Combating the Dark with Light: Portraying Evil in Christian Fiction

By Chelsea Hindle

Imagine this: a young Christian writer sits at their desk, sweating anxiously. They've run into an unexpected snag in their latest novel. A bad word has popped up by accident, or a character has done something less than savoury. Frantically, the young writer wonders whether they should make hasty use of the backspace button. After all, what would their mother say?

At some point, every young writer comes face to face with the issue of portraying evil. By nature, stories rely on conflict to drive them, and conflict is usually caused by a brush with evil. So, it is inevitable that all authors must tackle the topic of evil sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately, evil is difficult to define. Everyone on earth has their own idea of what things are "bad", and worldviews often clash. While religion often lays the framework for "good" and "evil", atheists and agnostics also subscribe to morality. As Kingdom Pen has a majority Christian audience, we will be looking at this issue through the lens of the Bible. Despite this, I hope this article will be helpful to anyone, of any belief system, struggling with this issue.

Even within the confines of Christianity, "sin" is often up to interpretation. Thousands of years of church schisms have been because the Bible is often vague. In recent times, we have seen churches split over opinions on politics and controversies. Issues such as alcohol, divorce, war, and popular culture, continue to divide, even in this day and age.

 

To be clear, the Bible is not vague on everything, and some issues are unambiguous and usually agreed on. Do not kill, do not commit sexual sins, do not steal, and do not hate, are among them. But beyond that, many issues are up interpretation. I encourage you to be gracious with other Christians, especially those who disagree with you. We should not label others as heretics, or weak, because of what they choose to add or remove from their works.

 

Of course, you should still exercise prudence and self-control in your reading. However, too often I see Christian readers and authors tearing each other apart over perceived slights. Be kind, be gracious, and most of all, do unto others as you would have them do to you.

So, how do we portray evil and sin in our stories, without making others, or ourselves, stumble? How much detail is necessary, or wise? Is it okay to portray evil at all? I can't answer most of these questions in a 2,000-word article, it's between your conscience and God. But, today I am going to equip you with my four adverb guide to portraying evil in your novel.

I advise approaching all things with a healthy measure of prayer. However, when we're dealing with the evil of the world, prayer is more necessary than ever. 

Some genres can get away with minimal depiction of evil. A lack of grittiness is one of the attracting things about, cozy mysteries and feel-good romances. Readers of these genres want sweet, clean books that won’t contain confronting harsh evil. And while that's a valid writing style, most genres delve into the messiness of the world sooner or later. Consider dystopian novels, which often deal with eugenics and genocide. Or historical, which dwells on the racism and violence of the past. Or crime novels, which tackle the base depravity of humankind. And consider contemporary, which more and more deals with abuse and sexual assault.

Consider what genres and subgenres you write, and what topics are endemic to those genres. Then consider whether you are mature enough and equipped to tackle those topics. Take the time to pray and ask God to give you wisdom as you consider this.

For example, when I began writing New Adult, I had to look at the content often encountered in these stories. Sexual issues are more prevalent in NA than YA, so how should I tackle that? In one novel I wrote, I ended up tweaking a major plotline, because I lacked the maturity needed to tackle it. This particular issue was marital infidelity and I still haven't written a book that deals with it. I simply do not have the emotional or spiritual maturity to do so. 

Prayer helps in any situation where you are unsure of what to do. If you've written a scene where the hero and heroine get a little out of hand, pray about it. Or if you've woven a subplot into your novel which you're not sure you can deal with, pray about it. Ask God His opinion on it, and on your spiritual maturity.

Also, don't be afraid to take it to an adult, or a spiritual mentor who you trust. Your parents, pastor, or youth leader will know you well enough to give you advice on the matter. This is something I've both done before, and also something I've given advice on.

A "devil-may-care" attitude toward evil is only going to end in tears--for either you or your reader. It is your responsibility as an author to depict evil with care.

Have you ever opened a book by an author you love, only to find a gratuitous sex scene in the middle of the book? I have and it's an unpleasant feeling. It breaks your trust in the author and can lead you, the reader, into a bad mental or spiritual place. 

While we, as authors, are not responsible for our readers' thoughts, we do need to portray evil with caution. Most Christian writers agree that graphic sex scenes are a no-go, as is graphic violence. But there's a lot of grey area before a scene descends into graphic or gratuitous. How far is too far? 

In all honesty, much of this is up to the author and the expectations of the genre. For example, in Christian romance, some passionate kissing, and some embracing, is acceptable. A sex scene isn't (at least in mainstream Christian fiction. Self-published is less constricted). YA can include more mature content than Middle-Grade, and Adult and NA can include more than YA.