For this afternoon, we are going to be
looking at fiction that plays with your head. Now what do
we mean by that? Well, there are some works – both fiction and
non-fiction that can cause us to
question our perceptions of the world around us, our relationships, our
view of reality and our faith.
My own encounters with literature of this sort began in high school, and not with fiction but with a statement by the 19th century socialist philosopher Karl Marx. He wrote that “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” I first encountered this statement as a junior in high school as part of a European history class. The statement sent me into a tailspin for a time. I recognized that there was in fact truth in his statement. Some people do indeed use religion as an excuse not to think about anything. Yet, I am thankful that I encountered Marx at the tender age of 16. It began a journey for me that led to me a deeper faith in the Lord, and a faith that was based upon my own belief not upon that of my parents.
What I discovered as part of that experience, was that any encounter with words – whether written or oral – of anyone could cause a crisis of conscience. But – the answer to such dilemmas was not for me to avoid them, but what to do with them when I encountered them. Everything and everyone we encounter has the potential either to draw us closer to God or to allow us to turn from Him. The choice is ours and how we handle it.
Handling the written word properly, though, is sometimes easier said than done. For some, like my husband, who is a fiction writer himself, the line is easy. This is a story. This is not true, and therefore is not relevant to how I live my life or what I believe. That is his perspective. My mother-in-law believes that most fiction is simply a waste of her time, and therefore, she does not read it. But what if you find yourself somewhere in between the total rejection of fiction as a waste of time and the ability to dismiss it all as just a story? Well, hopefully, we can give you a few tools today to help with that.
One of the first things to note is to be aware of what you are reading. Some types of reading are more likely to cause crises or questions than others. If you read philosophy, you are going to encounter alternative world views. In the realm of fiction, books that deal with spiritual themes or the supernatural in some way are often the most problematic for us.
There are a host books that can fall into those two fiction categories, not the least of which are the writings of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkein. Yet these two will rarely be attacked as virulently as J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. Why? There are lots of off-the-cuff answers, but after some study on the matter, I think there are two major reasons why these books are usually left off the attack list. The first is that both men were practicing Christians – of at least some sort.
The second reason, however, is less obvious and even more important for our session today. Both Lewis and Tolkein avoid violating our literary comfort zones. For Lewis, the reason that he is left off the list is because his books are allegorical for the Christian experience. We are comfortable with allegory. Christ used it in the parables. Tell a story in order to make a point. We are comfortable there. In Tolkein’s case, his books incorporate all types of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic mythology, but his fans rarely have to answer charges of Satanism. But — unlike, the books we will be discussing today, Tolkein does not set his stories in our present day world – IN this reality. That is when we get uncomfortable and are unsure how to respond. A book that is set elsewhere – another world, another universe, another time – those do not challenge us to evaluate our world. But Harry Potter boards the train for school at the real London railway station of King’s Cross, Example from Left Behind and one from Dan Brown. These make us less sure what to do with them – both on practical and theological grounds. I will be looking at J.K. Rawling’s Harry Potter Series, Sherry Pollard will be discussing the Left Behind Series, and Lori Klein will examine Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons.