Married to the Empire

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Christian literature

I dislike most Christian novels. Plainly put, they're lousy. Everyone is virtuous, no one has any really dreadful sin in their lives, and with what little wrong-doing they have in their lives, they're quickly saved after a 3-page sermon by a main character. Add bad writing to the mix, and you have a slew of reasons I rarely read Christian fiction. In my opinion, Christian media is steeped in mediocrity.

I read an article several years ago about how Christian writers seem to have an agenda, and much of what they write is propaganda rather than a real story. If Shakespeare had been writing for the CBA, no one would remember Romeo and Juliet today. That article has always stuck with me. You can read it here: Terry Mattingly on Religion.

This article gives me hope for the future of Christian writing: New Direction for Christian Publishing?

Both articles well describe exactly why I tend to avoid Christian fiction and literature. My hope is that someday we'll move back to the quality of the greats like C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. One can hope.

4 comments:

*carrie* said...

Ewokgirl,

Thanks for visiting my blog!

I see you're a former English teacher, as well. What grade(s) did you teach, and for how long?

Interesting article--thanks for sharing.

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

Hi, Carrie! I didn't know you were an English teacher, too! I used to teach 9th grade (2 years) and 6th grade (1 year). I quit to be a SAHW after only 3 years of teaching. It was exhausting, and I really just wanted to be a homemaker, even if it's not the culturally-approved thing to do with my life.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ann said...

Oh! Have you read any books by Frank Peretti or Ted Dekker? They are Christian authors that appeal to my interest in sci-fi/fantasy. They're really good. (Except I seriously wouldn't recommend their newest book that they wrote together called "House" it's really flat.) Also, there's LaHaye and Jenkins' "Left Behind" series. Those books get pretty cool once they start following the seven plagues of wrath/bowls of wrath found in Revelation.

I'm having fun reading your posts! I hope all the comments aren't irritating!

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

I have a love-hate relationship with Peretti's books. I think he's a terrible writer, but he's a good storyteller. I enjoy his stories, but it's hard for me to get through them because his writing is so bad.

I've not read anything by Ted Dekker. I may try one of his books someday.