God in Our Stories

[whaley]

Helloooooo.

How do you approach God in your stories?

This is one of those always-present Christian writers topic that never gets resolved because there is never just one answer XD I’m sure there have been many other topics about this. But here’s another, to once again discuss.

I don’t think not having God in your story is a bad thing. In fact, I would argue stories which only suggest God’s presence through culture and values are better than the ones with an obvious Creator, Maker, Father, King, etc. Of course, that depends – Wingfeather Saga was a favorite of mine for a while, and still is. But very often a Good vs. Evil story will be more strong, because they have to establish a strong foundation without an easy way out. They can’t just say “may the Holy One bless us” and leave it at that. They have to provide active examples of their morality and upbringing, and this makes the story feel so much more natural. Those with this foundation are going to have so much more… everything. The story will feel loving, solid, safe… I don’t even know how to explain it, but there’s a difference. You don’t even need to mention God in order to logically conclude he is there, in that particular universe.

I don’t think you even necessarily need a sacrificial death in your story in order to imitate Jesus. There are ways to reflect that sort of love without using those specific scenes from the Bible. In fact, just writing about simple ideas – such as the existence of truth, or the insignificance of man – are valuable paths to take.

This might be a hot take XD But I guess we’ll see.

What do you think is best? How do you write God, based on your personal style?

@smiley @freedomwriter76 @esther-c @loopylin (for some reason I am quite intrigued as to how you approach this, Loops :P) @calyhuge @acancello @euodia-vision @mineralizedwritings @hybridlore @grcr

#ProtectAdolinKholin

[MineralizedWritings]

@whalekeeper

Ok this is actually super interesting…

I don’t outright write God into my stories, but I have no problem with those who do. I just think it’s really hard to get it right, so I would rather display my faith by themes.

I don’t think you even necessarily need a sacrificial death in your story in order to imitate Jesus. There are ways to reflect that sort of love without using those specific scenes from the Bible

I actually didn’t like the potrayal of janners sacrifice. The way armulyn wrote songs, this and that, the praise was centered around Janner. The Maker felt distant and a little uninvolved, while Janner was some kind of savior. I liked his sacrifice in story, but not the way the other characters reacted. Idk, praising a person that way feels wrong to me. Sure he was called by the Maker to do these things, but he was a human just like any of us, and he was getting more praise then felt right to me. I feel uncomfortable with sacrifice stories that are supposed to represent Jesus (not wfs, just in general I wouldn’t like it) because what he did is so far from what a human would, and it just isn’t a comparison that I think should be considered. It’s just… complicated.

I feel like I’m someone who is deeply affected by characters, so I kinda copy them like rolemodels. That being said is why I wouldn’t read a romance that goes a little too far (or even doesn’t, let’s be honest I just don’t need that rn) because I like to look up to fictional characters and find life inspiration from them. I represent my faith in my book just by trying to write healthy people with healthy relationships, and acknowledge when something is not ok.

On the other hand, morally upright characters can inspire me in good ways, and I think it’s important to wright them! There’s this thing with modern media I think of having a ‘goody two shoes’ like being too good just isn’t cool. I’d like to potray that even people with upright morals are unique and have roles in a important story, and that their uprightness can actually aid them in the way they react to the word around them.

Also I think the value of life is something I want to show in my story. Even if God isn’t mentioned, all the characters have a sense of the value of those around them, which comes from being created in God’s image.

Also thanks for the great topic!

 

"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."

[Trailblazer]

@whalekeeper @mineralizedwritings

I feel like this also depends on the genre you’re writing in. Fantasy/sci-fi is a hard one because it deals with more abstract constructs and is more focused on theme, while something like modern fiction is more black and white- either you have God in the picture or you don’t. I don’t really write fantasy since I just don’t have the imagination for that, but one thing I do struggle with is how to write about faith when it comes to historical fiction, which is one of my main genres. Since I’ve been a Christian since I was young, naturally most of my characters are as well, but it’s hard for me to walk the fine line between staying historically accurate and also portraying their faith and their journey with God in a personal way.

Also, I feel like it could also depend on the audience you’re catering to, if you’re aiming more for the Christian readers and desiring to inspire them in their faith journeys, or if you’re aiming for the non-Christians in hopes of introducing them to God in a way that isn’t blatant and preachy.

Just some of my thoughts.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

[Anonymous]

@whalekeeper Thanks for starting this topic!!!

I will first agree with @trailblazer that it really varies depending on Genre and even personal preference, and I also agree with @mineralizedwritings that God can be shown in a smaller way in some novels. Personally, I try to make God mentioned and in my books more than some other books I’ve read and heard about, but again, only personal preference.

For me, writing a story set in a world that is far from being a part of my imagination makes things a little easier. I often write God as the “nudge inside” of many of my characters…the voice in their head and their heart that tries to remind them who they are, the conviction they feel when they know they’ve done something wrong (that being the Holy Spirit, of course), and the knowing/feeling that when they come to Christ, they feel new. (idk how to describe it…it’s just, for me, getting Baptized was my moment of that…I came up and felt completely new, but idk how to describe that where others will understand XD😅)

Describing how I write God is a little difficult to explain, other than saying that I write God in my stories how I’ve felt and seen him in my life.

But it also really depends on the character, too.

For an MC like Esther or Joshua, God speaks to them more, they feel him more, and they embrace his presence as much as they possibly can, both being Christians.

Other MCs, however, like Leon, or Erich and others…they don’t feel God much, though they still do feel conviction from time to time but often ignore it, either not believing much in God in the first place or, for Leon at least, purposefully distancing themselves from God due to anger or other reasons.

God is also shown through Christian characters in my novel, the Christians who have devoted themselves to do their best to show God’s light in the dark world around them.

 

Anyways, this is a really cool topic, and I can’t wait to see what others have to say and discuss!

[Loopy]

@whalekeeper @other-peeps

ok this a topic I’ve always been really conflicted about so I talked to my dad. Sorry if this post ends up being too long or not making sense.

I think it depends on the story and the author, mostly. In historical fiction and other non-fantasy/sci-fi stories that take place in our world, it’s a lot easier to have Christian characters who talk about God, go to church, ect. and it all will still make sense and work in this world.

In fantasy it’s a bit harder. You can have God or Jesus character that just has a different name, but in most of the times I’ve seen this, it ends up being kinda forced and contrived (hehe I like that word) and then the story ends up losing its power. CS Lewis is the only person who I’ve seen pull this off with Aslan. Idk how. He was a genius. This is just based off of my own feelings though. Others might not find this method as cheesy as I do.

Another thing you can do is include God just by having Christian themes in your story. If your story is about forgiveness or hope or sacrificial love or any other good theme, but never directly mentions God, it still points to Him.

I really liked what whaley said about not mentioning God in the story. I think she explained it a bit better.

But here’s the thing: I don’t think it’s possible to write a story that is completely without God.

Try as we might, we can’t conceive of a world that fundamentally different from our own. We can make a world where the grass is pink and the animals have tea parties, but we can not believably make a world where good is not good and evil is not evil. If we made a world that had no water (or some kind of fantasy replacement), then there would then have to be thirst. So we can’t entirely take God out of the picture. He is the foundation on which goodness and truth and logic and everything that is is built.

So we can write a story which has a theme of, let’s say, good defeats evil. This story might not ever mention God, but He is still present because the theme is built on the presumption that He is.

 

Aaah sorry this was all over the place and I’m still not sure I got to the heart of what I was trying to say… but yeah. There’s some sleep deprived teenage girl’s opinion on the subject.

🎵It takes a long time to wait 🌻

[Loopy]

@whalekeeper

(for some reason I am quite intrigued as to how you approach this, Loops :P)

I am flattered. XD I think I agree with everything you said.

🎵It takes a long time to wait 🌻

[whaley]

Oh my goodness, this reply took forever XD

@mineralizedwritings

I don’t outright write God into my stories, but I have no problem with those who do. I just think it’s really hard to get it right, so I would rather display my faith by themes.

Exactly.

I feel uncomfortable with sacrifice stories that are supposed to represent Jesus (not wfs, just in general I wouldn’t like it) because what he did is so far from what a human would, and it just isn’t a comparison that I think should be considered.

I think a sacrifice die in Christian love is fine, but making a death as glorified as Jesus’ death is questionable. So yeah, similar opinions 🙂 The death in WS didn’t bother me all too much though – I guess knowing that not all evil had been done away with, and the death wouldn’t be pivotal to the future of good – but it wasn’t my favorite thing ever.

I represent my faith in my book just by trying to write healthy people with healthy relationships, and acknowledge when something is not ok.

That kind of Christian representation is severely underrated. Kudos to you.

I’d like to potray that even people with upright morals are unique and have roles in a important story, and that their uprightness can actually aid them in the way they react to the word around them.

Like Tauren 😀

Also I think the value of life is something I want to show in my story.

Again, an underrated presupposition. How do you think two stories would look different, if one assumed this, and the other didn’t?

@trailblazer

Since I’ve been a Christian since I was young, naturally most of my characters are as well, but it’s hard for me to walk the fine line between staying historically accurate and also portraying their faith and their journey with God in a personal way.

That’s a good question, actually. If you wanted to explore a certain culture or time period, how would you portray their beliefs if you personally didn’t believe in them yourself?

Also, I feel like it could also depend on the audience you’re catering to, if you’re aiming more for the Christian readers and desiring to inspire them in their faith journeys, or if you’re aiming for the non-Christians in hopes of introducing them to God in a way that isn’t blatant and preachy.

I personally like to assume the reader could be Christian or non-Christian, and try to make a story that would be hopeful to anyone. But that’s just my way of avoiding cons XD There’s definitely a scale between Christian/non-Christian content to play around with. Whatever you go with, preachiness is like, the worst tactic.

@freedomwriter76

For me, writing a story set in a world that is far from being a part of my imagination makes things a little easier. I often write God as the “nudge inside” of many of my characters…the voice in their head and their heart that tries to remind them who they are, the conviction they feel when they know they’ve done something wrong (that being the Holy Spirit, of course), and the knowing/feeling that when they come to Christ, they feel new. (idk how to describe it…it’s just, for me, getting Baptized was my moment of that…I came up and felt completely new, but idk how to describe that where others will understand XD😅)

Maybe that’s why you prefer writing about God directly, and I write more indirectly… I was baptized as a baby, and I’ve always felt God’s existence and effects in my life. People will be skeptical and say you need to have a “moment” – and that’s what you had, right? everyone’s different – but I never wanted a big emotional rollercoaster, because I don’t think you need it. It’s more like a heartbeat. Always there, even if you don’t always notice it.

So your stories are about those rollercoasters of redemption, and mine just assume God’s pulse. <3

For an MC like Esther or Joshua, God speaks to them more, they feel him more, and they embrace his presence as much as they possibly can, both being Christians.

Other MCs, however, like Leon, or Erich and others…they don’t feel God much, though they still do feel conviction from time to time but often ignore it, either not believing much in God in the first place or, for Leon at least, purposefully distancing themselves from God due to anger or other reasons.

Luckily we don’t have to feel God in order to be Christians XD So there’s hope for Leon and Edrich yet <3

@loopylin

ok this a topic I’ve always been really conflicted about so I talked to my dad. Sorry if this post ends up being too long or not making sense.

That’s fine! 😉 I ask my dad about this kind of stuff all the time.

You can have God or Jesus character that just has a different name, but in most of the times I’ve seen this, it ends up being kinda forced and contrived (hehe I like that word) and then the story ends up losing its power. CS Lewis is the only person who I’ve seen pull this off with Aslan. Idk how. He was a genius. This is just based off of my own feelings though. Others might not find this method as cheesy as I do.

I don’t think we’re going to disagree about anything XD No one can compete with Lewis. And cheesy is the word I was looking for. I can’t say it’s a bad trope, because WS was such a phase for me back in the day, but now I prefer a much more subtle style XD Subtlety is key.

But here’s the thing: I don’t think it’s possible to write a story that is completely without God.

Try as we might, we can’t conceive of a world that fundamentally different from our own. We can make a world where the grass is pink and the animals have tea parties, but we can not believably make a world where good is not good and evil is not evil. If we made a world that had no water (or some kind of fantasy replacement), then there would then have to be thirst. So we can’t entirely take God out of the picture. He is the foundation on which goodness and truth and logic and everything that is is built.

So we can write a story which has a theme of, let’s say, good defeats evil. This story might not ever mention God, but He is still present because the theme is built on the presumption that He is.

Right, because nothing new is under the sun, and you can’t write a story without proving God’s existence in some way, because literally all your presumptions – whether you know it or not – will somehow point to truth within context, even if you have a skewered vision.

Aaah sorry this was all over the place and I’m still not sure I got to the heart of what I was trying to say… but yeah. There’s some sleep deprived teenage girl’s opinion on the subject.

I would ask for nothing more or less 😛

I am flattered. XD

And I am glad <3

 

#ProtectAdolinKholin

[Anonymous]

@whalekeeper

Maybe that’s why you prefer writing about God directly, and I write more indirectly… I was baptized as a baby, and I’ve always felt God’s existence and effects in my life. People will be skeptical and say you need to have a “moment” – and that’s what you had, right? everyone’s different – but I never wanted a big emotional rollercoaster, because I don’t think you need it. It’s more like a heartbeat. Always there, even if you don’t always notice it.

Probably so XD I didn’t get Baptized until, ohhh, maybe 2 years ago? I’d been saved for a lot longer but didn’t make the choice to fully commit my life until I was probably 14 or so…but then again, that was really at a point where I fully began to see God as more of my God more than my parents’ God, if that makes any sense. 😊

I don’t believe someone “must” have a quote-end-quote “moment”, and I do agree that now that I understand God more, God being present is something I feel always and not just in certain moments.

So your stories are about those rollercoasters of redemption, and mine just assume God’s pulse. <3

Yep, in general! 😀

Luckily we don’t have to feel God in order to be Christians XD So there’s hope for Leon and Edrich yet <3

Amen to that XD Yep, but both of them have to make the choice of surrender <3

[whaley]

@freedomwriter76

 I didn’t get Baptized until, ohhh, maybe 2 years ago? I’d been saved for a lot longer but didn’t make the choice to fully commit my life until I was probably 14 or so…but then again, that was really at a point where I fully began to see God as more of my God more than my parents’ God, if that makes any sense. 😊

That makes total sense. 😊 It’s something every Christian teenager has to go through, and I’m glad you decided for yourself!

I don’t believe someone “must” have a quote-end-quote “moment”, and I do agree that now that I understand God more, God being present is something I feel always and not just in certain moments.

Sometimes knowing that gives me such a sense of relief. 😂

#ProtectAdolinKholin

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@whalekeeper

Great topic as always! I agree with Trailblazer’s comment, because when it comes to sci-fi/fantasy, really anything goes, you can have one God, or you could have many, or you could have none. So when it comes to that sort of thing, the question should be less of whether or not you have “God” in your world, and more of what is objective moral truth in this world. Are human ideals such as good and evil, justice and mercy, spirit, consciousness, purpose, just that, human made concepts, or do they have inherent meaning and value in reality. This is where I think the question of God really lies, not in the whether or not a divine being or entity, but what said divine being or entity means for us.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[Trailblazer]

@everyone

Another thought I had as I was reading all your comments is that I don’t think any of us will express God the same way in our writing, nor do I think there is necessarily a “right” way. We all have different experiences with God, and those experiences will shape how we portray Him in our stories. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing, because then by reading a variety of books, we can get a glimpse of different parts of His character.

@whalekeeper yes, exactly. I know the church has looked different throughout history, and while I want to stay true to the way things were historically, I also want my characters to be experiencing God personally, and that’s where I find it difficult when I’m not living in the past and can’t really see sometimes if He was part of their everyday lives or just a Sunday service to attend… although I suppose both of those scenarios still play out today, so it’s also possible both were playing out historically as well.

 

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

[Esther]

@whalekeeper @everyone-else

Wow. So I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot lately. (And have even considered writing an article for KP about it. XD) And my opinion is, there is no “right” way to do it. But there are multiple things that will work.

First off, you could just have a Christian MC or side character who’s faith is very evident. There’s nothing wrong with this. In fact, knowing someone like that in real life can be a huge encouragement. But sometimes it’s hard to write that realistically, or in a relatable way. That’s why I sometimes find it difficult to write one of my MCs. Because I’m trying to make sure that she isn’t constantly quoting Scripture or “spiritualizing” things, if you will. There’s nothing wrong with that exactly, it just comes off as cheesy or unrealistic. She needs to go through these hard things, and getting through them is not going to be easy. The Christian life isn’t all sunshine and roses. It can be hard… really hard… but that’s what I want to portray: the fact that life on this side of heaven isn’t easy, but we have a Savior who is the light and who is willing to walk beside us and help us through it. No Christian is perfect, and sometimes it’s hard to not write it that way. The Christian character needs to deal with hard questions. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that life is tough and we just have to deal with it. There is hope and light in the world because of Jesus Christ and I’m not trying to ignore that. I’m just pointing out that while we should focus on the good, we also need to point out the evil, but show how good overcomes that. And this kind of ties into my next point.

We can portray God and His truth in our stories by dealing with tough questions. Recently, I listened to a talk about apologetics in our modern day world. (Or as it was titled, “Gospel Confidence in a Cultural Crisis”) Most people in America today aren’t going to questioning whether Jesus really rose from the dead or not. Yes, some do and that’s totally fine. It’s just that people have different questions today than they did in the past. Questions about big topics in our culture today. So tackling tough questions in our stories (like, “If God is a loving God, then why does He let bad things happen?” Or “Who am I?”/“What is my identity?”) is a way to show people the truth and show them God. It gets  them thinking too, Christians and non-Christians alike. And you don’t always have to necessarily mention God, if the characters are seeking answers to their questions. When you show the characters and readers the truth, you are showing them God. Because He is the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6)

Another similar thing, is to incorporate His character into your theme. A story of love or forgiveness clearly displays God’s character. And in writing that for His glory, we honor Him.

One last thing, which may be a stretch, but we’ll see XD, is to have your story structure emulate His character. (Even if someone did this, I’d still say to incorporate a theme that reflects Him or have His presence directly in your story) Let me explain what I mean. The way I came up with this, is I heard someone speaking about how songwriters can write a song that represents God musically. Here’s what I mean. In a good story, we always want to keep tension throughout it, and keep the reader guessing as to what will happen next. And we don’t want them to guess the ending. (Most of the time) We want them to wait to wait for the satisfaction of the solving of a problem or the conclusion of a conflict. But while we lead them through all these crazy events in the story, we also need to give them something familiar to cling onto so they don’t feel lost. So how does this reflect the character of God? Through our lives, God can surprise us. His plan is so much better than what we ever guessed. He guides us through the ups and downs of our lives. He never changes, yet we see knew aspects of His character the closer we get to Him and the longer we walk with Him. And while He sometimes surprises us with His plans for our lives, He also is a faithful friend, a rock on which we can stand and know that He will never move. He will never change. See the similarities? I’m not sure if this is quite valid, per se, but just something I’ve been playing around with in my mind.

Soo… I could probably go on and on about this topic, but this post is already long enough. 😂 (I may even add more thoughts later. 😉) In the end, no matter how you incorporate God into your story, our ultimate purpose is to bring Him praise and glory and to point our readers to Him.

(I also hope that all that made sense. XDXD)

Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende

[hybridlore]

@whalekeeper @everyone

I’m late, but everyone had such good points on this! I love reading about this topic, since that’s something I think about a lot.

Tbh, a lot of my worlds are really similar to each other, and so I haven’t really experimented with this a lot, although it would be interesting to try different things. I usually try to focus on strong themes and morals, but I’ll also usually have a God figure in the story, who the protagonist struggles with knowing and trusting. But I see what you mean, Whaley, about how worlds that reflect God through culture and values rather than having an obvious “Creator” or such can be more natural and realistic.

But if I normally wrote contemporary or historical fiction, I think it would be a lot different, so I definitely agree that it depends on the genre. In anything outside of fantasy/science fiction worlds, I think I would either go with the character having an obvious relationship (or non-relationship) with God, or focus more on morality and themes, or role models in characters. Personally, I’d probably go with the first one, but I think it works to use both in most everything.

Any of you have any favorite books/authors that used interesting ways of applying Christian morals/characters, or a God-figure? (hopefully y’all know what I mean by that — someone who obviously represents God, but might not be literally the same God of our world).

Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. ~ C.S. Lewis

[Trailblazer]

@hybridlore

I think someone mentioned this already earlier, but C.S. Lewis did a fantastic job using Aslan to represent God. Okay, the whole way he created Narnia and all the characters in those stories just blows my mind sometimes, but I love how Lewis chose a lion to represent God in the stories. Watching Aslan interact with the characters never fails to teach me something new about God. I should read the Chronicles of Narnia again… it’s been a little while.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

[Author]

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