Writing Science Fiction and Practicing Faith

I’m a science-fiction writer, but I’m also a Christian. These things do not have to be separate, as my love of science fiction is not in any way dampened by my faith in Christ. I’m sure there are a lot of you out there, people who are Christ-followers but are also in deep love with science fiction or some other genre.

However, as a Christian, I often find myself struggling with one of the tenets of my faith: “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” — Colossians 3:17 (HCSB). I struggle with it, because like any human I want to write what I feel good about writing. I struggle against the flesh which wants to write just any old science fiction story, and even though I write a story that is by all accounts “secular”, I end up subconsciously weaving in Christian themes without really trying to proselytize.

I remember Dr. Joe Hall at Oklahoma Baptist University developing a critical theory he called “Christian Irony”. This was the idea that in Western literature, even if the author is not of any faith, they cannot escape Christian tropes, symbols and themes. I attended his symposium where he outlined his theory after publishing it, and found his ideas to be rather compelling.