One of many things I’ve learned in this life journey is never say never. Ever. That’s why I’ve never said I’ll never return to political blogging. I may one day, but for now, it’s in a corner collecting dust.
Christian writers and bloggers have to contend with many things. One of the most irritating is hearing from people who tell you what you ought to be writing about (wishing I’d write about certain things is OK), whether it’s a blog post, article, or book. (The same applies to non-Christian writers and bloggers, of course.)
That’s why I empathize with novelist Anne Rice, authoress of such vampire novels as the well-known Interview with the Vampire, which was made into a movie starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
A few years ago, Rice returned to the Catholic faith after years of atheism, and vowed never to write another vampire novel. She said she’d only write for the Lord. See “Interview with a Penitent.”
Let’s lay it out. Vampires are associated with evil. I mean, they’re bloodsuckers. According to vampire mythology, which has evolved over the centuries, a mortal human, once bitten or infected by a vampire, dies from blood loss or becomes a vampire. These soulless creatures are damned to exist for an eternity in non-aging, “undead” bodies, feeding on the lifeblood of mortals. In other words, they must murder (or at the very least, violate) in order to survive.
Based on that rough description, there’s nothing God-glorifying about vampires. Back to Anne Rice. She’s apparently broken her vow and plans to write another vampire book. Lestat is back!
Stan Guthrie, an editor at Christianity Today, has some critical things to say about Rice’s decision to return to blood-sucking characters. He writes:
I cannot pretend to see into Anne Rice’s soul, but to me this is a troubling turn of events. Whatever the merits and drawbacks of writing one final vampire novel, her vow was all-encompassing, seemingly linking her eternal destiny to keeping it. I am reminded of the following verses:
When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
He seems concerned about the vow breaking, rather than the novel’s content. In response to Guthrie’s post, Rice wrote:
My vow to the Lord was that I would write for Him, and for Him alone from then on (2002). I will keep that vow. If this new vampire book, which is no more than an idea, cannot be entirely Christian and redemptive in content, if it cannot be for the Lord, I assure you, it will not be written.
My vocation is to continue the story of Our Lord’s life on Earth and I am doing it. — it’s amazing how this small remark to Time’s interviewers became something I never imagined. — I’ve been flooded with emails for three years about having left my old characters, and more than once it has been suggested to me that they could be revisited in a redemptive or Christian framework. That was the idea.
Very gracious of her to respond. So, Rice says she can keep her vow and write about vampires at the same time. Could work. I don’t have a stake in this either way [Later…Ha! I didn’t catch that stake pun until someone pointed it out - totally unintended], but I’ll drop my two cents for the record. I don’t think it’s unbiblical or otherwise wrong for Christian authors to write stories with dark themes.
For instance, I don’t believe writing or reading about witchcraft or vampires is evil. It’s all in the way you tell the story, and I’m referring to Christian authors specifically. These authors can and should imbue their stories with biblical themes like redemption, substitutionary atonement, the inevitable failure of humans to conquer death and live forever on their own terms (think Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter series), etc.
Evil exists, and Christians can use their creative talent to craft stories, while not Christian fiction per se, that reveal God’s nature, the consequences of violating his laws, and other God-glorifying aspects of the faith.
Having said all that, I believe Christians should write what they feel the Lord is leading them to write. I’m fairly certain, however, he won’t lead them to write novels filled with gratuitous sex scenes and atrocities with no redemptive value whatsoever. The question is, would a true Christian want to write such novels?
