Christians Writing For The General Market

Redemption, Love, Honor, Nobility, Grace…

1. Every member of the human race feels the need of a power outside himself and above himself
2. But the unregenerate person does not receive the things of the spirit because they are foolishness to him. He cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor. 2:14
3. Those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit see the truth objectively—as it really is—but the natural man can only think subjectively. He can only make assumptions about why things are the way they are based on his experience or education.
4. The unsaved person (natural man) CAN grasp themes and ideas that are above him but his mind is enmity to God—the true God and it is not subject to the law of God. Romans 8:7
5. So he must be given themes that are archetypical—Love, redemptions, sacrifice, honor, nobility—all these as placed against evil.
6. He must be confronted with the outward call of God as seen in God’s creation—the proclamation of that which may be known of God—the invisible things of Him which are clearly seen and understood as His eternal power and Godhead. Romans 1:20
7. For the heavens DO declare the Glory of the Lord, the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
8. Your story must lead your reader to the conclusion that there is a Supreme Being and that knowing that they are without excuse. Romans 1:20

Thus in writing for the unsaved we focus on the outward call to all men as displayed in the creation, in noble acts, in sacrificial love, in living an honorable life, in respecting and honoring women, etc.

They cannot respond to the inward call—that they are lost and completely ruined in their Adamic nature and the only remedy is the cross of Christ—until they begin to lay hold of the higher things of life through their mind, will and emotions—their soul.

By reaching for the things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8) in our stories, we can bring the secular reader to a place where the Holy Spirit might have the opportunity to quicken their spirit, so that they can respond to the inward call.

We can use situations of great love and sacrifice (A Tale of Two Cities), great fear of what lies beyond the grave (A Christmas Carol) Nobility (Saving Private Ryan) great emotional stress ( The Military Wife   )

Situations whose resolution can only be explained by the injection of something greater, nobler, more profound than simple human wisdom. We give them stories that leave them exalted, exhausted, broken, or awestruck.

Redemptive Themes

Men rush about trying to attain that which they can never attain. They set goals they can never reach—because they cannot perceive that which is truly good or righteous in God. Being ignorant of God’s righteousness they can only achieve that which is satisfactory to men. They then expect their efforts will somehow please God and are amazed when their efforts crumble into dust—see the story of Cain and Able.

One of the main purposes of Christianity is to take our minds and hearts away from the things of time and to lift them to the things of eternity, and the things of the spirit.

As a Christian writer trying to reach the non-Christian, we should point the reader in that direction—even though they may not understand, we want their thoughts to lift to higher things,

Romans 10:8 tells us that God has put the word of the Gospel very near to the lost creature—even in his mouth and in his heart. The reality of the cross is accepted universally, but the meaning of the cross is where the debate and the misunderstanding lie. If our work can push the unbeliever to the truth of the cross then we have succeeded.

A redemptive story will move the character beyond their self-centered life and give them a glimpse of that which is beyond human understanding.

NOTE: Most men leave some room for God. They know they are going to die and think they can play it safe—death-bed penitent.

As Christians we can ask of them, “Can you die with your philosophy of life as well as live by it?” Man’s heart may be in rebellion but as long as man troubles temporal man’s dreams with questions about eternity, we can feel encouraged in our witness to him and our questions regarding his stance. Even the Athenian stoics on Mars Hill had an altar to the “Unknown God.”

Patrick E. Craig’s stories are an uplifting exploration of deep and growing faith in the midst of trials and desperate situations. They are a new and different approach to contemporary fiction.