[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

The Star Trek and Dr Who stories I read are pretty well devoid of Christian themes, unless "orgies in the holodeck" has become a sacrament for some denominations.

The overwhelming prevalence of Christian themes in Western literature is a big part of why I read a lot of fanfic and look for books that have sources outside of Western Culture.



Challenging assumptions is fine. I enjoy religious debate. But the books with those themes don't challenge anything; they say "this is how the world works;" there is no discussion of the source of their premises, and no consideration of how someone who doesn't share them could make sense of the book.

"Christian fiction" doesn't challenge the assumptions of non-Christians. It just leaves them cold--without sharing the premises the author is using as a foundation, they've got no way to understand how the characters react to plot events, and why the plot unfolds as it does. The characters come across as forced and wooden and the plots tend to be predictable and lacking in meaningful impact.

Much like if someone doesn't like romance novels and tries to read one--the plot is likely to seem inane ("why do I care why this woman needs a handyman for her house? Who cares if he was her brother's tormentor in high school? If they hate each other so much, why would they ever agree to go to a dance together?"), the characters are likely to seem insipid ("doesn't she ever think about anything other than getting a husband? If he's always liked the color of her hair, why doesn't he just tell her instead of moping about it?"), and the conclusion is likely to seem pointless ("so, they've slept together and they're gonna get married... good for them? Why did I need to spend three hours reading time to find this out?").

Whatever message or meaning is in the story is lost on someone who doesn't care about the tropes and themes of the genre. For a romance reader, the value of *that* (entirely hypothetical) book, rather than countless others in the genre, might be that she has strong family relationships (rare but not unknown), that he his her employee instead of the other way around (ditto), that he's not wealthy, military, or an artist (also fairly rare).

The concepts that "animosity hides a spark of interest that could lead to love" and "working relationships can turn romantic without messing up both people's lives" are taken as given. Those are built into the genre; no justification for them is offered. If you don't agree, or can't set aside disagreement for the length of a book, don't read most romance books; you won't like them.

The basic tropes and concepts of "Christian fiction" are ones I don't agre with. I can sometimes identify their value as literary conventions; I'm willing to be persuaded that they're more than that (not likely, but it could happen)--but the fiction isn't going to go there. Romance novels don't justify the concepts of true-love-happily-ever-after; Christian fiction doesn't justify the concept of a benevolent omniscient deity who guides and shapes people's lives.

I love stories that challenge my preconceptions. They have to start from the notion that readers will need more than "if you believed this, you'd love this story."

I don't much care for anything labeled Christian and I don't know why, except that I have read some and they seemed dull overall. Probably lots that aren't but my impression has been formed for a good many years.

On the other hand there are quite a few books that I would not pass up a chance to read where one of the main characters has strong religious leanings and/or sees visions etc.

One example are the legal thrillers written by Robert K. Tanenbaum. Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi. Nothing wimpy or boring about those books despite the devout Catholicism of the daughter figuring strongly in several of them. And I am a sucker for books where the main character is atheist or agnostic and keeps encountering God in strange places.

I guess I have nothing against religion in books, but if they are tagged or labeled as Christian or religious I am very unlikely to buy them or even read them for free.

Helen