Harry Potter vs. Satan
Actually, I think the only important comparison one can make between the Harry Potter books and the Left Behind series is that the former is good storytelling and decent writing and the latter is utter crap in every way (except some of the jackets on the Left Behind books have nice Ominous Sunset imagery). Then again, I suppose that there has been a lot of cheese associated with Christian literature, but it seems to me that there also used to be a whole lot of good stuff, whereas today we are invited to either peruse the various volumes in the Help Yourself to Financial Success and Salvation (Because Obviously Jesus Didn’t Mean Christians When He Spoke About the Camel and the Needle’s Eye) genre, or…. to go back to some of the Old Ones if we want to read some good Christian literature for a change.
By the way: no, I don’t think the Harry Potter series are “Christian” – they are adventure stories written like the old ones used to be: for anyone of any age to read.
(Via open book.)
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I’ve recently rediscovered Chesterton. (Maybe you’re referring to something more novelistic than apologetic?). Reading his take on the PC gods of the late nineteenth century is, in relation to the present age, illuminating.
At a time when people are being encouraged - via everything from self-help manuals to late-night ‘change your life’ infomercials - to become ‘empowered’ and preoccupied with masterful self-mastery, I liked reading Chesterton’s description of St Peter:
“When Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its comer-stone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob, a coward - in a word, a man.” (Heretics)
Sometimes the seemingly second-rate leadership figure can be the one who nevertheless encapsulate all that’s best about a culture and somehow give it strength to make progress and defend itself. Worth remembering in light of, say, Osama bin Laden’s talk of Islam as the ’strong horse.’
Memo to Osama, again from Heretics: “And upon this rock He has built His Church, and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed, because of this inherent and continual weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But this one thing, the historic Christian Church, was founded on a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link.”
Comment by CurrencyLad — 5/18/2004 @ 11:09 pm
Depressing, yes, Andrea. Serious artists aren’t allowed to be Christian, or at least are actively discouraged from it. I’ve read small snippets of the Left Behind books. Insufferably bad in just the few paragraphs I read. Like The Stand without all the (snicker) nuance and depth.
Comment by Russell — 5/19/2004 @ 1:24 am
Never mind the fact that the “Left Behind” series is blatant plagarism of Revelations. I don’t understand why Christian rockers can manage some decent stuff (no not Stryper) but Christian-themed books are so crap. Has there been any decent fiction since CS Lewis?
Comment by Andrew Ian Dodge — 5/19/2004 @ 8:21 am
I think I actually made it through the first two or three before the histamine reaction set in. Horrible, horrible writing. Utterly contrived characters. Action scenes that don’t even rise to a screenplay level of believability.
On the flipside, I’m reading The Chronicles of Narnia to my kids. Not high literature, to be sure, but a much better quality of tale.
Comment by Slartibartfast — 5/19/2004 @ 8:54 am
“Serious artists aren’t allowed to be Christian'’ ???
I think Flannery O’Connor would disagree with you.
Comment by Anne — 5/19/2004 @ 9:57 am
Christian Artists
Here are some posts I’ve run across lately that tackle the subject of Christians and art. Jared at Mysterium Tremendum…
Comment by LilacRose — 5/19/2004 @ 12:47 pm
Just so you all know: I denied a comment from one A. Alexander Stella, for violating two of my rules: 1) he posted a completely off-topic anti-Bush rant, and 2) his anti-Bush rant contained nothing of substance, only the usual cliché – “Dumbya", we elected “a nincompoop” (and refuse to admit it to ourselves because we are blind! only A. Alexander Stella can see the Truth through the oily fog of Lies!), and so on ad nauseum. He also sent me an email in huge teal letters with a link to some sort of website with “his references.” Dude, I can’t give you a job, try the papers. And send them a letter in regular plain text.
To review, readers: this post is about Harry Potter and Christian literature good and bad, and such related topics. Stick to the topic or you will not be allowed to join in. Only I, the owner of this blog, am allowed to make off topic comments.
Comment moderation r00Lz.
Comment by Andrea Harris — 5/19/2004 @ 6:41 pm
Fascist. 8p
But to answer Andrew, it was supposed to be a ripoff of Revelations. The real problem with it is, as has been noted, it’s a piece of crap as far as writing is concerned. Their interpretation of Revelations is also rather contrived. Not that I’m a Bible scholar.
So, I don’t think Christian literature is doomed to be bad, anymore than Christian rock is. I rather liked U2 and The Alarm and The Call back in the mid ’80s, and still think they made some good music. I think Christian writers have just as much opportunity to write crap as the rest of us; it is possible that they have more inclination to do so, accompanied by inability to spot the lack of…Quality, in the result.
Comment by Slartibartfast — 5/19/2004 @ 9:23 pm
I just feel compelled to say that Richard Abanes is a fellow brother in Christ…AND an insufferable jackass. His analysis of the Harry Potter books, quoted in the article, completely ignores the good-vs.-evil struggle at the core of the series, and zooms in on the so-called “occult” aspects. He’s full of beans. My whole family has read all of the books, and thus far we have not yet developed a desire to draw a magic circle in the living room and summon demons.
My current understanding of the Christian literary scene is that it’s a bit of a wasteland. We just don’t have any fiction writers of the stature of a C.S. Lewis, or a Tolkien, or a Charles Williams or Dorothy Sayers or George MacDonald or G.K. Chesterton. All of those folks are at least fifty years gone. The writing today tends to be stilted and preachy.
The only modern writer I can think of who even comes close to the stature of those elder giants would be Frederick Buechner. And I would put him right up there with the others. His “Brendan” is one of my all-time favorite books.
Comment by Curt — 5/19/2004 @ 11:15 pm
If you’re wanting something “more novelistic than apologetic,” as brought up by CurrencyLad, IMO, a good Christian fiction writer is Frank Peretti ("The Oath,” “Piercing the Darkness"). His style is somewhat like Stephen King. He also writes children books ("The Tombs of Anak,” “The Door in the Dragon’s Throat").
Comment by cardeblu — 5/20/2004 @ 12:28 am
I picked up This Present Darkness and tried to read it and found it to be nearly as bad as the Left Behind series. So I’ll stick with the old authors mentioned above. (I’m not a real big Stephen King fan, by the way.)
Comment by Andrea Harris — 5/20/2004 @ 5:40 am
So maybe it isn’t really a Christian book, but check out “God Is My Broker,” by the excellent Christopher Buckley. It’s so good that a quick perusal of the Amazon customer reviews will find a number of upset would be Christian investors who mistakenly started the book under the impression that it really is a guide to allowing God to guide your investments.
Comment by Steve Skubinna — 5/20/2004 @ 6:40 am
Actually you know who’s got a strong Christian theme in a lot of his work? Orson Scott Card. Alas, it’s Mormon in large part, so will be rejected by many Christians. I guess Mormon is kind of special-case. But still, there it is.
I’ve never read the Left Behind books. I’m a wee bit surprised at the negativity here ONLY because the few people I know who’ve read them said they liked them. But then they aren’t people whose tastes I know much about other than that they liked these. Well, there’s my aunt, who reads a lot of flaky feel-good stuff.
I can’t wait to get on a comment registration system myself.
Comment by Dean Esmay — 5/20/2004 @ 8:28 am
Actually when it comes to Christian (or Christian themes) metal/hard rock there are rather good examples. Savatage, Yes and KingsX come to mind. I would note that all three bands were fairly ambiguous until they got to a level where they would not suffer economically.
BTW who is Flannery O’Connor? I have never heard of him.
Comment by Andrew Ian Dodge — 5/20/2004 @ 8:43 am
In such a literary thread, I should really distance myself from the phrase “Memo to Osama", which I used above. Gotta stop doing that. (Memo to me: stop it!).
Curt, I think the “Christian literary scene” has to be - to some extent - a scene of one’s own making. I know we can’t go on reading the same books and the same masters. Yet, there is real scope for intuiting the Christian message or spirituality from books which aren’t outwardly Christian per se. Solzhenitsyn’s works, although quite dry, have had this sort of influence on me. His description of prison life in Ivan Denisovich, for example, still makes me savour every cup of coffee, every rich Irish Stew, every warm night, every moment of privacy. It still makes me feel grateful: materially, and in relation to the liberty I enjoy.
If we can’t always get Christianity from the literature, maybe we sometimes have to take Christianity from what we’re reading. The latter is something more closely akin to contemplation.
But yes, we always need some new material. While defending the playlist of his station, a DJ on one of the more musically progressive stations here said the other day that “we can’t go on listening to the Eagles forever.” Can’t go on reading Chesterton and Lewis forever either.
Comment by CurrencyLad — 5/20/2004 @ 11:41 am
“BTW who is Flannery O’Connor? I have never heard of him.'’
Mary Flannery O’Connor, 1925-1964, novelist (“Wise Blood,'’ “The Violent Bear it Away'’), short-story writer, and composer of some of the wisest and most mordantly funny letters I’ve ever read (reprinted in the Library of America edition of her works). A lifelong Catholic who had no use for sweet or pious fiction. Here’s a snippet from one of her essays:
“The Catholic who does not write for a limited circle of fellow Catholics will in all probability consider that…he is writing for a hostile audience, and he will be more than ever concerned to have his work stand on its own feet and be complete and self-sufficient and impregnable in its own right. When people have told me that because I am a Catholic, I cannot be an artist, I have had to reply, ruefully, that because I am a Catholic I cannot afford to be less than an artist.'’
In other words, a story has to stand on its own. That’s why the Harry Potter series works, and why the “Left Behind'’ series does not. Dressing up a Sunday school lesson as a novel doesn’t make it one. Anyway, O’Connor is strongly recommended. I like her short stories better than her novels but that’s a matter of taste. Seek, and enjoy.
Comment by Anne — 5/20/2004 @ 8:47 pm
It may also depend on your taste in literature, in general, which Christian authors you like. I like SciFi and Fantasy, so I love Lewis and Tolkien.
It doesn’t seem to be as widely known, but Lewis wrote a trilogy for adults: “Out of the Silent Plant", “This Hideous Strength” and “Perelandra” (sp?). Great trilogy for those who enjoy this genre.
Madeleine L’Engle is another Christian author who has written some great books that can be enjoyed by adults and children.
I liked “This Present Darkness” and “Piercing the Darkness” by Peretti. However, don’t care for all by this author.
I dislike the ‘Left Behind’ series and others like it. I don’t think the authors are very good writers.
I also don’t agree with the premise of the stories, which may be the biggest reason I dislike these books.
Comment by Chris Josephson — 5/20/2004 @ 9:36 pm
I tried reading Lewis’ trilogy. Borrrrrring! I did mange to finish “Out of the Silent Planet” but he lost me floating in the seas of Venus in “Perelandra", for what seemed like forever.
I did like the name Pfiffeltrigg, but that’s about all I got out of the series.
Comment by Michael Lonie — 5/20/2004 @ 10:19 pm
If your taste for good Christian literature doesn’t exclude some of the early Church writers (like Augustine).. there is a lot of their writings to be found on the Net for free. (Along with non-Christian writers.)
I’m just rebuilding my computer, so don’t have the links to hand (on backup device) but can provide links if anyone wants.
Of course, Google will locate if you plug in a phrase, or words, searching for free literature. If you search for a specific author, limit search by excluding places where you buy or borrow books.
Comment by Chris Josephson — 5/21/2004 @ 4:45 am
Anne was spot on: “Dressing up a Sunday school lesson as a novel doesn’t make it one.”
That’s my complaint with a lot of “Christian” fiction - it lacks a sort of moral complexity that some other fiction does. I mean, it’s so *obvious* what the right path is and that the heroes and heroines are going to take it. You know how it’s going to end as soon as the novel begins…I much prefer, for example, Madeline L’Engle. One of her novels, “A Severed Wasp,” (which is definitely not for kids, to forestall those who will nod and say “oh, the CHILDREN’S author who wrote “Wrinkle in Time") is filled with moral complexities and situations where it’s not clear what the greatest good is - where it looks like the simple obviously “Christian” answer to the question might actually cause more pain in the long run. It’s a harrowing novel in places (or at least I found it so) but it’s ultimately a very satisfying read, and one of the novels I’ve read in the past year that’s really stuck with me and been memorable.
I think there are a lot of novels that may incorporate Christian or moral themes, but not be so explicit about it. I guess I prefer to take my religion-in-literature in a more cryptic form, rather than being hit over the head with a cross-shaped 2x4. (And yes, I am a Christian, but a fairly open-minded one).
Comment by ricki — 5/21/2004 @ 1:12 pm