See this book? This is a great book. I love it.
But you know what I don't love? The way Christian fiction writers use it as a way to stifle creativity. Some people have the bad habit of throwing together half-baked "Bible-based" rules about what we're allowed to put in our stories. These rules are pretty varied, but some of the more common ones are:
No violence. No swearing. No sexual content. (I talked about all of these issues in this post, in case you care)
And here's the one that really kills me as an author of Christian Fantasy:
No magic.
Yeah. I'm not happy, Bob. Not. Happy. Why? Because it simply isn't true that we Christians are not allowed to write about magic. Let's talk about why.
Why do (some) Christians think magic in Fantasy is bad?
First, it's important to take a look at why people think that magic + fantasy = blasphemy. It's believed that Christians cannot write about magic because the Bible is very, very clear about witchcraft being wrong.
Now, I'm not contesting the fact that the witchcraft in the Bible = very, very bad. There are multiple counts of the Bible coming down hard on witchcraft. There seem to be one main reason for this: Witchcraft/sorcery/magic does not come from God and, as such, we are putting our faith in something other than him when we seek it out. This is never acceptable because we, as Christians, are called to put our trust in him and only him.
This then brings us to our next question:
Is it Biblically true that we can't put magic in Fantasy?
Pfffft. Nope.
Fantasy is make-believe. While it can have very real messages and themes and impacts, the world itself is not real and, thus, does not need to follow the rules of our universe.
While magic is bad here on earth because of what magic is here on earth, there is no reason that magic in a fantasy setting would have to be a carbon copy of earth magic. This means that magic in a fantasy world does not not have to be the same as the witchcraft condemned in the Bible.
Fantasy magic does not have to be a power that relies on demonic forces or trickery. It also does not have to be something that causes people to turn away from God. Does that make sense? Yes? Good.
Let's move on.
Is God cool with us putting magic in our writing?
Given the logic in the above section, yes. But I can take this argument a little further by countering with my own question: Why wouldn't he be?
We as writers have been blessed with an amazing skillset: We have the ability to create worlds to further glorify our own Creator. How cool is that? Many of us have been given the gift of creativity, and I don't think that God would ever frown upon us for using that creativity to write in a way that helps and encourages others. That includes using magic in our writing.
Is it wrong to borrow witchcraft concepts when creating our own magic systems?
Okay. So. This question is a bit more complex. It is important to note that there is a difference between borrowing from and copying.
For instance: Gandalf from Lord of the Rings is a wizard who uses a staff.
Magical staffs have roots in pagan practices. Many other fantasy characters use runes, herbs, chanting, crystal balls, etc, all of which are tied to witchcraft. These are all instances of borrowing from, and there isn't anything wrong with this. Here's why:
While many of the above tools are the same as ones used for witchcraft in our world, they are used in an entirely different manner in the fantasy setting. The rituals are not the same, the purpose is not the same, and the history is not the same.
Also, remember that "borrowing from witchcraft" is largely a misnomer because witchcraft borrowed from/warped things that God had already put in place. For example: Biblical characters like Moses used staffs. Chanting is repetitive in the way that some psalms are repetitive. Herbs are plants, and do have healing properties because God's nice like that.
So while many of these objects/practices sometimes have negative connotations in our world, they don't have to in your world. Just because somebody has used them negatively here on earth does mean you can't use them positively in your fantasy setting.
You just have to make sure your borrowing doesn't lead you down a bad path. Don't go reading a wiccan handbook or visiting a necromancer in the name of research. There is no need for this, and does cross the line of consorting with witchcraft. This flies in the face of all of those Bible verses that say things along the line of: "Hey, idiot, don't consort with witches." So yeah. Don't be an idiot.
Copying, on the other hand, would be if you were to take large chunks of magic rituals from our world and transpose them into your fantasy world. This would include copying over specific phrasings, specific shapes, specific belief systems, etc that occur in our world. This would be problematic because you run the risk of glorifying the very thing we as Christians are called to reject. Also, if the copying was very in-depth, it also means you would be giving people the key to practicing witchcraft. Again: that would be promoting something we are not meant to promote. Don't do it.
*takes deep breath*
Okay. I think I covered everything. Have any additional questions? You're in luck! My next #ChatWithHannah video is all about writing Christian Speculative Fiction.
Leave your questions using the hashtag on social media or in the comment section below and I'll answer them in my video next week! Or don't use the hashtag and I'll answer you directly by replying to your comment. Whichever one. I look forward to hearing from you!
Related articles:
10 Tips for Writing Christian FantasySome links are Amazon affiliate. Thank you for your support!
Sooooo. This one doesn't have Bela Lugosi, but it does have Christopher Lee, who has the power of the Dark Side, thus making him a great Dracula. So yeah. I'll take it. I've only seen this movie once and that was several years ago. However, I do remember liking it. And that's pretty much all I remember. So it is possible that this is, in fact, a terrible movie that I'm misremembering. *shrugs*
