See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7. Secondary Considerations: How Can We Know Whether Certain Words Are Vulgar or Profane? When I began this series, I mentioned participating in an online discussion about whether certain . . . ahem . . . words were ever okay to use in Christian fiction. One problem that hijacked the debate was the inability (or unwillingness) on the part of some to agree on the vulgarity of certain words. “Well, that word doesn’t seem vulgar to me,” they said. First, those in the discussion were all from the United States. Unless some of us grew up Amish, that we couldn’t reach some level of agreement doesn’t seem credible. Second, refusing to agree seems like a clever way to shift the debate. If the debate becomes about the vulgarity of certain words instead of about what God has said, then one need…
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A Discussion about My Next Novel, The Tenth Plague Putting my finger on where exactly the original idea for my upcoming novel, The Tenth Plague, came from is difficult because the novel began forming in my mind probably five or six years ago. The idea for the main plot, of course, emerged from Revelation 22:18-19. In those verses God proclaims a curse on anyone who adds to or takes away from His Word. Given the state of our times and the church today, that seems like a relevant theme. In some quarters of Christianity at large, some can’t even agree on what truth is anymore. One day when I read those verses again, they grabbed me like never before. My imagination began playing the what-if game, and the story began taking shape in my mind. I envisioned someone turning on a bathroom faucet and blood gushing out. I consulted several theologian friends for their thoughts,…
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I was pleased to stumble across an article by Randy Alcorn in World Magazine a few weeks ago. It dovetails perfectly with my article about why I decided to marry the word meaningful with the word suspense for my author’s tagline. In summary, the thrust of my article was about why I believe message is important in Christian fiction. I listed several reasons why I strongly believe this way, based on my understanding of Scripture. Many of my fans agree with me. At least one reader took me to task and told me to “lighten up”—that no, not every Christian novel needs to be message driven. Well, no, that’s not what I said. What did I say? Does that mean Christian writers can never write only a fun, entertaining story once in a while? No. But if all we write is entertainment, what eternal value is there? So what does Randy…
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