Christian science fiction is a subgenre of both

Christian literature Christian literature is the literary aspect of Christian media, and it constitutes a huge body of extremely varied writing. Scripture While falling within the strict definition of literature, the Bible is not generally considered literature. Ho ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

, in which there are strong

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

themes, or which are written from a Christian point of view.Mort (2002) These themes may be subtle, expressed by way of

analogy Analogy (from Greek ''analogia'', "proportion", from ''ana-'' "upon, according to" lso "against", "anew"+ ''logos'' "ratio" lso "word, speech, reckoning" is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject ( ...

, or more explicit.Sammons (1988) p. 21. Major influences include early science fiction authors such as

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

, while more recent figures include

Stephen Lawhead Stephen R. Lawhead (born 2 July 1950) is a UK-based American writer known for his works of fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction, particularly Celtic historical fiction. He has written over 28 novels and numerous children's and non- ...

. The term is not usually applied to works simply because most or all of the characters are Christian, or simply because the author is Christian.

Influences

While earlier works such as

Victor Rousseau Victor Rousseau ( Feluy, 16 December 1865 – Forest, 17 March 1954) also known as M. Victor Rousseau, was a Belgian sculptor and medalist. Biography Rousseau was of Walloon heritage and descended from a line of stonemasons. He began carv ...

's '' The Messiah of the Cylinder'' (1917) are regarded as part of the Christian science fiction subgenre,Pierce (1989), p. 43. John Mort argues that the most influential Christian science fiction author was C. S. Lewis,Mort (2002), p. 159. After raising Stephen Lawhead and Orson Scott Card as exceptions, Mort states, "Both are major voices, so much so that neither owes much of a debt to C. S. Lewis, except possibly Lawhead early in his career, which is a long way of saying that everyone else does." a "prolific writer who wrote works of Christian science fiction and theology for the average person."Bramlett (1996), p. 3. In ''When World Views Collide: A Study in Imagination and Evolution'', John J. Pierce presents the argument that Lewis was partially writing in response to what Lewis saw as "Wellsianity"—an "anthropocentric evolutionary mythology"Pierce (1989) p. 38.—which he came to view as both false and blasphemous, condemning

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Out of the Silent Planet ''Out of the Silent Planet'' is a science fiction novel by the British author C. S. Lewis, first published in 1938 by John Lane, The Bodley Head. Two sequels were published in 1943 and 1945, completing the ''Space Trilogy''. Plot While on a ...

''.Pierce (1989) p. 40. While the extent to which Lewis' influence varies, Mort points in particular to

Madeleine L'Engle Madeleine L'Engle DStJ (; November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including ''A Wrinkle in Time'' and its sequels: ''A Wind in the Door'', ''A Swiftly Tilting Plan ...

's ''

A Wrinkle in Time ''A Wrinkle in Time'' is a Young adult fiction, young adult science fantasy novel written by American author Madeleine L'Engle. First published in 1962, the book won the Newbery Medal, the Sequoyah Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and ...

'' as a Christian science fiction work which, as he puts it, cannot be read "without being reminded of Lewis' ''

Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...

'' stories."Mort (2002), p. 159. (Of course, ''Narnia'' was fantasy rather than science fiction, but Mort is noting the similarities in style and execution of the story.) Other early authors identified by Mort as being influences upon the development of Christian science fiction include

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

George MacDonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll. I ...

and Charles Williams. (Although, again, these writers worked in fantasy, their influence on Christian science fiction is clear, Mort argues.)

Notable authors

, whose ''

The Space Trilogy ''The Space Trilogy'' or ''Cosmic Trilogy'' is a series of science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis. The trilogy consists of '' Out of the Silent Planet'' (1938), '' Perelandra'' (1943), and ''That Hideous Strength'' (1945). A philologist named ...

'' is regarded as one of the most influential works in the subgenre. *

, although he is better known for his

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

novels than his science fiction works. *

, especially in regard to her novel ''

'' and its sequels, first published in 1962.Garrison (2004), p. 243. "In 1962, Christian science fiction writer Madeline L'Engle introduced millions of readers to the concept of wrinkling time". * Walker Percy with his Christian science fiction work ''Love in the Ruins''.Theroux (1971), p. 280. *

Kathy Tyers Kathy Tyers is an American science fiction author. Biography Kathy Tyers Gillin (née Moore) was born and raised in Long Beach, California. She obtained a degree in microbiology from Montana State University, where she met her first husband, Mar ...

author of the ''

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures * Bennu, Egyptian firebird * Huma bird, Persian firebird * Firebird (Slavic folklore) Bird species ''Various spe ...

'' series. *

Gene Wolfe Gene Rodman Wolfe (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and nove ...

, author of e.g. ''

The Book of the New Sun ''The Book of the New Sun'' (1980–1983) is a four volume, science fantasy novel written by the American author Gene Wolfe. It inaugurated the "Solar Cycle" that Wolfe continued by setting other works in the same universe (''The Urth of the Ne ...

'', who is noted for the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying a Catholic. * Chris Walley and his "Lamb Among the Stars" trilogy. *

Walter M. Miller Jr. Walter Michael Miller Jr. (January 23, 1923 – January 9, 1996) was an American science fiction writer. His fix-up novel, ''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' (1959), the only novel published in his lifetime, won the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel. ...

, the author of ''

A Canticle for Leibowitz ''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' is a post-apocalyptic social science fiction novel by American writer Walter M. Miller Jr., first published in 1959. Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the southwestern United States after a devastating n ...

'' *

Tim LaHaye Timothy Francis LaHaye (April 27, 1926 – July 25, 2016) was an American Baptist evangelical Christian Minister of religion, minister who wrote more than 85 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the ''Left Behind (series), Left Behind ...

and

Jerry B. Jenkins Jerry Bruce Jenkins (born September 23, 1949) is an American writer. He is best known for the ''Left Behind'' series, written with Tim LaHaye. Jenkins has written more than 200 books, in multiple genres, such as biography, self-help, romance, m ...

with their ''

Left Behind ''Left Behind'' is a multimedia franchise that started with a series of 16 bestselling religious novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It focuses on a seven-year conflict between the Tribulation Force, an underground network of converts, a ...

'' series. *

Connie Willis Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (born December 31, 1945), commonly known as Connie Willis, is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards for particular works—more major SF awards than ...

, who explores

free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actio ...

and

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...

especially in her

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

novels. *

Zenna Henderson Zenna Chlarson Henderson (November 1, 1917 – May 11, 1983) was an American elementary school teacher and science fiction and fantasy author. Her first story was published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' in 1951. Her work is cit ...

and her stories about "The People."

Criticism

Mort argues that one of the difficulties facing Christian science fiction authors who endorse

Creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...

—especially those writing "

hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...

" science fiction—is reconciling the limits placed on the author in exploring science within a Creationist framework. This is made even more problematic when one considers that the notion of "the future as divinely ordered" limits the author's ability to speculate on what that future may be.Mort (2002), p. 175. For example, the first of these difficulties has been identified by Pierce as a problem with some of

R. A. Lafferty Raphael Aloysius "R. A." Lafferty (November 7, 1914March 18, 2002) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer known for his original use of language, metaphor, and narrative structure, Lafferty also wrote a set of four autobiographical n ...

's work, who "is uncomfortable with the idea of even biological evolution"; while Tom Doyle notes the predictability of the Christian apocalyptic novel, due, he argues, to the genre following "a particular interpretation of biblical prophecy".Doyle (2002) These difficulties raise concerns regarding genre boundaries: while Christian science fiction has been identified as a specific market into which stories can be sold,Bowling (2007), p. 294. Doyle has questioned whether or not books that are, at times, classified in this subgenre truly fit. In examining Christian

apocalyptic fiction Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

, Doyle notes that it is often classified as Christian science fiction, but argues that this classification is inappropriate. While both may employ scientific themes, Christian apocalyptic fiction is not, as he describes it, "scientifically minded", arguing that the authors tend to respond to scientific problems "with biblical authority, prophetic interpretation, and fundamentalist ideas of human identity instead of rational argument, scientific method, and humanistic thought". Doyle sees Brian Caldwell's '' We All Fall Down'' as an exception to his argument, suggesting that (despite being a work of Christian apocalyptic fiction) it is the sort of work that he would like to see classified as science fiction. It should however be noted that not all Christian science fiction authors have the same theology.

Footnotes

References

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External links

Christian Fandom Home Page
��Nondenominational (albeit fundamentalist in tendency) fellowship of fans interested in fair, accurate representation of orthodox Christian viewpoints with an emphasis on science fiction and fantasy (includes horror and western genres as well).
Where the Map Ends
�� site for all genres of Christian speculative fiction; includes booklist, interviews, and writer's helps. {{Science fiction

Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...