Tag: theology and literature

Kyle Rapinchuk, Theology through the Eyes of Fiction

Failure is Not an Option, but It Does Have Consequences (Theology through the Eyes of Fiction)

Failure is Not an Option, but It Does Have Consequences: Eragon’s Blessing and the High Call of Christian Leaders in the Inheritance Saga Near the end of Eragon, (Book 1 of the Inheritance Saga), a woman brings a young girl named Elva to Eragon that he might bless her. Desiring to make the blessing meaningful, Eragon speaks in the ancient language as Saphira (his dragon) touches … Continue reading Failure is Not an Option, but It Does Have Consequences (Theology through the Eyes of Fiction)

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Kyle Rapinchuk, Theology through the Eyes of Fiction

My Mental Attic (Theology through the Eyes of Fiction Series)

My Mental Attic: Christian Vocation in A Study in Scarlet Besides having memorable characters that have seen numerous television and movie portrayals in recent years, the quality of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works also stands out through the thinking that comes through his characters. Several times in conversations throughout these stories I have been forced to stop the story to think about the depth of what … Continue reading My Mental Attic (Theology through the Eyes of Fiction Series)

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Kyle Rapinchuk, Theology through the Eyes of Fiction

How’s the Weather? (Theology through the Eyes of Fiction Series)

How’s the Weather: Modern Day Evangelism in The Club of Queer Trades I once wrote a short story for a creative writing class about a guy at a bus stop. He talked about the most random, incoherent, and meaningless things, and it drove the woman sitting next to him crazy. I won’t reproduce that story here; I will only say that my professor loved it, though … Continue reading How’s the Weather? (Theology through the Eyes of Fiction Series)

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Kyle Rapinchuk, Theology through the Eyes of Fiction

Through the Looking Glass (Theology through the Eyes of Fiction Series)

Through the Looking Glass: Our World and Hope for the New Jerusalem in The Man Who Was Thursday The apostle Paul once wrote that we currently “see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Cor 13:12). James likewise uses the image of a mirror to … Continue reading Through the Looking Glass (Theology through the Eyes of Fiction Series)

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Kyle Rapinchuk, Theology through the Eyes of Fiction

Bilbo, Middle Earth, and the Kingdom of God (Theology through the Eyes of Fiction Series)

Bilbo, Middle Earth, and the Kingdom of God: Sanctification in the Journey of Life in The Hobbit I have been intrigued at how some books stand the test of time in ways beyond what one might expect. It is no surprise that some books remain a foundational work in a certain genre, or that readers continue to pick up the works of Charles Dickens because of … Continue reading Bilbo, Middle Earth, and the Kingdom of God (Theology through the Eyes of Fiction Series)

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Kyle Rapinchuk, Theology through the Eyes of Fiction

Theology through the Eyes of Fiction

In Christian communities, we commonly study literature with an aim towards assessing the worldview of a particular work. We may look at the characters and their choices in order to determine if they are moral or not and if the author seems to be encouraging or discouraging that behavior. For authors who encourage virtue and discourage vice, we might praise the book as promoting, or … Continue reading Theology through the Eyes of Fiction

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