiblities as writers. Even if you do not agree with his interpretations, he makes some interesting points, and his advice is worht considering. Finally, Joe Prentis discusses defining Christian literature. Enjoy!

Guest Columnist

Defining Christian Fiction

By Joe Prentis

Christian Fiction used to be easy to define. Most stories were about a crisis in the life of a Christian and how they found their way back to God. Much of it was preachy, and almost none of it was read by people who were not practicing Christians. A trip through the religious section of any book store will show you how things have changed. Almost every type of story can be found in the religious section beside the traditional stories of faith. We find characters in these stories that sometimes cause us to cringe, and situations as accurate as the ones people face in everyday life. So why, you might be wondering, can we call these types of books Christian Fiction, when they deal with the profane as well as the sacred. The difference is in the attitude of the writer. To put it in simple terms: are we rooting for the bad guy, or do we have a positive, Christian outlook woven in the plot?

We are all familiar with the expression, ‘less is more,’ and this certainly applies to the characters and plot of Christian Fiction. Ask yourself this question. Which is more inspiring, a young woman who bows her head and says grace while having lunch with her boss, or a troubled character recently out of jail who is suddenly confronted with the possibility of having his parole revoked? A few plot elements that show how he remembers the faith of his grandmother, and the extent of his desperation, can turn an ordinary story into a situation that we will never forget. We don’t need crashing cars and rockets lighting up a night sky to make it dramatic. We only need to tell the reader who he is and give them hope that he going to get out of this mess.

So how do we create these types of characters and situations, and how do we make them resonate with the reader? Charts, three by five cards to show the plot elements might help, but the real, convincing details come from an evaluation of our personal failures and also from our aspirations. ‘There but for the grace of God go I,’ is the fertile ground where our characters can best take root. We need to present them warts and all, but with an element of hope and the promise of redemption. Almost anything goes when we are preaching to the choir, but if we want to reach the masses, we are going to have to be more subtle, and leave a little of ourselves on the written page.

Joe Prentis has been an FBI agent, pastor of several churches and writer of many articles and four novels. Learn more at http://www.joeprentis.com.

Writing Tips

"Depiction of Sin inthe Bible: an Analysis"

By Robert Flores

“But take heed lest by any means this liberty of your’s become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.” 1 Corinthians  8:9

When Christians advocate showing offensive actions/scenes/situations in comics, they inevitably bring up the fact that offensive actions/scenes/situations are in the Bible. The Bible, indeed, shows the whole of humanity, the good and the bad, the glorious and the horrendous. But it always shows sin in a way that does not glorify it. As Christian artists, we are called to use discernment in all we create. Let’s look at a few examples from the Bible and see how reality and sin were portrayed:

In Judges 19, Levite’s concubine that is raped and killed. The main verse is verse 25: “But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.” This verse is the entire account of the rape of the Levite’s concubine. Forty-four words describe the beginning, middle and end of a 10-hour rape scene. It doesn’t give glory to sin by going into a lot of detail and yet this method doesn’t take away the reality of the story.

1 Samuel 22:18: “And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.” King Saul’s henchman, Doeg, murdered 85 priests with a sword. How long did that take? Maybe an hour? And yet this verse’s 39 words describe the entire massacre, reporting the minimum details that had to be reported—and moving on.

Finally, the death of Jezebel, 2 Kings 9:33-35: “And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king’s daughter. And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.”
This is just the beginning of a scene that could have easily been rated R. According to 1 Kings 21:23, Jezebel was prophesied to be eaten by wild dogs. If there was any scene that could have included graphic detail, it could have been this scene. Imagine it with me: an evil woman receiving her just reward by having her body torn apart by wild dogs. Do you hear the crunching of tendons and the snapping of bones? No? Well, either do I. This entire scene happens “off-screen," in verse 34, while Jehu is eating his feast. He walks outside, in verse 35, and the scene has already taken place. So much for God glorifying violence. He takes care in how He portrays sin and reality and so should we.

This is part of the problem I see in Christendom today. Christians don’t hold back disgusting details in a story, whether it’s their testimony or a fictional story. So how do Christian artists show real evil in their writing? Realize that you don’t have to show evil. There are other ways of talking about “reality," without actually talking about “reality." Or, to put it comic book terminology: there are other ways of “showing” evil, without actually “showing” it.
You need not glorify the evil by depicting it in all its decadence. Less is more. Readers aren’t stupid. They get it.

 Adapted with permission from an article in Bibleartbooks.com, September 28, 2007

Religion Research

The Bahá’í Faith — a Primer for Writers — Part 1

By Maya Bohnhoff

While Islam is over a thousand years old and Hinduism many thousands, the Bahá’í Faith is a young religion, having arisen in Persia in 1844. I became a Bahá’í at 18 and have published stories that contain Bahá’í themes, concepts and characters in magazines such as Analog, Amazing Stories and Interzone. Yes, you can write positively about religion in SF and fantasy and get published.

Say you want to use the Bahá’í Faith as an element in a story. What should you know? There are several broad areas in which accuracy is important when writing about any faith: core teachings (fundamental or social), organization, history, and community.

Unity is the single most important spiritual principle of the Faith, which has as its ultimate goal the unity of mankind. Bahá’ís of Jewish, Christian and Muslim background might call this the Kingdom of God on earth; Bahá’ís of Hindu and Buddhist background might call it Sat Yuga and Nirvana respectively.

• Bahá’ís believe there is one God.

• • He has revealed Himself in the long life of mankind through a succession of divine, yet human Messengers including (but not limited to) Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Christ, Muhammad and the two Prophets of the Bahá’í Faith—the Báb (Arabic, “the Gate”) and Bahá’u’lláh (“the Glory of God”). So we believe there is really only one religion. “One Light, Many Lamps” is a common Bahá’í saying.

• • We believe the purpose of these Revelations is the spiritual education—the salvation—of the individual and of mankind as a species and the evolution of an ever-advancing civilization, culminating in ... well, read the Book of Isaiah, you’ll get the picture :).

Bahá’í teachings operate at two levels: individual and collective. We believe that the welfare of the individual and mankind as a whole are inextricably linked.

Important safety tip: Don’t confuse unity with uniformity. You remember that old Vulcan maxim: Unity in diversity? That was the work of a couple of Bahá’í writers Gene Roddenberry had on staff back in the day. All of the teachings of the Faith are aimed at achieving unity in diversity. This is why Bahá’u’lláh taught that abolishing prejudices of race, nation, gender, social status and ideology were prerequisites for global peace. It’s because of the importance of unity that Bahá’ís do not register with political parties, though we are encouraged to vote and participate in the community. It’s because of the importance of unity that Bahá’ís are forbidden backbiting and gossip. It’s because of the importance of unity that we are not allowed to impose our understanding of scripture on others.

Simply put, Bahá’ís believe not that unity will come as a by-product of the establishment of God’s Kingdom, but that God’s Kingdom will be the natural outcome of humanity heeding His word, recognizing its own unity and behaving according to that recognition.

This verse from Bahá’u’lláh sums it up: “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illumine the whole earth.”

Next: How do Bahá’ís view God, Prophet and man?