Is Christian Fiction harmful? Selfish? There are a growing number of Christians who are writers who will advise it. Consider, Simon Morden who claims that Christian Fiction needs to be torn down, arguing that Christian fiction is basically bad fiction..

Publisher Chila Woychik argues that writing mainstream or crossover fiction is the key to respectability and success.

Finally, Mike Duran argues that "Christian Art" is costing Christians and Conservatives the culture.

All three are suggesting in one way or another that Christian writers need to change the way they approach their work, to write books that will appeal to a more mainstream audience.

My position on the question at the heart of this raging Internet debate is a bit nuanced.

For the record, none of the fiction I write is ever going to be published by a mainstream Christian publisher such as Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, or Bethany House. It is weird in every way, difficult to market in every way, and sometimes I believe that God inspires me with all the story ideas that are difficult to publish. (I have Dystopian Fiction, Man Lit, Christian Superhero Fiction, etc.) and some of my writing-particularly non-fiction is for secular markets.

I say all that, to lay out my personal stake. My stance is a little different. I believe that each writer should write the story they have in the style they are comfortable with.

I would be the last person to suggest that Simon Morden needs to work the Four Spiritual Laws into their crossover novel. There are many times that such an ending would not feel right to a writer. All stories should be written by Christian writers for the Glory of God, but they don't need to be explicit on the Christian point and many authors make their living that way.

On the same token, there are some writers whose purpose and style is much more direct in its Christian content and there is no reason that they should be forced to censor the Christian content of their stories like its something shameful. Obviously, there are ways to go over the top or to write badly when doing Christian fiction, just like there are ways with any other type of fiction. I believe in authors writing what they are called to write.

The suggestion is often that writing Christian Fiction or any sort of Christian sub-cultural items is selfish and neglectful of the wider world around us.

This misses a couple of points. Perhaps, the biggest is that fiction is entertainment and entertainment is hardly an altruistic enterprise. The second point is that Christian Fiction can often be a form of ministry as well as instruction to Christians.

The argument that Christian Fiction is narrowcast to Evangelical Christians assumes that because one is an Evangelical Christian, you have a solid biblical worldview and second, you have no needs that cannot be met by secular fiction.

I'd suggest that both are wrong. In fact, research by Barna has found that Christians lacks a biblical worldview and this is as big a problem as the issues in the wider culture. To that end, writers and entertainers who write works that strengthen and foster that biblical worldview are making a serious contribution to culture.

Secondly, I think that story can be healing. There are many great works of Christian fiction that speak to people's heartaches and pain and can bring healing through the uniquely Christian way they address issues that many people face.

Certainly, good crossover fiction or even clean mainstream fiction can have positive effects that Mike Duran says and I will not argue against writers who choose this route. Indeed, some of my own fiction could go into the crossover category becuase I write what I have and don't try to bend stories either. However, I think the acknowledgment of cross-over fiction does not require the denigration of Christian Fiction and those who labor hard to minister and entertain their readers.

Of course, there's that whole issue of fame and fortune which Ms. Woychik raises and I will address that in my next post.