Writers of the christ, particularly Christian Science Fiction, or Christian Sci-fi, made their presence known long ago. We have been fortunate, as a society, to have seen the works of some of the best writers in the Christian arena. Several of the very best, and indeed, the brightest and most imaginative have long ago passed off the scene. John Bunyan was one such writer. Bunyan penned the now classic work entitled The Pilgrim’s Progress, a work he did while imprisoned.
Perhaps the most talented and gifted of all the writers of Christian fiction was C.S. Lewis, who wrote the Narnia tales and other outstanding Christian fiction. Works by Lewis have been indelibly imprinted upon the psyche of Christianity evermore. Lewis composed what some would call Fantasy, and probably it was, but any story he penned was a great deal more than that. It was allegorical to the point of enveloping a person into biblical principles that were inescapable. Lewis’ Christian Science Fiction tales were capsules of good vs. evil on a level that any individual could experience and enjoy.
Of course, there are some people who have downplayed Christian Fiction, and especially any fiction that is Christian Science Fiction, or Fantasy, declaring it is of not much use. (Some would even say “of the devil.”) Many argue that fiction is a questionable means to present the truths of the Scriptures, arguing that if someone decides to explain those facts, it would be more practical to produce a simple essay or dissertation containing those truths. However, in this lies the very issue. Who will look at those works? Thousands upon thousands readers will just ignore such erudite tomes. However, they would be much more likely to peruse a narrative of wonder fixed on far-off worlds of make-believe. The unvarnished truth of the matter is that Christian Fiction presents a well established history of documenting biblical truths snuggled into worlds of fantasy. Those kinds of realities, together with the biblical truths presented, are now digested by tens of millions of persons, and these people have been made the better for these stories.
Christian Science Fiction is a genre that has been all but abandoned by Christian writers and publishers. That is unfortunate. This market has been essentially set aside for Fantasy and Futuristic fiction. A good deal of the reason has been given that it appeared really hard, if not impossible, to squeeze biblical reality into a tomorrow that is rather mysterious and unknown. Writers are almost always hesitant of migrating too far from the revealed biblical future. Writing about alien creatures who are clearly not human beings and whose roots are hazy can be pretty disturbing to a novelist who has no desire to have to tell of events that are clearly not possible in a biblical future.
Composing in a Christian Fiction environment, particularly a Christian Science Fiction setting, can be difficult because one needs a very good grasp of the Bible. If a Christian writer is going to put forth a narrative that, while delightful and obviously fictional, nonetheless delivers a story that can work regarding biblical constraints, then one certainly needs to have a better than working familiarity with the Bible. He or she needs to have read that book, cover to cover. Otherwise, the writer will not understand when he or she crosses some otherwise invisible line drawn in the sands of time by the Bible.
For example, if a Christian Fiction writer hoped to tell a story about an earth where wrong-doing doesn’t exist, that writer could easily set his or her saga into the span of the thousand-year rule of Christ, the Millennium. That event is spoken of in the Bible. One may range far in his or her imagination when telling a story that takes place in that time, or even a tale that takes place after the Millennium. However, if that novelist starts telling of wicked effects by satanic powers on those living in the Millennium, the author will have made a serious error that will, in the long run, cost the writer many readers. They should have known that Satan, in this time, continues to be bound, and will be imprisoned, for the whole thousand years. After the period of the Millennium is ended, the writer is free to explode a new universe of possibilities.