Another look at contemporary literature
By: Gina Dalfonzo|Published: January 15, 2013 11:45 AM
Last month, in the New York Times,
Paul Elie argued that literature has entered a post-Christian era. Gregory Wolfe, editor of Image journal,
begs to differ.
Comments:
Now by curious chance some of those temples are now cathedral's. And Yule is now Christmas. And we CHRISTIAN a ship with champagne, rather then sacrificing a thrall. And likewise I have far less vain scruples then I once did. But the fact remains that much of our narrative tradition is subchristian and that provides difficulties. Even Tolkien needed a theistic justification for creating a pantheon.
Lets put it this way. Sevenwaters Trilogy is one of the best fantasies ever written. However it is written assuming the truth of animism. Which is fine enough as that provides very good material. The problem is that to many Christian authors would not be able to stomach writing it and many Christians would not be able to stomach reading it especially when actual animism is becoming a real part of the Occidental World in some circles again. Though now that I think of it, that is nothing new; Yeats for instance literally believed in fey.
Be that as it may, many of the most useful tropes in literature would offend the scruples of many Christians both writers and readers and that is a problem.
The same could be said about life. :-)
C S Lewis made the same point in the Christianity and Culture essay series.
Science fiction almost universally depends on Darwinism, and Fantasy on paganism because in both cases the myth is to powerful to be left alone by authors.
Other stuff follows similar lines. How do you write a wooden ships story that doesn't have drunkenness, and unchastity at least implied(having it on scene is different). As well as officers living by what is to a large degree a pre-christian moral code? And of course it is impossible to write a mystery without murder.
Having specifically "Christian" stories often limits you to Sword and Sandals tales(which are wearing out their welcome), Amish love stories(which at least have a great staying capacity as no one expects plot variance in love stories), and Medievalistic romances and a few other genres.
This is exagerrated of course. But the point remains that a lot of the secularism of literature comes from the nature of literature, not from the philosophical or theological beliefs of the author.