Conundrum Is A Great Word | The Journey Is Everything

Here are a few thoughts I had after seeing Inception for the second time last night.

There are those who love complex stories that are left open for interpretation. I’m one of them.

But that is part of the problem I have with Christian fiction.

oh no another rant on Christian fiction please make it stop please be a dream within a dream

No—this isn’t a rant. But this is my conundrum.

Christian fiction doesn’t like things open for interpretation. Because that means the Christian faith is open to interpretation. That would be blasphemous.

Yet, as a Christian living in today’s world, this is what I find every morning and noon and night:

Life is a mystery and a journey that doesn’t alway make sense, doesn’t fit into a box, doesn’t have all the answers, and that isn’t black and white.

Just because I hold on to my faith doesn’t mean that it can’t be complex and mysterious and open for interpretation. Some things, not everything. But those things, big and small, can and should work their way into my writing.

My goal is to sidestep the topic of “Christian fiction 101” and just try and do what I love.

My faith tells me that I’m a sinner and that I’ll surely fail in some way. So exhibit A will be the work I produce. And whatever, however, I end up putting my worldview inside of it.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep trying to make it ambitious, entertaining, complex, and open to interpretation.

3 Comments

Cassandra Frear 14 years ago

God is a mystery.Far larger, deeper, holier than anything we have imagined. I think the best books about him carry some sense of this in them. They also acknowledge that we are in the process of coming to know him.
David A. Bedford 14 years ago

That is why I don't proselytise or otherwise put a direct message in my books. They do come out of a deep commitment to the values Christ taught. When readers start interpreting, they find the message in the symbolism. If you want to know about my latest release, please see my blog (leave a comment!) and my web site. Thanks!
S.A.M. 14 years ago

Amen, Travis. You just hit on something that I haven't been able to pinpoint during my own "rants" against Christian pop culture in general. The artist in me says, "Make it complex and interesting." But the editor in me says that it all needs to be watered down to fit within the Christian label. However, I KNOW that there's an enormous market for the unsimplified Christianity because most of the Christians I know are also frustrated with Christian media. Thanks for identifying one of the reasons we're all frustrated! Now our rants can be more informed!

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