Define fantasy

[gottmituns]

My question comes from seeing all these people who are posting is "____" OK to watch? Or can I play "____"?

My question to the people who tell others what is bad for us is, What is good Christian fantasy or is there such thing? And is it the scriptures that are giving you your opinion or you own moral assumptions?

Not trying to be inflammatory just looking for some objective truth in the matter.

Thanks,

 

[keith99]

For a first cut I'd go with Fantasy is stories set in a world that is not real.

The second cut is to distinguish from Science Fiction.

Not real, not apt to become real and not an extrapolation of curent scientific trends of theories.

Especially when it comes to distinguishing from Science Fiction the line can be fuzzy.


One could add somethgin like 'Typically involving creatures or situations that are magical of fantastic, or at least that seem to be so to those in the story'.


Personally I see no problems for Christians with fantasy per se. Save perhaps that subgenre that blurs the line in my definition of it NOT being our world. The only objection I can see to fantasy as fantasy is where either it ceases to be fantasy, but instead is or claims to be about our real world. (Or is thought to be such by the reader).

That last can be tricky. I do not consider the Harry Dresden series to be claiming to be real, even though it si set in modern Chicago. Nor do I consider Dracula or other vampire stories to be real simply because they are set in real places.

 

[gottmituns]

your avatar is a member of the Deutsche Wehrmacht is he not?
what's up with that?

 

[LadyNRA]

My question comes from seeing all these people who are posting is "____" OK to watch? Or can I play "____"?

My question to the people who tell others what is bad for us is, What is good Christian fantasy or is there such thing? And is it the scriptures that are giving you your opinion or you own moral assumptions?

Not trying to be inflammatory just looking for some objective truth in the matter.

Thanks,

Since there are so many different personal interpretations of scripture (just look at all the denominations), a person's viewpoint about whether or not SciFi / fantasy or gaming is okay is really pretty much based on what the individual's religious community's viewpoint is. so you can have lots of differening opinions on this. Also I think one's level of fundamentalism (matched again with the community) and when a person comes to faith can influence this.

I have no problem with SF/Fantasy or gaming. I've been a fan for most of my life. As with many fans of SF/Fantasy I do have my preferences. I don't like war stories or war gaming so I tend to avoid books that concentrate heavily on warring empires whether in space or some magical land. But I do like thought provoking/relationship oriented SF/Fantasy and action adventure/sword and sorcery type fiction.

Once I became a believer, my tastes didn't change a whole lot, probably because horror/excorcist style stores never appealed to me to begin with. The only difference is that now, I do enjoy Christian Romances more and I will often seek out Christian SciFi if I can get it. But because there is so little of it around, I still enjoy secular SF/fantasy.

My religious community hasn't influenced my choices. I have many christian friends and associates who enjoy SciFi shows/movies and books. I don't feel led by God to stop reading the secular authors.

And to be honest, I don't think you can have an 'objective' truth about this. It's all going to be subjective anyway. As I said in the beginning, there are so many ways to interpret gray areas of scripture. So you can have many subjective opinions on the subject, but "objective truth"...get people started and you'll still see differing 'opinions' on the subject.

 

[gottmituns]

Because I can't quote yet Ill just point up to you.

The whole base of Christianity is to give us an Objective way to live our lives I.E to serve God. If you accept that fact then there is an Objective answer to everything. we were not given a moral categories of Right/Wrong & gray area because we can't really tell what the scripture is saying.

 

[keith99]

your avatar is a member of the Deutsche Wehrmacht is he not?
what's up with that?

Count von Stauffenburg. The most famous player in the final attemp to assassinate Hitler. Also in many ways the perfect soldier and patriot. (And his deceision of loyality to Germany over those in power or personal safety is a part of being the perfect patriot).

I decided to be sporting and use him instead of Hans Oster, who was far more involved and had much more foresight than others.

 

[Frater Chad]

The only difference is that now, I do enjoy Christian Romances more and I will often seek out Christian SciFi if I can get it

*In a loud, booming voice* JESUS. IN. SPAAAACE!!

But, seriously, I've never heard of Christian SciFi before. Mind pointing me to anything in particular that you like? Thanks!

 

[keith99]

*In a loud, booming voice* JESUS. IN. SPAAAACE!!

But, seriously, I've never heard of Christian SciFi before. Mind pointing me to anything in particular that you like? Thanks!

Many consider The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis to be Christian Science Fiction.

I can think of many works that touch on Christianity, but in a way Science Fiction and orthodoxy of any kind have problems coexisting.

 

[Gawron]

Define fantasy?

Been to the politics forums lately?

 

[keith99]

Define fantasy?

Been to the politics forums lately?

Excellent!

But that is only an example of poor fantasy.

 

[hedrick]

C.S Lewis probably best-known. Narnia would be fantasy, the space triology science fiction. I think his best book is one that almost no one knows: Til We Have Faces. I guess it would classify as fantasy.

Charles Williams has also done explicitly Christian fantasy. He tried to create his own genre. He has a set of books that do for religion what science fiction does for science, in some sense. He takes a number of religions, and has a novel where that religion and its mythology because literally true. One has the world of Platonic ideals start breaking into the modern world. Weird stuff. He also has an extremely interesting book on Church history, Descent of the Dove. He is one of the most original voices in Christian writing.

Tolkien was a Christian. The Ring isn't obviously Christian, but has many Christian overtones.

Of current authors, Stephen Lawhead is a Christian, and there are Christian overtones to his books. Alister McGrath seems to be trying a trilogy. It's not terrible, although it's not up to the quality of the others. (McGrath is a Church historian.)

If you look at fantasy these days in Amazon it all seems to be vampires, werewolves and a few angels.