Covert Christianity

My dream has never been to write the Great American Novel. My dream has always been to write the covertly Christian Great American Novel, and to write it with literary excellence.

On the off chance that the above statement may lead some of my many readers to question what I mean by "covertly Christian" and "literary excellence," I will explain and forestall any iundation.

The "covertly Christian" novel does not preach; it is not didactic; it does not necessarily have a conversion scene. Its protagonist is not perfect and its antagonist is not the AntiChrist. Its sole purpose is not to beat the reader over the head with salvation, but to show the reader truth. It does this by telling an interesting and engaging story, with believable characters and dialogue, that is published for the popular market.

But I think the way the story's told is as important as the story itself.

The novel written with "literary excellence" strikes the reader with its vivid imagery, meaningful figures of speech, powerful verbs, and other poetic elements. Sadly, most of these elements are absent in nearly all of what is published as Christian fiction.

I'm not even sure there should be a genre called "Christian fiction." I think Christian writers ought to write excellent fiction, based on a core Christian worldview, in the popular market.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson is a good example, although the protagonist's theology is sometimes questionable. Gilead shines with luminescence; it's a doxology. The author shows God's beauty and joy in the ordinary moments of life, and the reader is moved to praise.