Having the Answer Ready, by Ben Jeapes
Public domain image from GetArchive.net
(You may guess my political leanings from what I write here, but I don’t care …)
Ever since he was elected, I have been praying for a generation of Nathans to speak the truth about and to Donald Trump, and so I was cheering when Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde did precisely that from the pulpit.
This inevitably led to, let’s say, dissent, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear one of the president’s supporters, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, being interviewed on Radio 4. I did not expect to agree with the man and I wasn’t disappointed – but he did make one point that stuck. His gripe was that Budde did not actually preach from the Bible in her sermon. As in, she did not open the book, read out a passage and expand on it, which in Sewell’s preaching tradition is the only way to do it.
Actually he had plenty of other gripes too, but this one did actually make sense.
I would say Budde pretty well summarised the Sermon on the Mount – but I will grant Sewell that point. You don’t need to actually quote the Bible in each and every sermon; it is enough to know what you’re talking about. But at the same time, do it carefully, because it is all too easy to find yourself making high-minded statements that aren’t actually underpinned by biblical authority.
It’s something for any writer of Christian fiction to remember. I presume you want to impart Christian values and messages through the words and actions of your characters. So, don’t populate your fictitious words with Bible-quoting zealots who can drag up chapter and verse for every opinion they offer. That’s not realistic or authentic. It’s enough for them to be living out those values on and in the pages of your created universe – but you yourself must know why they hold those values and you must do it with reference to scripture. 1 Peter 3.15, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have”, doesn’t just apply to trying to evangelise. It also applies to any Christian asked to explain themselves. Wouldn’t you feel silly if a reader of your book asked for more details of what you’re saying and you suddenly realised you had built your house on sand?
Ever since he was elected, I have been praying for a generation of Nathans to speak the truth about and to Donald Trump, and so I was cheering when Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde did precisely that from the pulpit.
This inevitably led to, let’s say, dissent, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear one of the president’s supporters, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, being interviewed on Radio 4. I did not expect to agree with the man and I wasn’t disappointed – but he did make one point that stuck. His gripe was that Budde did not actually preach from the Bible in her sermon. As in, she did not open the book, read out a passage and expand on it, which in Sewell’s preaching tradition is the only way to do it.
Actually he had plenty of other gripes too, but this one did actually make sense.
I would say Budde pretty well summarised the Sermon on the Mount – but I will grant Sewell that point. You don’t need to actually quote the Bible in each and every sermon; it is enough to know what you’re talking about. But at the same time, do it carefully, because it is all too easy to find yourself making high-minded statements that aren’t actually underpinned by biblical authority.
It’s something for any writer of Christian fiction to remember. I presume you want to impart Christian values and messages through the words and actions of your characters. So, don’t populate your fictitious words with Bible-quoting zealots who can drag up chapter and verse for every opinion they offer. That’s not realistic or authentic. It’s enough for them to be living out those values on and in the pages of your created universe – but you yourself must know why they hold those values and you must do it with reference to scripture. 1 Peter 3.15, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have”, doesn’t just apply to trying to evangelise. It also applies to any Christian asked to explain themselves. Wouldn’t you feel silly if a reader of your book asked for more details of what you’re saying and you suddenly realised you had built your house on sand?
(Just for the record, I’m pretty sure Bishop Budde’s house is built on rock, and if anyone bothered to ask her, she would have no difficulty explaining why.)
I cheered when I heard the Bishop's sermon. She may not have quoted the Bible, but her words were all directly from it, and from Jesus's teachings on mercy and compassion and loving your neighbour. The fact that she was then attacked by many who call themselves Christians shone an unforgiving light on just who they might be following. You may not agree with me. But after three weeks of that creature in the White House, I too do not care. This is what writing is for - thank you Ben.
ReplyDeleteFully agree, Ruth! And yes, that creature in the White House, what a wonderful way to describe him!
DeleteLovely post, Ben. Thanks. Reading this post tells me you would approve of Christian writers who use scriptures as chapter headings in their fiction writing. This makes them bold for Christ and leaves no doubts in the minds of their readers. I support the boldness you mention in our
ReplyDeletewriting.Blessings.
J R R Tolkien is quoted in several places as having written (in a letter to a friend) 'I am a Christian, and whatever I write will come from that essential viewpoint'. To me, that summarises how Christianity is best portrayed in fiction - not overtly, in a thinly disguised sermon, but intrinsically, in a world view that pervades the entire story, influences its plot and characters, and ultimately effects its outcome. It's a principle I have hoped to emulate in my own writing - though of course, it may say more about my own maturity as a Christian than I might wish!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing! I do enjoy overtly Christian books but like you said, it comes through everything, not because they shower you with quotes.
ReplyDeleteLeaving Trump to one side - evidently something you wished the voters had managed to do - I do agree that populating fiction with scriptures is tiresome. Even God rarely quoted the bible when speaking. He lit a fire for Moses and asked the disciples if they wanted some breakfast. He got closer in his conversation with the woman at the well but it all started with asking her for a drink. Dostoyevsky is probably at one end of the spectrum, quoting scripture in Crime and Punishment for example, but this would have fitted in, culturally, with his fellow countrymen's Orthodoxy, whereas Tolkien and Lewis rely almost entirely on allegory.
ReplyDelete