Presumed Theism and Fiction Writing

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Shores of Faery, 1915. © The Tolkien Trust 1995.

The role of the Christian writer of fiction is, of course, to direct the reader to the greater glory of Christ. While this is a noble goal, there are some publishers for whom only a blatant and theologically forward retelling of Christian tradition is acceptable. Christianity is remarkably broad in both its life application and storytelling value; it is a faith which bridges the material and immaterial realm, making it a perfect venue for authors to indulge in subtlety and mystery. In some cases, I would argue that subtle approaches to addressing Christian culture is the only appropriate way it can be treated; if a reader picks up a novella from a Christian book store or catalog, should they expect the author to wax on for a chapter (or even a page) on the finer points of soteriology? In 1954, C.S. Lewis wrote in a personal letter, “We must not of course write anything that will flatter lust, pride or ambition. But we needn’t all write patently moral or theological work. Indeed, work whose Christianity is latent may do quite as much good and may reach some whom the more obvious religious work would scare away”. Hence, the author needs a more subtle approach to Christian fiction writing.

As a response to this need, I have coined the term Presumed Theism; a narrative concept in which theism (and Christianity in particular), is emphasized through the power of presumption. To the reader, it may not be immediately obvious that the entire story revolves around the theological assumptions of the characters, as they are not explicitly detailed. Yet with time and character development, a message of reliance upon the invisible work of God should become obvious. Presumed Theism emphasizes narrative construction, audience captivation, and worldview enchantment; which is to say, it ought to read like a story! Firstly, the reader ought to understand the reasoning which undergirds this method. Presumed Theism is rooted in an experientialist approach to the particular needs of the reader, and has grown in response to these needs, out of the soil of the Christian worldview. By experientialist, I mean that people learn what is lived, and they don’t live as theologians; they live as sinners, believers, or (perhaps most common of all) sinners on the way to belief and redemption. Experience matters to the reader; a character they cannot relate to is not a character that will easily affect them. For example, most people do not have a local monk explaining the finer points of theology to them on the way to work or school. Yet many people do have mentors in their life (parents, teachers, or pastors) who teach them through experiential lessons by demonstrating failure and success. These figures write a lived narrative into a young person's memory that connects the invisibility of theology with the visibility of life in the world. Presumed Theism uses this “lived narrative” idea to build a bridge from the reader into the suspension of unbelief (which is absolutely crucial to memorable storytelling). Francis Spufford talks about this in his article, "Three ways of writing faith: Christian fiction after Christendom". As Spufford states, we live in the supposed post-Christendom age, in “a culture where the religious tide has gone a very long way out, by global standards” (12). Yet in what he calls the ‘secular mudflats’ where we find ourselves, we do discover an ‘assumed metaphysical commitment’. “It was (is) built on a shared assumption between writer and reader that a disposition of life around religion makes sense” (12). Writers ought to latch onto this phrase, realizing that it is sensible to write as a Christian without the need for self-justification; to write stories that sing Jesus rather than scream Him. We should not shy away from writing stories that emphasize Him through subtlety and gentleness, in the musicality of a strong prose, just as He lived in this world.

Let the reader understand, this idea is not proposed as a means of doing away with any element of the modern canon of professional writing. All works of all kinds have a unique and irreplaceable role in the formation of world culture and the lived education of people everywhere. In fact, I am primarily proposing the authorial community preserve an older approach to Christian storytelling. Though I have never heard this idea so emphatically proposed, Presumed Theism is found scrawled on the pages of countless stories in the canon of Christian writing. The first step (and the most important one) of being a writer of Christian fiction is to first be a student and interpreter of history. In her article, "Every Story I Write Is a Research Project": The Role of Research in Fiction Writing, Allison Hosier busts the myth that creative writing is the product of spontaneous genius, showing how “creative work involves a great deal of research” (1065), which often stretches across months or even years. As Hosier observes, professionals tend to immediately shape an image in our head when we hear or read the word “research”. Reading good Christian fiction just doesn’t seem scholarly. Nevermind that the reader of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings unwittingly explores the world of Anglo-Saxon Europe; nevermind the profound historiography found in Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. 

Consider the classic work The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries, compiled by W.Y. Evans-Wentz. In this work, he explores the historicity of the fairy faith in connection with human civilization and beyond. Regardless of the actual convictions of Evans-Wentz, his work is written so seriously that I come away convinced he is a firm believer of the old Irish fairy-faith; which makes this work all the more interesting in its scholarly format and outlandishly attractive in its content. He writes as a historian, story-teller, scientist, psychologist, and perhaps even a phenomenologist. In my own authorial approach, I think blending reality with fiction, and especially fantasy, is the perfect vehicle for theological and even cosmological messaging which interpenetrates the creative imagination from generation to generation. Indeed, as Tolkien wrote, “History often resembles myth, because they are both ultimately of the same stuff.”

To that end, we arrive at the issue of imagination, and its significance in Christian fiction. Is it positively necessary that theological writing be academic? And if Christian fiction is to be theological in nature, how much or how little theology is acceptable? Who defines those metrics? In his article, Toward a Theology of the Imagination with S.T. Coleridge, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien, David Mosley addresses the divinity of the creative imagination, and the connection it provides between the education of people and the creativity of God. On Lewis, Mosley writes it is “clear that he saw its [the imagination’s] usefulness in explaining not simply theological truths, but moral truths as well. The Good can be found through the acts of bravery and kindness that so often appear in Lewis’s fiction” (5). To anyone familiar with Lewis and Tolkien, the power of the creative imagination in their work is undeniable. Mosley states, “Tolkien argues again and again that sight and true sight, is a necessary outcome of the imagination” (6). The human imagination and the divine imagination participate in the same immaterial world of thought and design. In “Tolkien on Fairy-Stories”, Tolkien wrote, “This aspect of ‘mythology’ - sub-creation, rather than either representation or symbolic interpretation of the beauties and terrors of the world - is, I think, too little considered.” (42) Tolkien’s use of the term ‘sub-creation’ is crucial to understanding what the fiction writer is achieving through his work. The Encyclopedia Britannica’s definition of fiction includes the entry, “The word is from the Latin fictiō, “the act of making, fashioning, or molding.”

In many ways, though Presumed Theism is a reintegration of an older writing method into the modern canon, it is also unmistakably revolutionary. Dr. David Lewin, a senior lecturer in Philosophy of Education at the University of Strathclyde, stated, “educators often realise that the most effective means of [moral] influence might not be through ‘direct’ means, but often requires indirect means.” (218). Which is to say, the intellectual bridge between education and application is sometimes missing for young readers. The importation of new information is rarely engrained in life through rote memorization; often, readers benefit from application-oriented training, being shown how powerful application can be through the power of story development.

An important detail to address is content. If one is to utilize this method in story construction, there are, of course, certain things that simply cannot be included. Presumed Theism has no place for primers, educational literature or even direct and accessible biblical references. Human (and non-human) action and activity is primary to the idea, with an emphasis on realistic integration of experience into the faith orientation of the characters. Subtlety is pivotal, involving the application of numerous literary tools. Characters must be flawed individuals moving toward a better life; images and locations must be rich in symbolism, accentuated against stark contrasts and opposites. World-building is not merely a feature of Presumed Theism; it is its organs and lifeblood. According to Matthiessen and Veloso, in folk stories, “the field of activity is that of recreating our experience of life imaginatively; that is, literature, or verbal art… operates within contexts where the primary field of activity is that of creating vicarious experiences of life – prototypically human life, but by extension also the life of other real or imaginary life forms or inanimate objects… that, through anthropomorphism, are lent human aspects and become symbols and metaphors for broader meanings…” (162-163). The focus of stories should partially be a matter of solidarity; communicating to young readers that there are solutions to the challenges they face in life. As Linda Maifair, in her article, “Writing Juvenile Fiction for the Christian Market”, recommends, “Don't make your central character too perfect. You want a kid who starts out or ends up as a positive Christian role model, certainly, but not a saint. Remember, kids need a character they can relate to-one a lot like them or someone they know. A character who is unrealistically perfect will turn readers off. They are more likely to identify with a flawed character, and, if you've kept their interest, learn from that character's mistakes” (18). Writing imperfection into characters and stories sounds tremendously easy; but let there be no doubt that idealistic writers find great difficulty here. Of course, the beauty of being an idealistic writer is the special fulfillment I find in worldbuilding. These worlds ooze with complexity and nuance, dazzle and adventure, shadow and subterfuge; billions of lives and economies interwoven to create something undeniably spectacular. 

Presumed Theism likely isn’t for everyone; many people would undoubtedly find the concept off-putting (some already have). Yet surely one can see how its many elements come together in the actual experience of the Christian fiction writer. Effective storytelling, subtlety, relatability, imagination and worldbuilding all participate symbiotically in Presumed Theism. This concept offers a transformative framework, enabling Christian fiction writers to seamlessly and naturally weave theological themes into their stories. By focusing on character development and the lived experiences of individuals, writers can create stories that capture the subtlety of faith and the richness of human experience. This approach both honors the past and has the potential to revolutionize the future of writing. It indulges in the complexities of personal religious belief but also reaches a wider audience, inviting readers into a shared exploration of spirituality that transcends explicit doctrinal discussions. Embracing Presumed Theism not only enriches the literary landscape but also reaffirms the belief that fiction, when crafted thoughtfully, can be a powerful conduit for divine truth and understanding in an increasingly secular world.

Works Cited

Evans-Wentz, W. Y. “The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries.” Edited by John Bruno Hare, The Internet Sacred Text Archive, 27 Jan. 2004, sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/ffcc/index.htm. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.

"Fiction." Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/art/fiction-literature. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.

Hosier, Allison. ""Every Story I Write is a Research Project": The Role of Research in Fiction Writing." Portal: Libraries and the Academy, vol. 22, no. 4, 2022, pp. 1063-1093. ProQuest, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/every-story-i-write-is-research-project-role/docview/2769367272/se-2. Accessed on 29 October 2024.

Hudson, Grant. "C.S. Lewis on How to Write." Clarendon House Books, 14 July 2016, https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/single-post/2016/07/14/c-s-lewis-on-how-to-write. Accessed on 29 October 2024.

Lewin, D. (2020). Between horror and boredom: Fairy tales and moral education. Ethics and Education, 15(2), 213–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2020.1731107. Accessed on 29 October 2024.

Maifair, Linda L. "Writing Juvenile Fiction for the Christian Market." The Writer, vol. 111, no. 12, 12, 1998, pp. 16-18+. ProQuest, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/magazines/writing-juvenile-fiction-christian-market/docview/214102804/se-2. Accessed on 29 October 2024.

Matthiessen, Christian M. I. M., and Francisco O. D. Veloso. “‘Real’ and Imaginary Worlds in Children’s Fiction: The Velveteen Rabbit.” Semiotica, vol. 2023, no. 251, 2023, pp. 161–91, https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2022-0047. Accessed on 29 October 2024.

Mosley, David R. "Toward a Theology of the Imagination with S.T. Coleridge, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien." Religions (Basel, Switzerland ), vol. 11, no. 5, 2020, pp. 238. Accessed on 29 October 2024.

Spufford, Francis. "Three ways of writing faith: Christian fiction after Christendom." The Christian Century, vol. 134, no. 21, 11 Oct. 2017, pp. 12-13. Gale In Context: Biography, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A511454676/BIC?u=vic_liberty&sid=summon&xid=94835f20. Accessed on 29 October 2024..

Tolkien, J.R.R. "Tolkien on Fairy-Stories." Expanded Edition, with Commentary and Notes, edited by Verlyn Flieger and Douglas A. Anderson, Harper Collins, 2014.