John Edgell - Author

Distinctive fantasy fiction stories that delight the mind and stir the soul.

Place of Christ in Fantasy Fiction

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Place of Christ

Centrality of Christ in Fantasy Fiction

The Perspective of a Christian Writer

I presume it to be obvious that this article is written from the perspective of a Christian author. Well, not “just” a Christian author but a Christ-centered Christian author whose writing is rooted in a biblical worldview.

Christ in Fantasy fictionIt does not matter who the writer is, their worldview will thread through the tapestry of their story. And in truth, someone can say they are a Christian and yet hold to a secular worldview. It is rather like the person who loudly proclaims they are for non-violence, and yet when someone crosses them their fist flies. “Christian” is a descriptive term that can have a vast array of meanings. “Biblical Christian” describes a worldview that the word Christian simply does not.

The Centrality of Christ

For my part, I am a Christ-follower first and a writer second. Christ said that the most important thing in the world is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Nothing supersedes that. Right doctrine is rooted in love for the Lord—because I love God I want to know the truth about God. Right living is a love response to the Lord. And to love God is to love Christ. And if I truly love Christ above all else it cannot help but impact my writing. Its threads will be found in the fabric of my stories. If I am truly living a Christ-centered life I cannot bifurcate my biblical worldview into separate compartments when it comes to life and story writing. In fact, my stories by nature grow out of the roots of my worldview.

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Writing Stories and Who I Am

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Vision statement

Writing Stories Does Not Define Me

What Does Define Me?

Writing stories I write stories, but “writing stories” does not define me. First and foremost I am a Christ-follower; that defines me. It does not mean my writing is religious or preachy. Rather, it means my writing is rooted in the reality of who I am, grounded in my Christ-centered worldview—great stories with solid moral values.

So what does my Christ-centered worldview look like?

My Personal Vision Statement

Living life for His pleasure, so that someday when I stand before Him I will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Summarized simply as: For His Pleasure

My Personal Mission and Strategy Statement

To know Jesus Christ and emulate Him, and to influence others to know Him and emulate Him, by my conduct and words (spoken and written).

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A Writer’s Devotional Reflection

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Writer's Devotional

A Writer’s Brief Reflection

Generous on Behalf of Christ

I don’t know about you, but I have to work at being generous. Still, the more generous I am the more fun it is. The more I extend my hand to others, the richer my life becomes. God honors generosity.

[Here is a link to a good article on generosity – 5 Reasons Christians Should be Generous]

Devotional ReflectionProverbs 11:24-25 informs us that “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.”

One should be generous with their wealth, with their material possessions, and with their time and talents. But there is another generosity that exceeds them all in its benefits to the receiving party.

Philippians 1:29 says, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”

We often focus on the suffering mentioned in this verse, but what jumps out at me is the idea that we believe on Christ on behalf of Christ. I find that an odd sort of thought. I understand suffering on His behalf, but what does it mean to believe on His behalf? It would seem to me that the idea expressed here is that our faith is not private, not something that is “ours,” hidden somewhere in the recesses of the heart. In contrast, our faith is to be observable.

Our faith is to demonstrate the reality of Christ in us. So our faith should impact our world for Christ, for only then could it be said we are “believing in Him” on His behalf. So I ask myself: Does my lived-out faith reflect Christ to the people around me?

There is nothing more generous than sharing the reality of Christ with others.

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