Fantastical Truth

On May 20, director Zack Snyder announced that in 2021, DC fans calling to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut for the superhero film Justice League will get their wish. How do Christians see this fandom, and any other fandom joys, as biblical Christians?

Stephen and Zack survey the now-successful #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement, talk about DC heroes, and explore the movie controversies.

After the originally relased film version in November 2017, we couldn’t help critique it and call for Snyder’s version to be released someday:

Stephen: The characters are great. I love each and every one of them. But this rushed story and world around them felt shallow and empty. Sometimes literally. … Cities around them had no life. It needed another full hour. It needed Snyder’s deft hand in the editing and post-production.

Austin Gunderson: Steppenwolf was no match for Superman. That’s been the key strength of the previous films to me: that Superman wasn’t boring. I thought this movie managed to Make Superman Boring Again. Not because he was unlikable, but because he won so much I got tired of winning.

Kerry Nietz: If I had to name a fault, it would be in the stakes. They needed to create more of a sense of global peril. That could have been easily done with more small scenes in different locations. Possibly those are the types of things that were left on the cutting room floor.

Later we reunited to call more directly for Warner Bros. to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut:

Austin Gunderson: Justice League was in another league entirely. As the third in a series of dark, somber, mythopoetic examinations of superhero sociology, it needed to maintain a continuity of tone while upping the stakes. Whedon wouldn’t have been capable of doing that even if WB had prohibited him from straying from Snyder’s vision.

The strength of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman comes from their sincerity: Snyder really felt that he was making something epic and important, and he had sufficient skill to convey that sense instead of coming across as pretentious. But no one—no matter how skilled—can pull that off unless he himself has the degree of sincerity (innocence? faith?) he’s seeking to elicit in his audience.

People say that comedy is the hardest kind of writing because laughter is an objective metric. But I actually think that mythopoeia is dang hard, too, because of the degree of sincerity involved. Even the tiniest bit of cynicism—Whedon’s calling card—will kill it dead.

On the Pop Culture Coram Deo podcast, Stephen and Snyder critic Jeff Wright sparred graciously. We also explored the graces and potential idols of fandoms like this one:

I think if we were to reboot our perception of the whole thing, then we could probably avoid seeing stories as either “yes or no,” absolute good/absolute bad, thumbs up/thumbs down, or the nastiness that fans have if they’re for or against The Last Jedi or for or against The Rise of Skywalker. . . .

To spread it beyond the Snyder Cut or Justice League fandom: this happens with a lot of fandoms, particularly when the story choices that the creators make are not pleasing to everybody. Or if they’re perceived as subverting the old stories. . . .

In The Screwtape Letters and in his other works, C. S. Lewis decried this trend-chasing purpose of enjoying anything. Instead, he recommends we try to enjoy a thing “for its own sake,” for the simple (and maybe even godly) reason of finding pleasure in it. His satirical demon Screwtape wrote this about bad reasons for liking books:

And now for your blunders. On your own showing you first of all allowed the patient to read a book he really enjoyed, because he enjoyed it and not in order to make clever remarks about it to his new friends.

When Stephen reviewed Justice League (Joss Whedon version) for Christianity Today’s website, he accidentally “set a trap” for Rotten Tomatoes. Read the whole “plot” here. He concluded with this:

First, we must recall that movies, like any stories, are a highly subjective medium.

And as a hundred thinkpieces, taking positions in the matter of [Martin] Scorsese v. Superhero Movies have reminded us: Our interpretation of the very concept of “cinema” depends on our expectations. If you expect some deep meditation on The Human Condition, you will get annoyed by the fantasy tale of a man, shot full of magic/science, who turns into a noble super-soldier. But if you, being a human, choose to pursue one real aspect of The Human Condition—the fact that humans are conditioned to love fantasy hero stories—you’ll likely love that kind of story.

From there, our interpretations of “good stories” are also subject to many different factors. These may include:

These items overlap, and they’re already too reductionistic. But the Rotten Tomatoes concept reduces these human factors further still.

Second, we must see that Rotten Tomatoes rankings don’t, and can’t, take these factors into account.

When you start with a movie, a mix of many creative voices, energies, expectations, audience appeals, risks, consumer appeals, and beyond …

Then go to a movie review, a mix of the critics’s life-experiences and belief biases as well as all those human factors I’ve tried to summarize …

And then reduce this review still further to simple up or down vote …

Then you end up with a gross oversimplification of how movies work and how movie reviews work—or ought to work.

Next week (for real this time!) we’ve invited Chase Replogle, from the Pastor Writer podcast, to explore one of his favorite topics: well, speaking of superheroes, what hath superheroes to do with the Bible? We’ll especially explore the place of Samson in the DNA of superhero stories, but find some surprising twists about this tale that we should take as a sober warning.

“The earth is healing; we are the virus.”[1. Photo by Gabriel Jimenez on Unsplash.] Not long ago, that slogan itself went viral. Some made fun of it. A few took it seriously.

But under the slogan lies this faint suspicion: maybe humanity is bad somehow. Something is wrong with us. We don’t belong here.

How do Christians engage with this idea in our nonfiction and in fiction?

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,

Psalm 24:1–2

Ecologism is a new political ideology based on the position that the non-human world is worthy of moral consideration, and that this should be taken into account in social, economic, and political systems. (Source)

Better stories to explore sin versus creation stewardship

We mention at least two:

the Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe. Or the Snow Queen.

Thanks so much for this extended discussion on the redeemed physical creation. Something that irritates me is when mentioning some earthly pleasure, a fellow Christian responds, “But we’ll be beyond all that” in eternity. I’m sure they don’t realize how Eastern, even Gnostic , that sounds. God made nothing “common or unclean,” pronounced it all good, in fact, and “generously gives us all things to enjoy,” so there is nothing in the physical world, and our physical existence, that shouldn’t be redeemed for us to enjoy simply on the basis of “it gives you pleasure.” Not sure whether we’ll teleport into different locations (such as Jesus appearing in the closed room with the apostles) since the scriptural passage itself doesn’t differentiate that activity in his glorified body from his physicality and his eating. Regarding the latter, I love what someone pointed out. Jesus had just invited them to verify with their eyes and hands what they could see and touch, but then verified by eating what they couldn’t see: the resurrected existence of his internal organs.

Much of our faith is speculative indeed when it comes to eternity. God has given us some roman numeral outline headings such as “no tears, no pain, etc.” but hasn’t narrowed it down much to the sub-headings or specifics. As you guys put it so well, unless the Bible says it’s not going to be there, the burden on anyone is to prove why any good thing that God himself made wouldn’t be. God would not arbitrarily rule out pleasures he made. Jesus’ words on marriage, for instance, focus simply on a society of immortals no longer having the need to reproduce. It’s reproduction, not loving each other intimately, that’s the focus of that discussion. I think marriage in the present age is like scaffolding that will no longer be needed in a world of perfect and holy individuals. Of course, I’m speculating. But we can be confident that God is not going to withhold any good thing from us. ON the reading list, I’d also highly recommend the chapters on heaven and eternity in Clay Jones’ book “Why Does God Allow Evil.” There, he argues for the eternal continuation of pleasure, of which God is the creator, in the life beyond. And certainly God created aesthetic pleasure, so there’s no reason to think it would be excluded anymore than sweet aromas or a loving embrace. Also, you guys might enjoy N.T. Wright’s “Surprised by Hope” which focuses on redeemed physical reality as our future, and Wright’s work of not only readable but enjoyable scholarship, a massive tome titled “The Resurrection of the Son of God.” Thanks again for this great three part discussion that has boldly gone where few Christians have gone before!

Share any of your feedback in the comments section or feedback form at Lorehaven.com.

Next week we’ve invited Chase Replogle, from the Pastor Writer podcast, to explore one of his favorite topics: what hath superheroes to do with the Bible? A few of these heroic archetypes trace right back to the Old Testament. We will follow these reflections (without copping out and just saying things like “Superman / Batman / Iron Man / Spider-Man is the Christ-figure”)!

Last week’s interview with Randy Ingermanson about Oxygen went into overtime. That’s because we had to ask him about his most recent release: Son of Mary. It’s book 1 of his new four-book Crown of Thorns series.

Now in this special bonus episode, we ask Randy (who uses the initials R. S. for this new series) questions like these:

Click to explore more at Amazon.com.

A virtual-reality enemy once said that humans are a virus. Lately we’ve heard similar statements during the pandemic. By contrast, some people (even a certain leader of the Catholic church!) has spoken about the earth in very personal terms. How should Christians view The Environment, and discern stories that want us to view creation in particular and even mystical ways?

This time we’re going sub-orbital: Randy Ingermanson joins us to explore his foray into sci-fi with his 2001 novel Oxygen (co-written with John B. Olson).

We also spoke with Randy about his return to his aspiration to write Tom Clancy–style thrillers set in first-century Jerusalem. This year he launched his new Crown of Thorns series. Book 1, Son of Mary, released in April. It follows the biblical quest of the greatest Hero of all time.

Randy Ingermanson is the award-winning author of six novels, all written at the intersection of Science Avenue and Faith Boulevard. He earned a PhD in theoretical physics from UC Berkeley and would love to travel back in time to first-century Jerusalem. So far, the closest he’s come has been working on an archaeological dig on Mount Zion, right in the heart of the City of God. Connect with him at Ingermanson.com.

Lorehaven magazine reviewed Oxygen in our last issue‘s “The Best of Christian Fantasy” article:

Once every two years, Mars veers closer to Earth, and at about the same rate the red planet orbits back into the news. Usually this happens when NASA launches another probe, or SpaceX founder Elon Musk insists his latest rocket-related antics really will someday send humans to colonize other worlds.

For Christian speculative fans, however, a minor Martian invasion occurred in 2001 with the publication of Oxygen. This sci-fi thriller from John B. Olson and Randall Ingermanson followed the first human mission to Mars, starting in the year 2012.

In this now-alternate history, there was no Curiosity probe, no Olympic Games or presidential election hogging the headlines, and no grand promises for amazing NASA missions followed only by budget cuts. Instead, readers join the Ares program, in progress, to send a four-member team of actual people to Mars.

. . . Despite Oxygen’s then-futuristic starting year, the books don’t feel like sci-fi. That’s by design, the authors conclude. For humans to reach Mars, “technology is not an issue. Most of what we need exists right now, and the rest is well within our grasp” (page 366). Still, plenty of factors prevent this journey. Christians wanting to explore harder science fiction, set in our own world, might empathize. In theory, we have all we need to explore more Christian-made sci-fi realms for God’s glory. Yet until our crafts get faster and better, Oxygen (and The Fifth Man) will help satisfy this yearning.

My first taste of fantastical fiction was when my dad and I read The Hobbit together when I was in third grade. I finished The Lord of the Rings in high school and re-read it for a college course where our final was to go see Return of the King opening weekend. I will never lose my love for Tolkien even though I’m more of a sci-fi fan now.

L. G. names other stories, A Wrinkle in Time and two Star Trek series. Then:

Arena by Karen Hancock. I read it over the summer of my freshman year of college and couldn’t believe Christians wrote GOOD sci-fi. Arena gave me hope that I could write Christian sci-fi, and it would find an audience. I recently sent the author an email thanking her for such a cool story that I’m convinced will stick with me until I die.

L. G. also left us this five-star review on Apple Podcasts:

I love Lorehaven in general … And this podcast is just one more reason to love it! So many cool topics that no one else is talking about!

My earliest fantastical story that blew me away. happened when I was 9 ish years old. A now well-known movie came out called Jurassic Park and to a young boy with a very very active and well-used imagination, it was the greatest movie that ever was and will be. I saw it in the theater with my best friend for his birthday. (my parents didn’t know). Seeing dinosaurs come to life and having the thrill of interacting with them and escaping from their jaws blew me away. They truly did bring dinosaurs to life and did it in a really believable way. this movie helped stretch my imagination and greatly helped influence my curiosity toward visual storytelling.

A virtual-reality enemy once said that humans are a virus. Lately we’ve heard similar statements during the pandemic. By contrast, some people (even a certain leader of the Catholic church!) has spoken about the earth in very personal terms. How should Christians view The Environment, and discern stories that want us to view creation in particular and even mystical ways?

Let’s finish our series by exploring some big questions about the Bible’s promises of epic resurrection. Will the very idea of stories and books last into the eternity ruled by King Jesus? What about other human cultural works? Could even specific books and other human culture end up lasting into the prophesied New Heavens and New Earth?

“For behold, I create new heavens

They shall build houses and inhabit them;

Isaiah 65:17–18, 21–22 (emphasis added)

“Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”

Luke‬ ‭12:3‬, CSB‬‬

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

John 21:25 (emphasis added)

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 (emphasis added)

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

Revelation 20:11–12 (emphasis added)

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

Revelation 21:22–26 (emphasis added)

For this series, we draw on biblical texts and the biblical teaching of several solid, conservative Christian pastors and teachers.

There is no reason to believe that the cultural dimension of earthly reality (except insofar as they are involved in sin) will be absent from the new, glorified earth that is promised. In fact, the biblical indications point in the opposite direction. Describing the new earth and the new Jerusalem, John writes that “the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. . . . The glory and the honor of the nations will be brought into it” (Rev. 21:24, 26). This very likely refers to the cultural treasures of mankind will be purified [sic] by passing through the fires of judgment, like gold in a crucible.

… In light of what we have been saying about the earthly creation and man’s task of subduing and developing it, those purified works on the earth must surely include the products of human culture. There is no reason to doubt that they will be transfigured and transformed by their liberation from the curse, but they will be in essential continuity with our experience now—just as our resurrected bodies, though glorified, will still be bodies.

Scripture says that the fire of God’s judgment will destroy “wood, hay or straw,” yet it will purify “gold, silver, [and] costly stones,” which will all survive the fire and be carried over into the new universe (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Similarly, the apostle John notes that when believers die, what they have done on Earth to Christ’s glory “will follow them” into Heaven (Revelation 14:13). These are earthly things that will outlast the present Earth. . . .

As we have seen in a number of passages that use words such as renewal and regeneration, the same Earth destined for destruction is also destined for restoration. Many have grasped the first teaching but not the second. Therefore, they misinterpret words such as destroy to mean absolute or final destruction, rather than what Scripture actually teaches: a temporary destruction that is reversed through resurrection and restoration. . . .

Books are part of culture. I expect many new books, great books, will be written on the New Earth. But I also believe that some books will endure from the old Earth. Any book that contains falsehood and dishonors God will have no place in Heaven. But what about great books, nonfiction and fiction? Will we find A. W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy, J. I. Packer’s Knowing God, John Piper’s Desiring God, John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, and Charles Sheldon’s In His Steps on the New Earth? I’ll be amazed if we don’t find them there, just as I’ll be amazed if no one sings John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” in Heaven.

Perhaps those of us who are writers will go back to some of our published works and rewrite them in light of the perspective we’ll gain. Maybe we’ll look at our other books and realize they’re no longer important—and some of them never were. The New Earth, I think, will confirm many things I’ve written in this book. It will completely dismantle others. “What was I thinking?” I’ll ask myself. (If I knew which parts those were right now, I’d cut them out!) And I’ll marvel at how much better the New Earth is than I ever imagined.

Scripture never indicates human progress will be lost or “reset” after King Jesus renews all creation. Wheels will still be wheels, and we needn’t reinvent them. Music scales and mathematics are part of this universe’s unchanging laws. The “hero’s journey” will still be a basis of many stories. Thus, if we have no reason to suspect our genres and styles will be reset, we also have no reason to suspect we would disregard specific and good creative works that glorify God. Sure, J. R. R. Tolkien may create even better Middle-earth tales. But surely we will always remember his first stories of Beleriand, the Elves, and the hobbits. . . .

Lest this seem crazy, remember that even the most flawed human still dimly reflects God’s image. Similarly, a flawed story, song, or game reflects the glory of God, albeit with a faded and distorted image. How much more clearly will our glorified eyes see this reflected glory shining in manmade things! After all, if we see a reminder of sin today, this doesn’t make us sin today. We only fall into sin when our own idolatry latches on to these depictions. But in eternity’s tomorrow, those idols and twisted desires will be no more. We will be literally incorruptible.

This is awesome! One of your first subscribers lol. I’ll try to stick with you to the end. God bless!

I know I’m late commenting on this but I’m just now listening to this episode.

We’re joined by novelist Randall Ingermanson to reminisce about his sci-fi Oxygen (with John B. Olson) and follow his new biblical fiction, Son of Mary, book 1 in his Crown of Thorns series!

After we explored the resurrection of the saints, we continue our Epic Resurrection series and anticipate the future renewal of planet Earth.

This classic Betty Lukens flannelgraph scene is surprisingly biblical (with the disclaimer that New Earth will include more variety in skin tones and garment choice).

The infant will play near the cobra’s den,

Isaiah 11:8–9, NIV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility — not willingly, but because of him who subjected it — in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.

Romans 8:18-21, CSB

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

2 Peter 3:10, NIV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Revelation 21:1–5, ESV

By calling the New Earth Earth, God emphatically tells us that it will be earthly, and thus familiar. Otherwise, why call it Earth?

When Scripture speaks of a “new song,” do we imagine it’s wordless, silent, or without rhythm? Of course not. Why? Because then it wouldn’t be a song. If I promised you a new car, would you say, “If it’s new, it probably won’t have an engine, transmission, doors, wheels, stereo, or upholstery”? If a new car didn’t have these things, it wouldn’t be a car. If we buy a new car, we know it will be a better version of what we already have, our old car. Likewise, the New Earth will be a far better version of the old Earth.

The word new is an adjective describing a noun. The noun is the main thing. A new car is first and foremost a car. A new body is mainly a body. A New Earth is mainly an Earth.

The New Earth will not be a non-Earth but a real Earth. The Earth spoken of in Scripture is the Earth we know — with dirt, water, rocks, trees, flowers, animals, people, and a variety of natural wonders. An Earth without these would not be an Earth.

—Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 158

love the podcast, I’ve been looking for something like this for a while. Thank you.

This is a great podcast that deals with christianity and fictional art. This podcast will not only help you to think biblically about the stories you read but will also expose you to some good christian writers. Thanks to Pop Culture Coram Deo Podcast for introducing me to this podcast.

‘Deconversion’ stories often follow similar patterns, regardless of what people are converting to or from. They might start out with one belief system, and may or may not have doubts about it. But eventually they have problems, questions or painful experiences, and then attach themselves to whatever relieves those questions or stresses.

And since the pattern has many similarities regardless of belief system, a deconversion story doesn’t automatically prove one belief system wrong or right. Which, unfortunately, a lot of people don’t realize.

What do you anticipate about living forever on New Earth?

If you bring back God’s creation forever, what about human creations, such as art, books, music, stories, poems, websites, and podcasts? Will these get burned up in that purifying fire? In our next episode, to finish this series, we will link this journey with your journey as a Christian fantastical fiction fan.

To celebrate Easter or Resurrection Sunday this month, we’ve started a new series: Epic Resurrection.

E. Stephen Burnett and Zackary Russell explore how Jesus’s resurrection will affect our bodies, the whole Earth, and the stories we love.

In this episode, part 1, we focus on what Scripture says about Christians’ resurrected bodies.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Romans 8:22–23

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:51–53

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

2 Corinthians 5:1–4

But, as it is written,

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

1 Corinthians 2:9–10 (often misquoted to “shut down” biblical prophecy or biblical speculation about the resurrection)

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

Revelation 2:17 (regarding our banter about getting new names)

https://speculativefaith.lorehaven.com/resurrection-part-1-prelude/

https://speculativefaith.lorehaven.com/reviews/heaven-biblical-imaginations-of-new-earth

https://speculativefaith.lorehaven.com/rapture-fun-resurrection-better

https://speculativefaith.lorehaven.com/heaven-will-be-the-happiest-place-on-earth/

For me it was Tom Swift. He was like a young early McGuiver except sci fi. exploration and invention, and he did it with his Dad – a very family adventure, kind of like lost in space.

I remember very clearly picking up my first copy of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe in the basement of a friend’s house when I was around 8 or 9. I read half the book while I was there. It was all over for me after that- I read the series as fast as I could and it jump started my life-long passion for reading and writing fantastical fiction. If I had to put a finger on why the Chronicles of Narnia (in particular) left such an impression on me, I think it’s because even as a child, I could locate the thread of the divine throughout and hang onto it like a lifeline. I grew up in the church and knew God’s Word well, but my home life was a mess. In the instability of family dysfunction, Lewis’s fiction continued that framework of truth I was beginning to understand in the Bible. I could feel safe in Narnia because I knew Aslan would make things right in the end; life outside the wardrobe became a lot less frightening for this little girl trying to understand God’s goodness in a bad world.

Share your origin story, or any resurrection thoughts at Lorehaven.com.

In our next episode, part 2 of this series, we’ll ask: well, if Jesus redeems not just our souls but our whole human bodies, where are we going to live forever and ever? Do we get whisked up to “heaven”? Or (hint, hint) does Jesus actually promise that New Heavens will touch down to New Earth for an eternal union of these realms, so that “the dwelling of God is with man”? This is even more amazing stuff, and for those who love Jesus it is absolutely life-changing.

Come aboard the good ship Fantastical Truth for our first interview with space opera’s Kathy Tyers.

E. Stephen Burnett and Zackary Russell start by exploring the Firebird series, which first launched in 1987.

Lorehaven magazine reviewed this series in our spring 2020 issue’s cover story, “The Best of Christian Fantasy“:

Lady Firebird Angelo has grown up knowing she might someday die for her people. As the thirdborn daughter of the royal family of the planet Netaia, she has trained for combat as a “wastling,” destined for suicide. Unfortunately, during her first engagement in space, she fails. Firebird is captured alive by the enemy. This galactic Federacy employs Firebird’s new captor, Field General Brennen Caldwell, who is both intriguing and supernaturally telepathic.

Their encounter leads to the first of Lady Firebird’s drastic life changes in Firebird, book 1 of Kathy Tyers’s Firebird series. Tyers described Firebird’s original version, from Bantam Books, as a “cultural conversion story.” Yet since then, newer versions from Christian publishers enhanced Brennen’s commitment to an Eternal Speaker. That unseen entity has promised a divine messiah who hasn’t yet arrived. …

Tyers deftly describes other worlds, adding color to landscapes and intensity to emotions, especially in those my-mind-to-your-mind entanglements. Firebird’s musical talent adds even more atmosphere, not often seen in fiction, much less space opera. This trilogy—continued years later in books 4 and 5, Wind and Shadow and Daystar—marks a fantastic find for Christian fans and beyond.

Kathy Tyers created the Firebird series along with many other space-opera and science fiction novels, such as the Christy Award–winning Shivering World and Crystal Witness, which Enclave Publishing re-releases this summer. She wrote two novels in the original Star Wars Expanded Universe series (now called Star Wars Legends)

Hint: Kathy Tyers is returning to her Crystal Witness universe for a new trilogy, The Sunstone Saga. This series will begin with The Long Silence, which may release in 2021.

https://speculativefaith.lorehaven.com/exploring-doctrine-through-fiction-with-kathy-tyers/

https://speculativefaith.lorehaven.com/secrets-of-the-firebird-story/

https://speculativefaith.lorehaven.com/kathy-tyers-defeating-gnostic-forces-in-fantasy-fiction/

I really appreciated your podcast.

Your points about “how you are feeding your imagination, what are you enjoying, and how is it magnifying your desires” struck a bell, since I’ve been thinking along these lines concerning reading fantasy and how to tell good from bad. As well as how to relate that “good and bad” to others in a way they can understand.

This is a subject close to my heart. I feel our Christian reading family needs to gain discernment in this area, since we are supposed to at least be trying to see truth, and to see what is false. If we do not see it, we may swallow it whole, with ramifications we don’t realize at first.

You guys are incredible, dredging up all these half-forgotten memories of my youth. First Psalty the Singing Songbook, now This Present Darkness! This book was the talk of my junior high youth group in 1987-88. I remember reading it then as a 7th grader, but can’t recall many specific reactions or thoughts I had at the time other than that it was a good, scary read. Thankfully, our leaders didn’t go so far as to use the book as a literal spiritual warfare manual.

I did meet Frank Peretti years later when he was touring with his country/folk/bluegrass band Northern Cross. A very nice guy, great storyteller, and a talented banjo player to boot.

Thanks for the great episode, keep up the good work!

[My] love of reading started with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Blew my mind when I found out there were 6 more [books]!

Have you read Firebird? Or other Kathy Tyers stories? Share your thoughts below.

We’re starting a new series for the season: Epic Resurrection. What does Jesus’s promise of “resurrection” really mean? How does resurrection change our view of ourselves? How does it change our whole planet, even the universe? Finally, how does resurrection change our view of fantastic stories?

Fantastical Truth returns with another tricky topic: people’s “deconversion” from, or “deconstruction” of, the biblical Christian faith.

In the last year we’ve heard these accounts from at least one popular Christian leader, and from a popular comedy duo from an evangelical background. Of course, you likely have many friends or even family members who say they were once Christians, but aren’t any more.

In this episode, E. Stephen Burnett and Zackary Russell won’t try to refute their points with logic and apologetics. (Others have been doing this well.) Instead we hope to explore why some professing Christians reject their faith, and not others. And we’ll ask a very cautious question: can excellent Christian-made stories help give young believers a stronger faith?

We don’t mean these stories give us desires. Based on our deepest dreams and wants, we will prefer stories that reflect and shape these desires. The stories we love, past and present, reveal what people we truly are.

For example, some “former Christians” say they met wonderful, moral nonbelievers in the world, who challenged their beliefs just by existing. But if you grew up with excellent Christian-made stories that already included likeable and moral yet non-Christian heroes, then this “groundbreaking” idea shouldn’t have taken you by surprise.

Maybe you grew up learning complex apologetics arguments and nonfiction teaching about how/why a good God allows sin and suffering. But you need to experience these things to fully understand them. Scripture itself presents not just abstract teachings, but narratives in which even God’s heroes undergo suffering and other hard realities. Other stories, including stories made by Christians, should be doing the same, so that we are better prepared for this reality.

… Avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.

—2 Timothy 2:16–18

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

—Hebrews 6:1–8 ESV

Kent H., about episode 9, which explores This Present Darkness:

This book saved my life when I read it in high school. Not literally, of course, but I was dabbling in things I shouldn’t have been and it opened my eyes. It’ll always hold a special place in my heart.

Lee W. on the new Lorehaven channel on YouTube:

This is a literal answer to prayer! For so long I’ve been looking for a place to find Christian worldview sci-fi and fantasy. Looking forward to what Lorehaven brings in the years ahead.

Brandon J. shares his fantastic origin story:

There was a popup book called The Black Hole I read as a kid, that’s the first fantastical book I can remember and my parents still own it: [Link] I think the book was actually based on the Disney movie, but I never saw it. Maybe I need to check it out

Our new issue released last week, featuring reviews of ten top Christian fantasy novels.

Subscriptions are free at Lorehaven.com, where you can also download all the magazine’s back issues.

We’re holding a drawing for two digital copies of Tosca Lee’s pandemic thriller novel The Line Between, courtesy of the author herself

According to our spring 2019 featured review, The Line Between “quests toward truth among apocalyptic madness,” and “truth glimpses give The Line Between surprising heart-warmth amongst the chill, while its road-trip quest drives fast through mad territory and never once feels bogged down in snowbanks.”

To enter the giveaway, you just need to be a current email subscriber for Lorehaven magazine.

We’ll reach out to our two winners next month before we make the announcement.

We’ll be joined by Kathy Tyers, author of many amazing sci-fi and/or space opera novels, including her landmark Firebird series set in a spacefaring world in which the Messiah has not come … yet. Her novel “Crystal Witness” will re-release from Enclave Publishing this summer, and she’ll join us to explore that story and her whole career crafting spaceships and beyond.

Plot twist: Christians have always believed in evil, unseen agents, and in the far greater power of the Lord to whom we pray.

This is the theme of Frank E. Peretti’s classic spiritual-warfare thriller This Present Darkness (1986). Lorehaven’s own review chief, Austin Gunderson, joins E. Stephen Burnett and Zackary Russell to explore this classic tale of good, evil, and praying saints versus the New Age movement.

Ashton is just a typical small town. But when a skeptical reporter and a prayerful, hardworking pastor begin to investigate mysterious events, they suddenly find themselves caught up in a hideous New Age plot to enslave the townspeople, and eventually the entire human race.

Not since “The Screwtape Letters” has there been a novel with as much insight into spiritual warfare and the power of prayer. Fast-moving, riveting reading ranking with the best thrillers on the bookshelf.

In the early 1980s, “Christian speculative fiction” wasn’t a thing. Sure, Pilgrim’s Progress and Ben-Hur were staples in Christian libraries, and J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis were giants. But fantastical fiction targeted specifically at a Christian audience hadn’t come into its own.

That all changed when struggling former pastor Frank E. Peretti’s This Present Darkness was published in 1986.

Peretti’s supernatural thriller begins in Ashton, a small college town on the northwestern plains. One wouldn’t consider this place as ground zero for a demonic conspiracy to dominate the globe. But the essential conceit of Peretti’s story is that human action affects the spiritual plane, and vice-versa.

Lorehaven is our free quarterly digital magazine. Go to Lorehaven.com to subscribe, and you’ll get each free issue linked in your inbox. Our spring issue has our cover story, “The Best of Christian Fantasy.” This features our well-read review team whose members chose their favorite Christian-made fantastic stories to review.

In an October 1997 issue of WORLD Magazine, Gene Edward Veith interviewed Peretti. The story was called “This Present (and Future) Peretti.” There readers learned why the author wrote only two novels in his Darkness-verse.

What many of his readers took from the book, however, was not just that the culture wars have a spiritual significance. They took the Darkness books as combat manuals for fighting devils. In prayer groups across the country, people were binding demons named after specific sins (Envy, Despair, Lust) and calling on angels to beat down devils in charge of particular cities and nations.

“That really alarmed me,” Mr. Peretti told WORLD.

People were taking his fiction literally, as if it were fact. Conversely, other Christians were taking theological issue with episodes in his book, as if his attempts to dramatize the importance of prayer meant that God is actually dependent on “prayer warriors.” Though he went on the speaking circuit to discuss spiritual warfare, he stressed that his books were symbolic, and that theological conclusions need to come out of the Bible rather than a work of fiction.

Part of the problem may have been that evangelicals simply are not used to fiction. As a result, some confuse fiction with reality. This problem is compounded today, Mr. Peretti points out, by Christian novels—such as the rash of Apocalyptic end-of-the-world novels with their Anti-Christ conspiracy theories—that do purport to be factual.

Mr. Peretti resolved not to write any more demons vs. angels books.

I very much enjoy the exposure to new stories I’ve not heard of before but even more, I appreciate the balanced approach our hosts bring to the varying degrees of theology and fantastical powers (and license) in their discussions of some pretty delicate issues. It is both freeing and cautionary at the same time and that is a tough needle to thread.

—Apple Podcasts review from “Flindee”

Mine would’ve probably been a picture book, but I’m not really sure which one. I just know I was always drawn to stories where something extraordinary or weird or unbelievable happened, and I remember getting disappointed when picture books didn’t have those elements and getting excited when I found one that did have those elements.

So there wasn’t a clear line for me. I remember reading Narnia and The Hobbit and Lloyd Alexander in middle school and “My Father’s Dragon” before that, but I was honestly always seeking that magic.

Like I read any Nancy Drew that looked like it had a ghost element first and was always disappointed when it was a Scooby Do-esque “fake ghost” trick.

—fantastical origin story from Heidi B.

Have you read This Present Darkness or other Peretti novels? What’s your origin story with those books? And any thoughts to share about spiritual warfare fiction with angels versus demons? Let us know in the comments or feedback form here.

Unless something big breaks, for episode 10, we’ll put on our hard hats and do a little deconstruction. That is, we’ll bounce off the recent “faith deconstruction” stories among Christians. We will ask, more positively, how excellent Christian-made stories can help us build up our hearts and imaginations–not just our heads!–so that we love Jesus more and can face the challenges of life.