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- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Hey Kingdom friends!
I know I’ve been making a lot of topics lately, and I’m so sorry if it’s getting annoying. But I had an idea for a topic that I thought was good (I hope so!). I noticed no one has made a topic yet about witnessing to non-Christians through our stories.
I write Biblical fiction, and I feel like most non-Christians would not pick up a Biblical fiction book because I mean, it’s from the Bible. And some of them are tolerant, some just don’t care, some hate the Bible, and others think it’s a long fairy tale. So is there any way we can witness to non-Christians through writing Christian stories?
I’m best friends with a girl who is a Muslim. We often have friendly conversations about religion, where I ask questions about her religion and she asks questions about mine. She knows I’m writing a novel and asked to read it, so I sent her several chapters of The Apostle’s Sister. She told me she loved the story, and I asked (in a friendly way of course) if she knew who St. Paul was. She said she didn’t know much about him other than she’s heard he was a Christian prophet.
Have you guys ever shared your writing with a non-Christian friend? How do you think we can witness to them through our writing? I’d love to hear your thoughts! This topic is for all conversations about witnessing through writing. Mainly to non-Christians, but it’s also good to talk about how we can strengthen the faith of other Christians, too!
Oh, I love that you were able to share that with her!! I will start praying that she comes to know the Lord!
I normally do not write biblical fiction, but lately I feel that God has also laid a story about the apostle Paul on my heart called “I, Paul”. I’m still in the plotting stages, but it’s great to hear that there are others out there like me who have trod the path before 😂
I had a friend who is an aetheist and was asking for help on a novel he was writing. I told him the story of David running from Saul, and he thought it was a great idea to use as a prompt for writing his plot. It doesn’t really compare with what you’re talking about, but it’s one way I can think of letting people know what’s in the Bible–just telling them the stories!
"It's easy to be caught up in stardust and whispers when reality is so dark and loud."
@joy-caroline
I love this topic:) Many years ago, I used to think that I couldn’t serve God by writing unless I only wrote sermons (Narnia helped me with that one), but there is a great article on KP called: Three Ways to Write Christian Fiction For a Secular Audience.
I agree, how as writers, our stories can alter lives.@joy-caroline
This is a GREAT TOPIC!!! Even though, I don’t write Christian fiction, I’m hoping in some small way, that maybe my stories could change lives. I’m not sure how God’s gonna do that yet, but I’m just gonna let Him steer the way!!! But I LOVED hearing your thoughts, as always, on these things!!!!! I don’t really have any answers to this question, but it’s really great for you to bring it up!!! I can’t wait to read what others are gonna say!
God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers.
TeenWritersNook.com@joy-caroline I don’t write Christian fic, but I think I probably include Christian themes within my writing. Not sure. I never know what the themes are until I’m done.
I am part of a secular writing group that is very much not Christian, and most there don’t know I’m Christian, but occasionally I’ll share some writing and they’ll read it. They like it enough. Once someone left a review that they “like my way of thinking”.
I think that leaving Christian themes or themes that match up with my worldview can create a base or foundation in other people’s hearts, making them think about things from my perspective, thus letting them being more receptive to the Gospel in the future. At least, that’s what I hope my writing will do.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Thank you! I really appreciate the prayer.
That sounds incredible! If you feel moved by God to write something, definitely do it. I think it’s awesome when more people write Biblical fiction because, honestly, writing about Bible characters as real people brings the Bible so much closer to your heart. I’m always reminded of that Christmas song “Some Children See Him” which I really like because it’s about the fact that everyone sees Jesus in different ways, and all ways are beautiful. You’ll have a unique and beautiful way of seeing Paul that is all your own, and which I don’t have. So I say go for it!
I completely agree! Any witnessing we do never goes for naught.
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So true! I love how in Narnia, the books are so not preachy and very valuable in their allegorical lessons. When I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I was so touched by how Aslan was like Jesus in giving his life for Edmund.
I should look up that article – it sounds very interesting! And yes, I could not agree more. The pen is mightier than the sword, they do say.
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I think the work of a Christian is so valuable and has the power to change lives and even the world. The Christian messages of a novel don’t have to be overt in order to be powerful. It’s equally powerful to present them to the reader like a wrapped gift. Like what Abigail and I were saying about C.S. Lewis’ use of allegories in Narnia.
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I think it’s great that you’re finding ways to witness in that writing group! I feel like actions are so much more powerful than words. I’ve heard that people will forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel. I think people will really watch the way we act and know we are Christians. It doesn’t matter what we say if we’re not friendly and approachable. Cheers to you!!
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@joy-caroline Whoa. Great topic, first of all. Secondly, man! I’m glad to hear of y’all witnessing…and I honestly don’t know what to say about all of this.
I write Christian fiction. Scratch that–I write super spiritual, over-the-top preachy fiction that would make most Christians raise their eyebrows at me. I have a limited circle of friends (also known as everyone on this forum XD), and none of them are nonbelievers, so I honestly don’t know how a close friend or relative who wasn’t saved would react to my thoughts, opinions, and writing.
However, I’ve had a few non-Christians (I really don’t know what they are) read my debut novel (which has a very powerful message of redemption and conversion scene in it) and have absolutely nothing negative to say…in fact, none of them mentioned anything regarding the spirituality in my book in their reviews or to me at all.
My grandfather (who is a devout Christian) said when he read my book that, had he not been saved, he would have dropped down on his knees and cried out to Jesus right then and there. That was very inspiring, although I haven’t heard any reports of my books inspiring conversion as of yet.
My calling is to use my writing to touch everyone–believers and nonbelievers alike. My first book focuses on coming to Jesus, redemption, and the story of the Gospel. My second is all about the work of Holy Spirit, God’s power, and the miraculous happening. My third is more philosophical, tackling issues like sin, costly grace, faith, and true salvation–for the Christians who feel like they’ve lost their faith.
I’m not afraid to be open about how Christian my books are, even though I know that will turn any unbelievers off. However, I label them as historical romance or about pirates, which lures people in before they realize it’s predominantly Christian.
Like your friend, I know a lot of unbelievers or on-the-fencers wouldn’t be turned away by biblical fiction or Christian fiction. Lots of people choose to read Christian fiction because it’s clean or better quality writing than most secular fiction–so who knows how they’re affected by the message in it. Others read biblical fiction because of the historical aspects–you know, like Ancient Rome or Israel. No one can deny that the people and stories in the Bible are factual and real historical figures, so some people read it for the facts rather than the opinions–catch my drift?
For fantasy writers, the question is probably easier to answer. Use allegories. I don’t doubt that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien inspired faith within a lot of people simply because of the allegories in their books.
For writers who choose to label their books by genre (rather than religion) can easily slip in little nuggets of faith that gradually lead readers to Christ while they’re enjoying the plot or characters.
For someone like me, who prefers to lay it on thick rather than skimp on the spirituality? Eh, I don’t know. I think using a balance of things that appeal to other people–like interesting characters, passionate romance, or action-packed plots–keep them reading even though there’s a lot of God in it. Plus, my book descriptions (if not the genre I put the books in) don’t say much about how spiritual they are, so some people might just pick it up without looking into it.
As for biblical fiction, I think you still have a wide audience. I mean, people are constantly reading and watching the “biblical” things Hollywood and secular writers put out–I think some non-Christian readers wouldn’t mind picking up a Christian, biblical book. Plus, a lot of people are still searching or on the fence about God. Therefore, your book may be the deciding factor that helps them to realize what they’re missing. And not only are we meant to witness to unbelievers, we’re also meant to encourage and lift up each other. You can use your books to witness or use them to encourage believers, or both! Don’t let the fact that no non-Christian may ever read your book (which I highly doubt) deter you from writing it! You might inspire a Christian to live the life God has called them to just by reading about a faithful saint!
I like to think that I’m bringing awareness and revelation to other Christians about the Word of God and the spiritual realm, encouraging them in dark times, and connecting with readers who suffer with/from some of the issues I deal with in my books–and that keeps me from being discouraged about witnessing to non-Christians. And who knows? Maybe someone will read my books and become softened to the call of the Holy Spirit! I just pray that the Lord’s will would be done through everything I say and do, then let Him take the lead! I just write what He tells me to!
Anyway, there’s my opinion. 😉
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@gracie-j
Wow! I loved reading your thoughts!
My writing is the same as yours – the messages about God are not told through allegories or symbols or anything like that, they are very clearly stated. I mean, it would be really difficult to write a book about St. Paul without scenes of prayer, conversations about God, and miracles. Which reminds me, I’ve been struggling with writing those miracle scenes haha. I feel like they fall a little flat. When I wrote the scene in TAS where Paul raises Eutychus from the dead (Acts 20:7-12), it sounded cringe 😂 Do you ever write miracle scenes?
But anyways, my characters mention God all the time, and God is mentioned in every chapter. I actually took stats of how many times I mention different names of God:
God – 175 occurrences
Jesus – 157 occurrences
Christ – 135 occurrences
The Lord – 321 occurrences
Yahweh – 29 occurrences
Holy Spirit – 11 occurrences
If you find that interesting lol.
My Muslim friend and her family are VERY tolerant of Christianity. I mean, she goes to my school, which is a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian school. And we all like to hear her talk about Islam. When I went to her house for the first time, she showed me all her prayer mats, which are set facing the east, and taught me how Muslims pray. I really admire how she and her family are very devout about their religion, and very tolerant of Christians.
But yeah, that’s true that there are plenty of Hollywood movies/books about the Bible. I don’t enjoy how Hollywood makes those stories into something they never were, and that’s why I want to provide both Christians and non-Christians with a fun story to read that also adheres to the Bible. I really hope that unbelievers will find my book interesting enough to read. My Muslim friend didn’t mind all the references to God in the first chapters of TAS, and she even told me she likes some Christian music because the lyrics can apply to her religion as well.
But anyways, great thoughts! I LOVE hearing your opinions!
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@joy-caroline Your friend sounds awesome, by the way. I guess it just goes to show that not everyone is as anti-Christian as the media portrays them.
I’m glad you loved reading that! 🙂 And, YES, I write TONS of miracle scenes! I’ve had a character raised from the dead, demons cast out of people, diseases healed at the touch of a hand, characters having visions, seeing in the spirit realm, prophesy, etc. Yeah, I definitely write a lot of miracle scenes! (I’m glad to hear that you’ve written a resurrection scene, too! It’s hard to find other writers who, well, go that far, I guess.)
The stats are interesting! I wonder what mine are…
I can totally see a lot of people like your friend reading and enjoying your book! I know I can’t wait to read it! <3
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@gracie-j
Yes! I get so frustrated with how the media talks about Muslims. They are NOT extremists. There are Christian extremists too!
Miracle scenes are so hard for me! Besides that resurrection scene, I also had to write Paul’s miracle where he cast the demon out from the slave girl (Acts 16:16-18). That whole scene was just impossible because I had NO idea how to describe the demon coming out and everything. What do demon-possessed people look like, and how does a demon even come out? Like, after Paul told it to come out, it obviously did, but did the girl just look normal the next moment and be like, “Oh. It’s out”? Or did it throw her to the ground and do something violent before coming out? Besides, casting out the demon was followed by the slave girl’s masters seizing Paul and having him whipped before the magistrates because they were mad they lost their money. I struggled mightily with those scenes when he was seized and tortured.
Maybe I should share some of those scenes sometime, if there’s a place on here where I can do that. I could use the feedback.
Thanks! I’m glad you think the book will actually be good 😂
@joy-caroline
So I’m not sure if this if any help or not but:
I’m no expert on describing a demon coming out of a person. But from what I read from the Bible and from what I
knowimagine; it could be something like this: the person would be wild, not making sense, crazy, confused face, tired, that kind of thing. And as for the casting-out, it would be kind of like waking up. Not violent, but they’d be in shock.
Say, when the demon is cast out, the person’s wild or bleary eyes would probably snap into focus and they’d slump forward, exhausted when they are finally free. Then they’d be revived with energy.
Maybe I’m off, but from what I know, it would be more of an suspenseful and difficult happening, not violent really.Anyway, I’m sure your book will be great:)
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Hmm. That’s interesting! I think with the demon girl scene, all I did was mention that her face softened once the spirit was out 😂 I want to write the kind of exorcism scenes that give readers chills, but also a sense of hope at the end, you know? That even demon-possessed people are not beyond redemption. I’ll have to try your tips! Thanks for the ideas.
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