The Cross and the Pen- Part One

      “I am a Christian. It is not something that I often announce at conventions, or even while talking to people about my books. I am not ashamed of being a Christian, I am after all a Pastor as well as an author. No, I am not ashamed of my faith. But I feel that as soon as you say “I am a Christian” and you are talking about a book you have written in the Speculative Genre, people start to think things. After all, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were both Christians. One may be more known for it than the other, but both were still deeply affected by their faith.
     And so, this is the first of a two part Blog discussing why some choose to write inherently more “Christian” books, and others choose not to, when it comes to the Speculative Genre.  This week the post is written by my good friend Jamin Melason, author of The Palmaran Chronicles: The Humanot Trilogy. My hope is that you find this discussion thought provoking about the motives behind Christians who write.” – David R Phillips
 
Why I Write Christian Sci-Fi
 
“I have been writing since I was in elementary school. I love writing. I love formulating plots, settings, and characters who interact with the world I am creating. I love watching my characters grow, transform, and make decisions I didn’t even know they were going to make. I love to write.
 
I am currently finishing up a trilogy I started when I was 14 called The Palmaran Chronicles: The Humanot Trilogy. Books 1 (Rise of a New Enemy) and 2 (Shroud of Darkness) are currently on sale via Lulu or Amazon. Book 3 is literally a couple pages away from being passed on to editing. But as I come down to finishing this trilogy, I stopped to think: Why am I doing this?
 
If you are not an author, you may not understand what it is like to have storylines and thoughts flying through your mind at a constant pace. Do I change this? What about this idea? Ugh, I feel like I need to re-write this entire trilogy! And so forth. Seriously, these are some of my thoughts. It is frustrating, annoying, and liberating at the same time. Sounds contradicting, but if you are a writer, you understand.
 
But these questions also help me focus on why I am writing Science Fiction. I am not doing this to be famous. I am not doing this to make money (though I wouldn’t mind making money in the future). I do this because God has given me the gift of writing to share stories, and these questions keep me focused on this goal. They keep me evaluating the story to make sure I am writing to the best of the ability God has given me. I want to use the gift in its fullness to bring honor and glory to God.
 
However, I don’t write Christian Science Fiction. I write Science Fiction. Why does it need the addition of “Christian” on there? It honestly doesn’t.
 
There was a time I heavily debated a huge change. It was near the birth of my novels. I struggled with keeping Christian morals and truths in the books, or removing them and writing something entirely different. Except, the more I thought and prayed about it, I knew it wasn’t the right decision. I needed to keep the Christian moral and truths in the books because Christianity has received a bad reputation from our media.
 
Don’t believe me? Turn on your TV and watch any sitcom or show. Christians are either seen as snotty and arrogant or weak and permissive. Neither are accurate, but people seem to be fine with this misrepresentation. So, I knew if I removed all connection to Christianity from my books then I’d be throwing away an opportunity to help shape culture and a be a solution to the problem. Through my books, I can show people that Christians have struggles. We mess up. We are broken, just like everyone else – except for one big difference: Jesus Christ.
 
I don’t preach to the reader in my novels. I write from the perspective of Christians, and let them experience the ups and downs of the Christian journey. I show them Christians struggle with depression, being lonely, making the right choice about the future, being prideful or arrogant, saying things they may later regret, and much more.
 
With this in mind, I also show how Christians live in a relationship the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and also with one another. My characters are not heroes. They are human. They mess up. They suffer loss. They do the wrong things at times. But Elohim (name of God referring to the Trinity, and what I use in my books) is always with them. He never abandons them. And he helps deal with their mess ups, loss, and doing the wrong things.
 
This is why I write Science Fiction with a Christian worldview. May God use it in whatever way He wills.” – Jamin Melanson