The ACFW loop this week and weekend still chirps a discussion on edgy vs traditional Christian novels. Part of me thinks that that the argument is absurd. Christian aesthetics is as varied as Hip Hop. Why debate this? We can't homogenize this thing, even though at times we try. Christian Fiction are works that edify the Body of Christ and glorify God. But in Contemporary Lit an edge emerges, the objective blurs, faith seems as if it fades. But does it? No, of course not. So then the question--the real debate isn't about which style is better. The debate secretly becomes where is our faith in our stories? What is our Christian Worldview and is the true account apparent in our art?
Should we water it down or steep it in legalese? Should we beat a reader over the head with scripture or make new parables our generation can respond to? What hinders a novel from having a contemporary point of view, yet keep a razor's edge truth about whom we belong to? How do we do that without having our faith questioned?
These are all questions that don't continue the debate. They make the debate ridiculous. We're not preaching to the choir. We're not listening to ourselves, because I think we're afraid of the answers and what they might mean. Let's discuss...
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The Pruning Principle
2 years ago
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