Discussing Christianity On-Page: Faith-filled Fanfic, Pt. 2
Last post we talked about including Christian characters of varying maturity in fanfic. This time, I’d like to look at discussing Christianity in fanfic, both on and off page.
Once again, if you’re here with little to no knowledge of Christianity, I am so glad you stopped by. Thank you for taking time to be here. If you’d like to know more about Christianity in general, feel free to Contact Me. I’d love to talk with you. If you just want to see what this post has to say, simply read on.
A reminder: What I mean when I refer to Christianity throughout this series: A Faith that accepts the Bible as the authority for all things related to Faith and practicing that Faith.
On to our second challenge of this Faith-filled fanfic series:
Discussing Christianity
Everyone has topics they’d rather not talk about, and sometimes for good reason. Unfortunately, one of the topics often neglected in society-at-large is religion—of any kind, Christianity included. Instead of fostering a culture of productive conversation and/or debate, people have relegated difficult subjects to the realm of taboo in the name of getting along with others. While this sometimes works to keep peace, often the consequence is collective ignorance.
I’d like to say this prevailing attitude doesn’t affect the fanfic world, but it does. There are fics that include Christianity, or other religions, but those fics rarely, if ever, reach popularity, and most earn at least a comment or two from readers uncomfortable with the writer’s choice to include Christianity.
I’ve seen my share of religion in fiction (original and fanfic), and I can attest that some portrayals of Christianity are… less than accurate and/or trivialized to the point of being nonsensical. Those portrayals are often troubling, but there are ways to combat them, so I’d like to share with you some of the problems I’ve seen and share how to remedy them.
Three Trivializing Ways Christianity is Included in Fiction, and How to Combat Them:
Stereotypes
Stereotypes are stereotypes because they hold a modicum of truth, but that truth often gets amplified or minimized depending on how people make use of it. This is true of almost anything in fiction, including Christianity.
Have you ever read a book or seen a movie or TV show where a religious character is portrayed as a weak, ineffective coward who does nothing but “pray”or talk about doing good works? Are there people who act this way? Sure. But there are a few problems with this stereotype.
For one, it labels Christianity powerless. And I and countless others can personally attest that’s false. This stereotype takes truths like waiting on God, patience, and longsuffering, and amplifies them to a point where they slip over to the other end of the scale and become worry and cowardice.
For another, this stereotypical portrayal relegates Christianity to a list of works, which is quite opposite the truth. Christianity is a personal relationship with Christ. Does that mean there are things we choose to and not to do? Yes. Because we want to honor Someone very important to us. Just like we wouldn’t knowingly do something to hurt our kids, parents, spouses, or friends, Christians also choose not to do things God finds hurtful.
If you’re considering having a Christian(s) in your work, please, avoid these pitfalls, unless you’re willing to address them in-narrative as problematic. Show Christians as they are—people who profess Faith in God and sometimes do great things but also make mistakes.
Disrespect
People value things differently, including Faith. When a creative who doesn’t value a particular thing gets a hold of it, their value system will become evident within their creative works.
Have you seen any TV show episodes where a cult leader abuses a Bible passage by using it to further their agenda? I won’t say that can’t be done well, because I’ve seen it used appropriately. And I won’t say it can’t be true-to-life, because there are hosts of people who misuse Scripture for their own gain—even a good number who claim to follow Christianity. But too often it leans awfully close to disrespect, from my point-of-view. This is especially true when characters treat the Bible as the problem and not the person perverting the message.
When portraying something so important as the Bible, treating it with respect is imperative. People may misuse its contents, but that doesn’t invalidate what it has to say. The same is true of Jesus Christ. I’ve seen/read depictions of Jesus, or even God the Father, that are so grossly inaccurate they border on sacrilegious. That doesn’t have to be disrespectful in itself, but if the overall narrative doesn’t condemn this portrayal in some capacity, then it becomes disrespectful.
If you’re not a Christian and are considering using elements of Christianity in a negative light, be very careful how you execute the concept. If Christianity is only mentioned in passing, don’t oversimplify it. If in doubt, have a Christian friend/relative/acquaintance look over the story and give you their thoughts.
If you are a Christian, and Christianity or elements of it appear in your work, consider how your portrayal will affect readers/viewers. Have you showed your Faith to be valuable, powerful, and purposeful? Have you communicated the personal significance of your love for God?
Monochromatism
Like we discussed in the precious post, not all Christians have the same level of maturity when it comes to their Faith. And that’s perfectly fine to portray in fiction. If all Christians present in a given work are carbon copies of each other, Faith becomes an empty mantra chanted throughout the story instead of something meaningful characters and readers/viewers alike can interact with and personalize.
Another problem along this vein is Christian characters who don’t grow and change throughout the story. They’re flat. Like cardboard. There is a place for flat characters, but if the whole cast is flat without a very good reason, there’s a problem. Christian characters, like any other character, need to have moments where the light comes on—where they understand something that didn’t make sense to them before. They need to learn new things, adjust relationship dynamics, make life changes. Christians have problems, and we can’t be afraid to portray that on-page.
Discussing something can come in two forms: literal conversation surrounding a topic, or illustration of the topic. Often fiction does not include long passages of theological discussion, because the point of fiction leans more toward application instead of strict lecture-style communication of fact. That isn’t to say the literal discussion of Christianity in fiction is always out of place. Well-timed statements of Truth are highlights of many of my favorite fictional haunts, and I’d even go so far as to say that fiction, when divorced from Truth, is pointless.
If you have an on-page conversation revolving around theology, make sure it stays to-the-point and doesn’t devolve into rambling or soap boxing.
Did you find any of that helpful? How do you combat problematic portrayals of Christianity in your work? Leave a comment below and tell me about it.