The title of this blog alone is probably enough to send most God-fearing good Christians running for the hills. I can hear it now. Yet another church bashing rant. Please. Save it. We hear it all the time and you’re wrong. Simply wrong.
Okay, fair enough. Maybe I am. But I’m not out to bash the church, mine or anybody else’s. I’m simply sitting here trying to figure this thing out. Because I’m a little confused. Or maybe a lot confused.
Since I’ve been published, I’ve become more aware of what people who read Christian fiction want and what some expect. I’m seeing two camps – (just my opinion, not gospel, take it or leave it).
One camp is firmly entrenched in tradition,righteousness and faith and they want good wholesome stories where nobody really does anything wrong. They certainly don’t drink or smoke or dance or cuss out the jerk who just swung in and stole the only parking space in the lot right out from under them. They want to read stories that emplify the modest, wholesome life they themselves lead. The want the feel-good, everybody wins and nobody gets hurt kind of deal. When something goes wrong, terribly, horribly wrong, they brush it under the carpet and refuse to acknowledge it. Out of sight out of mind.
The other camp have their music (praise or other) turned up a little too loud. They may not dress as modestly. They have piercings and tatoos and funny colored hair. They enjoy a glass of wine (or several) or a cocktail with friends, and they watch and read and say crap that might make your hair curl. They debate furiously about the Bible, Christianity in general and a bunch of other stuff. They still believe the world can change and they’re hellbent on doing it. They are radical believers firmly entrenched in an unshakeable faith. And they want something different. Please, God, give us something different!
Can you really have such vastly different believers truly on the same path? Do they both ‘really’ believe the same thing? Or has one gone horribly astray, with one foot in the world and the other wavering, dangerously close to being sucked into sin with little hope of restoration?
I don’t have answers to these questions. But I’ve asked them myself, a lot. They are questions I don’t think any mortal man can or has the right to answer. For who but God can judge the heart?
Okay, to be fair, I see gray areas. I’ve seen and heard things from fellow Christians that don’t line up with what I believe about God or the Bible. And I’m sure what I believe doesn’t sit right with them. Can we both be right?
Confused yet?
If we have such wildly different cultures within the church, how does the new believer who doesn’t quite feel washed white as snow find their place? How does the old come alongside the new and join hands? How does the author who desperately wants to share the message of forgiveness and redemption and restoration find her voice when the majority of the audience she seems to be reaching shies away from sin, kicking and screaming like a kid with a ten page algebra assignment?
I have to be honest. (What?) Some of the reactions to my not-so-clean-cut characters actions have surprised me. And ticked me off. And saddened me. I’m sorry that some people are so busy trying to be perfect that they have no room for imperfection. I’m sorry that I was one of them once upon a time. I’m sorry that sometimes the church gives the wrong message to the lost. Sometimes I’m sorry we call them lost. But I guess you can’t be found without being lost. And you have to seek to find.
So if you’re not seeking, you’re…sinning?
Really?
Just asking.
Your thoughts?
Catherine West 
Wow! I was literally JUST talking to a friend two days ago who has been struggling with writing “Christian fiction.” We were both complaining about how some books are so unrealistically “pure” that they’re boring. Ok, wait. So the two lead characters decide to get married and she gives him a little kiss on the cheek? Not even the lips?? REALLY?? That was one of the reasons I loved “Yesterday’s Tomorrow” – the characters were flawed, but real. I say you’re on the right track!
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Thanks, Carrie! I’ve said and have always said that there is a market for those books and I believe there is, but I guess my point is, where do the rest of us fit? I don’t know yet and I’m just trying to figure it all out. 🙂
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Cathy, I could be wrong, often am, but I think what you are not taking into account is the difference between real life and reading fiction. We all lead messy real lives. At some point. In some way. Before and after we took up residence in Christ. But here’s the thing to remember: Some people don’t WANT to read about messy real life and some people do. Some people want to read about the ideal life — simpler, saner, unmessy. Some people want challenged in their reading fiction. Some people want escapism from their hard, messy lives. And that isn’t for us to judge. Not as writers. Not as fellow Christians. What and why a person reads fiction is a personal choice between her and God. Same as what and why you and I write fiction. We listen and we obey to the best of our ability. May it be to God’s glory, whether anyone else gets us or not.
Just because a person chooses to want to read tame, ideal fantasy (in the fictional sense) rather than gritty, bawl out her eyes fiction, doesn’t mean that person is living in a fantasy world where she expects the real world to behave like the characters she enjoys reading. Probably the exact opposite.
Just my guess.
But perhaps your questions are deeper. To which I remind you that there is an absolute Truth and His Name is Jesus Christ. Start there. All the rest comes out in the wash.
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My observations are what I have seen in various church circles. Maybe some people choose to live their messy lives behind closed doors, because the impression they give to the world is that their lives are perfect. Those kind of people will make the comments that come across as judgmental and sometimes hurtful. I’ve been on the receiving end, so I’m not making it up. I have no problem with those folks and I don’t care what they read, but I’d probably advise them NOT to read my books. And I’m not judging. Simply observing and asking questions based on my own recent experiences as an author writing God’s truth. And I’m quite well acquainted with Jesus. I think He asked a lot of questions too.
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Okay, this is just plain awesome! Did you crawl inside my head? I grew up in the church, been a dedicated believer all my life. But I also know that God died for sinners, not perfect people. Although I strive to glorify him daily, I’m still terribly stained. Pretending I’m not only makes me a hypocrite. Needless to say, I think some people find the honest way I portray the world, our struggles with sin and temptation, believers and unbelievers alike, fail to really see the depth and power of Gods grace. Great post!
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Oh, shoot!! I started that thought one way and finished it another. Well, you get my drift. I appreciate honesty. Reading or writing. 🙂 thanks for sharing!
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Haha, Amy, I do that all the time. In fact, I may have done it here. It’s sort of combined though, the whole Christian fiction and living thing anyway, so I guess that’s my point. There are so many drastically different ways to worship and live. Good thing God loves us all anyway, and it doesn’t really matter how we come to Him, just that we do. 🙂
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Hello, Cathy. Who hasn’t asked these questions? I think that is why there are different genres as well as publishers. Some minds cannot handle hearing about all the evil in the world. Does this make them a bad Christian author who hides their heads in the sand? No, I don’t believe so. Does the Christian author who reveals all the perverseness and evil in the world lose their salvation? No. I don’t believe so. True for the reader too. Different backgrounds and the cliche’…apples and oranges.
Yes, we can see if they are bearing good fruit or not. [As I always tell my kids, weigh everything against God’s word, if it doesn’t line up; you must decide to keep it or throw it out.]
As the Bible says and you said God sees and weighs the heart only. God sees through the our defined “gray areas.” We are fallen saved by His grace; not ours since we do not possess that word without Him. Look at the difference in the disciples Peter and John. Jesus loves them both. He alone sees their heart and obedience to Him.
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Hi Miriam, thanks for your comments! There certainly should be a place for all kinds of believers and all kinds of fiction. Sometimes it seems like there isn’t. But maybe that will change as the market grows. I’m glad we are given choices and I believe we are all entitled to make those wisely. Not hammering on one over the other, just simply observing the differences.
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Great post, Cathy. I’ve had four novels commercially published in the CBA market, but unfortunately the publishers didn’t have clue one how to market them once they were ready to go.
The reason? Simple. They were too freaking gritty for the CBA core demographic; worse, they were written for a market I found out too late doesn’t even exist: fiction for Christian men.
That said, I’ve learned my lesson, and my agent is now pitching my latest novel to the general market.
And there you go.
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Interesting, John! I’ve heard this story from others. I’ll be curious to see how your journey progresses. The great thing is, no matter where God puts us, we know He has the best possible outcome waiting. And I guess the hard thing is trusting Him to get us there!
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Interesting post. I think it brings up the issue that there’s a difference between religion and Christianity which often isn’t recognized in religious circles. I’m a Christian, and I even run a department in our church, but I don’t see myself as what I’d call “religious,” because I define religious as a person trying to be good enough for God to accept him (which involves more of the idea of self-righteousness and external façades of goodness), whereas I see true Christianity as receiving what He’s already done for you to make you righteous. There’s nothing you can do at any point to get God to not love you or to get Him to love you more anyway, because He sees you through the blood of Jesus.
Our sinful status before we’re saved doesn’t really have anything to do with our actions or performance. We’re born into it just by being born into this world. And our salvation doesn’t have anything to do with our own righteous actions, either. It’s just ours because we put our faith in what Jesus did for us. So when God sees us after we’re saved, He looks at us through a filter and He doesn’t see any stain anymore. (If you couldn’t do anything good enough to get yourself saved in the first place, it doesn’t make much sense to say that you could be good enough to stay that way later.)
So that said, I think there’s probably nothing you can do to counter the religious mindset of a lot of people, who are sure that what they do or do not do is going to affect their own righteousness in God’s eyes. Too many churches are teaching people that they have to act a certain way to either become saved or to stay that way. The idea is actually appealing to humans, but it’s not what the Bible says. While it’s true we’ll have a harvest of consequences for our actions on this earth, and that living a more holy life will lead to better results, it won’t save us.
(Just as an aside, I think the reason a lot of people struggle is that many of them are holding up the Bible as a list of do’s and don’ts rather than as a mirror which is a reflection of who they now are. Once a person realizes that he isn’t trying to attain righteousness anymore, but that it is who he is on the inside in his new spirit, it becomes easier to walk it out.)
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Great thoughts and wisdom, Beth. Thank you for sharing!
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I appreciate where you’re coming from in this post.
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