Fantastical Truth

In the last month, we have seen fans who share their strong feelings about, say, horror fiction, movie trailers, or big studio companies. In response these fans often hear scoffing from high-school bullies who hate “nerds.” But there’s a new and not-very-clever tactic in play. It’s the accusation that passionate fans are just turning into monsters who may be worse than Satan—fighters in a scary culture war. Why do some critics say this? What do they mean? And how is this a great big old manipulative lie that can easily be defeated with good sense?

Luke observed about the Devil (episode 336):

I wonder if the Bible has relatively little to say about Satan’s “backstory” because pure evil is by its nature just so boring. The devil doubtless thinks his narcissistic rebellion and slander very important, but God in His wisdom as an author left all of that out.

Boom. Boom. BOOOOOOOOOM!

(slight gurgling rumbles in the far distance …)

“HHHHRRRRRRRROOOOAAAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

“The Prince of Darkness grim / We tremble not for him.” Martin Luther wrote those words, and yet many people don’t follow them. When they aren’t denying the Devil exists, they’re scared of him. And outside of a biblical worldview, they are right to feel fear. So who is Satan? Why does he haunt the margins of Scripture, often lurking in allusions and cameos rather than starring as a featured villain? And how can faithful Christians battle this unholy foe, especially during spooky season?[1. Photo by Ananthu Selvam on Unsplash.]

“How you are fallen from heaven,

How you are cut down to the ground,

You said in your heart,

‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

(Isaiah 14:12–14, ESV)

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

(Luke 10:17–20, ESV)

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

(Revelation 20:7–10, ESV)

In the last month, we have seen fans who share their strong feelings about, say, certain movie trailers, directors, or corporations. Among these are the usual scoffing fans often hear from high-school bullies who hate “nerds.” But there’s a new and not-very-clever tactic in play. It’s the accusation that passionate fans are just turning into monsters who may be worse than Satan—fighters in a scary culture war. Why do some critics say this? What do they mean? And how is this a great big old manipulative lie that can easily be defeated with good sense?

Some people tell us, “Monsters lurk everywhere. But they never, ever look like monsters.” Or do they? They also suggest, “Usually the most obvious ‘villain’ is in fact the innocent victim who’s been traumatized by another more terrible monster you never would have suspected.” Or is that really true? Many narrative-makers seem to think so, from pundits to true-crime podcasters to major fantastical franchises. We’ll explore how fans may get sick of the constant misdirection that’s now become predictable in fiction—and has even corrupted real justice as many defenses of evildoers deflect their blame into the shadows.[1. Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash.]

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

—Isaiah 5:20 (KJV)

Victor DiGiovanni wrote solid critiques to ep. 332:

There is no amount of changes Gerwig or anyone can make to Narnia to where it even remotely approaches blasphemy or directly insulting Jesus. Narnia is a series about talking animals, and rats who wield swords, and boys who turn into dragons and children who travel to magical worlds through wardrobes and magical paintings and where a white witch cast a magical land into a hundred years of winter. …

Thank you, and also Stephen, for your thoughtful responses to my comments. While I am typing my comments in responses to yours, on this article, it’s more about the discussion as a whole that I’m responding to.

“The Prince of Darkness grim / We tremble not for him.” Martin Luther wrote those words, and yet many people don’t follow them. When they aren’t denying the Devil exists, they’re scared of him. And outside of a biblical worldview, they are right to feel fear. So who is Satan? Why does he haunt the margins of Scripture, often lurking in allusions and cameos rather than starring as a featured villain? And how can faithful Christians battle this unholy foe, especially during spooky season?

Somehow the demons returned. Serious philosophers and flippant folks alike are saying “that’s demonic” about evil ideas or even “she’s a demon” about wicked people. For many Christians, this development may come as a surprise. That’s because many of us heard little about demons growing up, while some of us heard only demons blamed for other religions, the “wrong” cartoon shows, or even mental illness. As we reenter Monster Month, how can we wrangle these reactions?[1. Photo by Eleni Petrounakou on Unsplash.]

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. one is to disbelieve in their existence. the other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. they themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.

—C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters introduction

“Monsters lurk everywhere. But they never, ever look like monsters.” Or do they? “Usually the most obvious villain is in fact the innocent victim who’s been traumatized by another more terrible monster you never would have suspected.” Or is that really true? Many narrative-makers seem to think so, from pundits to true-crime podcasters to major fantastical franchises. We’ll explore how fans may get sick of the constant misdirection that’s now predictable in fiction—and even denied justice to many evildoers who deflect blame into the shadows.

Narnia fans had a rough week. After the confirmation that Netflix’s version of “Narnia” will have a female-voiced “Aslan” for a 1950s-set movie with a “rock and roll” vibe, the internet lit up. Fans were upset. Pundits piled on. Non-Christian critics on YouTube cussed at Greta Gerwig. And in response, apparent defenders of the corporate creator began repeating old myths about The Chronicles of Narnia and C. S. Lewis while scoffing at his fans for being so overexcited about a movie. How can we best address these subversions and slanders?

Now we move into spooky season, with appropriate topics planned. Lord willing, this month you can expect more from us about scary stories and how parents can find the best Christian-made middle grade fiction. Meanwhile, what about UFOs? That news has gone suddenly quiet of late! Plus: Satan and/or demons, and maybe even a little Godzilla as the big king of all monsters stomps back into cinemas.

At first we tried to be optimistic about Netflix’s new Narnia-inspired movie.

Even when that rumor first dropped in April 2025 that claimed Meryl Streep was “in talks” to voice Aslan.

Then last week brought us this grave news that Netflix and/or director Greta Gerwig did indeed cast Streep, a female actress, to voice the male King of Narnia, Aslan.

They included high-res art of a glammed-up lion with obvious chimera creature textures and colors inspired by 1970s music celebrities.

They boasted about the new movie’s “rock and roll” influence. They showed preview images featuring Jadis in a glittery short-skirt go-go outfit squalling into the streets of 1950s London.

And now Narnia fans are all in uproar over these perversions of The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis.

With courteous words or else hard knocks as the warrior’s only language, how then can we join the fight like true Narnians?

Join this special edition episode with an abridged version of our Sept. 21, 2026 audio-livestream on X (fka Twitter).

Bethel McGrew is a freelance writer based in Michigan. Her work has appeared in First Things, the Wall Street Journal, the Lamp, and more. Follow her on Substack at Further Up.

Zackary Russell is a Fightin’ Texas Aggie and proud member of Generation X-Wing. After conquering the Oregon Trail, he traveled to Hyrule and the Island of Myst. His heart for the nations led him into a ministry for international students, where he works as a videographer. He writes science fiction, and is the producer and co-host of the Fantastical Truth podcast. He lives in Texas with his wife and four children. His digital home base is zackaryrussell.com.

Megan Basham is a reporter for The Daily Wire and a frequent contributor to Morning Wire. In her previous role as an entertainment editor and podcast co-host for World Magazine, she interviewed numerous A-list celebrities. She has also written for The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and Townhall. Her book, Beside Every Successful Man, was published by Random House.

E. Stephen Burnett creates sci-fi for Christ’s glory. He began with Above the Circle of Earth (2025, Enclave Publishing), which stars a team of struggling yet heroic space missionaries versus the secular regimes of our 22nd century. Two more novels (2027–2028) will launch to form the Mission to the Stars series. Meanwhile, Stephen serves readers by engaging more fantastical stories, publishing the digital mission Lorehaven.com and its weekly Fantastical Truth podcast. He coauthored The Pop Culture Parent and creates other resources for fans and families, serving with his wife, Lacy, in their central Texas church.

In a world of bad books, Lorehaven.com helps fans and families engage fantastical stories for Christ’s glory. Biblical Christian creators founded Lorehaven in 2018. Start with our library to find the best fantasy, sci-fi, and supernatural books for readers of all ages. Go deeper with articles and weekly podcasts. Subscribe free to get resources by email and join the Lorehaven Guild!

The Pendragon Cycle streaming series began with a slower start for its January release on Daily Wire Plus. Well, this month, everything changed. Based on the first two volumes in Stephen R. Lawhead’s series, The Pendragon Cycle worked its new wizardry to reach the top three shows on Prime Video. Let’s go behind the scenes of the Cycle, touching on controversies but staying pre-political and pre-medieval as we explore how Christian creators fight to build the future. Today we’re joined by The Pendragon Cycle series creator Jeremy Boreing.

(We didn’t mention these in the show; they broke soon afterward.)

Jeremy Boreing is a writer, filmmaker, producer, and co-founder of The Daily Wire. He is the host of The Jeremy Boreing Show and the series creator of The Pendragon Cycle. That streaming adaptation of Stephen R. Lawhead’s fantasy epic retells the origins of Merlin and King Arthur. It premiered Jan. 2026 on Daily Wire Plus. Then in July 2026, Pendragon debuted on Prime Video UK and hit the number 1 fantasy series. By the following month, August 2026, Pendragon debuted on Prime Video in the United States and reached the number 2 most-viewed show on that platform.

Boreing’s past work in political media includes co-founding the conservative news and commentary website TruthRevolt, serving as executive director of Friends of Abe network, and co-founding Declaration Entertainment with Bill Whittle. He’s also the co-founder and former CEO of The Daily Wire commentary network.

Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing announced Nov. 17, 2022 that the cultural conservative streamer would adapt the Arthurian saga.

Last night [Nov. 13, 2022], cultural conservative fans learned media company The Daily Wire could adapt Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged into a streaming series.

But for Christian fantastical fiction fans, the buried lede is actually this:

[Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy] Boreing also announced a slate of major projects in development, including: . . .

An exclusive option to develop and produce feature film and television series adaptations for all six books in Stephen R. Lawhead’s “THE PENDRAGON CYCLE”

Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing announced Nov. 17 that the cultural conservative streamer will debut the Arthurian saga …

Boreing elaborated in a Nov. 17 livestream:

“While Atlas has shaped the worldview of millions of people around the globe, there’s a series of books that I read as a teenager that, more than any other, helped shape my worldview. It’s based on perhaps the most impactful myth in the Western tradition—the legend of King Arthur. And it’s called The Pendragon Cycle by Stephen R. Lawhead. And today, I’m beyond thrilled to announce that the DailyWire+ has secured the rights to this unbelievable work.

“This is an incredible story about the fall of the Roman occupation in Great Britain, and the rise of Christianity in the blood-soaked pagan islands—British Isles. It’s the most ambitious thing we’ve ever set about to do. And it’s going to be incredible.”

Daily Wire Announces Streaming Series Based on Stephen R. Lawhead’s Pendragon Cycle, Lorehaven, Nov. 18

Read our review of The Pendragon Cycle book 1, Taliesin. Or for fans and families, get our complete book quest guide (coming soon).

On the way home, I remember playing a particular Metallica track, in my old car with no air conditioning. I don’t remember which one, I just remember I specifically wanted that defiant, “you will not destroy us” vibe.

Not terribly long after, that CD, and the car CD player, were stolen, while the car was still parked outside my house. It was considered a “good neighborhood,” but had already begun its transition into something more characteristic of the area. You could say that much of that decade was spent worrying about the wrong problems.

We close with the words of Britain’s great mythical bard, Taliesin ap Elphin (written by Stephen R. Lawhead):

I have seen a land where kings extend their hands in justice rather than reach for the sword; where mercy, kindness, and compassion flow like deep water, and where men revere virtue, revere truth, revere beauty above comfort, pleasure or selfish gain.

A land where peace reigns in the hearts of men. Where faith blazes like a beacon from every hill and love like a fire from every hearth; where the True God is worshiped and His ways acclaimed by all.

I have seen this land. I have seen it and my heart yearns for it.

Last week we remembered the Sept. 11 attacks. But some people, shall we say, did not know how to grieve well. That’s for many reasons. One of them is strange yet simple—they can’t fathom that real people could really do something like this. But it’s true that many groups of real bad guys really want to take over the world. So today, author Kerry Nietz, student of futuristic caliphates, returns to the studio to ask which false religions seem the most bent on global domination.

Kerry Nietz is an award-winning science fiction author. He has over a half dozen speculative novels in print, along with a novella, a couple short stories, and a non-fiction book, FoxTales.

Kerry’s novel A Star Curiously Singing won the Readers Favorite Gold Medal Award for Christian Science Fiction and is notable for its dystopian, cyberpunk vibe in a world under sharia law. It  is often mentioned on “Best of” lists.

Among his writings, Kerry’s most talked about is the genre-bending Amish Vampires in Space. AViS was mentioned on the Tonight Show and in the Washington Post, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Newsweek called it “a welcome departure from the typical Amish fare.” Today his latest release is Start Early, You Might Get Published Before You Die, an honest and humorous look at the long, unpredictable path from aspiring storyteller to published novelist.

I’ve met Bryan Davis many times in real life as an exhibitor at homeschool conventions. He is the real deal—a humble, honest, and good man. He has been very encouraging and helpful to me as an upcoming author of fantasy and sci-fi myself. So happy you featured him on your podcast.

The Pendragon Cycle streaming series began with a slower start for its January release on Daily Wire Plus. Well, this month, everything changed. Based on the first two volumes in Stephen R. Lawhead’s series, The Pendragon Cycle worked its new wizardry to reach the top 5 shows on Prime Video. Let’s go behind the scenes of the Cycle, touching on controversies but staying pre-political and pre-medieval as we explore how Christian creators fight to build the future.

In the last 25 years, whole human beings have been born, grown up, graduated, married, and become parents. They may not remember that day when our world was gripped by events that seemed stolen from dystopian novels. On Sept. 11, 2001, militant religious terrorists hijacked four planes in the United States and plunged them into the sides of large buildings. Thousands died. Millions mourned. And every real person and fantastical fiction was forever changed.

There are so many shows that had an effect on me that I am not sure I can pick just one. However, I find when I go back and rewatch them, I usually am unable to sit through them. The teenage me and the senior me are very different people, thank God! Still, the very first thing that popped into my head was the only cartoon I used to watch, Dungeons & Dragons. I loved that show. I didn’t watch a ton of tv, but on the weekends I watched Tarzan, Batman & Robin (KaPow!), and Superman. I still remember when I learned the original Superman [actor George Reeves] committed suicide. I think that was when I realized that the lives people lived on the outside were very different from what they were living in private. Basically, I came to understand that actors are not really much different than the rest of us. Because of this insight, I never did fall into the hero worship that so many actors and rock stars get from their audience.

… I always thought of it as the age of innocence. However, going back and rewatching certain shows, like the Golden Girls, I can see where that was naive and due to my youth. Still, I miss the innocence of that era, and the hope everyone had for the future. We seem to be lacking that hope in our younger generation now. I wish kids nowadays could experience what we did growing up back then. It seemed like anything was possible.

We identified the villains behind the Sept. 11 attacks. Some doubt this could be true. Why? Only they know their reasons. But sometimes it’s because people have less experience with one false religion and more experience with another one. So they assume that for anything terrible, those villains are to blame. And it’s true that more than one group of bad guys wants to take over the world. Next week Kerry Nietz, student of futuristic caliphates, returns to the studio to ask which false religion wants to achieve truly global domination.

Last summer the new He-Man movie kind of failed at theaters. Stephen enjoyed the film! Others did not care so much, especially if they didn’t grow up in the 1980s. But last week, after the death of voice actor Peter Cullen, fans celebrated the legacy of Transformers. And last month, the Masters of the Universe remake film wielded the power of Grayskull to rule streaming media. No matter your age, big franchises from forty years ago have shaped the fantasy worlds we know today. How can Christians look back on this era with discernment and appreciation for good nostalgia?

Masters of the Universe (2026) failed in theaters, but has since found its power on streaming services.