Hello
once again!
While I
have yet to be asked this question I am sure that it is to come across at some
point. Not only that but I think it is something that needs to be explained
before I go into any explanation of the world and stories that revolve around
Domus-Lux
Yes,
Christianity is all throughout the Age of
Ornan books. I do not try to hide it at all. Vashaar is simply the name
that people in Domus-Lux use for God. I hoped to make it clear through my
writing that Vashaar is not simply a god but the God of the Bible. I want it to
be so clear that a Muslim could not come along and apply Allah to these books.
In fact I wanted to make the point so clear that this was biblical that I did
not even change the name of Jesus. His name is used throughout all three books
and his Hebrew name; (the one he would have heard during his time on earth)
Yeshua is used once.
Why do I
insist on writing Christian fantasy as opposed to classic fantasy that is not
bogged with all the religious worldview? After all will I not reach a broader
audience with a neutral book as opposed to a religious one?
The
first reason I wrote a Christian fantasy was because as Paul said, I am not
ashamed of the gospel! When all is said and done my stories will be forgotten
but if these books could be used to reach one person for Christ then they will
have an eternally lasting effect. I also think that if I removed the gospel
just to sell more books then it would be a sin nearly as bad as denying the
faith, because I would be holding back the truth only to get money.
The
first reason was the most important one to me but the second is one that will
probably get more people to think. I do not believe it is even possible to
write Christian fantasy. That is the tag that people want to put on my book but
I do not believe in it. Why? Because what a person believes will inevitably
come across in his art whatever that may be. Jesus said, “out of the abundance
of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Matt 12:34. What comes out of a person’s
mouth or across his art is what is down in his heart, unless I suppose he is
intentionally trying to be deceptive.
With
that in mind I must also say that if I do not believe it is possible to write
Christian fantasy I also do not believe it is possible to write neutral
fantasy. Why? Because what people call neutrality today is in actuality nothing
more than another worldview.
Now
what’s a worldview you might ask? To make it simple a worldview is the way we
view the world. For me as a Christian I have a Christian worldview. I see
things from the perspective of the Bible. I wish I could say I do this one
hundred percent of the time but since Christianity is such a contrast from what
the natural man wants it takes intentional effort to view the world as a
Christian. But everyone who is not a Christian has a worldview as well. It
could be any religion under the sun or based on their life experiences, their
culture, and is most likely a combination of all of those.
With
worldview in mind let’s look at the idea of neutrality. In the world of film we
would call the vast majority of movies made today as secular or neutral films
and then label movies like courageous,
and fireproof as religious films.
What I am submitting is that these secular/neutral movies are also religious
films supporting a more commonly accepted religion.
A good example of this would be the Disney movie Aladdin. In
this “secular/neutral” film we have characters running around saying “praise
Allah. Allah be praised,” all throughout it. Yet when we look at the way the
character Jasmine is presented it is very clear by her dress, and her
disrespect towards her father that these Allah praising characters are not
Muslim, else she would be stoned really quickly. What does this mean? I do not
know this for fact but I would be willing to bet that the film’s writers and
directors would be the sort of people who would say that religion is a good
thing, hence the praising of Allah, but do not think it should impose demands
on how we live, hence Jasmine. This is a very strong worldview/religious
statement. It comes from the worldview of Humanism which says ultimately man
decides truth not God. So in the mind of the Humanist if Islam works for you it
is a good thing so long as you do not force it on me, and the same goes for all
other worldviews.
So now this secular/neutral position does not look so neutral
anymore. Why? Because it is the exact opposite of what Christianity teaches.
Why is murder, rape, and racism wrong? It is not because our culture says it
wrong, which is what the humanist would say. If that was the case then those
things can be considered good in another culture and the Holocaust was good
because it was socially accepted in Germany. But in reality those things are
wrong because the God of the Bible exists and he is good and those things are
not of God so they are not good, meaning they are sin and wrong for every
culture from every period in time.
The sad reality is that many, if not most people in the
church today are more humanist than Christian and would believe more in line
the above description of humanism than Christianity. Why is this the case?
Because when in recent days our government started pushing separation of church
and state, which is not in the constitution, what they were really doing is
saying we do not want to be a Christian nation we want to be a secular Humanistic
nation and that is the default worldview in America today. Our public schools
are Humanist schools. Our colleges and universities are mostly Humanist. It is
amazing that with Humanism being forced on us the way it is through education
and the media that the whole of America is not Humanist.
I believe there are two things we must consider here. First of
all we are a lot more Humanist than we think. Humanism teaches moral
relativism, which as stated before is the idea that man decides truth. Because
of this Humanists can blend into any religious group they choose. As I said
before I suspect there are more people in the church today who live like Humanists
than live like Christians.
The second is that the only reason America is not completely
Humanist is because Humanism and especially its extreme cousin atheism is the
most illogical worldview known to man and people know it naturally. God
condemned all worldviews other than Christianity in the Bible saying have no
other gods before me and in many verses condemned the popular religions of the
Bible times for their wickedness. But there is only one religion that is
condemned as just being foolish. “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no
God. (Ps 14:1).” Any honest seeker
should conclude that Humanism and atheism is illogical at its base.
A great example of the illogicality of Humanism is the
famous film series Star Wars. In these films we see Humanism being merged with
a more Hindu or Buddhist style of religion and its irrationality shows itself
very strong in episode three,(if I am correct). In this movie we have Anakin
Skywalker who has just turned evil and is confronted by his “good” master Obi
Wan Kenobi. After Anakin says “if you are not for me you are my enemy” Obi Wan
says, “Only the Sith deals in absolutes.”
Aside from being completely anti-Christian this statement is
void of all logic. Why? First of all Obi Wan just admitted to being a Sith
because he made the absolute statement that only a Sith deals in absolutes.
Also if there is not absolute truth as Obi Wan is arguing then why bother
stopping Anakin? After all Anakin is not absolutely wrong. Why not just talk
things over instead of chopping him to bits? Or did Obi Wan take this rout
because he is selfish and wanted to have his way as opposed to compromise? If
he is right though it is okay because selfishness is not absolutely wrong
either according to such a view. One thing is for certain though. He absolutely
chopped Anakin’s arm and legs off and left him to burn to death. I suppose to
Obi Wan that was not absolutely wrong nor would it have been for him to have
stayed and laughed for a while.
Humanism has at its foundation the sand of moral relativism which
is void of logic and is nothing more than a license to sin. So in closing why
do I write fantasy from a Christian perspective? Because I am a Christian and
as a Christian Christianity comes through my writing. I am not going to convert
to Humanism just to sell a book, and besides what good does it do to make money
off of a book only to keep back the most precious thing I have ever received,
the Lord Jesus Christ!
