Den Warren's Blog - Posts Tagged "christian"
Superhero Fiction: Fantasy or Sci-Fi?
This is the burning question of all nerds who have nothing better to do than fret over geek minutia. The only people more geeky than those interested in such questions are those who take the time to compose answers to them.
The correct answer is. . . both. I'm not just saying this so I can sound like I am smarter than those who ask, or like some kind of Zen Master over fiction.
Here is my rationale. If you look at the origin of the superhero's powers, that gives you the answer. Thor is Fantasy, because he gets his powers from some sort of Nordic pagan deal with his hammer. Don't really remember, since I didn't like him that much. Hulk is Sci-Fi because it was drug induced.
Although I am a Christian and believe in things most people today would find incredible, religious or magic origin stories are not generally a good enough for me to suspend my disbelief. I prefer a good science lie.
The correct answer is. . . both. I'm not just saying this so I can sound like I am smarter than those who ask, or like some kind of Zen Master over fiction.
Here is my rationale. If you look at the origin of the superhero's powers, that gives you the answer. Thor is Fantasy, because he gets his powers from some sort of Nordic pagan deal with his hammer. Don't really remember, since I didn't like him that much. Hulk is Sci-Fi because it was drug induced.
Although I am a Christian and believe in things most people today would find incredible, religious or magic origin stories are not generally a good enough for me to suspend my disbelief. I prefer a good science lie.
Christian Fiction Authors: How to Promote the Gospel
To a Christian author, winning the soul of a reader to the Salvation of Jesus ought to be worth writing an infinite amount of lifetimes.
But it doesn't do any good to have a good theme or message in a book, only to cause the book to suck, which it will do if it reads like a Bible tract.
The idea is to weave the message into the story. Either as a side plot, or a main theme. I have done this in my stories a few different ways.
Here is a scene from K-Tron, a Superhero novella narrated by K-Tron himself:
Then we stopped at a random town in the mountains. We went into the small local hardware store. It was real small, but it had a bunch of different stuff besides your usual hardware. They had Bluegrass Gospel music playing on a sound system.
An old guy with long gray hair and beard was sitting at the cash register staring at us. From the harsh look on his face, I figured he would pull a gun on us. I went around looking until I got some white spray paint, and grabbed some chips. Then we went up to the counter.
The clerk said, "We used to use soap and toilet paper. Never spray paint."
Retaliator said, "Huh?"
The clerk said, "Halloween ain't 'till next month, right?" He picked up the waste basket and spit a long drool of his chew juice into it.
Retaliator said, "These aren't Halloween costumes. They're our uniforms."
The old guy said, "Halloween and lyin'; they're from the Devil."
"I'm not lying. I am the Blue Retaliator."
The store clerk said, "Retaliator, huh? Revenge is of the Devil. It is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Romans twelve, nineteen."
"Look," Retaliator said, "This is just paint for our van, okay?"
"Uh huh. If you want a sensible paint job, you could go see my nephew over at the auto body shop. He's real reasonable. But I guess retaliatin' Holloweeners don't really care much for that, do they?"
"This will be good enough. Thanks."
The clerk acted like he was annoyed when Retaliator gave him a credit card. He swiped it and said, "You boys ever thought about what would happen to your souls after you die."
Retaliator said, "Not really, we're just mostly trying not to die."
The clerk was staring and blinking his eyes for some reason. "Well then you probably ought to be thinking about your souls right away. You know Jesus is the sinless Son of God and paid for all your sins on the Cross. We all got 'em. Sins, that is. You need Him, and from what I can tell, right quick. You ought to seriously think about accepting Him ASAP."
"No thanks, I'm good," Retaliator said.
"You're never good enough. You need Jesus if you want to go to God's Heaven. We all do."
"Thanks, but I'll just be happy with the paint."
We hurried up and got out of there.
A couple of things about it. The Christian is not a perfect body image type that Christians usually portray themselves as. We are all sinners saved by the Grace of God. Another thing is that this is a side plot that doesn't take of much space and does not interrupt the flow of the story. Also, the superheroes did not accept Christ after the encounter. The important thing is that the reader considers the message.
There are a few other opportunities that I create for characters to hear the Gospel in my stories. The main way is after funerals. I do have a fairly high body count in my stories so I can always have a funeral for a key character. On another occasion, in the Kings and Clans Trilogy, a woman would not marry a man until he became a Christian. After a monster massacre in "Scorc Hunters" the main Christian character wondered about the eternal destination of some of the casualties. In an unorthodox situation in the novel Metahuman Wars, a woman held another woman at gunpoint while she lectured her, and told her about God's Plan of Salvation.
I believe it is the responsibility of all Christian authors to try and include God's Plan to their readers. Why would we write in such a way to impress them yet not care for their souls? I try to write my books so if a non-believer gets one as a gift, they may read . . . and believe.
But it doesn't do any good to have a good theme or message in a book, only to cause the book to suck, which it will do if it reads like a Bible tract.
The idea is to weave the message into the story. Either as a side plot, or a main theme. I have done this in my stories a few different ways.
Here is a scene from K-Tron, a Superhero novella narrated by K-Tron himself:
Then we stopped at a random town in the mountains. We went into the small local hardware store. It was real small, but it had a bunch of different stuff besides your usual hardware. They had Bluegrass Gospel music playing on a sound system.
An old guy with long gray hair and beard was sitting at the cash register staring at us. From the harsh look on his face, I figured he would pull a gun on us. I went around looking until I got some white spray paint, and grabbed some chips. Then we went up to the counter.
The clerk said, "We used to use soap and toilet paper. Never spray paint."
Retaliator said, "Huh?"
The clerk said, "Halloween ain't 'till next month, right?" He picked up the waste basket and spit a long drool of his chew juice into it.
Retaliator said, "These aren't Halloween costumes. They're our uniforms."
The old guy said, "Halloween and lyin'; they're from the Devil."
"I'm not lying. I am the Blue Retaliator."
The store clerk said, "Retaliator, huh? Revenge is of the Devil. It is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Romans twelve, nineteen."
"Look," Retaliator said, "This is just paint for our van, okay?"
"Uh huh. If you want a sensible paint job, you could go see my nephew over at the auto body shop. He's real reasonable. But I guess retaliatin' Holloweeners don't really care much for that, do they?"
"This will be good enough. Thanks."
The clerk acted like he was annoyed when Retaliator gave him a credit card. He swiped it and said, "You boys ever thought about what would happen to your souls after you die."
Retaliator said, "Not really, we're just mostly trying not to die."
The clerk was staring and blinking his eyes for some reason. "Well then you probably ought to be thinking about your souls right away. You know Jesus is the sinless Son of God and paid for all your sins on the Cross. We all got 'em. Sins, that is. You need Him, and from what I can tell, right quick. You ought to seriously think about accepting Him ASAP."
"No thanks, I'm good," Retaliator said.
"You're never good enough. You need Jesus if you want to go to God's Heaven. We all do."
"Thanks, but I'll just be happy with the paint."
We hurried up and got out of there.
A couple of things about it. The Christian is not a perfect body image type that Christians usually portray themselves as. We are all sinners saved by the Grace of God. Another thing is that this is a side plot that doesn't take of much space and does not interrupt the flow of the story. Also, the superheroes did not accept Christ after the encounter. The important thing is that the reader considers the message.
There are a few other opportunities that I create for characters to hear the Gospel in my stories. The main way is after funerals. I do have a fairly high body count in my stories so I can always have a funeral for a key character. On another occasion, in the Kings and Clans Trilogy, a woman would not marry a man until he became a Christian. After a monster massacre in "Scorc Hunters" the main Christian character wondered about the eternal destination of some of the casualties. In an unorthodox situation in the novel Metahuman Wars, a woman held another woman at gunpoint while she lectured her, and told her about God's Plan of Salvation.
I believe it is the responsibility of all Christian authors to try and include God's Plan to their readers. Why would we write in such a way to impress them yet not care for their souls? I try to write my books so if a non-believer gets one as a gift, they may read . . . and believe.
My Indie Book Specifications
I write books and articles that I would want to read.
As a reader, when I read fiction, in order for me to finish it, I want it to be fast-moving stories that hold my interest.
Lots of action is a vital component. When the scenes are being built, I like it when there is some humor to keep me entertained through the slow spots. I like the story to have high stakes; for me I want the stakes to be life and death, not really about whether they break up or get married.
I also prefer my stories to be written from a Christian worldview. But I have no use for namby-pamby wimp characters who are "nice" under all circumstances, and never do anything wrong. I want the stories to have a theme that leaves you thinking about how things are done, or even learn something. I'm not talking about any more liberal sensitivities, but an affirmation of some real-world wisdom or take me to a world I never knew about.
If you know of such a book that has all of the above, I would like to know of it.
Anyway, that is what I want to read, so that is what I write. I have written in dystopian, fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero genres. If you like the same things, I suggest you give my work a look.
Kings and Clans Trilogy
Fantasy Quest: Vampire Hack
Metahuman Wars
As a reader, when I read fiction, in order for me to finish it, I want it to be fast-moving stories that hold my interest.
Lots of action is a vital component. When the scenes are being built, I like it when there is some humor to keep me entertained through the slow spots. I like the story to have high stakes; for me I want the stakes to be life and death, not really about whether they break up or get married.
I also prefer my stories to be written from a Christian worldview. But I have no use for namby-pamby wimp characters who are "nice" under all circumstances, and never do anything wrong. I want the stories to have a theme that leaves you thinking about how things are done, or even learn something. I'm not talking about any more liberal sensitivities, but an affirmation of some real-world wisdom or take me to a world I never knew about.
If you know of such a book that has all of the above, I would like to know of it.
Anyway, that is what I want to read, so that is what I write. I have written in dystopian, fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero genres. If you like the same things, I suggest you give my work a look.
Kings and Clans Trilogy
Fantasy Quest: Vampire Hack
Metahuman Wars
Christian Cyberpunk Is a Thing
Cyberpunk is science fiction category typically in a high tech dystopian setting.
Most Cyberpunk fans scoff at the idea of Christians writing Cyberpunk. Christians are supposedly against all science, backwards, etc. Only secular atheists should be able to write scifi. Christians belong in a church. Those who claim to be cyberpunk fans become irrationally close-minded, intolerant, hostile and insulting to conservatives.
This anti-Christian liberal view is laughable. How scientific is it for a person to claim they are a sex when their chromosomes belong to another sex? How scientific is it to deny that life begins at conception? Where is the science in evolution that can not explain the origin of the universe? Apply Darwinian evolution to other fields such as psychology and you see that it is based upon Freud, who was a complete fraud.
But secular minds still cannot conceive of how Christians can be forward thinking. Christians want the old way of parenting, of running a government, of running a household or business . . . only because they worked a lot better than the current disastrous complete failures in liberal social experimentation. However, that does not mean that Christians are against progress and innovation.
The main reason there is a definite place for Christians in Science Fiction is because of Man's failures when they stray from God, and the predictable nature of those future failed attempts to fix the failures. In fact, because of this, a conservative viewpoint is much more suited to writing science fiction. Fantasy, on the other hand, would seem to be the domain of the liberal, whether in fiction, or non-fiction.
Fiction works when things in the story go wrong, not when it is all unicorns and rainbows. It would be pretty tough to come up with some tension where Christians are causing problems to the righteous atheists, although scifi writers like to try going that way with it. That is why scifi writers continually use belligerent aliens or zombies as antagonists.
My novel; The Lucid Series: Android Uprising https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077QFKNPL
is set in a dystopian cyberpunk universe. It is hard-hitting to the point of being sermonized. You won't find much like it out there. It was written with definite Christian themes. It is a clean-language book with violent action.
. . . In a dystopian cyberpunk 2215, the former US was fragmented into multiple small countries.
. . . People in the UN proxy state of Homeland are controlled by psychotropic drugs, corrupted education, propaganda and oppressive laws.
In this story . . .
. . . Computer hacking clones are trying to get rich no matter what they have to do.
. . . A garbage collector hates everything about his life and goes rogue.
. . . An entire strain of genetically-engineered children is to be culled because of an imperfection.
. . . A tyrannical government robot unit is led by a ruthless being hiding behind a synthetic presence.
. . . A clone couple is living off of the grid and expecting an illegal child.
. . . A series of androids vow to fight for the truth even to the point of war.
. . . And a boy asks, “Is God real?”
The Lucid series is a unique clean-language novel that has heavy hitting, brutally honest edgy Christian themes and some graphic action.
Most Cyberpunk fans scoff at the idea of Christians writing Cyberpunk. Christians are supposedly against all science, backwards, etc. Only secular atheists should be able to write scifi. Christians belong in a church. Those who claim to be cyberpunk fans become irrationally close-minded, intolerant, hostile and insulting to conservatives.
This anti-Christian liberal view is laughable. How scientific is it for a person to claim they are a sex when their chromosomes belong to another sex? How scientific is it to deny that life begins at conception? Where is the science in evolution that can not explain the origin of the universe? Apply Darwinian evolution to other fields such as psychology and you see that it is based upon Freud, who was a complete fraud.
But secular minds still cannot conceive of how Christians can be forward thinking. Christians want the old way of parenting, of running a government, of running a household or business . . . only because they worked a lot better than the current disastrous complete failures in liberal social experimentation. However, that does not mean that Christians are against progress and innovation.
The main reason there is a definite place for Christians in Science Fiction is because of Man's failures when they stray from God, and the predictable nature of those future failed attempts to fix the failures. In fact, because of this, a conservative viewpoint is much more suited to writing science fiction. Fantasy, on the other hand, would seem to be the domain of the liberal, whether in fiction, or non-fiction.
Fiction works when things in the story go wrong, not when it is all unicorns and rainbows. It would be pretty tough to come up with some tension where Christians are causing problems to the righteous atheists, although scifi writers like to try going that way with it. That is why scifi writers continually use belligerent aliens or zombies as antagonists.
My novel; The Lucid Series: Android Uprising https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077QFKNPL
is set in a dystopian cyberpunk universe. It is hard-hitting to the point of being sermonized. You won't find much like it out there. It was written with definite Christian themes. It is a clean-language book with violent action.
. . . In a dystopian cyberpunk 2215, the former US was fragmented into multiple small countries.
. . . People in the UN proxy state of Homeland are controlled by psychotropic drugs, corrupted education, propaganda and oppressive laws.
In this story . . .
. . . Computer hacking clones are trying to get rich no matter what they have to do.
. . . A garbage collector hates everything about his life and goes rogue.
. . . An entire strain of genetically-engineered children is to be culled because of an imperfection.
. . . A tyrannical government robot unit is led by a ruthless being hiding behind a synthetic presence.
. . . A clone couple is living off of the grid and expecting an illegal child.
. . . A series of androids vow to fight for the truth even to the point of war.
. . . And a boy asks, “Is God real?”
The Lucid series is a unique clean-language novel that has heavy hitting, brutally honest edgy Christian themes and some graphic action.
Christian Authors and Readers: How "Christian" Are Your Books?
Modern pop culture has an immense influence upon people’s lives because they spend so much time immersing themselves in it. But what about the content of this immersion? Does it bring people closer to God, or just occupy their attention?
Christian fiction is a small segment of today’s popular culture. What is the goal of it? Is it to entertain and edify Christians? Is it to subtly nudge people into considering giving more of their lives to God? Probably yes to both, but perhaps a greater goal should be considered.
What about the purpose of Christian fiction to leading people to Christ? Shouldn’t that be a primary objective? We writers are told in every book about writing fiction that we should never preach in our writing. Why not? It is true that many will be turned off by preachy fiction, but what if some readers are not? Are we Christian authors willing to risk a writing career to help bring a needy soul to Christ?
If you write Christian fantasy, is the Christian theme of your story so buried in allegory that Christ cannot be seen without someone writing anther book about it? Will your stories make the reader want to read the Bible, or play Dungeons and Dragons? Will your stories make the reader remember your name, or the name of Jesus?
If you write Christian romance, is the goal or the protagonist to fall in love with the man, or with Jesus? Is there a basis for the claim that your romance novel is Christian?
Christian characters should be a lot more than just nice. So many already have the wrong idea that Christians are to just be nice and never say anything disagreeable. Just because a book does not have vulgarity does not make it Christian. Nice is not the same as good. Read more about this here for free.
Like most men, I wouldn’t read much Christian romance. But here are a couple of Christian cyberpunk books that you can trust to be thought provoking to someone pondering spiritual matters and presented with the Christian option. The Lucid Series: Android Uprising and The Last Christian. Both of these would make a thoughtful gift.
Christian fiction is a small segment of today’s popular culture. What is the goal of it? Is it to entertain and edify Christians? Is it to subtly nudge people into considering giving more of their lives to God? Probably yes to both, but perhaps a greater goal should be considered.
What about the purpose of Christian fiction to leading people to Christ? Shouldn’t that be a primary objective? We writers are told in every book about writing fiction that we should never preach in our writing. Why not? It is true that many will be turned off by preachy fiction, but what if some readers are not? Are we Christian authors willing to risk a writing career to help bring a needy soul to Christ?
If you write Christian fantasy, is the Christian theme of your story so buried in allegory that Christ cannot be seen without someone writing anther book about it? Will your stories make the reader want to read the Bible, or play Dungeons and Dragons? Will your stories make the reader remember your name, or the name of Jesus?
If you write Christian romance, is the goal or the protagonist to fall in love with the man, or with Jesus? Is there a basis for the claim that your romance novel is Christian?
Christian characters should be a lot more than just nice. So many already have the wrong idea that Christians are to just be nice and never say anything disagreeable. Just because a book does not have vulgarity does not make it Christian. Nice is not the same as good. Read more about this here for free.
Like most men, I wouldn’t read much Christian romance. But here are a couple of Christian cyberpunk books that you can trust to be thought provoking to someone pondering spiritual matters and presented with the Christian option. The Lucid Series: Android Uprising and The Last Christian. Both of these would make a thoughtful gift.
Christian Entertainment Dollars
There are probably over a billion Christians in the world, with growing numbers on all continents. Many, if not most of them spend part of their money on entertainment that is secular, or anti-Christian.
What if the throngs of Christians, as a group, started spending that same money on entertainment media that glorified Jesus?
First of all, many would peddle items that masquerade as Christian to try and get their share of the pie. But this is already at work. The Christian genres are already so plugged up with non-Christian wares looking for an easy market, that you can't find the genuine article.
Secondly, funds would dry up for so many projects that are helping turn our fellow countrymen against us.
There is help for this situation out there: David Bergsland's Reality Calling. Is a review site out there that does in-depth reviews on Christian books using definite criteria.
My own book, The Lucid Series: Android Uprising is one that a Christian would find acceptable as well.
It is long past due that this situation should be changed. Christian authors must learn how to produce more attractive products and learn how to be more bold with sharing their faith. Christian consumers of anti-Christian media should turn from it and spend a little time to find out which items are worth supporting.
What if the throngs of Christians, as a group, started spending that same money on entertainment media that glorified Jesus?
First of all, many would peddle items that masquerade as Christian to try and get their share of the pie. But this is already at work. The Christian genres are already so plugged up with non-Christian wares looking for an easy market, that you can't find the genuine article.
Secondly, funds would dry up for so many projects that are helping turn our fellow countrymen against us.
There is help for this situation out there: David Bergsland's Reality Calling. Is a review site out there that does in-depth reviews on Christian books using definite criteria.
My own book, The Lucid Series: Android Uprising is one that a Christian would find acceptable as well.
It is long past due that this situation should be changed. Christian authors must learn how to produce more attractive products and learn how to be more bold with sharing their faith. Christian consumers of anti-Christian media should turn from it and spend a little time to find out which items are worth supporting.
Christian Cyberpunk Evangelism 2
Christian; Do you know of someone who would read an E-book (or paperback) which has been described as ". . . a truly fun book of solidly Christian cyberpunk dystopian YA."?
See full review HERE.
This award-winning, vetted novel, suitable for young adults has the Gospel message appearing throughout The Lucid Series: Android Uprising in as natural way as possible.
This E-book is now FREE. You could tell everyone on your mailing list about it. All you have to do is go to the Lucid Series: Android Uprising page, and click the button that says "Give as a Gift", then enter your Amazon password and enter their email (and a message if you want) and BAM! they can claim the E-book, which they can easily read on their device, even if they have to download the Kindle Reader which is free and only takes a couple of clicks.
I pray that by this time next year there will be several accounts of life-changing testimonials that I can add to this blog. Maybe your friend or relative can be one of them.
This book is also available in paperback, which could be used to lend out to multiple readers.
Please pass this message along on your social media.
God Bless,
Den
See full review HERE.
This award-winning, vetted novel, suitable for young adults has the Gospel message appearing throughout The Lucid Series: Android Uprising in as natural way as possible.
This E-book is now FREE. You could tell everyone on your mailing list about it. All you have to do is go to the Lucid Series: Android Uprising page, and click the button that says "Give as a Gift", then enter your Amazon password and enter their email (and a message if you want) and BAM! they can claim the E-book, which they can easily read on their device, even if they have to download the Kindle Reader which is free and only takes a couple of clicks.
I pray that by this time next year there will be several accounts of life-changing testimonials that I can add to this blog. Maybe your friend or relative can be one of them.
This book is also available in paperback, which could be used to lend out to multiple readers.
Please pass this message along on your social media.
God Bless,
Den
