December 16, 2025

292. How Can Christians Confront Fiction Legalists?

1 hour

“We do not celebrate Christmas that way.” “We do not read those kinds of books.” “We ‘do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.’” We know our world is full of rebellion against God’s law. But many people overreact to moral license with a strict imposing of out-of-context or made-up laws. Faithful saints call this legalism, and Christian fantasy fans know plenty about this. When that influencer or relative rebukes your fantastical interest, how you can respond with grace and truth?

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Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen

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MYTH: Reign of the Immortals by J. F. Nickens

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Quotes and notes

What Is Fiction Legalism?, E. Stephen Burnett

Even If We Like Fantasy and Sci-Fi, We Can Still Practice Accidental Legalism, Marian A. Jacobs

50. Do Christians Really Need Fiction? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 1, Fantastical Truth podcast

1. Legalism denies the word of God itself.

We’ve heard and experienced many stories of judgy legalists.

Some are worse than others. Some comments are snide asides.

I heard one author’s work dismissed as “not in the real world.”

And yes, I’ve had people challenge Lewis, Tolkien, other stories.

Others rail more on social media against metal music or pageants.

But don’t confuse these false teachers with people they deceive.

Your family members may be confused and repeating memes.

In either case, work to overcome defensiveness or bad feelings.

Your firm foundation: legalism is anti-gospel; the Bible rejects it.

So study the word of God. Don’t let legalists ruin that for you!

Get into the gospel with the epistles, Romans, and other epistles.

Focus on texts like Romans 14, 1 Cor. 8-10, and all of Galatians.

2. Legalism denies the good of God’s gifts.

Moving to legalistic teachers, they often escape to fantasy worlds.

They like alternative realities where people don’t like/need stories.

You can (kindly) hit ’em with that little rejoinder, see how it works.

In either case, be sure you study up on God’s creative purpose.

Start in Genesis and take this text seriously: it’s history in poetry!

Pay special heed to the “cultural mandate” in Gen. 1:27-28.

Any ignorance of this call also overthrow God’s call to family.

So no one gets to do preaching or “ministry” minimization here!

From this text, learned theologians discern that God is and loves three virtues in no particular order: beauty, goodness, and truth.

God also loves to give good gifts to evil men and His children.

We get this truth directly from texts like Matt. 7:11 and James 1:17.

Sin ruin gifts? Not for studying, praying believers (1 Tim. 4:1-5).

3. And legalism denies God’s real world.

It is not Christianity, but gnosticism, to despise God’s creation.

Get your eschatology right, after all the charts and controversies.

It’s simply flawed to suggest we’re bound for a bodiless world.

Scripture constantly hints, then promises, a renewed planet Earth.

Heaven will come down here, rather than replacing all of our world.

Let’s get the end of Revelation right about New Heavens and New Earth, Christ’s eternal and holy kingdom that restores paradise!

For Stephen, this doctrine was key to debunking fiction legalism.

It helps me avoid the responses of depression or deconstruction.

On good days I feel sympathy and love for sincere fiction legalists.

With this solid foundation we can “swashbuckle” them with smiles.

We can affirm the need for truth and holiness, but show how it is in fact made-up laws, not God’s actual word, that forbid good gifts.

And we can show how these stories help us grow to be like Jesus.

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