10. How Can Excellent Christian Fiction Strengthen Our Faith in Jesus?

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? Concession stand We won’t go through everyone’s professed “deconversion” story. Also, we might touch on the whole issue of whether someone who “deconverts” was ever truly saved. We still hope these folks are/will be believers as they once professed to be. People can profess doubt in Jesus only to return to him later. We view these accounts sympathetically, but not above criticism; they’re just as much subject to graciously skeptical “deconstruction.” Finally, we don’t mean to offer some Method to keep you strong in the faith, impervious to doubts or competing religions. We don’t say, “Here, read better Christian fiction and you’ll always keep your faith!” But we can look at our own accounts and see common factors. Our big questions Do people who “deconvert” from Christianity “evangelize” for their view using the language of only “rational thought”? Do “deconstructing” non-believers recognize the significant role of human imagination in their change of mind/heart? Also, do they recognize that they are not simply “deconverting” from Christianity but also converting to the default religion of Selfism? In the deconverters’ past, what kinds of stories did they grow up with and enjoy for recreation? Which images, songs, movies, books, pictures took “shortcuts” to their brains, zooming past all the “rational thoughts”? In the deconverters’ present, what kinds of stories have reflected and shaped their dreams, ideas, and deep internal longings? What cultural forces have given them these stories, and aren’t these cultural forces also subject to skepticism and “deconstruction”? How do great stories shape our beliefs? Great stories shape our deepest desires. 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. Great stories shape our view of the world. 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. Great stories prepare us for hard truths about God. 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. Examples of belief-shaping stories The Left Behind series is oft-maligned for its potboiler-meets-prophecy stance, but also reflects real hardship and missional heart. In Mary Doria Russell’s novels The Sparrow and Children of God , Jesuit missionaries face aliens and trauma in space. Nonfiction biographies are true stories that seem “unbelievable,” and help Christians experience the suffering of other saints. Applications Prepare your mind and imagination for suffering and doubts, especially during the good times. Christian parents: make sure your kids get good, solid stories! These can actually be the means of helping children mature. We should read every “deconversion” story through the lens of Scripture, and not our own experiences of doubt or harm by others. Scriptures … 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