Christian Science Fiction / Fantasy?

[intricatic]

The Lord of the Rings was written by a Christian, and that is clear if you dig deep enough into the text.

CS Lewis wrote a space trilogy which is based on the fact that there is a spiritual war being waged all around us. This is particularly made clear in the third book: That Hideous Strength. In the second book, Lewis writes the story along the lines of the Garden of Eden, the fall, and what would have happened if Adam and Eve had not sinned.

He also has a fantasy/theological book entitled The Great Divorce that he wrote to show the differences between heaven and hell. The book also shows the responses that people can have to the two places. It is very good. It really makes the reader have to think to understand all of the levels of meaning in the book. Of course he also wrote the Chronicles of Narnia.

Both Lewis and Tolkien (Tolkien was one of the two people who helped lead the atheist Lewis to Christ) show in all their fantasy and sci-fi works that they believed life is a cosmic, spiritual war between good and evil. They also show, in the Chronicles of Narnia and in LOTR that they believed life is a journy to your true home and it also includes a surrender to either good or evil, whichever you choose.

George MacDonald, whom CS Lewis greatly admired, also wrote a lot of fantasy books that have many levels of meaning. His best ones, in my opinion, are the Curdie books (eventhough they were written for kids).
Ted Dekker's Circle trilogy is good fantasy also.

Rand Miller, one of the creators of the Myst games, wrote a fantasy trilogy based slightly on the games (they tell the story of Atrus and Catherine, how D'ni fell, and Atrus' effort to restore D'ni). In the third book, it is very clear that Miller is writing from a Judeo-Christian worldview. I found these books to be very entertaining and well-written. He also did not blatantly steal ideas from anyone else when he wrote these books (that is what annoys me about so many of the new sci-fi/fantasy books, everyone borrows from someone else).

Yes. This is roughly what I was intending to post when I read the OP of this thread, but now that you've already posted it, I'll just second it. LOL

 

[Buho]

Great suggestions, everybody! I've got a short list of books and authors to look for now next time I'm in the bookstore.

I read Narnia when I was a kid, before I was a believer. I really didn't catch the connection at all :o I hope the movie does it justice -- a Christian story undercover

 

[intricatic]

Great suggestions, everybody! I've got a short list of books and authors to look for now next time I'm in the bookstore.

I read Narnia when I was a kid, before I was a believer. I really didn't catch the connection at all :o I hope the movie does it justice -- a Christian story undercover

It should, from what I hear it's going to be amazing.

But I'd definitely suggest the Space Trillogy, the third book's a bit tough to sink your teeth into, but if you've read the first two, it's a piece of cake.

 

[Blackmarch]

Hi all. I have a question for Christians.

Are there any science fiction or fantasy books out there that are Christian-influenced or Christian-written? And I don't mean secular novels that happen to be written by a Christian. If so, list them here! (Oh, and preferably, GOOD novels, not lame ones.)

I ask because I've just finished reading a few science fiction books after a long break of not having read any science fiction (I'm a huge sci-fi fan). The last time I read a sci-fi/fantasy book was when I was not a Christian, over a year ago. I haven't been reading since then because I've been immersing myself in nonfiction theology.

Now that I've returned to sci-fi, I'm vaguely disgusted at the philosophies of the secular writers. Generally the stories are good, but it is inevitable in science fiction for the author to wax philisophical on his life-views via his or her main character's actions and thoughts. What's particularly wrenching is that, in the universe of the book that I am reading, the authors views are de facto absolutes in the universe, despite my Christian knowledge to the contrary. I have to pause, grapple with my mind and wrap my mind around the different reality before continuing to enjoy my existance in the author's fantasy.

Some examples of things in the books that I notice include:

• The bleak reality that after death is nothing
• Religious fanatics like Catholics (the exemplar for Christianity since it's the largest Christian denomination) have their place but don't quite grasp how the world works.
• Catholics are forced to grapple with new facts of the universe that undermine their theology, such as the discovery of sentient alien life (by the end of the book the Catholic's response was never given). (Such a fact I've discovered in my studies should destroy the Christian belief system, therefore alien life does not exist, and has not been discovered to exist either.)
• Inhumane treatment of other people deemed "okay" and practiced by the hero.
• Social murder of mutated babies who don't look "normal" deemed "okay."
• Domestic violence deemed "okay," so long as it's just a backhanded slap to your wife's mouth.

Those are just a few I can recall right now. I've toyed with doing an in-depth analysis (including taking notes while reading) of secular sci-fi books from a Christian standpoint.

Some of these things reflect the common thoughts of the 1950's. Most are a direct reflection of the author's atheism and how he's constructed his own personal moral system.

In addition to these observations, I also wonder about the situation the characters are placed in. In "Orphans of the Sky", a colony ship has been coasting through space for untold generations. The original trip was to be 60 years but some crew mutinied, the crew was killed, and the passengers were left to eat, sleep, procreate, and die. This is truly a curse of hellish proportions and I wonder if God would have allowed events to come to this for this ship of thousands of souls. God is nonexistant, they believe in "Jordan," who turns out to be a long-ago ship designer. Again, a jab at today's "religion."

An interesting observation in "Time for the Stars" is that the telepathic people in the story "talk" to their pair at instantaneous speed. They can be 11 light years separated, but they talk instantaneously. To me, this suggests that these telepaths could be connecting at the spiritual level, which permeates everywhere (God is omnipresent, omnitemporal, and omniexistant). Therefore, they are not really communicating "faster than the speed of light" but rather "instantly" through an access that is next to everybody. These are my thoughts; the author hasn't even mentioned the spiritual realm.

"The Mote in God's Eye" is a direct reference to Matthew 7:3-5, although I think the author completely missed the point, or didn't use the teaching of this passage in the book. The book is not about judging others but about an alien lightsail spaceship that came from a star near the center of a nebula that looks like a giant eye. The locals of the solar system near the nebula call it the Face of God, and this bright light that pushed the ship to them for 20 years is the mote. The story is about mankind's first contact with an alien species. It's a very good book. This is the book that challenges Catholics to adapt to the fact that there are indeed other people out there and do they fall under the Catholic God's plan of salvation. This issue is a minor side topic of the book.

I just realized that this hokey writer of the 50's (Heinlein) also wrote "Starship Troopers," and "The Day After Tomorrow." I discovered him when my friend let me paw through a pile of old, used books he got for free. I picked two from the 50's to read what old sci fi was like. And yes, they're not so hot. The science is generally good and fairly modern (they follow Newton, Maxwell, and Einstein just as we do today). Socially they are a bit off from today, but our imagination tends to gloss over these bits, except when in gross error like treating women as inferior humans. Interestingly, the sci-fi books are tremendously better than sci-fi TV shows and movies of the time. This is probably because it's harder to make the special effects for the movies than it is to just describe them in the book.

+ + + + +

Sorry for rambling. As you can see, I'm getting more out of the sci-fi books by measuring them up to what God says, finding truths in today's society and how they do not match up with God.

+ + + + +

The three sci fi books I read recently:
"Orphans of the Sky", by Robert A. Heinlein (1956)
"Time for the Stars," by Robert A. Heinlein (1956)
"The Mote in God's Eye," by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (1991)

CS Lewis - NArnian Chonicles, Screwtape letters, and out of the silent planet

and Charles Dickens
Oliver twist, a Christmas Carol.



Can't remember the author , but this is a very interesting book;
Flatlander.

 

[princessbunnyhop]

Everytime the lion speaks or is present, I get like this wierd feeling all over that my Pastor best described once as, "Jesus Bumps."

Wow! I do too
Jesus bumps is such a groovy name! I think C.S. Lewis is a genius! The narnia chronicles are just SO amazing. It is awesome how people can come up with such pieces!

Bunny

 

[Witness Of His Love]

One of my favorite fantasy series is the The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman.

 

[artaxbombadil]

as far as Christian authors:

I guess The Place of the Lion by Charles Williams (an Inkling) is more of a psychological thriller, but I enjoyed it

Has Madeline L'Engle been mentioned?

Also The Dark Tower, a collection of unfinished short stories by C. S. Lewis, is good, annoyingly unfinished though. I agree that Till We Have Faces, The Great Divorce and especially Perelandra are great ones by Lewis.

 

[bainecaileag86]

If you're looking for novels and have tons of time, I'd recommend The Circle trilogy by Ted Dekker: Black, Red, and White are the three books and must be read in that order. It's fantasy with a hint of Christian allegory. One world is reality as we know it, the other is more spiritual where good and evil are visible (sin is a skin disease, but there's a cure!). Battles, adventure, high-stakes rescues, love, and the fate of two worlds lie in the hands of one man. Read it and find out! They've been keeping me away from my schoolwork, but at least it was fun.

 

[artaxbombadil]

If you're looking for novels and have tons of time, I'd recommend The Circle trilogy by Ted Dekker: Black, Red, and White are the three books and must be read in that order. It's fantasy with a hint of Christian allegory. One world is reality as we know it, the other is more spiritual where good and evil are visible (sin is a skin disease, but there's a cure!). Battles, adventure, high-stakes rescues, love, and the fate of two worlds lie in the hands of one man. Read it and find out! They've been keeping me away from my schoolwork, but at least it was fun.

I also recently read the Circle trilogy -- exciting stuff! (On a random note, I was recently in this Vietnamese restaurant and nearly fell out of my chair when I saw rhambutan on the menu -- didn't know it was a real fruit, too )

 

[McDLT]

All the Christian SciFic/Fantasy ones I know have been mentioned. Let us know which book you read next and how you like it.

 

[ravenscape]

Has Madeline L'Engle been mentioned?

No, but she certainly should have been!

Also The Dark Tower, a collection of unfinished short stories by C. S. Lewis, is good, annoyingly unfinished though. I agree that Till We Have Faces, The Great Divorce and especially Perelandra are great ones by Lewis.

That Hideous Strength was really good too. Such a change of pace after Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra.

 

[artaxbombadil]

That Hideous Strength was really good too. Such a change of pace after Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra.

I agree! and I just loved "Mr. Bultitude". Aside from the serious issues, so many scenes in that book make me laugh

 

[ChristChild]

My 25-count Amazon Listmania list for Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels, which includes my own:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/21Z3FPUSNP3LS/ref=cm_lm_detail_ctr_full_1/102-6408412-2588948

This is the category for the genre on Amazon. Check the many pages of novels:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/68145/ref=dp_brlad_entry/102-6408412-2588948

The webpage for my own novels, which are hardcore Biblical Christian novels with deep worlds and complex storylines:

http://www.geocities.com/dsburton_1999/

Shane

 

[Sabertooth]

I wanted to write a sci-fi comic book series when I was a teen, but there was a wall I ran into. So much of our real world and universe is impacted by Providence that I would have to either script Providence into MY universe or leave [Him] out, altogether, as if it were unnecessary. If I went with the former, the result would have been a universe managed by a woefully underqualified god. If I went with the latter, a significant dimension would have been sorely missed, like a great-looking face that is incapable of expression.

Now I just draw when I get glimpses into the Spirit realm, removing the pressure to produce a script.

 

[pirate500]

CS Lewis did write a scifi series, but I don't remember what it's called. I'm sure you've read LotR by Tolkien, but if you haven't, read it

The space trilogy but i don't think it is christian just written by christian. THier is Alton Gansky wich is placed in the present but has Si Fy twists

 

[shipdude]

I had the same frustration--I love the sci-fi genre, but found much of it to be an all-out assault on my faith. If you want to read a good solid christian worldview in a sci fi novel series that deals with tough questions and characters you can relate to, check out The Windows of Heaven novels at kg-powderly-books.com -- You won't be disappointed. They're available at Amazon for the best price. These 4 books: Dawn-Apocalypse Rising, The Paladin's Odyssey, A Broken Paradise, and The Tides of Nemesis are a science fiction epic of truly biblical proportions. You won't be disappointed.

 

[jochanaan]

The space trilogy but i don't think it is christian just written by christian...

Uh, with all due respect, you're wrong. CSL's Christian worldview is apparent on every page of The Space Trilogy.

 

[bertie]

if you want a good read 1200 or so pages, i suggest the EURANTIA BOOK It may take you a while and rip your mind up a little,But the passages that deal with mans relationship to his creator are poignantly written and may even move you that much closer to oneness with our Heavenly Father.Not that i claim this channeled book, written in the 30s is God sent revelation, but there are passages in it that certainly moved me in ways that most contemporaary books cant touch.Science fiction ? not quite, but a by and large interesting slant on the universe of the Spirit.Ita a banquet and eat what you like.This books description of how the universe works is sure to blow your cottonpicking mind........

 

[NiteClerk]

Try "Judgement Day" by James F. David. It's the first book of a new series. Basic plot is that a Christian invents an "FTL and anti-gravity" drive and does not share it with the U.S. government or the world. At the same time a Satan worshipper gets demonic powers and starts to gain political power within the U.S.

ISBN: 0765309157 . Not enough post to link to the Amazon web site.
Pax;

BoB

 

[Leathel]

Check out The Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Central
http://www.christianscififantasycentral.com

A brand new site listing only Christian based Science Fiction and Fantasy books.