Quote:
Originally Posted by pendragginp
Why is the word Christian in quotes? Is it not actually Christian fiction?
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Well, there is a lot of disagreement over just what makes a book "Christian." Some believe a book has to do something to earn that appellation, while others believe the Reader can freely bestow that status through a forensic declaration. In the latter case, opinions are divided as to whether the content of the book itself has anything to do with the Reader's decision to declare it Christian; some believe the Reader can do whatever it wants, and that no book has content in and of itself to merit such a decision.
Bookstores have different criteria for putting books in the "Christian" section. Some look to the publisher for guidance and simply follow their marketing strategies, some are guided by what is printed on the dust jacket, and others insist on the price tag on a book displaying its status. There are two situations people try to avoid; one is a book ostentatiously in the Christian section, but reflecting a decidedly non-Christian worldview, and the other is a "stealth Christian" book that seems to be a piece of more interesting fiction but is really an attempt to subliminally influence the Reader into shopping in the Christian section.
None of this is meant to convey the idea that a truly Christian book won't have non-Christian characters within it on certain pages, of course. Everyone agrees that, whether it is required by the genre or whether all authors everywhere simply make the same literary blunders, no book (except a particular ancient papyrus series) could ever have every single letter, word, paragraph, chapter, and section classified as truly Christian.
Glad you asked!