An Author's Faith

Until November, every book I had written displayed my belief in God. The main character in my historical fiction works has always been a Christian. My detective series is about a family who are Christians. My modern-day heroes are Christians as well. And then... I began my first fantasy. Writing The Looking Glass has been one of the most enjoyable, but also one of the most difficult books, that I have written. For once in my writing career I no longer have to worry about historical accuracy (for the most part), but new problems have come up. Keeping my fantasy clean so that it won't be thrown in the Christian's bag of "DO NOT TOUCH" books along with Harry Potter. Making my totally-not-happening story seem completely possible. And... how do I handle my faith? It's as much a part of me as my writing, but does that mean I should include it in my writing?

I decided that when writing a fantasy, one should not include God. It may put God on the level of fantasy. Unless the fantasy is allegorical and would point to God, mixing God in with a bunch of unrealistic fiction would detract from His character. After I made this decision, though, I wondered if it was wrong of me. If an author is a Christian, should everything they write point to God? Would people judge me for being inconsistent? I wondered about other authors. How do (did) they handle their faith?

In the midst of my asking these questions I read a series called The Shadow Children Sequence by Margaret Peterson Haddix. In the first book, Among the Hidden, there are three boys named Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Their mother admits that she had wanted a fourth son to call him John. I was curious about the choice of names, so I determined to keep my eyes open and see if maybe Margaret Peterson Haddix gave any evidence of being a Christian. After reading the seven books that make up the sequence, I still couldn't answer the question. A main character prays a lot. It is said that God is the one who saved the lives of different kids. But Oprah Winfrey talks about God for cryin' out loud! Though I'm sure I don't need to say this, she's not a Christian. A lot of people can talk the talk.

What am I getting at? I think I know, but I'm not sure that I know. I guess you could say that I've come to a conclusion. If I talk about God in my books, it'll be all there. No one will have any doubt that the author of the book they're reading has a personal relationship with Christ. God knows the heart, so it shouldn't really matter to me whether or not Margaret Peterson Haddix is a Christian. But I've decided that for my part, I'd rather not leave people guessing.