Fantastical Truth

Gatekeepers everywhere. If they’re not “Big Hollywood” trying to fence out Christian creators, they’re natural barriers like lack of resources. Then along comes the siren call of generative AI. It is said these tools can boost creators’ art powers and help them dodge burly guards at the gates! Of course, these programs also generate quite a ruckus. But apart from disputes over job changes and environmental impacts lies one greater question for us fans—can all these cool tools actually help Christian storytellers make amazing new works that change our world? Episode sponsors Twist of Time by Tricia Goyer and Nathan Goyer Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Author Update from Author Media Iffy Eats Monsters for Breakfast by Bryan Timothy Mitchell Mission update New at Lorehaven: new reviews of The Donor and more Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild 1. Yes, if we use gen-AI as tools, not minds. Stephen is first to admit some hatred of AI has grown very foolish. Undoubtedly these may include absurdist political activisms. You may have facts/opinions about data centers and water use. And you may want to “beat China,” or else not care about that. But some of us at Lorehaven never first relied on those arguments. If you marry that “spirit of age,” pro– or anti-AI, you’ll be widowed. Instead we asked about the biblical purposes of humans and art. So all we say here needs to be the Scriptural steel-man version. What if tech lords did make AI cheaper? Built in space? Won big? Your support/opposition to any tool should remain the exact same. Stephen prefers one guiding idea: use AI as a “tool,” not “mind.” “…Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain?” —Arthur Weasley in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling 2. Maybe, with biblical human safeguards. In this case, biblical reason supports mastery over tools, not verse. This isn’t just about AI or any technology, but universal to creation. Mankind can abuse anything as an idol or use it for God’s glory. AI is a special case when it is generative, “making” “new” “art.” Creators have different opinions on how/whether to use this. Stephen does refuse to use generative AI in basically all respects. Nothing he writes, at any stage of the process, is AI-generated. However, he will use AI programs as tools for research/tutoring. These programs excel at gathering/repeating public information. When it’s “scraped” from free sources, that seems more ethical. Researchers, however, should know to cite primary sources. Creators can do that may aim closer for biblically ideal creativity. But if creators refuse, and “outsource” their own minds to tools? Well, they’ll get lost in the slop and will reach creative dead ends. 3. No, if we rank ourselves over fan interests. A few activists seem overly bullish on using AI as substitute-minds. They’re the opposite to reflexive (and short-sighted) AI haters. Some even call loudly for Christian-made art, quick, easy, good(?). This seems a strange cope, short-sighted, and reality-challenged. The cope: some creatives have not made it far past previous gates. They do seem to think mechanical tools will solve human problems. Short-sighted: Christians do already use AI to generate “artworks.” Example: Jon Erwin with House of David season 2 and Old Stories. Yet we don’t hear much about these. That may tell us something. Reality-challenged: this is where Stephen may end the debate. Clear aside all talk of ethics, gatekeepers, policies, impacts. Four simple words blow up gen-AI optimism: Thanks, I hate it. That’s all you need to end all this hoopla about gen-AI revolutions. If the people don’t want it, they don’t want it. And that’s that. Right now, people don’t want it. How do we know? We asked AI. Stephen queried three AI programs with this question: Apart from the debates over cost, environmental impact, economy shifts, and all the politics, especially among leaders in big tech and government … what could we say is the public’s general *impression* in response to AI-generated images, movies, music, and other artworks? Is the public’s stated response good, mixed, or negative? Any particular trend-lines to note? Response from ChatGPT (excerpt, more optimistic): Public sentiment is neither uniformly positive nor uniformly negative — it skews positive for convenience, novelty, and clear utility, but is strongly negative or cautious when authenticity, creator rights, trust, or deception are at stake. Response from Gemini (excerpt, mixed-negative) If you strip away the high-level policy debates and economic anxiety, the general public’s stated response to AI-generated art—images, music, movies, and literature—is highly mixed, but leaning increasingly negative and protective of human creativity. While people love playing with the tools as novelties, the moment they switch from being creators to consumers, a distinct psychological shift occurs. Data from major public opinion studies (like Pew Research, Stanford HAI, and various consumer tracking surveys) highlight several fascinating, counterintuitive trend-lines regarding how the public perceives AI art. (bold emphasis in original) Response from Grok (excerpt, mixed-negative) Mixed, with a lean toward negative or skeptical once people know something is AI-generated—particularly for standalone or fully AI-created works—though curiosity and practical utility exist. Public impressions are nuanced: many appreciate the technology as a tool or for novelty/entertainment, but there’s consistent preference for human-created art, emotional depth tied to human experience, and transparency. Pure AI outputs often face backlash as “slop,” lacking authenticity. (bold emphasis in original) If even AI programs reflect this skepticism, that’s big. Even an AI skeptic like Stephen sees its use in aggregate “polls.” Anyone claiming optimism about AI is logically bound to hear this. Apart from AI is anecdotal evidence. Few fans want gen-AI stuff. Right now, fans are praising films with practical, human-made art. They like the indie-horror movies and Project Hail Mary, no AI. And they love the new Spider-Man trailer with suits and shadows! Some makers boast AI will save time and bypass the big gates. But if fans don’t like that “slop,” the maker simply indulges himself. That’s fine for personal enjoyment but not for real service to others. We’ve already seen this with bad Christian human-made stories. If we’re practical, why we intentionally clash with the market? Even if fans want to make AI slop, they do not want others’ AI slop. And if we’re idealistic, why make inhuman slop for human souls? We lose all high ground at claiming to be more virtuous and godly. We would lose all the how-it’s-made stories behind the stories. Remember that whole AI-generated-actress thing? Flash in a pan. But people love the deeply human Tom Holland (who’s wise on AI!). Not only that, we’ll be wildly and foolishly off documented trends. There may be a place for gen-AI content, in memes or political ads. In other words, this stuff is disposable “art.” Yet it will not last. If we want to save today’s culture, gen-AI is certainly no savior. And if we want to grow and train others, AI could become a villain. Com station Top question for listeners As a fan, how do you feel when you learn any “art” is generated? The Adaptation Stationmaster replied to episode 317: It’s actually pretty rare for me to mourn when a good TV show ends. I feel like too many of them go on too long past their peak because they’re popular. It’s kind of nice to see them decide to go out on a high note instead. One Guild hero (and his wife) grieve over Star Wars: My wife and I had just seen the second third Star Wars sequel. I didn’t like it, but she was devastated. Star Wars wasn’t just a story she appreciated. It was part of the tapestry of her life, woven into some of her best memories. She had put so much of her time and love into that galaxy far, far away, and in that moment it felt like it was broken beyond repair, forever. Her restoration started with the books. Star Wars has one of the widest bodies of expanded universe lore, so even she could find something new to dig into. … It’s an odd place. In one sense, the universe is still destroyed. Star Wars has lost its place at the top of the pop culture pyramid, and may not ever take that place again. Through that, it might lack the largesse that allowed it become such an expansive universe in the first place. But, her place still existed. I think that’s where many of us will find ourselves in the coming days: wishing for the grand galaxies of yesterday, but finding only little pockets of warmth among the stars. Next on Fantastical Truth We’re recording this episode before Realm Makers! So once we return, we’ll have a better idea of what topics to cover. But in general, we can say that we’re pleased to have met or re-met so many Lorehaven fans at that expo. Lord willing, we’ll see you again in St. Louis next summer!

One of the sillier myths in our culture claims, “Most men don’t read.” Sometimes this is a real trend. Other times it’s wishful thinking because some folks don’t want to share stories that boys and men want to read. Still, we can join to equip Christian fathers and other mentors for their unique God-given responsibility—to train kids to fight dragons. And for that mission, author James R. Hannibal rides back into the studio. Episode sponsors Twist of Time by Tricia Goyer and Nathan Goyer Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Author Update from Author Media Descendant Publishing Mission update New at Lorehaven: new reviews and articles Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes Lightraiders year 2: Crowdfunding campaign Yes, Men and Boys Will Read—If You Give Them the Right Books Intro: James R. Hannibal Former stealth pilot James R. Hannibal is no stranger to secrets and adventure. He has been shot at, locked up by surface to air missiles, has hunted insurgents with drones, and was once chased by an armed terrorist down a winding German road. James is the Realm Award–winning author of the Lightraider Academy Trilogy series and a three-time winner of the Silver Falchion Award for Juvenile Fiction for his Section 13 series. He also stewards the discipleship learning adventure game Lightraiders. JamesRHannibal.com · Facebook · Instagram · X.com 1. Lightraiders is being quietly re-forged Life updates: Something brought James here—fate, destiny, a horse. How we can pray for the Hannibals and support Courser Media. Meanwhile, the original for-profit Lightraiders is now a nonprofit. Reasons for the change, especially for culture-changing Christians. 2. Behold the goal of discipleship storytelling Dragons roam the land. We must learn to combat these creatures. Christians do need “just for fun” creative works that entertain. Yet we also need fiction that teaches truth, beauty, and goodness. Parents need both kinds of stories to help train future warriors. 3. The future of Lightraiders and beyond New quests and crowdfunding goals for Year 2 of Lightraiders. After that, what’s next will depend on the nonprofit’s support level. Also, Classics Rebooted: sci-fi Around the World in Eighty Days! Do follow Courser Media, Lightraiders, and James R. Hannibal. Com station Top question for listeners How did mentors and fantastical stories train you to fight dragons? Lavay Byrd enjoyed ep. 316 with Rebecca P. Minor Hi, all! I was just listening to the podcast, and all your discussions really hit what I’ve been feeling towards the sad explosion of overly sexualized/”porn” romantasty or even considered “regular fantasy” populating bookstores, while books like Lord of the Rings or even Christian Fantasy being treated as an afterthought. Listening to you all discuss such a sad reality made me think of how “overly-sensationalized” books are basically harmful drugs that’s poisoning readers, more so among the teens and YA. I’m so glad to see writers like Rebecca P Minor and many others not only acknowledging the darkness for what it is, but also shining HOPE LIGHT and TRUTH that always overcome darkness through story. I also agree that we need more real characters with flaws and struggles, making choices both dark and good, while opening up a path for grace and redemption. Next on Fantastical Truth Our next episode will release after Realm Makers. So at this point, we haven’t yet planned it! Perhaps you’ll have an amazing idea. Or maybe we’ll catch some trend or topic at the Expo that we never would have considered. Either way, we hope to see you next week in St. Louis.

This week we wanted to explore 1980s fantasy. But sometimes it’s hard to recover nostalgia when present-day villains keep killing our favorite heroes. Last week, the BBC announced Doctor Who is dead. For now. Rest in peace, Time Lord. Also these days, Stargate fans are rallying to hold Amazon to its original promises of restoring that universe with original creators, and stop the ‘Zon from some “modern audience” reboot. For these and fans of other Star franchises, how do we mourn? Episode sponsors Twist of Time by Tricia Goyer and Nathan Goyer Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Author Update from Author Media Descendant Publishing Mission update New at Lorehaven: new review, Maxine Justice: Public Offender Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes “June 3, 2026: Stargate cancelled, for the fourth and likely final time,” Joseph Mallozzi’s Weblog, June 3, 2026 “June 6, 2026: Do Fans Matter?”, Joseph Mallozzi’s Weblog, June 6, 2026 “Why Amazon canceling the new Stargate series is a mistake – and fans are trying to tell them,” Trent Moore at Static on the TV, June 6, 2026 “Former ‘Dr. Who’ showrunner Russell T. Davies says women and transvestites should be over-represented in creative writing until ‘things are balanced,’ even if it takes 100 years.” See this June 10 X.com post @BreitbartNews with video of original Davies interview. “Save Stargate with Martin Gero,” Change.org petition “Lego’s latest design research: what girls want,” Reena Jana at ZDNet.com, Dec. 19, 2011 1. Doctor Who destroyed by Russell T. Davies BBC, June 10: “BBC cancels Doctor Who Christmas special and Russell T Davies announces exit,” absolutely predictable end. Back in 2005, Davies revived Doctor Who serials on television. The series had “politically correct” moments, yet great writing. Writer Steven Moffat took over. The show got big. Then declined. In the late 2010s, political leftists demanded Doctor Who A lackluster showrunner took over. Fans rejected a gender-swap. Davies returned a political omnicause monster. He killed the Doctor. 2. Amazon rejects a fan-centered Stargate Variety, June 2: “‘Stargate’ TV Series From Martin Gero Not Moving Forward at Amazon (EXCLUSIVE),” and fans were outraged. Original creators were on board, per the Nov. 2025 announcement. Now they join fans opposing this seeming ridiculous double-back. Amazon may want a “modern audience” show, not original fans. This is a universe more impossible than any sci-fi scenario. That’s not how you grow a fanbase ever. True fans will grow it. Stephen finds this similar to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut. He’s drawn in! 3. Star Trek/Wars still struggle to survive We saved this for last because fans everywhere rightly lament. Since our last episode on the topic, we’ve seen major updates. Mandalorian and Grogu bombed. Starfleet Academy was axed. Technically both franchises flounder ahead with illusory intent. Kathleen Kennedy is finally leaving Lucasfilm, owned by Disney. Star Trek showrunner Robert Kurtzman is likely next to go. Corporations aren’t evil. But inhuman corporatism is parasitic. This “mind of metal and wheels” has ruined stories for Christians. But now the Christians are improving. These stories are decaying. We really can’t pretend “popular culture” is just neutral ground. Activists do want to kill these stories and replace them with others. To speak truth, we should acknowledge the justifiable backlash. And then we mourn their deaths. But not as those without hope. After all, the results could be worse. What if the hijacking worked? Even non-Christian fans saw through the trick. And they said no. The “market” did its job, perhaps thanks to God’s common grace. It’s nearly like the Law rightly punishing violators. It is necessary. Let them suffer the results. Maybe repent. But retreat in disgrace. And if possible, may better storytellers rise up to restore worlds. Until then, let great story-worlds like Doctor Who rest in peace. Com station Top question for listeners How do you grieve the loss of fantastical stories you once loved? Next on Fantastical Truth One of the sillier myths in our culture is that “Most men don’t read.” Sometimes this is a real trend. Other times it’s wishful thinking because some creators don’t want to make stories that celebrate boys and men. Still, we can look to fathers and mentors to train younger men, not just to love truth, but to love fantastical stories that honor truth. Just in time for the next stage of the Lightraiders tabletop game system, pilot and author James R. Hannibal returns to the studio to help fight dragons.

What if the wicked villains did conquer the elves? And what if a young elf-maiden was forced to carry the offspring of one of the invaders? That’s the new novel The Rending Cauldron, just brewed by fantasy author and Realm Makers president Rebecca P. Minor. Today, Becky joins us in the studio to explore tough topics, dark drama, and the expanding worlds of Christian-made fantastical fiction. Episode sponsors All That Glows by Lauren Smyth Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Author Update from Author Media Descendant Publishing Mission update New at Lorehaven: new review of Darkend Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Backstory: Rebecca P. Minor Rebecca P. Minor writes sword-and-sorcery fantasy across The Windrider Saga and The Risen Age Archive series. As president of Realm Makers, she also joins her husband Scott helping other fantasy and science fiction writers create God-honoring stories. The Minors have three geeky sons. Now in their empty nest season, they’re seeking ways to further the Realm Makers mission while also tending to their roles as the servants to a couple of spoiled cats. Instagram: @‌rebeccapminor Facebook: @‌rebeccapminor 1. From faith to Realm Makers to snarky elves Rebecca’s testimony, even early work at the pre-Lorehaven blog. Some quick notes on the founding and growth of Realm Makers. More about The Windrider Saga and The Risen Age Archive series. 2. From snarky elves to complex fantasy Images and ideas that led to The Rending Cauldron’s premise. Why this new novel is more appropriate for grown-up readers. Early responses from readers and a guide to complex stories. 3. Forging a deeper Christian-made fantasy Stories can avoid politics, but wrestle with pre-political moralities. They can go beyond jargon and apply crises to realistic people. And not every story is for everyone. Readers can help each other. Com station Top question for listeners Who is your favorite fictional elf? What is your favorite thematically complex story? Next on Fantastical Truth Some fans love the new He-Man movie. Others may not care so much, especially if they didn’t grow up in the 1980s. But no matter your age, fantasy franchises from that decade have shaped the creative worlds we know today. How can Christians look back on this era with discernment and appreciation for good nostalgia?

So much sci-fi likes to imagine that humans survive for centuries with some knowledge of classic literature, music, and cultural memory—everything except our religious beliefs. But today we explore a new sci-fi subgenre that dares to suggest the opposite. Faithful priests and other religious heroes of the future may not be wicked villains. In fact, they may be kind of awesome—and potentially fight in powerful mech armor. What is this subgenre some creators call incensepunk?[1. Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash.] Episode sponsors All That Glows by Lauren Smyth Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Author Update from Author Media Descendant Publishing Mission update New at Lorehaven: Stephen is on break for the annual Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference; welcome to any new listeners he met while teaching about fantastical stories there Now we’re getting ready for Realm Makers. More on that soon. Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Concession stand Stephen and Zack are Protestants, and yet often enjoy fellowship with Catholic friends. Many creators of fantastical fiction, such as J.R.R. Tolkien, come from these other traditions. So we wanted to speak with today’s Catholic creators of fantastical stories. We’ll be joined today by the staff of Incensepunk Magazine They promise “High tech, high church… science fiction that envisions a future where faith is a living part of culture.” Backstories: Incensepunk staff Jon James, editor-in-chief Jon’s work has been published in the Listen: the Sound of Fear anthology, the Killer Queen comics anthology, Recompose Journal, Theme of Absence, and Rehumanize International. His hobbies are as multifarious as the genres he writes in. Follow him: Twitter, bsky, Substack, Website Yuval Kordov, developmental editor Yuval Kordov is a chronically creative nerd, tech professional, husband, and father to two amazing girls. Over the course of his random life, he has been a radio show DJ, produced experimental electronic music, created the world of Dark Legacies®, and built custom mechs with LEGO® bricks. Follow him: Twitter, bsky, Substack, Website Andrew Gillsmith | Marketing Director Andrew Gillsmith is a science fiction writer living in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the author of Our Lady of the Artilects, the Deserted Vineyard series, the Planet Gallywood series, and The Jerusalem Passage. He currently works in publisher development in the programmatic advertising space. He is married to Cheryl and has two young sons, a Great Dane, and a pet rat named Reggie. Follow him: Twitter, Substack 1. Who built the Roman sci-fi roads Exploring foundational sci-fi and fantasy stories from Catholic authors “What we call the Catholic novel isn’t necessarily about a Christianized or catholicized world, but simply…one in which the truth as Christians know it has been used as a light to see the world by.” —Flannery O’Connor 2. How the Roman sci-fi road is being rebuilt What Incensepunk does differently than secular, Protestant, or even other Catholic authors “Incensepunk is, at its core, a genre of longing. It desires a world in which traditional faiths and churches play a major role in society. Incensepunk extrapolates Byzantine and Gothic architecture styles into a modern world of skyscrapers and globalization. However, it is not regressive. It doesn’t view the past as good and the present as wicked and depraved. Instead, it tries to envision what the world could look like if faith and society were more integrated.” —from the Incensepunk Manifesto 3. Future directions for the Roman sci-fi road How the future is religious “Artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships, and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate or even simulate, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational, and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom.” —Pope Leo XIV on X.com Com station Top question for listeners What is your favorite fantastical story featuring a Catholic character? From Victor DiGiovanni in response to Ep. 313: Should Christian-Made Stories Evangelize Nonbelievers? I love that we are in an era of Christian media to where a single book or movie or TV show doesn’t have to accomplish all the goals of Christian media.  It always seemed that a “Christian book” or film HAD to have a very straightforward call to action. Next on Fantastical Truth What if the wicked villains did conquer the elves? And what if a young elf-maiden was forced to carry the offspring of one of the invaders? That’s the new novel The Rending Cauldron, just brewed by fantasy author and Realm Makers co-founder Rebecca P. Minor. Next week, Becky joins us in the studio to explore tough topics, dark drama, and the expanding worlds of Christian-made fantastical fiction.

Summer has returned. That often brings seasonal vacations that give you downtime in a car or airplane, maybe on a nice beach somewhere. You already know that’s a great opportunity to catch up on reading. So what are some tips and tricks to refocus on reading, finding the best fantastical novels and gaining the most from these worlds? Episode sponsors All that Glows by Lauren Smyth Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Author Update from Author Media The Talismiths: The Secret Saboteur by M. L. Hodder Mission update New at Lorehaven: reviews have entered a pre-summer hiatus Use the super Library search to find your family’s next favorite Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild 1. Value quality books over quantity of books. Alas, I can’t make this year’s FPEA with Realm Makers Bookstore. But if I had, I’d have heard this line repeated: “My kid reads fast!” This is of course a great problem to have in homeschool families. Many want books “without agenda,” that is, obvious bad ideas. Yet fewer parents ask for books “without ugly,” that is, excellent. In some cases, this may feel like a luxury belief. Kids may not care. Many kids, for example, will read at scale—good books and bad. When I was a late teenager, I began learning some books are ugly. My first truly bad novel was [Title Redacted] by [Author Redacted]. But in my family, I had to learn a “language” for describing this. I was helped by reading newspaper reviews of books and films. Then later, early 90s internet taught me better (and bad) reviews. The Pop Culture Parent shares some guides for evaluating beauty. Yet one clear sign—the book asks questions leading you to Jesus. That’s why we host the Lorehaven Library and review some titles. 2. Still, focus on reading many quality books! Stephen has a unique struggle: holding onto pleasure reading. As publisher of Lorehaven, it’s hard to read without some “goal”! But read we must, “for its own sake,” that is, for our Author’s sake. Still, as we age, perhaps every book gains more “practical” value. Stephen often hyper-schedules every working and resting day. This seems a great way to set goals. “The calendar made me do it.” And then, five or fifteen minutes in, momentum alone takes over. You may also need to turn off your phone or use “airplane mode.” Stephen keeps it on, but keeps all social-media notifications muted. Distracted by chatter? Try a free white-noise generator (or an app). Kindles and other devices also help with distraction-free reading. Don’t forget classic printed books. There’s nothing like real pages! 3. Join other readers to share great novels. Obviously your family and friends can be your first fellow readers. Ask your kids what they’re reading, and share what you read too! Take natural interest in their stories, the ideas, and what they love. Stephen’s siblings and him often joined in reading and even writing. Now, he and his wife Lacy frequently read, often aloud, with voices. If possible, join (or start?) physical book clubs at your local church. Focus on quality, classic, and/or Christian-made fantastical titles. Sure, you might use sites or social media to find matching books. Stephen isn’t sure that AI (or AI-driven apps) prove best for this. Lorehaven features monthly book quests to help us read together. We believe humans, made in Christ’s image, can best find books. Subscribe free to join the Guild and talk about all manner of titles. Com station Top question for listeners What are your top tricks for reading the best and most books? Next on Fantastical Truth Now that Zack and Stephen are taking turns, next week’s episode just might cover a new genre that dares to suggest faithful priests and other religious heroes of the future may not be (gasp) wicked villains. In fact, they may be kind of awesome—and potentially wear powerful mech armor. What is this subgenre some creators call incensepunk?

On May 14, we’ve had one Ascension Day, yes.[1. Photo by Chase Kennedy on Unsplash.] What about second Ascension Day (May 21)? In either case, Ascension Day marks the lesser-known sequel to Easter Sunday, honoring the time when Jesus Christ returned to Heaven. His disciples recorded His famous last words, including His command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” How does this Great Commission affect our fantastical stories? Episode sponsors All that Glows by Lauren Smyth Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Author Update from Author Media The Talismiths: The Secret Saboteur by M. L. Hodder Mission update New at Lorehaven: newly upgraded Library book search Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild 1. Let’s define the Great Commission. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” —Matthew 28:16–20, ESV This command is first for Christ’s disciples and then all Christians. It’s not just about getting people saved but a lifelong faith practice. This starts at home but expands, including baptism and teaching. It doesn’t overrule orders to live simply, work hard, raise families. It doesn’t overrule God’s first “commission,” the Creation Mandate. In fact, this helps restore people to Jesus so we can do that calling. 2. How do some stories try to act this out? In the past, evangelical Christian fiction focuses on nonbelievers. They want to tell good stories, yes, but also get the reader saved. Sometimes the hero is a nonbeliever forced to confront faith issues. In fantasy, we met Jesus-allegories or find prayer is a weapon. In sci-fi, we learned aliens are real (demons) and Jesus is better. Other stories have featured “backslidden” people who need faith. And then other stories push back with more subtle approaches. The rise of YA brings simpler themes, often identity and courage. Romantasy may reduce “gospel” content, favoring virtues and love. Before: overt gospel about God. After: subtle morals about us. In either case, the original “evangelical” impulse may remain. Authors understandably want to do more than entertain readers. 3. Great stories reflect all God’s commands. It’s important to note differences between these two commands. So far as we know, the Creation Mandate is forever, an eternal call. The Great Commission is temporary . It won’t be around forever. This doesn’t make the Mandate more important. It does balance. That’s why the apostles spoke often about families and hard work. We have seen older novels that valued “message” over excellence. If we feel guilty over not witnessing, we may want to compensate. A novel may make us feel we’ve “evangelized” or helped others. But sometimes, even then, novels like that don’t fulfill that goal. Stephen enjoys novels that can reflect both these high callings. And yet only the Mandate tells creators to make great stories. My own novel does star space missionaries, yet has bigger ideas. The point isn’t “share the gospel.” It’s, “Here’s how that can look.” And then, “What are the costs to the human heroes who do this?” That story is mainly for Christian readers. Others may not get it. That’s okay. In my view, we need more stories “inside the club.” And yet Christians can bless nonbelievers just with great stories. They can reflect biblical truth, even gospel, yet have other goals. These can serve as pre-evangelism, or common grace for them. “Common grace” means the ways God blesses even nonbelievers. He sends rain and sunshine, good government, widespread virtue. And He enables good culture-making in a sinful world to bless us. Great stories, even if they don’t “evangelize,” can help evangelists. And either way, we follow both commands and glorify our Creator. Com station Top question for listeners Did a great novel help you get saved? Or draw closer to Jesus? Next on Fantastical Truth Summer has returned. That often brings seasonal vacations that give you downtime in a car or airplane, maybe on a nice beach somewhere. You already know that’s a great opportunity to catch up on reading. So what are some tips and tricks to refocus on reading, finding the best fantastical novels and gaining the most from these worlds?

This week marks Ascension Day, May 14![1. Photo by Timo Volz on Unsplash.] So let’s rise to that occasion and survey at least seven notions about that place to which Jesus ascended—Heaven. Is it true that Heaven is only “spiritual”? Or that we can’t know about Heaven is like, so it’s best we not think much about that unchanging, un-earthly or very-earthly dimension where “time shall be no more” and where basically good people go? We’ll do our best to bypass modern myth and search the only certain Source. Episode sponsors All that Glows by Lauren Smyth Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Author Update from Novel Marketing The Talismiths: The Secret Saboteur by M. L. Hodder Mission update New at Lorehaven: weekly reviews, recent website upgrades Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Concession stand Concession: Randy Alcorn just released a similar article last week. By intention, I didn’t read the article, or my own previous material. There’s a chance some of my myths (in no special order) overlap. I do credit Alcorn’s Heaven (2004) as a formative influence. Yet here I’ll attempt to base my reasons straight on Scripture. In the past I’ve rankled some folks with strange afterlife ideas. Yet in the last 20 years more people have “discovered” New Earth. 1. Heaven is only a “spiritual” place. This usually comes not from teaching, but memes and impressions. Some of us also recall the phrase “spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:44). Since God is Spirit (John 4:24), isn’t this the same kind of spirit? Won’t this mean we’ll have no body, becoming intangible, ghostly? It’s true that God the Father is spirit, without a body. Yet not Jesus. All resurrection ideas are based on His physical/spiritual nature. Yes, Heaven today is for souls separated from bodies (2 Cor. 5). It won’t stay that way after the final resurrection Jesus promises. Paul in 1 Cor. 15 defines “spiritual body” as Spirit-powered body. And in 2 Cor. 5 he promises we will be “further clothed,” not naked. 2. It’s best not to think about Heaven. This too is not taught in Scripture, except from misquoted verses. 1 Cor. 2:9, “what no eye has seen…” doesn’t truly command this. Even if this were about Heaven, it never discourages imagination. But it isn’t anyway. It’s about “things God has revealed” (verse 10). Scripture’s images encourage, not suppress truthful imagination. I’m not sure why else God would inspire such fantastical imagery. With biblical foundation, it’s impossible to think “too much” on this. See also: nonsense about “being so heavenly minded…” Bad logic. Being biblically “heavenly minded” helps us love “earthly good.” We avoid that gnostic impulse the slogan was meant to counter. 3. “Time shall be no more” in Heaven. People really do assume this phrase comes from the Bible. It’s actually from the hymn “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder.” That’s a partial quote from Rev. 10:6 (KJV), warning that time is up. But the phrase got loose and reinforces vague, “spiritoid” images. Maybe we could say time runs different in today’s Heaven. Revelation describes events in sequence, as Heaven watches. It references waiting martyrs (Rev. 6:11) and “half an hour” (8:1). In either case, Scripture never implies time/matter has gone evil. A possible rule: we need special proof for “X won’t be in Heaven.” Unless the Bible says, don’t assume that thing won’t last forever. 4. Basically good people go to Heaven. We hear this all the time, in pop culture, funerals, our own doubts. A lot of time this myth isn’t specifically taught, only caught. But I did hear a Mormon apologist Jacob Hansen teaching this. In his view, basically only Hitler or “sons of perdition” go to Hell. This notion will result in doctrine and fiction with bad views of evil. Villains will become more “misunderstood” in reality and in stories. Scripture never teaches this. Hell is real. Not all go to Heaven. And if pagans saw Heaven correctly, they wouldn’t want to anyway. Imagine an eternity of worshiping King Jesus in everything we do. There can by definition be no perfect world apart from His reign. 5. Today’s Heaven looks like Earth. Some years ago, we saw many books about “heaven tourism.” One or two got discredited. One or two got made into movies. Sometimes adults wrote the tell-all. But one little boy glimpsed it(?). Whether or not they had visions, they do reinforce some myths. For example, one book spoke of Heaven in many earthly terms. On principle, I disagree—but not because earthliness is bad. Rather, it’s premature. Heaven hasn’t yet united with Earth (Rev. 21). Similarly, I hear Christians talking about believers now resurrected. But unless they have their bodies back, resurrection is still future! Heaven is fantastic now. Next comes the even better sequel. 6. We can’t know what Heaven is like. Even if God never promised New Earth, Heaven would be great. You get past death and suffering. You get to be with Jesus Christ. You get to reunite with believing family, saints, heroes, and angels. And even as you wait (accelerated time?) there are things to do! Angels in Heaven now worship God all the time. What an epic sight. You might get to witness a higher view of events playing on Earth. And I’m sure we begin getting answers to many of our questions. But also, see Revelation 6. Martyrs are still waiting for what’s next. In fact, they know about terrible things and want God’s vengeance. They get no “memory wipe,” only the start of greater perspective. 7. Heaven could never unite with Earth. Reckless words about Earth and bodies devalues God’s creation. See: “that’s just her shell” or “she’ll never see him on this Earth.” In fact, God promised she’ll get back that body and he’ll be back. Nothing in Scripture condemns our body or the material world. It doesn’t endorse myths like “the Earth gets forever destroyed.” In fact, 2 Peter 3 speaks in terms of fire that refines our planet. Isaiah 60, 65-66 and Rev. 21 promise a Heaven/Earth reunion. The word “new” doesn’t negate those nouns’ ordinary meanings. Heaven is where God dwells. Earth is where we would have dwelt. In this future God and Man all dwell together in one world (Rev. 21)! Com station Top question for listeners What do you long for most in Heaven or the future New Heavens? April wrote this for episode 303 about overseas tales: K-dramas may have romantic clichés just like anime or manga, but they handle them better than many Western media. It’s a slow build-up, less sexualized, and focuses on emotions, sacrifice, and getting to know the other person, rather than how quickly you can get two attractive people into bed or make them kiss. Western romance is more about lust these days and that’s because it has such a bad reputation as a genre, while the old-fashioned romance of classic books is still considered respectable literature. Next on Fantastical Truth This Thursday, some Christians will observe Ascension Day. That’s the lesser-known sequel to Easter Sunday, honoring the time when Jesus Christ returned to Heaven. His disciples recorded His famous last words, including His command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” How does this Great Commission affect our fantastical stories?

Pragmata released to gaming consoles April 17. The new Capcom title promptly sold 1 million copies by its first weekend and provoked much discourse from fans and some haters. Why the hate? Because players everywhere, especially men, loved the key concept of an outer space soldier teaming up with a little android girl to fight robo-monsters. Gamers declared they would do anything to protect Diana. How do these stories help humans remember to restore our “factory settings”? Episode sponsors All that Glows by Lauren Smyth Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Author Update from Novel Marketing The Talismiths: The Secret Saboteur by M. L. Hodder Mission update New at Lorehaven: weekly reviews, some website upgrades Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild New book quest for Mortal Queens by Victoria McCombs 1. The tale of a mecha-man and robo-girl Capcom announced Pragmata nearly six years ago (June 2020). The game was later delayed, with sporadic, apologetic teasers. The pitch? Space marine finds orphaned android girl in moonbase. They team up to fight rogue robots in hopes of returning to Earth. Before it even released, Reddit banned one channel (TheGamer). They said some people were sexualizing the little robot girl, Diana. Which is unfortunately expected, and horrifying. More on this later. Last month, the final trailer arrived, and the game itself (April 17). After release, some men said they felt their “dad senses” awaken. You all HATE escort missions But make that NPC a cute kid, and suddenly you’ll burn the whole world down for them Japan’s population is crashing. Capcom realized people wouldn’t listen to government mandates to reproduce, so they started making “Parent Simulators” Pragmata feels like a psyop to make you want to have kids, a propaganda disguised as a game to boost the birth rates. And honestly it’s awesome. The timeline is full of people saying Diana makes them want to start a real family. I love that we really fell for it. —@‌TheRooster on X.com, April 20 Female players were also positively affected by Diana’s cuteness. In response, critics blasted this positive response as closeted sin. They saw nothing but evil motives in the male players’ enjoyment. Single men, actual dads, and uncles alike said they’d die for Diana. And the game’s fans began referring to human “factory settings.” 2. What we mean by saying ‘factory settings’ Stephen hasn’t yet played Pragmata but wants to. Great reviews. It turns out the idea of “factory settings” has great foundations. This is just a pop-culture-y, meme-y way to say “human purpose.” It’s a rebuttal to false purposes, e.g. “get rich” or “be an activist.” In other words, the “chief end of man.” Let’s define this carefully. In the biblical view, our “chief end” is to glorify and enjoy God. To the Christian, our “chief end” is not to protect the innocent. Our chief end isn’t even getting married and having families. After all, in a sinful world, not everyone is blessed with this gift. But … that doesn’t mean we deny that original human purpose. It goes back to Genesis 1:27-28, God’s first command to people. We worship Him first by acts of creation, including marriage/family. This is our “factory setting.” By recalling the action, we get close. The next step is to rediscover that original motive: to glorify God. 3.How these ‘factory settings’ can change us Stephen’s response is different. He’s not been blessed with kids. Even those who are blessed with kids have rough family situations. And of course, as some critics say, the game shows only positives. Diana isn’t a real child, but a robot. (We don’t know spoilers here.) Real small children have sinful natures and many challenges. And yet… can’t a game “simulate” these with health and death? You do “die” and respawn many times in a game, leveling up. It’s a direct and often numbers-based “parable” illustrating reality. That’s probably why many men love tabletop games and LitRPG. This is not just a psychological trick. Not just a “dopamine hack.” We may feel the same about beauty, knowing we’re made for more. To capture this longing, C.S. Lewis used the German sehnsucht. We could recall this longing, but let it stay in the world of fiction. Or else “translate” this (right or wrong) to our own human callings. But we also hope gamers will follow through on marriage/parenting. Not just to recover birth rates. Not just for high cultural influence. The purpose of any creation—even of people—is to glorify Christ. Com station Top question for listeners When did a simple story remind you of your purpose as a person? Next on Fantastical Truth Next week marks Ascension Day, May 14! So let’s rise to that occasion and survey at least seven notions about that place to which Jesus ascended—Heaven. Is it true that Heaven is only “spiritual”? Or that we can’t know about Heaven is like, so it’s best we not think much about that unchanging, un-earthly or very-earthly dimension where “time shall be no more” and where basically good people go? We’ll do our best to bypass modern myth and search the only certain Source.

You’ve likely met some Christians who emphasize safety for children rather than preparing them for spiritual conflict. That’s why some more genteel-churchy responses to pop culture have said “it’s useless” or else “stay away” from stories like Harry Potter, Doom, or Dungeons and Dragons. So is it any wonder that a top-selling subgenre among young male readers is LitRPG, often with totally epic and jacked soldier good guys (maybe with mech suits) who slay evil aliens and demons? Episode sponsors Perplexity by Chawna Schroeder Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Land of Giants by Laurie Christine Wisdom and Wonder Conference & Expo Mission update New at Lorehaven: new review of Wavemaker by F. C. Shultz Coming in early May: major site upgrades, especially with search Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Backstory: Jonathan Shuerger Jonathan Shuerger is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who brings authenticity, faith, and a love of story to every page. His writing is marked by military precision, theological depth, and cinematic imagination. He’s the author of Devil Dog: A Marine vs. Hell, available on Royal Road. Find all his works at JonathanShuerger.com. 1. Warrior culture v. safety culture Why we should train people for battle. The martial art of Jiu Jitsu appeals to people. Warrior culture seems to be dying. Safetyism seems to be taking over. 2. How Christian culture responds to war stories Some critics claim violent stories cause us to be violent. What kinds of battles do we expect ourselves (or our kids) to face? 3. How young men long to level up Exploring the quests young men want to take. Jonathan’s new LitRPT book Devil Dog: “A Marine wakes up in Hell. He’s confused by two things: he’s part of a Game where demons level themselves up, and he’s infused with holy energy in defiance of every infernal law. Time to regroup.” Com station Top question for listeners What’s your favorite military story, whether from LitRPG or another genre? Next on Fantastical Truth Pragmata released to gaming consoles April 17. The new Capcom title promptly sold 1 million copies by its first weekend and provoked much discourse from fans and some haters. Why the gate? Because players everywhere, especially men, loved the key concept of an outer space soldier teaming up with a little android girl to fight robo-monsters. Gamers declared they would do anything to protect Diana. How does these stories help humans remember to restore our “factory settings”?

“We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. “‘In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth. And the Earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.’” Episode sponsors The Star-Blessed by Angie Dickinson Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Land of Giants by Laurie Christine Wisdom and Wonder Conference & Expo Mission update New at Lorehaven: new reviews, upcoming super search Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Plus the Lorehaven Authorship to help terraform Christian fantasy Stephen heads to Houston to hype space missions April 25 at Houston Christian University’s Wisdom & Wonder Conference The crew of Apollo 8 in 1968 (NASA) 1. Past astronauts paid tribute to Christianity Dec. 24, 1968: Apollo 8’s crew was the very first to orbit the Moon. These astronauts were Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman. And they read from Gen. 1:1-10 (in the King James Version). But the Judeo-Christian roots of NASA go even deeper. General ideas: this is a generation still shaped by World War II. Some call this “positive world,” when churches/faith were in vogue. So was the actual gospel, co-mingled with “cultural Christianity.” Rocket engineer Wernher von Braun was one confessing Christian. These men did not just affirm Jesus as Savior but God as Creator. “And God said, ‘Let the waters under the Heavens be gathered together into one place. And let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. And God called the dry land Earth. And the gathering together of the waters called he seas. And God saw that it was good.” And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you—all of you on the good Earth. Apollo 8 Commander Frank Borman, Dec. 24, 1968 Many early astronauts publicly acknowledged Christ or religion. Among these were Captain Jim Lovell and Col. Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin, a Presbyterian, took a secret Communion on the Moon. During a pre-splashdown broadcast, he also read Psalm 8:3-4: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the Son of Man, that thou visitest him?” According to a 2019 Catholic Sun article: It turns out Aldrin’s religious faith is not an anomaly. In fact, the 29 astronauts who visited the moon during the Apollo program were a generally religious cohort. According to NASA, 23 were Protestant and six Catholic, with a high proportion of them serving as church leaders in their congregations. The astronauts didn’t talk publicly about their faith very much, but that’s largely because NASA started clamping down on public expressions of faith after the famous Christmas Eve Bible reading of Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon. So we can’t ignore these 1960s-era acts of culture war. People didn’t just get bored or naturally tired of public faith. They got intimidated and silenced by angry atheistic activism. Not the same as “classic humanism” mixed into scienctific pursuits. That often has Christian-based virtue, just without God or Christ. Ultimately this deconstruction kills the “science” it claims to love. Which leads to present-day selection bias among astronaut heroes. Captain Victor Glover, pilot of Artemis II in 2026 (NASA) 2. Present astronauts praise God, even Jesus “Good Earth.” Reading the Apollo 8 transcript, Stephen teared up. We’ve also heard that phrase recently repeated around Artemis II. Key point: you can’t get far off Earth without loving this good Earth. You need to love God’s creation, natural law, math, and science. And you must value knowledge, wisdom, adventure over comfort. Regardless of personal faith, you must acknowledge higher Good. This is what we saw most recently among Artemis II Among these, Captain Victor Glover is the most recently famous. You’ve likely seen his quotes circulating around social memes. In the Orion capsule named Integrity, Glover said this for Easter: I don’t have anything prepared. I think these observances are important. And as we are so far from Earth and looking back at the beauty of creation, I think for me, one of the really important personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see Earth as one thing. When I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us, who were created [to be]—you have this amazing place, this spaceship. You guys are talking to us because we’re in a spaceship really far from Earth. But you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos. Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special. But we’re the same distance from you. And I’m trying to tell you—just trust me—you are special. In all of this emptiness—this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe—you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together. I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we’ve gotta get through this together. After returning, Glover shared similar thoughts to his neighborhood: Some of us have never met before and you know whose fault that is? Ours. So, let’s choose to do this. Let’s be this more. Let’s be neighbors. I don’t know if you heard me say it, but God told us to love Him with all that we are and love our neighbors as ourselves. I love you. This too went viral. And many people said, “He’s sharing gospel!” Back to our previous question: is this the gospel? Yes and no. It’s part of the gospel. But not the whole thing. And that’s okay. It’s okay to “preach” part of gospel if it’s part of the whole thing. And assuredly, Victor Glover knows and confesses the gospel. Source: this Focus on the Family Daily Citizen article (April 26, 2023): Glover is bold and candid about the importance of his Christian faith in his life – and how we all need to see ourselves as sinners in search of hope and help. “No matter how long we’ve been in this, whether you’re a preacher, an elder, or a deacon, brand new in your faith walk, we all need to be growing he told a Texas church audience last year. “We have a sin nature, and we need Jesus. Jesus is that bridge that spans sin.” Captain Barry “Butch” Wilmore retired from NASA in 2025. (NASA) Several other astronauts publicly confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. These include Col. Jeffrey Williams and General Charlie Duke. In 2025, Captain Barry “Butch” Wilmore was stuck aboard the ISS. He’s since retired and now enters the Christian conference circuit! Captain Wilmore retired from NASA on August 6, 2025, after an illustrious career spanning 25 years. He feels called to use his experiences as an astronaut and his passion for astronomy to share the good news of God’s Word. He joined fellow astronauts Colonel Jeffrey Williams and General Charlie Duke in speaking at the Astronaut Encounter, where the three shared their personal testimonies and incredible stories. Captain Barry Wilmore, Answers in Genesis bio, undated We can’t imagine the responsibility of practicing faith in this space. And yet we know just soaring about Earth declares God’s glory. Commander Reid Wiseman shared a similar story on April 16: When I got back on the on the ship—I’m not really a religious person—but there was just no other avenue for me to explain anything or to experience anything. So I asked for the chaplain on the Navy ship to just come visit us for a minute, and when that man walked in, I’d never met him before in my life. But I saw the cross on his collar, and I just broke down in tears. It’s very hard to fully grasp what we just went through. Not all astronauts are Christians. Not even if they speak of God. But they’re doing amazing work in God’s world for His good Earth. Jesus might say, “You are not far from the Kingdom” (Mark 12:34). 3. Future astronauts need space for Jesus Already we see “moon joy” that atheism cannot logically justify. Moreover, Space Race 2.0 isn’t just trying to beat the enemy. This version truly seems to be built on more sustainable energy. At the very least it’s built on Christianity-derived humanism. And it’s based on hard work leading to merit and real achievement. If it’s infected by false humanism and Sexualityism, it will collapse. Navelgazeitis will blind us, unable to gaze upon God’s heavens. Astronauts can’t live on that stuff. They’d never get off ground. For their jobs, they can certainly subsist on Christian principles. Those will get them to the heavens, to moonbases, and to Mars. But to gain New Heaven and New Earth, we need Jesus personally! Com station Top question for listeners Have you met faithful Christians working with a space program? Next on Fantastical Truth You’ve likely met some Christians who emphasize safety for children rather than preparing them for spiritual conflict. That’s why some more genteel-churchy responses to pop culture have said “it’s useless” or else “stay away” from stories like Harry Potter, Doom, or Dungeons and Dragons. So is it any wonder that a top-selling subgenre among young male readers is LitRPG, often with totally epic and jacked soldier good guys (maybe with mech suits) who slay evil aliens and demons?

In spring 2026, social media platform X field-tested a new feature. Thanks to AI advances, with little fanfare, we now have universal translators. And suddenly the “curse of Babel” was temporarily lifted. Americans, Japanese, and Koreans began sharing their love of foods, patriotism, and fantastical stories. But for decades already, people around the world have found the wonder of creativity from overseas—manga, anime, games, and music. Why do we love these stories?[1. Photo by Branden Skeli on Unsplash.] Episode sponsors The Star-Blessed by Angie Dickinson Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Land of Giants by Laurie Christine Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: new reviews of Perplexity and Sanctified Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild 1. Today every story can become localized To recap: God made people originally to act as one human family. Sin broke those relationships (Gen. 3), leading to global corruption. God’s global Flood rebooted the world (Gen. 6-9). Generations later one humanity shared in evil. So He confused languages (Gen. 11). People now live with distinct cultures, all human yet divided. Pentecost showed a glorious reversal of this division (Acts 1-2). Radio and internet also shortened com distances between nations. Side effect: this makes us feel all crises are equally important to us. But, great benefit: this allows us to share in one another’s stories. Auto-translate is not new, but recently on X it became default. These “universal translators” with AI are erasing language barriers. Japanese and Americans bonded over shared food, music, culture. And now Koreans and others are joining the conversations. So far it’s wholesome and humanist (in the best possible way). People love their cultures most, and like others who do the same. Yet many fans have liked Japanese and Korean media for decades. 2. Fans love Japanese manga, anime, music Zack spent much of his childhood spent inside Japanese-created fantasy worlds. Stephen grew up enjoying cartoons that turned out to be anime: The original 1980s Superbook biblical fiction series 1 and 2 The lesser-known New Testament-focused The Flying House All voiced by the English dub cast of Kimba the White Lion Must credit televangelist Pat Roberton’s original CBN station They worked with Tatsunoko Production before anime was cool Stephen has also grown to love Miyazaki films and newer anime. Manga makes half of graphic novel sales. Western comics rarely crack top ten. Lots more manga get produced into anime, so it’s a dual format appeal. American comics tend to focus on superhero reboots from DC or Marvel. Meanwhile, manga spans nearly every genre of fiction. Manga focuses on adventure and achievement, rather than vanity. Manga focused on craftsmanship and audience, not sociopolitical agendas. Japan has much less influence Christian, yet creators address biblical themes. Many of them are at least familiar with the Bible as literature. So you’ll get a Chrisitan missionary-focused plot arc in Rurouni Kenshin Or late-breaking messiah motifs and a “pastor” character in One Piece. 3. Fans also love K-dramas and K-pop Korean-made fantastical stories are also taking the world by storm. Both our wives enjoy a Korean original export: K-dramas. Many of them are whole-hearted tropey, romantic-dramedy. And many have fantastical elements, like modernized mythology. Then of course there’s the music. Many K-pop artists love Bands like Stray Kids and A-Teez overtly tribute Western fantasy. Stray Kids teamed up with Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool for “Chick Chick Boom.” A-Teez has a whole post-dystopian dimension-jumping narrative. And recently, A-Teez’s song “NASA” got used in Artemis II Korea has more evangelical Christian influence than Japan. That’s likely why K-Pop Demon Hunters felt almost Christian. Certainly the movie well portrayed fallen “demons” and human redemption. The Holy Spirit can take the Gospel across any language barrier. Many Christians think “speaking in tongues” was for apostles only, now fulfilled. Other thinks it’s a “private prayer language,” not actual languages spoken today. Either way, we have stories and technological tools that help bridge cultures. May the Lord use this to spread the best fantastical stories across the world May we share the gospel to “all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev. 7:9). Com station Top question for listeners What are your favorite fantastical stories from other lands? Next on Fantastical Truth The late Captain Jim Lovell aboard Apollo 8 read Genesis 1 from orbit on Christmas Day. Col. Buzz Aldrin aboard Apollo 11 took secret Communion on the Moon. Captain Butch Wilmore spent time on the International Space Station and will speak at next month’s Teach Them Diligently conference. More recently Captain Victor Glover aboard Artemis II, en route to a lunar flyby, shared pre-gospel thoughts about God’s wonderful creation of planet Earth. Why do so many astronauts and faithful staffers of NASA take their biblical beliefs out of this world?

Doctor Who is dead and not regenerating any time soon.[1. Photo by Krists Luhaers on Unsplash.] Star Wars is suspended in the bacta tank. Star Trek is redirecting all power to life support. Meanwhile, Netflix struggles to sing life into Narnia, bad philosophers stone Harry Potter, and goblins threaten to overrun all that was good in Middle-earth. But there were some who resisted. When studios keep killing great stories, could fans bring resurrection? Episode sponsors The Star-Blessed by Angie Dickinson Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Land of Giants by Laurie Christine Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New review of Lightshed by Crystal D. Grant Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild 1. Star Trek and Star Wars are on life support Star Wars—everyone blames Disney, Kathleen Kennedy, streaming. And of course The Acolyte all but ended fan interest in that galaxy. Much ink has been spilled about that, so we needn’t do a remake. Star Trek—everyone blames Paramount, Alex Kurtzman, streaming. Recently even Project Hail Mary author Andy Weir called Trek bad. Weir later semi-apologized, but only for a seeming personal slight. And this just in: J.J. Abrams’ company is downsizing and moving. 2. Fantasy lands get slain by corporate orcs Rings of Power stumbles on, seeming to promise a “good orc” plot. Andy Serkis directs The Hunt for Gollum, a dubious “side quest.” Then came the big news that Stephen Colbert is writing another. This second side-quest movie hints at revisiting Fellowship events. As for Colbert, he’s arguably an agitator and has no fantasy credits. Meanwhile, no news is bad news re. Netflix’s “rock ‘n’ roll” Narnia. Some fans are more optimistic. We wish we could be, but cannot. 3. Solution: fight joyously for stories you love “If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.” Fair. But it’s okay to criticize. Avoid the traps of “blackpilled” cynicism we mentioned last week. Great stories go on, launching from big studios or small creators. Even that trailer from Amazon/MGM’s He-Man looks refreshing! But don’t lose hope for big franchises either. They may yet return. Next for Ryan Gosling? Star Wars: Starfighter from Shawn Levy. New owners could restore Star Trek and DC. Let’s pray for them! Com station Top question for listeners Which dead or dying franchise would you love to see return to life? Next on Fantastical Truth In March 2026, social media platform X field-tested a new feature. Thanks to AI advances, with little fanfare, we now have universal translators. And suddenly the “curse of Babel” was temporarily lifted. Americans and Japanese conversed with joy about tasty barbecue, patriotism, and the stories we love. But for decades already, people around the world have found the wonder of Japanese-made fiction—manga, anime, games, and beyond. Why do we love these stories?

This month’s Project Hail Mary film is being praised as a fresh, thrilling sci-fi take that is wholesome and sincere. As expected, we’re seeing more fantastical fans cry out for stories that celebrate the human spirit. Why do we love these stories? And how do different fan trends, even across whole generations, keep swerving between positive portrayals and other stories that may be called “cynical”? Episode sponsors The Star-Blessed by Angie Dickinson Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo The Hole-Man by Dan Daetz Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: new boosted Library search Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild 1. Optimistic stories celebrate common grace Stephen read the book back soon after its May 4, 2021, release. Don’t miss the audiobook read by narrator Ray “Darkseid” Porter. Right from the title, Project Hail Mary honors human will and spirit. Weir publicly eschewed inserting “the message” (leftist politics). It’s a deeply humanist story (and not necessarily in a bad way). Brett McCracken from TGC wrote that the film honors biblical virtues and “celebrates friendship, sacrifice, and self-giving love.” Some vote blue. Some red. But everyone loves Grace and Rocky. 2. Cynical stories show sin—and to a fault In response, many fans are freshly condemning cynical stories. These make a show of hopelessness, grimdark, nihilism, despair. But there are fewer of these obvious cynical stories in pop culture. Their problem isn’t “show sin at all.” Their problem is lack of virtue. Do note that some popular “optimistic” stories are just posers. They’re just as cynical about virtue, yet may offer false “syncerity.” One can almost see the memos. They’re trying to have/eat cake. 3. Many great stories rightly reflect both “Realistic” stories aren’t always cynical, and “colorful” stories aren’t always optimistic; this is defined more by ideas than appearance. Earnest and optimistic stories can be noblebright and nobledark. In fact, Project Hail Mary (book and film) mixes both of these. Even God gets a friendly shoutout—a hint at the morality’s origin. Spoiler: Ryland is no hero. He’s effectively assaulted. That’s dark. But desperate times call for Grace. He becomes a hero. That’s light. These stories defeat both forced “syncerity” and cynical tales. Com station Top question for listeners What do you love about Project Hail Mary and optimistic stories? Next on Fantastical Truth Uh-oh. That big new trailer from that big studio just hit for that big fantasy franchise remake/reboot/sequel. It’s too big to fail! And then fail it does. They got the cast way wrong. They hired a bad writer. And they’re going to ruin everything we loved about the original. What’s worse? These big studios don’t seem to care. Do they? Or do some big studios have big secret reasons for “improving” fantasy franchises?

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” That’s what the Lord Jesus promised His disciples. How does His word, with support from fantastical fiction, help us prepare for armed conflicts across our real world? Episode sponsors The Star-Blessed by Angie Dickinson Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo The Hole-Man by Dan Daetz Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: join the Lorehaven Authorship Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes The main relevant fact admitted by all parties is that war is very disagreeable. The main contention urged as fact by Pacifists would be that wars always do more harm than good. How is one to find out whether this is true? It belongs to a class of historical generalisations which involve a comparison between the actual consequences of some actual event and a consequence which might have followed if that event had not occurred. “Wars do no good” involves the proposition that if the Greeks had yielded to Xerxes and the Romans to Hannibal, the course of history ever since would have been perhaps better, but certainly no worse than it actually has been; that a Mediterranean world in which Carthaginian power succeeded Persian would have been at least as good and happy and as fruitful for all posterity as the actual Mediterranean world in which Roman power succeeded Greek. My point is not that such an opinion seems to me overwhelmingly improbable. My point is that both opinions are merely speculative; there is no conceivable way of convincing a man of either. C. S. Lewis, “Why Am I Not A Pacifist” 1. Great stories show us that war is hell. Answer to Stephen’s earlier question: all great stories need conflict. Without any conflict, no fights, battles, war, sin, we’d have no story. (Side thought: without the Fall, fiction as we know it couldn’t exist.) Yes, we do love stories that are so focused on war that the word is right in the title: Star Wars, World of Warcraft, Warhammer 40,000. But it’s vital for stories to show conflict/war as somewhat realistic. People die and do not return. Wounds hurt. War-“glory” is fleeting. And of course, folks start or fight in wars for very corrupt reasons. 2. Stories also show wars can be necessary. God Himself, as Author of the Story, allowed/planned for conflict. The very existence of fiction reminds us conflict serves a purpose. Folks uncomfortable with war often find ways to like these stories. This might indicate that even they know conflict has some purpose. Few critics would reasonably dispute (by faithful in-universe terms) the justifiable causes of the Federation, Fremen, or Men of Gondor. Deep Christian traditions of “just war theory” often supports them. Villains have many motives, but often can be stopped only by force. 3. Best of all, stories help us long for peace. Having shown war as hell, but also necessary, stories can do more. The best ones remind us that all conflict and war is temporary. At our best, we as fans aren’t mercenaries who live for the fight. We do want that redemptive, happy ending for heroes, already! … At least, until the next war-story reminding us that it’s not yet. Most stories hold this happy end always out of reach, off the page. Others, chief among these the biblical Story, directly promise this. Com station Top question for listeners What are your favorite war-stories and why? Fans like Luke liked exploring pros/cons of adaptation: Our kids usually prefer books to their screen adaptations, but were very disappointed by the Mary Poppins books. The Disney adaptation took a lot of liberties, but it also made Poppins more likeable and wisely left out pagan elements of the story. Next on Fantastical Truth This month’s Project Hail Mary film is being praised as a fresh, thrilling sci-fi take that is wholesome and sincere. As expected, we’re seeing more fantastical fans cry out for stories that celebrate the human spirit. Why do we love these stories? And how do different fan trends, even across whole generations, keep swerving between positive portrayals and other stories that may be called “realistic” or else “cynical”?

Adaptations. Sometimes we act like we don’t like them. But sometimes we do. And sometimes each new version of a story—book to film or TV show—changes the original but adds something new and amazing. Today we explore the pros and cons of adaptations. Episode sponsors Firebreak by Kathy Tyers Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo The Hole-Man by Dan Daetz The Lorehaven Authorship Mission update New at Lorehaven: review of The Star-Blessed Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild 1. When the film was better than the book(?) Zack believes The Lord of the Rings films are better than the books. He also finds The Hunger Games films better than the books. Both Dune films are more accessible than the novels, at least so far. 2. When film versions make changes yet win One Piece condenses/adapts a lot from the original, yet is beloved. The Three Body Problem series wonderfully adapts the book. Next week’s Project Hail Mary is being hailed as a faithful version. 3. When remade versions beat earlier versions Avatar: The Last Airbender has flaws yet beats the 2010 film. 12 Monkeys the show is far better than 12 Monkeys the movie. Many of the DC and Marvel new versions beat earlier adaptations. Com station Top question for listeners Which of your favorite film versions beat or match original books? Next on Fantastical Truth “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” That’s what the Lord Jesus promised His disciples. How does His word, with support from fantastical fiction, help us prepare for armed conflicts across our real world?

Kaizoku ou ni ore wa naru! Today around the world, millions of fans who love Japan’s hit manga/anime series, One Piece, are rejoicing for many reasons, including today’s release of the live-action series season 2 on Netflix. Why do so many fans love these comical, earnest adventures of Captain Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates? Episode sponsors Firebreak by Kathy Tyers Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo The Hole-Man by Dan Daetz The Lorehaven Authorship Mission update New at Lorehaven: our book quest into fantasy Embergold Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes The hit manga just reached 600 million, matching Superman After 1,170+ chapters and nearly 30 years, creator Eiichiro Oda’s pirates-with-powers story is sailing toward its final arcs. The popular anime is ending hiatus to resume in April. And today Netflix is christening the live series Season 2, after 2023’s Season 1 happily broke the “anime to live-action curse.” Oh, and this just in: last week Oda and crew made the meme come true. He really did write down the answer to “what is the One Piece,” the treasure sought by every pirate. He locked this in a chest, buried it deep in the sea, and initiated a great fan-pirate era. But spoiler alert: I think I know the secret of the One Piece. And by the end of this episode, I shall spell out my grand fan theory. Mission update New at Lorehaven: our book quest into fantasy Embergold Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild The Mugiwara (Straw Hat) Pirates of One Piece, with friends from Fishman Island. 1. One Piece plots with deep heroic ambition. Plot summary: Luffy sets his goal of becoming king of the pirates. He recruits a crew with other goals, yet following him as captain. Over many years and arcs, their goals all begin to come together. It’s a celebration of labor, pain, reward, and growing to maturity. So it’s like “follow your dream” but much longer, deeper, complex. After all, dreams/goals lead to disloyalty, idolatry, and overwork. One day I had to stop watching One Piece for good reason. Why? I had been overworked and needed more rest than ambition. Altogether it’s a reminder of the great adventure that’s often hard. In a world of “you’re great as you are,” this is a worthy challenge. 2. One Piece recruits a nakama pirate crew. And yet this story isn’t just about individuals with selfish interests. Everyone in the Straw Hat pirate crew grows in their relationships. It’s much like a “found family” but not without natural family bonds. Some of them have deep childhood trauma and must find healing. Villains also have tragic pasts, but are also evil and must go down. Trauma is serious, death is permanent, and personal loss will sting. Many fans (myself included) find this “wacky realism” refreshing. Oda wisely avoids and mocks the idea of romance among the crew. And also wisely, the live-action series reflects all of these themes. That’s one reason One Piece LA broke the live-action-anime curse. 3. One Piece sails to fantastical new worlds. Fans praise Oda’s worldbuilding that is indeed massively creative. Fantasy meets sci-fi meets horror, in land, sky, and deep oceans. Each island brings new crises and often many evil leaders to fight. Thus, Luffy and the Straw Hats have toppled multiple dictatorships. It’s all part of Luffy’s strong views of loyalty to friends and freedom. And now the Straw Hat Jolly Roger flag appears in real Some fans recoil from Oda’s art style, reflecting well in the anime. Characters often have wacky proportions, heavy on caricature. And alas, manga/anime is fond of “comedic” nudity/sexual imagery. Yet with cautions, you can now enjoy this story in many art forms. BONUS: has Stephen found the One Piece? Some fans believe the One Piece is more of a traditional treasure. Others claim a metaphor, e.g. “the friends we made along the way.” But I think the series has given us plenty of clues to identify it. For the treasure chest, Oda wrote, “As for the One Piece, it is …” If fans found the buried paper, they’d read: (continued in episode!) Com station Top question for listeners What’s your favorite crazy story with wild action and heroic heart? Next on Fantastical Truth Adaptations. Sometimes we act like we don’t like them. But sometimes we do. And sometimes each new version of a story—book to film or TV show—changes the original but adds something new and amazing. So next week, we’ll explore the pros and cons of adaptation, whether it’s One Piece, or The Pendragon Cycle, or the latest superhero retelling.

Space is a dangerous place. Even recently we learned that the entire Artemis program has been rebooted, adding more rockets and risks! In other worlds and other galaxies, “space” is full of human life, music, adventure, romance, and fantastical new worlds. Just in time for Firebreak, book 1 of the Firebird Interlude Trilogy, we’re joined by longtime science fiction novelist Kathy Tyers to explore how the best space operas sing through this teeming expanse. Episode sponsors Firebreak by Kathy Tyers Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo The Hole-Man by Dan Daetz The Lorehaven Authorship Mission update New at Lorehaven: Andromache review, weekly reviews Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild You’ll get notified of monthly events, like last week’s livestream. Backstory: Kathy (Tyers) Gillin Kathy Tyers sold her first novel, Firebird, to Bantam Spectra in 1986. Since its initial 1987 publication, it has been rereleased by Bethany House Publishers, Marcher Lord Press, and Enclave Publishing, and was followed by further Firebird-universe novels Fusion Fire and Crown of Fire. Kathy finished the Firebird series in 2011 and 2012 with Wind and Shadow and the messiah tale Daystar. Enclave Publishing has also re-released her early novels One Mind’s Eye, Shivering World (Christy Award winner, 2019), and Crystal Witness. Now she’s returning to the Firebird whorl for a new series of novels. The Firebird Interlude trilogy begins March 10 with the release of Firebreak. Kathy is also known for her Star Wars Expanded Universe novels—The Truce at Bakura and New Jedi Order: Balance Point. She lives in Montana with her husband William T. Gillin. KathyTyers.com on Facebook 1. What are the origin stories of space opera? 1818: Mary Shelley’s first sci-fi-ish/horror novel Frankenstein 1830: British author Percy Greg’s poetical Across the Zodiac Late 19th century: the prolific Jules Verne, across Earth and space Late 19th/early 20th century: H. G. Wells brings the humanism Early 20th century: Edgar Rice Burroughs shares pulp adventure Other written tales and film serials helped create early space opera This tradition focused not just on big ideas, but big human stories Without these tales, we might not have stories like Star Wars And that’s one way that today’s guest learned she liked sci-fi 2. Why do today’s fans love space opera? Kathy Tyers has written harder science fiction, like Shivering World. Spaceships are cool, but many fans like human drama even more. For example, the Firebird Series is set in a far future galactic Whorl. Readers resonate with Lady Firebird and her husband Brennan. This, by the way, marks a rare example of married-couple heroes. Similarly, Star Wars has spaceships, but focuses on human heroes. Christians also see cool ideas and tech as means to human ends. Without our humanity, we become “minds of metal and wheels.” Even the best Star Trek episodes well understood this reality. 3. What might be the future of space opera? More about the Firebird Interlude series—titles, dates, speculation. Coming this June, Kathy Tyers gives a keynote at Realm Makers. Meanwhile, we may expect to March onward into big space opera. Project Hail Mary, based on Andy Weir’s novel, gets early plaudits. Next up, actor Ryan Gosling and director Shawn Levy’s Starfighter movie (set in the Star Wars universe) is receiving a new hope from fans. People do want futuristic, human-centric science-accented drama. And yet Christians see this not as simply “hope in the human spirit” but hope of redemption, for grace-filled humans and a future age. Com station Top question for listeners What space opera stories help you sing in joyful gratitude? Next on Fantastical Truth Kaizoku ou ni ore wa naru! Today around the world, millions of fans who love Japan’s hit manga/anime series, One Piece, are rejoicing. First, because after 1,170+ chapters and nearly 30 years since 1997, creator Eiichiro Oda’s pirates-with-powers story is sailing toward its final arcs. Second, because the popular anime is following soon after, breaking hiatus to resume in April. And third, because on March 10, Netflix is christening the One Piece live-action series Season 2, after 2023’s Season 1 flagrantly and happily broke the “anime to live-action curse.” Why do fans (like Stephen himself) love these comical, earnest adventures of Captain Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates?

People want transparency! Or do we? If nothing else, public calls for revealing government secrets raise a lot of ruckus, especially when the secrets in question seem to be covering up aliens. Zack is our UAP/UFO expert. Stephen is intrigued yet skeptical. We’re both all over last week’s headlines. One former president claimed he knows aliens are real. Then the current U.S. president said he would declassify files. Whatever happens next, why do people want disclosure so badly? Episode sponsors Firebreak by Kathy Tyers Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Interregnum by J. A. Webb Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New reviews: For The Good of All and Andromache Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Writing that next great alien-invasion novel? Join the Authorship. Quotes and notes Armies of the Aliens series on Fantastical Truth 1. Disclosure may expose human loneliness. This news could upend members of the alien fandom. We could all discover there were no aliens after all. Instead we might hear about human technology. And we might suspect we’re alone in the universe. 2. Disclosures can upset our metaphysics Disclosure of extraterrestrial life could upend religion. Or we could discover the “aliens” are interdimensional. Some writers believe consciousness rewrites our understanding of the universe. Maybe the twist on the Fermi Paradox means humans actually arrived first. Zack posted this response on X: “I definitely believe that sinister interdimensional beings directed many religious texts. And that the Bible was given by an interdimensional being. Just one that is supreme to all the others, and good.” 3. Worst, disclosures may promote demons. This too could upend society’s “respectable” materialism. That notion explains elite seances and messages from “aliens.” This would be biblical, but seeing this exposed could be shocking. It might even mean some of powerful leaders are controlled by demons Com station Top question for listeners If we get “disclosure” at all, what secrets do you expect to learn? Autumn Grayson wrote a whole essay about ep. 298: … In general, when it comes to people’s political posts, there are some things I dislike, and some things that would be good to stay away from. It’s certainly best if people say things that have more substance than just expressing outrage or disapproval, because well thought out engagement on a topic is better. But I do respect people’s freedom and autonomy to say what they want to. I’ll agree with it or disagree with it as I see fit. I’ll get something out of it and learn from it either way, but what I may learn is that the content creator is someone I would not want to communicate or collaborate with. Or, the content creator ends up being an example of what NOT to do. Whatever people do, they should remember that they’re showing something of themselves to the audience, and people have to ask themselves if that is truly how they want to come across and communicate to others. It may feel good to voice outrage in the moment or gain social clout for being on what some people call ‘the right side of history’, but is it really accomplishing anything constructive? Is this really the kind of person the author wants to be? Next on Fantastical Truth Space is a dangerous place. Even recently we learned that Artemis II rocket has suffered another fuel system-related setback! But that’s real life. In other worlds and other galaxies, “space” is full of life, risk, adventure, romance, and fantastical new worlds. Just in time for Firebreak, book 1 of the Firebird Interlude Trilogy, we’re joined by longtime science fiction novelist Kathy Tyers to explore how the best Christian-made space operas sing through this teeming expanse.

For most of their lives, Stephen and Zack have kept their eyes to the stars and wondering if NASA or anybody else will ever again get serious about launching ships up there.[1. Image credit: SpaceX on X.com.] Now it seems that moment is upon us. Lord willing, next month’s launch of Artemis II will drive new great leaps back to the Moon, not only to orbit or put down boots, but to put down roots. Meanwhile, private firms build reusable rockets and plan satellite networks while setting their sights on Mars. So what other science fictions will come true in reality? Join us to discern and celebrate the God-exalting glories of human spaceflight to faraway lands for this landmark 300th episode of Lorehaven’s Fantastical Truth. Episode sponsors The Restitching of Camille DuLaine by Lindsay A. Franklin Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Interregnum by J. A. Webb Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: reviews on break this very busy week. Last week brought a bot swarm and other technical nonsense. Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild. Authors, want to talk real sci-fi and beyond? Join the Authorship. Quotes and notes 72. When Our World Groans Under Sin, Should Christians Support Space Flight? 121. Will Humans Colonize the Cosmos Before Jesus Returns? 157. Will We Get Superpowers After the Resurrection? 252. What if Space Missionaries Fought the Secular State? | Above the Circle of Earth with E. Stephen Burnett 253. How Do Classic Sci-Fi Novels Explore the Planet Mars? 255. What Are Space Westerns? | After Moses with Michael F. Kane 256. When Have Newer Christian Authors Explored Mars? 1. Today, every space mission starts on Earth A brief summary of spaceflight: Sputnik 1 satellite (Oct. 1957), Yuri Gagarin (April 1961 aboard Vostok 1), Alan Shephard first American (May 1961), John Glenn first to orbit (Feb. 1962 aboard Friendship 1), 1960s moon race, moon landing (July 1969), six moon landings 1980s to early 2000s: Space Shuttle program, ISS, many others Alas, disasters: 1986 Challenger explosion, 2003 Columbia disaster Late 2000s to present: private companies brings new energy Elon Musk: classic humanist, entrepreneur, controversial, mess But a genius billionaire, anyway, and pioneer in new rocketry Same with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, whatever else you think of him These and more are winning goals to make ships less expensive SpaceX rockets can now reverse themselves to land on platforms 2024: Space X “mechazilla” arms caught a returning rocket This month, NASA postponed the Artemis II launch until March. Last week, SpaceX routinely launched a new crew to the ISS. And finally, Elon Musk revealed he’s prioritizing lunar missions: For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years. The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars. It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city. That said, SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster. 2. In years, new rockets will reach the Moon Artemis I (Nov. 2022) tested the Space Launch System. Notably, this system is developed separately from reusable rockets. Artemis II (March 2026?) will launch astronauts around the Moon. The mission will last four days and orbit the Moon’s far side. The names of these absolutely real, nonfictional astronauts are: Commander Reid Wiseman Pilot Victor Glover Mission specialist Christina Koch Mission specialist astronaut Jeremy Hansen (CSA) As memes foretold, we hope they come back with superpowers. Artemis III will be a real moon landing, first since Apollo 17 in 1972. That mission may launch as early as 2028. No crew announced yet. Axiom Space developed new super-upgraded spacesuits for this. NASA identified possible nine landing sites, all near the South Pole. That region has stable daylight/temperatures plus crater water ice. All said, the first lunar bases could be south polar settlements. Many speculators suggest future lunar manufacturing in this area. NASA, Department of Energy to Develop Lunar Surface Reactor by 2030 Materials include water ice, lunar regolith, and other metals. Musk wants to make AI satellites there and launch them into space. Elon Musk Wants to Build an A.I. Satellite Factory on the Moon Risks: extra radiation could drive habitats under protective layers. You could shield with thick ceilings or else use lunar lava tubes. Listen to our March 2025 podcast series: Martian Month. 3. In decades, mankind may land on Mars In the recent past, Musk and others thought the Moon was jejune. After all, we’ve already landed there. Where’s the fun in returning? But now the Moon seems more accessible. Walk before you run. Last year for ACE’s launch, we shared a series: Martian Month. Unlike the Moon, Mars has atmosphere and daylight cycles. It’s a little “warmer,” with slightly more radiation protection. Also, Mars has less known surface ice but more carbon dioxide. How to get there? You need to wait about once every two years. Possible transport: nuclear-powered rockets, now in development. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman: nuclear-electric propulsion? 6 Things You Should Know About Nuclear Thermal Propulsion That may reduce travel time by 25 percent (from 6 to 4 months?). Timing: a matter of decades, perhaps the 2030s at the earliest. So yes, you may live to see this happen, yet likely not travel there. Speculators/rocketeers see philosophical, humanitarian motives. For the Christian, our motives for spaceflight are a bit different. After all, God made humans to steward the Earth and maybe more. Alas, sin interferes with our purpose and our very human nature. We’re mortal. Space couldn’t have killed us before. Now it does. Personally, I see humanity’s future with limited spaceflight at best. Yet after Jesus returns and we get New everything, who knows? Either way, with cautious optimism, Christians can rejoice at this. It’s healthy to stop navel-gazing and look upward and onward. And someday, yes, missionaries may come to the Moon and Mars. Com station Top question for listeners What big spaceflight news, past or future, is your favorite? Will you watch the Artemis II launch, currently set for early March? Jeremiah Friedli remarked about episode 298: Excellent podcast episode, Stephen! Thanks for tackling these issues from a sound and biblical perspective. I’m looking forward to part 2! Next on Fantastical Truth Three hundred episodes down. Who knows how many to go? Whether you’ve just found the podcast or have been listening since January 2020, we’re grateful for your support of this journey to escape bad books and find the best Christian-made fantasy for Christ’s glory. Let’s continue to seek and find His fantastical truth!

Last week your solo host, Stephen, shared a hot take: that some authors’ sudden hot takes on political topics add more heat than light. These cringe political posts distract from the author’s job and confuse fans, and some go further into sinful slanders. Now that Zack is back, let’s re-engage this topic as fans and explore hope for biblical unity. Without telling anyone to “stop with politics!” or missing real concerns, how can authors post better about those topics, if they post at all? Episode sponsors The Restitching of Camille DuLaine by Lindsay A. Franklin Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Interregnum by J. A. Webb Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: The Restitching of Camille DuLaine review. Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Authors: sign up for the Authorship as a Creator or Pro Novelist 1. Top recent celebrity political wins and fails Last week, Stephen should have predicted Grammy Awards cringe. He feels sympathy for Billy Eilish and others who just say stuff. Some celebrities can get away with this because they’re Big. Example 1: J.K. Rowling, who lives in a castle and everything. Example 2: George Clooney, legacy, leftist, but moderate in tone. Example 3: Conservative actors who find other (often niche) work. Authors who feel tempted to this openness: are you Big like them? It’s like going out to buy a $10,000 suit before you can afford this. If not, the cringe political post isn’t an upgrade, but a downgrade. Personally, Stephen doesn’t mind politically outspoken celebrities. Those who do this out of seeming grace/surplus tend to win. Those who do this out of seeming vengeance/poverty tend to lose. Big tip here for aspiring authors: you must give more than you take. Otherwise they look kinda desperate for attention, or else insincere. 2. Engaging your responses to episode 298 Our own Guildmaster, Ticia Messing, wants a refuge: I have several indie authors I read or recently subscribed to their newsletters who all took part in a join political statement over the weekend with the same general idea. It was clearly to win political points for their side, and it was clearly a “If you do not agree with me, you are wrong,” and reading it I felt dirty and used. Even the author who tried to be more circumspect in how she talked about it because it was still clear what she was talking about. My problem is I come to their newsletters not to read about politics; it is my refuge from politics. I read them to find out about how their writing is going, a quick glimpse into their life, some book recommendations, and maybe a snippet of their upcoming book. Instead, all of these newsletters had paragraphs about Political Issue. Jason Huff seeks to challenge cringepost motives: What is difficult about social media in general is that most posts about politics aren’t about determining a side or discussing a moral issue but virtue signaling. It doesn’t matter if the viewpoint is left, center, right, or even a pox on all the houses. Most of the time, political posts are subtly saying, “I am a good and moral person for speaking out on X issue.” This is not usually the direct and overt intention, but it’s still there on another level. When I say virtue signaling, I’m not saying that they aren’t actually morally correct in their address, but that there usually isn’t a lot at stake in doing so. Most people live, work, and play with people much like them, and they post things their friend pool is going to agree with. And so, when posting anything political, the question has to be, “What is the reason to be posting this?” It’s usually not to inform, because I’d say anyone aware of news right now has heard about Minneapolis. It’s to give a viewpoint. But unless you live in that area, does it affect your daily life right now? Not so much. The stakes are small. So when I see authors and other creatives I follow giving political opinions, I generally tune out. I’m not there for that. I’m more interested in how you’re living out that belief, whether helping a local legal refugee family or befriending your local police force or however that issue plays out in your everyday life. Peter Schott wants to re-hinge certain friends: Personally, I have a couple of acquaintances who I disagree with politically. On some things, we can just discuss and let it go. In others – the posts are just unhinged. I just mute/snooze the guy for 30 days. There was someone else who just went off the deep end – almost everything posted was hateful, cussing, and such. That earned a permanent block. It was sad to see someone go that far off the beaten path. I did have one friend who started calling his own friends Nazis and such because they disagreed with him on politics – maybe 10 years ago. I called him out on that as a Christian brother and he was able to realize that he’d gotten a little too far down the path and took a break (and backed off). Janie Brooks feels betrayed by political cringeposts: “When your favorite authors suddenly post hot takes about the latest controversial headlines or violent acts, how do you feel?” Startled. Annoyed. Betrayed. Hurt. Saddened. Startled because the author doesn’t usually throw their hat into the political fray. Annoyed because there are so many more topics to discuss. Annoyed because Instagram or Facebook is my escape from the constant barrage of never-ending political opinions and current events. Betrayed because I thought I knew who they were. Betrayed because they’ve shown me a side of themselves that goes against how they’ve always acted. Hurt because they’ve broken my trust. Hurt because my loyalty is hard to gain and I’ve been blindsided by their vitriol. Saddened because there are so many other topics in which I agree with them, but now I am anathema because of my politics. 3. Your hosts’ own political-posting rules E. Stephen Burnett’s top ten guidelines: Basically, don’t. Don’t post about politics. But if you do, don’t suppose you’re “above politics.” And discern what that term “politics” actually means. Carefully curate post subjects based on deeper reasons. Be timely, yet beware the PETs, or Political Emotion Traps. Stick with big themes that support your mission and novels. Avoid the great sins of slander and casting false judgments. Always rejoice with the truth and do not spread false reports. For lesser-known topics, do not meddle in quarrels not your own. “Never be cruel, never be cowardly. Remember hate is always foolish, love is always wise. Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind.” (Steven Moffat via the Twelfth Doctor, Doctor Who) Zackary Russell’s social post standards: I don’t want to wait until I “make it big” to say the truth. I don’t talk about or reply to the posts of politicians. Certain cultural, moral, and spiritual topics will inevitably overlap with a certain politician. That’s ok. I won’t avoid those topics. I do not have to comment on everything nor defend everything a politician says or does. That way lies madness. I try to find people to agree with, but comment in a way that adds something new to the conversation. I am much more focused on the world of ideas, because ultimately that’s what we are battling. Not the flesh and blood conveyors of those ideas. There is significant overlap between the battle of ideas and shaping moral imagination through stories. Although the former is reactive whereas the latter is proactive. I don’t believe in cultural pacifism, but I do pick my battles carefully. I also recognize that God calls people to directly take part in the political sphere. Same as he gives other callings. I simply have a different calling as someone working in full-time ministry. But I also reject the practice of some Christians who put their heads in the sand when it comes to certain hot-button topics. Com station Top question for listeners How do authors gain and keep your trust with their social posts? Next on Fantastical Truth For most of our lives, Stephen and Zack have kept their eyes to the stars and wondering if NASA or anybody else will ever again get serious about launching ships up there. Now it seems that moment is upon us. Lord willing, next month’s launch of Artemis II will drive new great leaps back to the Moon, not only to orbit or put down boots, but to put down roots. Meanwhile, private firms build reusable rockets and plan satellite networks while setting their sights on Mars. So what other science fictions will come true in reality? Join us to discern and celebrate the God-exalting glories of human spaceflight to faraway lands for this landmark 300th episode of Lorehaven’s Fantastical Truth.

Happy Groundhog Day.[1. Photo by Marino Linic on Unsplash.] Maybe in these last weeks you’ve seen this same story repeat: Your favorite Christian author usually posts about whimsical life updates, pet photos, or upcoming release dates. But now she or he is suddenly and very fervently posting about politics. Words get heated. Light dims. And unwise statements share disastrous brushfires instead of book delights. What should a reader to do? Call for a ban on all such topics? Block the blighter? Or maybe seek deeper wisdom? Episode sponsors The Restitching of Camille DuLaine by Lindsay A. Franklin Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Interregnum by J. A. Webb Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: authors, debate this in the Authorship! New review: The Lost Chick by Andrew K. Johnston Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Chapter 1: A personal concession stand The best time might have been during a cooler period (if existent). But the next best time is now. Many fans are already considering it. This topic is broader, focusing on Christian authors in all genres. And too big a topic for one episode. We’re splitting this into two. Sure, some authors may listen and take note, or maybe get upset. But I’m speaking as a fan, and I know many fans who agree. We grieve this inflammatory rhetoric among Christian fantasy fans. And we don’t want to see relationships broken by nasty slanders. Background: I’ve kept up with politics since before I could vote. I’ve retconned my first election as Nov. 2000 (before I was 18). Campus newspaper columns, a little overt activism here and there. Anti-fans made a “Stephen would probably hate me” FB group. Today I stay atop news, and more importantly the deeper issues. And I do post about politics, so don’t hear me saying “don’t do it.” But here at Lorehaven we are not first about politics. Morality first. A positive note: Stephen’s developing post rules Personally, I post about certain topics that are, I hope, limited. My rules: biblical conviction, topically focused, open engagement. Example: my Jan. 30 post on activist Don Lemon being arrested. To me this one’s easy. The man joined a mob to invade a church. I like the church. I don’t like bullies. And this topic relates to ACE. Besides, I don’t like when professing Christians abuse the Bible. That includes people who impulsively see other believers as bad guys and impulsively see anyone “protesting” them as good guys. This is an absolute non-starter. You’re slandering your own people. Unfortunately this is a nasty effect of some “missional” Christians. They care so much about “the world” that they step on family. Even then, however, I may step wrong or distract from my focus. In the next episode, we’ll talk about the positive side of posting. We need common ground! That is why this topic calls for care. Otherwise, here are my personal consequences. Others may vary. If authors post badly about politics once, I’ll “snooze” their feeds. If they keep it up, I assume they are radicalizing and mute them. Chapter 2: Five cringe and corrosive ways Christian authors post about politics 1. They’ve never before posted about these topics. The post breaks a pattern of trust between an author and readers. Such a comment on hot controversies looks oddly out of place. It’s often motivated by something other than longstanding interest. 2. The post has nothing to do with the author’s work. What does a fantasy writer have to do with immigration debates? This can also break trust. Fans didn’t follow him for political takes. Authors who now only post politics signal they’re “switching jobs.” 3. They claim the post ‘isn’t political’ but it jolly well is. On the surface, the post may seem to advocate simple morality. With any human debate over ethics and law, politics are a factor. “This isn’t political” misunderstands what politics actually are. 4. Authors may not even appreciate what politics are. Some who claim to “hate politics” just don’t like defending ideas. They’d rather hit a “win button” and thereby become always right. “Politics matter because policy matters because people matter!” 5. Some foolishly try bringing ‘just love’ to law fights. God bless them, but these sensitive souls lead first with feelings. They mean well, but forget the very real realities of laws and policy. Christians do grace stuff and law stuff. Government is law stuff. Chapter 3: Five slanderous and sinful ways Christian authors post about politics 6. The author exposes ignorance about the issues. Ignorance is no sin, but willful ignorance of facts is no excuse. If you don’t like politics, this effectively seeks unearned authority. If you don’t care for real laws, you’re just meddling (Prov. 26:17). 7. Some follow influencers who take bribes (Ex. 32:8). For clarity, paid influencers can take actual cash for their posts. Others trade in alternative currencies: EmoCoin and TrendBucks. In either case, they’re being steered, and they may also steer you. 8. Some try to foreclose discussion and just be ‘right.’ This is another “win button” attempt, but this time more foolishly. You can’t put on a jersey and enter the field without consequence. It’s absurd, even laughable, to get upset at opposing team players. 9. Even worse, authors slander their spiritual family. I have personally seen Christian authors falsely accuse others. Big studios do this in macro against critical fans, and they fail hard! This is sinful behavior, not to mention personally self-destructive. 10. Worst of all, some pronounce threats of Hell itself. This is the greatest sin so far. It bears special direct condemnation. You will not threaten “God’s judgment” on believers who disagree on secondary issues, like how the civil magistrate enforces law. Such threats often reveal this is about personal hatred, not truth. Com station Top question for listeners When your favorite authors suddenly post hot takes about the latest controversial headlines or violent acts, how do you feel? Next on Fantastical Truth This is a heated topic, necessarily so. Now as we move toward spring, let’s attempt a thaw. Lord willing, Zackary Russell will return here for an interactive discussion about how we as fans can hope better from our favorite authors. Do we expect them to “shut up and write”? Or can we hope for more thoughtful, gracious engagement that will not divide the body of Christ but will bring us better together even if we do disagree?

Allegories. Christians love allegories! That’s a story element of having a person, place, or thing meant a a direct picture of something else, like Jesus or moral virtues. Some people think Jesus did this in parables, or C.S. Lewis did this with Narnia. Others point to Pilgrim’s Progress as a prime example. Even if they’re right about that, might some readers and authors focus so much on possible “allegories” that we miss great stories’ deeper meanings? Episode sponsors The Restitching of Camille DuLaine by Lindsay A. Franklin The Case of the Heart Stone by Tulli Cole Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: the Authorship has launched! Listen to last week’s episode, or read the companion article. Also, join the Guild by Saturday, Jan. 31 for Stephen’s livestream: How to Sell a Sci-Fi Novel in Just Twenty-Five Easy Years Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes Allegory is a form of literature in which material figures represent immaterial virtues or vices. So in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, the character Timorous represents fear and Mr. Worldly Wiseman represents worldly wisdom. In our day, distinction of genres has been muddled a bit, so we tend to regard any story with symbolic elements in it as allegorical, but it was not always this way. C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, for instance, are not allegories, even as often as they are referred to as such, and Lewis himself said as much. The parables of Jesus could be said to contain allegorical elements, some more than others, but they are not strictly speaking themselves allegories. Jesus definitely deals in the world of virtues and vices, but he is most immediately interested in the world of human beings, their hearts, their words, and their deeds. “How Not to Read the Parables,” Jared C. Wilson The reason for the long history of the misinterpretation of the parables can be traced back to something Jesus himself said, as recorded in Mark 4:10–12. When asked about the purpose of parables, he seems to have suggested that they contained mysteries for those on the inside, while they hardened those on the outside. Because he then proceeded to “interpret” the parable of the sower in a semi-allegorical way, this was seen to give license to the hardening theory and endless allegorical interpretations. The parables were considered to be simple stories for those on the outside to whom the “real meanings,” the “mysteries,” were hidden; these belonged only to the church and could be uncovered by means of allegory. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart 1. Jesus’s parables aren’t just allegories Sometimes the Lord interpreted His tales this way. For example, He says the seed is like His word and different soils are like different hearers (see Mark 4:13–20; Matthew 13:18–23; Luke 8:11–15). But we may miss His main point if seek out the Secret Allegories. No less top church fathers seem to have started this trend. Famously he read many allegories into the Good Samaritan tale. But the central point is to answer, “Who is my neighbor?” At other times He simply said, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” Meaning the whole parable says something about His kingdom. What follows might be a prophecy of doom in the end times. Or it might be an illustration of human behavior fit for His reign. His parable may be about groups, individuals, morals, or salvation! In either case, “he who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 2. Pilgrim’s Progress is allegory; Narnia is not Many readers fondly remember John Bunyan’s classic quest tale. The allegories start simple but accessible, especially for Puritans. “Christian” is a Christian. “Evangelist” is. Apollyon is just a demon! Then as we’ve previously explored, the allegories get complicated. God, angels, the Bible, and Heaven are literal. So are good and evil. At one point Moses himself cameos as a Law-enforcing antihero! Altogether, Bunyan is both less and more creative than we thought. However, we needn’t impose our view of Progress For instance, many Christians learned to like Narnia by accepting the common belief that Lewis put “allegories” into his fantasy tale. Stephen recalls one article around the movie release in 2005. The writer meant well, but made up all kinds of silly “allegories.” He believed the Pevensies are apostles and weapons are prayer. Lewis himself specifically says outright that he did not do this. Aslan isn’t an “allegory” for Jesus. He is Jesus, working his good will in many worlds across a fantastical barely glimpsed multiverse. One’s view of “allegory” shouldn’t overturn clearly stated words. Otherwise we’d all end up reading our own ideas into the Bible too! 3. Forced allegories may ruin some stories Frankly, forcing allegories into stories risks rejecting their real truth. With limited allegories, Jesus made sure His parables carry layers. With mixed/complex allegories, Pilgrim’s Progress has aged well! By avoiding direct allegories, Narnia can be subtle yet also overt. And for new Christian-made fantasy, we can expect the same. Kids and grown-ups can lose themselves in the story, not pulling it apart for useful parts, but being surprised by deeper meanings. History shows this is a far more powerful way to read stories. Instead of making them into Teaching Tools, as if stuff we make up could replace God’s word, stories help us see our own responses. This is a far more human emphasis closer to imagination’s purpose. And for new writers out there, we encourage going deeper. Allegories look like ultimate meaning, but they’re really 101 level. Example: any sword may evoke Ephesians 6. But it’s first a sword. You don’t have to limit this idea to the word of God or even prayer. Swords have more resonance in Scripture than just one text. They’re tools of men and angels alike to defeat or restrain evil. So don’t reduce the concrete object to some spiritual abstract. Really this comes down to how we see the world. Do we expect a bodiless “spiritoid” eternity? Or one where matter itself matters? Scripture promises a union of tangible New Earth and New Heaven. Ultimately our stories must hearken to this reality. So study deep! Com station Top question for listeners How do you look for deeper meanings in the Bible and stories? Next on Fantastical Truth Next week is Groundhog Day, and we’ve already seen this story: Your favorite Christian author, who usually talks about book updates and inspirational life anecdotes, is suddenly posting about controversial political stuff. Should readers impose “no politics! no religion!” rules on story creators who feel strongly about a topic? Or might we expect more from authors posting or not posting hot takes?

This podcast and other resources from Lorehaven focus on readers. That’s why, when aspiring writers post questions like, Where can I find an agent? or Will you look at my unpublished manuscript?, we don’t have much to share in that department. Until now. We’re journeying into new lands. This month we’re launching the Lorehaven Authorship within the Lorehaven Guild on Discord. Let’s explore how these new digital channels with pro livestreams and a fan-focused Book Festival will help writers cultivate their God-given imaginations. Episode sponsors Audio-Epic.com: “1232” podcast The Case of the Heart Stone by Tulli Cole Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update Discern the Top Three Negative Evangelical Myths about Popular Culture by E. Stephen Burnett Gabriel’s Song, new review by Sierra Simopoulos Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild How to join the Lorehaven Authorship Hosted in the Lorehaven Guild, the Authorship offers three member levels: Creative ($3.99/month). Fight for your calling. Enjoy livestreams with the pros. Discover why God created us to make stories for His glory and our joy. Pro Novelist ($9.99/month). All benefits for Creative members, plus your own “booth” to seek new readers in our virtual fan-centered Book Festival! Terraformer ($29.99/month). Get all above benefits plus more perks. Help invest in the future of fantastical fiction and expand the Lorehaven mission. How to join? Subscribe free to Lorehaven. (Or in January 2026, just click here.) We’ll send you the Guild invitation. Once you’ve entered the Guild, look for the LOREHAVEN AUTHORSHIP channels. Then click one to see your options. Pro tip: To avoid added fees, avoid signing up for the Authorship on Apple devices. Instead, use the desktop app or browser version. 1. Why our Author gives us imaginations How can writers sometimes fall into ‘writicism’ traps? For a while, many Christian fantasy writers seemed hyperfocused. Blogs and conferences focused mainly on the craft of writing. And some complained about publishers not being interested. Some did try these books. Only a few succeeded. How come? My take for 20-ish years: not enough writer focus on our Only in the last decade-ish have we gotten better at fan outreach. We’ve also seen more writers get serious about their faith in Jesus. They’ve earned trust with more readers and therefore succeed. Do fantasy fans like writing more than other fans? Still, we’ve found that unlike other genres like biography, mystery, and historical romance, fantastical fans enjoy the craft of writing. Some write fanfiction or other stories just for fun. Others share their stories with friends or family. Still others have aspirations for indie or traditional publication. But writers must not hope publishers or fans will make them happy. The best authors are already happy, or joyous, for other reasons. Maybe they’re simply really ambitious or gifted, as non-Christians. Or maybe they’re Christians and find their joy/happiness in Christ. How does fantastical creation give us joy in Jesus? In any case, if you’re a Christian, create stories for Christ’s glory! God has called you to worship Him. Only in this can we be happy. Worship includes biblical practice of His gift of imagination. That’s why we make things for His glory and for our happiness. This joy can begins today, yet is also practice for eternal joy. And this pursuit is our “chief end”—before all the challenges of plotting vs. pantsing, or whether to seek agents vs. indie-publish. How will the Lorehaven Authorship help you find joy? In the Authorship, published pros will train creatives in the craft of writing. However, we’ll also help you discover your purpose for your imagination. Why did God create you? And why do we feel this drive to create other stuff? If you sense the need to know this greater godly mission, welcome aboard! 2. How we grow His gifts into writing skills How has this biblical joy kept us going over decades? To repeat: God gives us creative imagination to glorify Him. So His divine purpose empowers us for creative challenges. Personally, Stephen can testify that I’ve been renewed by this biblical mission for over 25 writing years of minor wins and major losses. Even when the day job boss says, “We need to lay you off”? Even when the editor says, “This project isn’t right for us? Often Stephen has asked himself, “If I never got published as a ‘pro novelist,’ could I still write, if only for my joy in Christ?” How will the Authorship help writers grow their craft? I’ll put my 25+ years of creative struggles to work here. So will other pro novelists. This reflects our shared need for training. After all, you can’t go directly from “Let’s write!” to “Let’s change the world with our stories.” Don’t skip that big step in between—the step of Christians helping one another grow our creative gifts. For example, later this month I’m hosting a fully public livestream: How to Sell a Sci-Fi Novel in Just Twenty-Five Easy Years Saturday, Jan. 31 6 p.m. Eastern (3 p.m. Pacific) exclusively in the Guild Future livestreams will be available for all Authorship members. Apart from livestreams, we’ll share this training in every room of the Authorship—from C.S. Lewis’s three-stage view of story-making, to creative challenges like the “Christian” label, to the thorny issue of whether fictional characters can curse. How will authors reach fans at the Book Festival? Lorehaven has spent years connecting authors not just with other authors, but with faithful readers. So the Authorship will also feature the Lorehaven Book Festival. Anyone in the free Guild can visit the Book Festival to browse virtual booths. Yet only members at the Pro Novelist level can host their own booth spaces. They can recruit readers, share links, or host Q&As—for any length of time. 3. How ‘terraformers’ can change this world What’s the state of the Christian fantastical world? We’d love to see more Christian-made novels in sci-fi and horror. As reality-observant persons, however, we must admit the truth. Teen/YA women’s fantasy continues to rule these worlds. A day may come when all subgenres live in harmony and success. But it is not this day. Bad publishers? No. Limited/quiet readership. Why do we need not just writers, but “terraformers”? To fulfill this future, we need spaces to help these genres grow. Lorehaven is generational. That’s why we call for terraforming. Maybe the Lord has blessed you with success you’d like to share. Or maybe you’re not a writer, but you want to support writers. You can become an Authorship Terraformer, sponsoring this work. (Only after supporting family, local church, and faithful groups!) How will the Authorship grow fantastical fiction? Our ultimate purpose: offer even more resources from Lorehaven. More library titles. More reviews. Digitally published book quests. Perhaps even more episodes of this very podcast, shared to all. Right now our main limitation is not willingness or skills, but time. Thank the Lord, Lorehaven is a sponsor-supported digital mission! Still, if He brought other supporters our way, we’d be glad to grow. Com station Top question for listeners If you write, which groups and mentors have helped you grow? Comment from @‌johnfollis2357 about episode 219: I am forever grateful to these people for putting this wonderful drama together. I won’t spoil it much here, but there is a part in Glorious Appearing that had me convicted of my sin and my need for a savior several years ago. And as a result, I was converted to Christianity. A follower of Jesus Christ. God saved me. And I did not do anything to earn it. It is all his doing. Next on Fantastical Truth Imagine, if you will, that Christian Author X creates a futuristic tale in which cyborg detectives explore the boundaries of good and evil. That seems cool. But how does that compare with, say, Christian Author Y’s fantasy story in which verses and prayer are like magic, people and place names are anagrams for virtues, and the king represents Jesus Christ? Many fine Christians get confused by Author X’s story but get impressed by Author Y’s story—because, after all, it’s allegory! Is this kind of allegory, however, really a more “Christian” kind of story?

“In one cataclysmic moment, millions around the globe disappear.” Jesus returned thirty years ago. Or rather, He sort of pre-returned, the warm-up act, if you will. Many faithful Christians believe in this kind of “rapture.” And in December 1995, two authors teamed up and used this idea to create the most successful biblical end-times thriller we’ve yet seen. In summer 2024 we overviewed the series. Yet now we’ll ask how that first Left Behind novel has aged, thirty years after its release. Episode sponsors Of Dawn and Embers by Gillian Bronte Adams The Case of the Heart Stone by Tulli Cole Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update Review: Sons of Day and Night by Mariposa Aristeo Behold Our Top Most Anticipated New Books and Movies for 2026 New article releases this Thursday: Discern the Top Three Negative Evangelical Myths about Popular Culture Next week, Lord willing: we announce the Lorehaven Authorship Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes Fantastical Truth podcast series: Left Behind Legacy 216. Why Do Christians Fight Over End-Times Prophecies? | E. Stephen Burnett vs Zackary Russell 217. How Did Publishers Steward the Blockbuster Left Behind Series? | with Dan Balow 218. How Did The Kids Get Left Behind? | with Chris Fabry 219. How Did GAP Digital Turn Left Behind Into Cinematic Audio Drama? | with Todd Busteed 220. How Did the ‘Left Behind’ Kids Audio Drama Speed-Run the Tribulation? | with Darby Kern 221. How Did The Left Behind Series Enrapture Millions of Fans? | with Jerry B. Jenkins Other Lorehaven resources on the Left Behind series Lorehaven.com search keyphrase: LEFT BEHIND Left Behind (1995) in the Lorehaven Library From the archives, Stephen’s article series: Twelve Reasons the ‘Left Behind’ Series is Actually Awesome How to Make a ‘Left Behind’ Streaming Series That’s Actually Awesome, Daniel Whyte IV Secular endorsements of the Left Behind series “This is the most successful Christian fiction series ever.” ―Publishers Weekly “Combines Tom Clancy–like suspense with touches of romance, high-tech flash, and biblical references.” ―New York Times “Call it what you like, the Left Behind series . . . now has a label its creators could have never predicted: blockbuster success.” ―Entertainment Back cover of Left Behind, book 1, published in late 1995: A novel of the Earth’s last days. In one cataclysmic moment, millions around the globe disappear. Vehicles, suddenly unmanned, careen out of control. People are terror stricken as loved ones vanish before their eyes. In the midst of global chaos, airline captain Rayford Steele must search for his family, for answers, for truth. As devastating as the disappearances have been, the darkest days may lie ahead. 1. Left Behind proclaims gospel truth* Let’s start with the true. This book really wants to get you saved. It’s a product of deep Biblical Christian desires to redeem souls. Two authors (largely) make this work: the nonfiction author Tim LaHaye (The Act of Marriage) plus fiction author Jerry B. Jenkins. Both men, however, are evangelicals who want the gospel spread. So the novel shares a goal with others thriller based on possible futures: to tell a plot-driven story yet also provoke reader action. At times the threat of sin does feel lesser than that of Antichrist. All biblical Christians agree to repent and receive Jesus as Savior. Yet not all biblical Christians agree with “pray the sinner’s prayer.” And certainly only some Christians accept this end-times scenario. The late LaHaye, and Jenkins as well, would surely agree with this. Let readers, then, always discern what in the book is gospel truth and what are opinions (however deeply studied) about prophecy. 2. The story has unbelieving ‘good’ heroes Left Behind is underrated for this—its protagonists are good guys. Buck Williams has high ethics in his newsmagazine journalism. Rayford Steele has been (until now) a loving husband and father. Chloe Steele is a young college student free of remarkable sin. And finally, Bruce Barnes is a decent pastor at his local church. And yet … all these men lack Jesus, and they’re drifting into sin. The novel’s opening spells out the lurking evil in one man’s heart: “Rayford Steele’s mind was on a woman he’d never touched.” It seems that Rayford’s family-man decency only lasts so long. For the authors, then, the Rapture is as much a warning trumpet blast to his heart as it is a measure of mercy for existing Christians. Many fans reacted strongly to this theme. How could such good people, even a pastor at a church, be left out of any pre–Second Coming event? Weren’t they by all accounts decent people? Conversely, lest any Christians suppose unbelievers are all wanton sinners, Jenkins answers that no, we can root for these people. Even without the label, Left Behind shows common grace in action. Common grace can make you decent, but only Jesus will save you. 3. Left Behind stays functional and practical This novel is written, by design, to be as widely read as possible. Jerry B. Jenkins has spoken on this as the authors’ express goal. This isn’t literary fiction. Chapters are short. The style is simple. The original Left Behind is a rather thick book at 468 pages, but with large font face, wide margins, and lots of white space. All these invite as many readers as possible; this story is populist. Therefore, critics who fault the book for not meeting the goals they have migrated over from other books are revealing their ignorance or possibly elitism. Left Behind isn’t trying to be a timeless classic. In fact, many of the original moments quickly felt very timebound. Characters use dial-up modems; cell phones show up sporadically. Later revised versions updated the technology. Yet as Jerry B. Jenkins told us in 2024, he’s content to leave the series as it is. However, Left Behind also feels oddly distant from some moments. Rayford’s finding of his vanished family is an emotional high point. Other scenes, like a car bombing, get summarized at a distance. This creates plot accessibility, but not so much character access. With some exceptions, then, Left Behind values truth (and its own strong opinions) and goodness in substance over beauty in style. Again, this was likely by intention on the creators’ part. Sometimes what the prosaic style sacrifices for speed still creates deep emotions because the momentum draws in more readers. Later volumes, like book 6, delved deeper into emotional journeys. You feel (even in passing) the weight of hero deaths and struggles. Ultimately, Left Behind offered a different kind of beauty—brisk and efficient pro writing, repetition, and popular accessibility, all of which set a course for this runaway successful late-1990s series. Com station Top questions for listeners Do you expect the Rapture at any moment? Or some other event? What did you (or your parents?) think about the novel Left Behind? Email us [email protected] or tag as on the social medias. Mandi W. wrote in reply to an unspecified episode: So I am not really a sci-fi/dystopian reader, but follow LH/Enclave for my veracious teen readers. My shocking love was The Chaos Grid and Crier Stone books from Lindsey Llewellyn. Well done!!! I actually read them each in 1 sitting and stayed up WAY too late doing so. ;o) Lydia sent this about last week’s episode 294: Your point about sci-fi/fantastical exploration and dominion-taking being a huge part of our future in the new heavens & new earth reminds me of my favorite quote from Wayne Thomas Batson’s Door Within trilogy: the last chapter of the last book ends with the hero asking the God figure, the King, if there will be adventures in His kingdom. The King smiles and says, “More than you can possibly imagine.” That line changed my perspective on eternity completely. Several educational years later, I’m a postmillenial and eager for stories that can transcend time and inspire generations to take dominion of the world for Christ’s kingdom. Here’s to an increase of that in the years to come! Next on Fantastical Truth This podcast and other resources from Lorehaven focus on readers. That’s why, when aspiring writers send us questions like, Where can I find an agent? or Will you look at my unpublished manuscript?, we haven’t had much to share in that area. Until now. This month we launch the Lorehaven Authorship in the Lorehaven Guild on Discord. Let’s explore how these new digital discipleship channels, pro livestreams, and fan-focused Book Festival will help authors cultivate their God-given creative purpose.

Last year brought many challenges for Christian fantasy fans. From flops at the theaters now threatened by streaming slop, to creators making more events for Christian storytelling, to the continued growth of biblical fiction as the top genre of Christian-made entertainment—let’s survey the top ten fantasy-related headlines from last year. Episode sponsors Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen The Case of the Heart Stone by Tulli Cole Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: many features over the holidays! We announced our new book quest in the Lorehaven Guild: Taliesin Onscreen: ‘Stranger Things’ Season Five Gives Weight to Parents’ Fears, A. D. Sheehan Onscreen: ‘David’ Creators Answer all Your Questions About the Animated Hit Movie, Josh Shepherd Engage: Alleged ‘Rock and Roll’ Soundtrack Incites Suspicion of Netflix’s Narnia Movie, newcomer Sierra Simopoulos Sierra Simopoulos also reviewed Sons of Day and Night My own article: Why Christians Need Fantastical Stories Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Stop by the homepage for many upgrades, especially the Library. Soon: discover the Guild’s new wing, the Lorehaven Authorship. 10. Superheroes failed to save ailing cinema Marvel movies, despite their strengths, all flopped at the box office. Personally I did like Fantastic Four: First Steps, but didn’t love it. Lorehaven folks were generally positive about some hero movies. ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Labors to Save a Struggling MCU, Marian A. Jacobs The Antiheroes of Thunderbolts* Preach to Marvel Itself, Daniel Whyte IV ‘Superman’ (2025) Will Make You Believe a Man Can Be Earnest, Josiah DeGraaf However, audiences were tepid; none of these films broke even. The greatest foe of superheroes? Flippancy. Next: lack of family. MCU reached its apex with creators who at least feigned sincerity. DC’s nobledark tone was winning fans, until the studio freaked out. 9. Disney’s ‘Snow White’ remake bombed Sticking with cinemas, this one might be the year’s greatest fail. ‘Snow White’ (2025) Isn’t the Fairest of Adaptations, Parker J. Cole I didn’t see it. Few people did. More people saw YouTube roasts. This whole nonsense was an ugly reflection of three terrible trends ruining films: “woke” checkboxes, cynicism, and corporate gloss. 8. Fans abandoned legacy sci-fi franchises Once a Doctor Who hero, Russell T. Davies has ruined that series. Star Trek is adrift, desperately trying to hail imaginary “new fans.” Of course, Star Wars keeps failing to please its own alienated fans. The greatest culprit here: Godless, sex-obsessed progressivism. One can’t correct from this without visibly rejecting “woke” politics. 7. K-Pop Demon Hunters owned the summer We haven’t had a genuine pop-culture movie phenomenon in ages. Then along comes this little giant animated movie on Netflix. ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Pits Singing Heroines vs. Monster Idols, Marian A. Jacobs Kids sang catchy songs. Adults found deeper themes to explore. YouTube reactions and covers on Instagram/TikTok exploded. For the first time, Netflix had a true four-quadrant hit on its hands. And dear Lord, may they learn only the right lessons from this, and not turn this into another streaming slop like so much other stuff. 6. ‘Woke’ stories stepped back, yet persisted 251. Could a Cultural ‘Vibe Shift’ Advance Christian-Made Fiction? Due to political events we won’t detail, that agenda is on the wane. At least the Sexualityism religion is seen as stale and unstable. Many are still trying to figure out what, if any, ideas will replace it. A. D. Sheehan had to critique Brandon Sanderson, a late arrival to the “woke” content scene: Brandon Sanderson’s New Fantasy ‘Wind and Truth’ Summons a Postmodern Cringestorm. Oddly enough, we keep seeing Christian parents posting about the random books they find, after which they ask “Is it woke?” Pro tip: yeah, it’s probably woke, especially with a cover like that. By now we surely have enough Christian-made novels to help? 5. Corporate slop threatens human stories 274. Why Shouldn’t AI-Generated Content Replace Human Stories? This is partly about AI-generated slop, but not always. Skeptical fans now refer to anything bad with “this looks AI.” Why? Because the problem goes deeper than technology amok. Long before AI, corporate studios began relying on algorithms. I believe that’s when these stories began feeling less, well, human. 272. Can We Save Cinema from Sloppy Stories? Instead of human hunches, stories get greenlit by metallic minds. Reference: the short-lived run of Robert Zemekis mocap movies. At first people express curiosity, but eventually they get bored. Prediction: this too shall pass. We’ll see a lot of forced “firsts,” like “the first fully AI-generated movie.” They may even succeed. But the novelty will quickly wear off as it did before Mars Needs Moms. Still, Christian creators must dig deeper to defend organic human stories with philosophies deeper than “AI destroys the Earth.” 4. Conservative TV is trying more fantasy We greatly anticipate the DailyWire+ show The Pendragon Cycle. Based on Stephen Lawhead’s novels, seven episodes drop Jan. 22. Christian showrunner Jeremy Boreing actually stepped down from being Daily Wire co-CEO, it seems, to ensure finishing this series. Political hot takes scarcely outlast the day. Great stories last long. Alas, there’s the constantly controversial Magician’s Nephew movie Marketing for this is dreadful, with publicly floated nonsense about an actress playing Aslan or the movie featuring “rock and roll.” 257. By Aslan’s Mane, is Netflix Really Casting a Lady as the Lion? Meanwhile, platforms like Angel (run by LDS members, yet with freedom for Christians) released The Wingfeather Saga season 2. We also saw a new angel-heroes show, Gabriel and the Guardians. ‘Gabriel and the Guardians’ Echoes a Golden Era of Saturday Morning Cartoons, Jenneth Leed Alas, any sci-fi-ish efforts seem restricted to dystopian dramas. We need higher budgets and risks to widen those genre limits. 3. Realm Makers unites Christian creators 265. How Can We Shine the Gospel at the Realm Makers Expo? 266. How Do You Assemble a New Expo for Christian Fandoms? | with Scott Minor Last year’s conference in Grand Rapids marked an experiment. Can this organization blend creator training with a public expo? Results were mixed-positive, mainly because of the venue choice. For me, a debut sci-fi novelist, results may have skewed better. Yet our primary audience must be Christian fans and families. A semi-major downtown is difficult for these folks to access. Next year’s new venue in St. Louis looks much more promising! And it sounds like the public Expo will be easier for fans to access. For Christian fantasy to grow, we must unite over common interest. Yet this unity must be based on love for the true Jesus, our Author. 2. Biblical fiction is the top Christian genre There’s no contest. Amish and historical fiction is dethroned. Christian fantasy (mostly romantasy) remains confined to books. Amazon’s ‘House of David’ Anoints an Intriguing Biblical Epic, Michael Allen ‘House of David’ Is Crowned King of Amazon Prime, Jenneth Leed 1. Fantasy for teen/YA women continues to rule the Christian-made fantastical worlds This might well be the repeat headline from previous years. Facts are facts. Teen girls and women outread everyone else. When they like fantasy, they prefer female heroes/relationships. Romantasy is the queen. And her handmaiden is royal drama. 249. What is ‘Romantasy’? | with Parker J. Cole And the new princess on the block? Time-travel romance, for sure. 263. What is Time-Travel Romance? | Every Hour Until Then with Gabrielle Meyer These books get the most attention on Instagram and elsewhere. Is it true that “men don’t read”? Not necessarily. Men do read. But they tend to read nonfiction about culture, theology, history. And for fantastical fiction, these readers have unique expectations. Christians here favor proven legacies, especially Lewis/Tolkien. One can’t complain about the reality. Instead, meet the standard. Frankly, that’s my hope for Above the Circle of Earth and beyond. Of course I support teen/YA female-focused fantasy stories! Yet that’s not my genre; it doesn’t help me, personally, grow in joy. Surely there are more readers who favor other kinds of stories, maybe deeper, maybe in underdog genres like sci-fi and horror. Christians must expect a true joyous sci-fi future under King Jesus. And we uniquely understand supernatural realities/horror today. But making new stories isn’t enough. We must cultivate readers. That’s our mission at Lorehaven with our new mission statement: Escape bad books. Find the best Christian fantasy and sci-fi! Watch this space for more about bad books, reader cultivation, and new resolutions to avoid scroll traps and level up your imagination. Com station Top question for listeners What was your top fantasy story or least-liked story in 2025? Next on Fantastical Truth “In one cataclysmic moment, millions around the world disappear.” Jesus returned thirty years ago. Or rather, He sort of pre-returned, the warm-up act, if you will. Many faithful Christians believe in this kind of “rapture.” And in December 1995, two authors teamed up and used this idea to create the most successful biblical end-times thriller we’ve yet seen. Last summer, we overviewed the series. Yet now we’ll ask how that first Left Behind novel has aged, thirty years after its release.

Earlier this month, and just in time for Christmas, Focus on the Family made a fun announcement: an upcoming theatrical adaptation of Adventures in Odyssey. Dubbed Journey Into The Impossible, this 3D animated film will explore the town of Odyssey before the establishment of Whit’s End. What kinds of adventures will a young John Avery Whittaker enjoy? (This special episode was recorded live.) Episode sponsors Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen A Faie Tale by Vince Mancuso MYTH: Reign of the Immortals by J. F. Nickens Mission update ‘Stranger Things’ Season Five Gives Weight to Parents’ Fears, A. D. Sheehan Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes ‘Adventures in Odyssey’ Goes to the Movies? , Lorehaven, Dec. 4 ‘Adventures in Odyssey’ Goes to the Movies? Adventures in Odyssey is releasing a new animated feature film. The working title is Journey into the Impossible. It’s scheduled for a theatrical release in fall 2026. Unlike previous video releases, this film is canon to the audio drama timeline. It serves as a prequel set years before the main series. The film will focus on a younger John Avery Whittaker (Whit), his wife Jenny, and their son Jason. The movie will feature 3D animation stylized with a “2D storybook appearance.” Creators say this will blend modern production quality with a nostalgic visual aesthetic. The project is led by long-time Adventures in Odyssey showrunner Dave Arnold. It also features work by former Disney animator John Pomeroy, ensuring faithfulness to the show’s legacy. A major goal of the film is to introduce the franchise to a new generation of families who may not be familiar with the 1,000+ episode audio drama. We discuss Whit’s enduring appeal as a “positive patriarch.” He is a wise, capable, and gentle male role model, contrasting with many father figures in modern media. The creators are prioritizing a theatrical release to encourage families, churches, and homeschool groups to watch it together as a community event, rather than just streaming it individually. Next on Fantastical Truth “In one cataclysmic moment, millions around the world disappear.” Jesus returned thirty years ago. Or rather, He sort of pre-returned, the warm-up act, if you will. Many faithful Christians believe in this kind of “rapture.” And in December 1995, two authors teamed up and used this idea to create the most successful biblical end-times thriller we’ve yet seen. Last summer, we looked back on the Left Behind series legacy. Yet now we’ll ask how that first Left Behind novel has aged, thirty years after its release.

“We do not celebrate Christmas that way.” “We do not read those kinds of books.” “We ‘do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.’” We know our world is full of rebellion against God’s law. But many people overreact to moral license with a strict imposing of out-of-context or made-up laws. Faithful saints call this legalism, and Christian fantasy fans know plenty about this. When that influencer or relative rebukes your fantastical interest, how you can respond with grace and truth? Episode sponsors Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen A Faie Tale by Vince Mancuso MYTH: Reign of the Immortals by J. F. Nickens Mission update New at Lorehaven: reviews of Ruthless and Shadowcast Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes What Is Fiction Legalism?, E. Stephen Burnett Even If We Like Fantasy and Sci-Fi, We Can Still Practice Accidental Legalism, Marian A. Jacobs 50. Do Christians Really Need Fiction? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 1, Fantastical Truth podcast 1. Legalism denies the word of God itself. We’ve heard and experienced many stories of judgy legalists. Some are worse than others. Some comments are snide asides. I heard one author’s work dismissed as “not in the real world.” And yes, I’ve had people challenge Lewis, Tolkien, other stories. Others rail more on social media against metal music or pageants. But don’t confuse these false teachers with people they deceive. Your family members may be confused and repeating memes. In either case, work to overcome defensiveness or bad feelings. Your firm foundation: legalism is anti-gospel; the Bible rejects it. So study the word of God. Don’t let legalists ruin that for you! Get into the gospel with the epistles, Romans, and other epistles. Focus on texts like Romans 14, 1 Cor. 8-10, and all of Galatians. 2. Legalism denies the good of God’s gifts. Moving to legalistic teachers, they often escape to fantasy worlds. They like alternative realities where people don’t like/need stories. You can (kindly) hit ’em with that little rejoinder, see how it works. In either case, be sure you study up on God’s creative purpose. Start in Genesis and take this text seriously: it’s history in poetry! Pay special heed to the “cultural mandate” in Gen. 1:27-28. Any ignorance of this call also overthrow God’s call to family. So no one gets to do preaching or “ministry” minimization here! From this text, learned theologians discern that God is and loves three virtues in no particular order: beauty, goodness, and truth. God also loves to give good gifts to evil men and His children. We get this truth directly from texts like Matt. 7:11 and James 1:17. Sin ruin gifts? Not for studying, praying believers (1 Tim. 4:1-5). 3. And legalism denies God’s real world. It is not Christianity, but gnosticism, to despise God’s creation. Get your eschatology right, after all the charts and controversies. It’s simply flawed to suggest we’re bound for a bodiless world. Scripture constantly hints, then promises, a renewed planet Earth. Heaven will come down here, rather than replacing all of our world. Let’s get the end of Revelation right about New Heavens and New Earth, Christ’s eternal and holy kingdom that restores paradise! For Stephen, this doctrine was key to debunking fiction legalism. It helps me avoid the responses of depression or deconstruction. On good days I feel sympathy and love for sincere fiction legalists. With this solid foundation we can “swashbuckle” them with smiles. We can affirm the need for truth and holiness, but show how it is in fact made-up laws, not God’s actual word, that forbid good gifts. And we can show how these stories help us grow to be like Jesus. Com station Top question for listeners When did you confront a fiction legalist? How did you respond? tallgrant liked ep. 290 on YouTube: Happy to see this covered, and even happier to get the other half in the Abolition of Man at least touched on! The position Lewis takes about a very small ruling class who make decisions about all of morality for everyone who comes after very much aligns with the ultimate revealed mission of the N.I.C.E. Not to mention the issues being raised about where a potential soul can come from. I find his look at the outworking and consequences of post-modern thought and reasoning really intriguing, considering that this was all put to paper before the conclusion of the second world war and the mass dissemination of those ideas outside the academic world.

Well, we recently talked about the first Chronicle of Narnia … the book! Yet many fans found or rediscovered this series thanks to the Disney-distributed, Walden Media–made film from director Andrew Adamson. Want to feel old? That was two decades ago! So now we shall look back at Narnia’s journey to the box office with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which released twenty years ago on Dec. 9, 2005. Episode sponsors Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen A Faie Tale by Vince Mancuso MYTH: Reign of the Immortals by J. F. Nickens Mission update New at Lorehaven: Netflix’s New ‘Frankenstein’ Reveals Why a Time-Shifted ‘Magician’s Nephew’ Film May Work , Daniel Whyte IV Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Coming in January: our book quest through Stephen Lawhead’s fantasy novel Taliesin Backstory: Mark Joseph Mark Joseph is a music and film producer, author, columnist and founder of MJM Entertainment Group, a multi-faceted entertainment company with interests in film, publishing, music, TV production and film consulting. Joseph got his start in television as an anchor for NHK and CNN’s The Entertainment Report in the 1990’s and his company MJM produced documentaries and supervised the international release of over a hundred albums by various pop and rock artists. In addition to producing his own films, he oversees a marketing team that has marketed 75 films since 2001. From 2000-2005 he worked in development and marketing for Walden Media and Crusader Entertainment and oversaw a grassroots marketing team. He has served as a producer on 15 films, including Max Rose starring Jerry Lewis, The Vessel starring Martin Sheen, America, Japan: Searching For The Dream, Frank vs. God and others. Joseph is the author of four books including The Lion, The Professor & The Movies: Narnia’s Journey To The Big Screen and has been a regular contributor to publications like Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, USA Today, The Huffington Post and FoxNews.com. He is currently a senior columnist for Newsweek and hosts the podcast The Mark Joseph Show. Most recently, he produced the film Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid and published the book Making REAGAN: A Memoir from the Producer of the REAGAN Movie. He also produced the film’s two soundtracks including songs from Bob Dylan, Clint Black, Gene Simmons of KISS, Tanya Tucker and others. Mark and his wife Kara have six children and reside in Southern California. YAF.org: Mark Joseph Facebook: MJM Entertainment Group Instagram: @markjoseph00 The Lion, The Professor & The Movies: Narnia’s Journey To The Big Screen Making REAGAN: A Memoir from the Producer of the REAGAN Movie 1. Narnia’s journey from book to screen … The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe got one TV animation (1979) Then the story (plus two more) came to live-action BBC TV (1988) Yet it was the Walden Media–made film that went bigger (2005) That film released just twenty years ago in the U.S., Dec. 9, 2005 Mark Joseph’s role from those early days as Narnia pre-producer 2. … Through the winter of production … Stephen first learned this was official in a NY Times ad Dec. 2003. Early rumors included Disney aid (true), Kidman’s Witch (untrue). Director: Andrew Adamson. Early casting. Scriptwriters and team. In the afterglow of LOTR, Narnia also filmed much in New Zealand. WETA Workshop did armor work. Other studios did visual effects. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe film released Dec. 9, 2005. 3. … And into the spring of fan acclaim Teasers and trailers pleased fans, with only a few early hiccups. Against a $180 million budget, earned $745 million worldwide. Led to two sequels that earned less. Ended. Restart didn’t work. Now we have Greta Gerwig starting with The Magician’s Nephew. Any informal shared advice, constructive criticism, final memories. Com station Top question for listeners How did you first see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)? Terri Hamilton recalls her Narnia origin tale (ep. 289): I found the Narnia series in my school library when I was in 4th grade, and yes, they were in the proper order. It was a watershed moment for me. I bought myself a boxed set a few years later. Boy, did I look for portals! When I get into a discussion about the book order, I point out The Magician’s Nephew is a prequel, explaining the back story of the first book. Next on Fantastical Truth “We do not celebrate Christmas that way.” “We do not read those kinds of books.” “We ‘do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.’” We know our world is full of rebellion against God’s law. But many people overreact to moral license with a strict imposing of out-of-context or made-up laws. Faithful saints call this legalism, and Christian fantasy fans know plenty about this. When that social-media pastor rebukes your favorite sci-fi, or that relative raises a judgy eyebrow at holiday dinners, how you can respond with grace, truth, and love for legalists?

Long ago, before the great lion Aslan bounded onto bookshelves, C. S. Lewis wrote a science fiction novel set on mythological Mars. From there, the sequel carried Dr. Elwin Ransom by angels to the sister planet Venus. And from there … the Ransom/Cosmic/Space Trilogy descended to the dull world of corrupt college boards, inner-ring politics, and a secret technocracy bent on world domination with the aid of mad science and demons and everything. Eighty years after That Hideous Strength, we explore why C. S. Lewis created this earthbound and weird and wonderful pre-political supernatural thriller. Episode sponsors Sons of Day and Night by Mariposa Aristeo A Faie Tale by Vince Mancuso Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: Josiah DeGraaf’s Sun Eater series article Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild That hideously obscure front cover image. 1. The temptations to wield inner rings The Ransom Trilogy really includes all three fantastical genres. It starts with sci-fi, continues to fantasy, ends in supernatural. Stephen would have appreciated knowing this before this book! Because that fact, plus the cover, will affect your expectations. More than the other two, Hideous Strength feels a weird hybrid. For instance, it begins on Earth and feels “grown-up,” even dull. Who is Mark Studdock and Jane? Why do we care about them? And where is Dr. Ransom and the creatures of books 1 and 2? But here Lewis is addressing some deep and personal enemies. One of them is the “inner ring” villain he writes about elsewhere. Call this “the room where it happens,” that seat of power. Right now some conspiracists claim to “expose” secret inner rings. Yet more often they’re trying to make new “rings” themselves. This “normal,” subtle threat marks the first real evil of the story. Mark, a social-climbing sociologist, craves to reach this influence. Then he gets there … and discovers it’s run by the greater threat. 2. A not-so-N.I.C.E. secular technocracy Enter the National Institute for Co-ordinated Experiments. It’s a social movement, an actual autocratic state bent on power. They’re all about science, social engineering, efficiency, machines. These theorists take the worst of evil ideologies and mix them up. And for Lewis, this represents the worst corruptions of academia. They destroy natural land like Saruman. Hijack history like IngSoc. And they take over newspapers in plain sight like any petty tyrant. Some have different aims/ideas, such as a truly scary revelation about what exactly has gone wrong with the sterility of the Moon. Others are so poisoned by elitism that they “naturally” fall into evil. That’s why we call this a pre-political story. Yes, it’s about politics and has overlapping theme, but is about the ideas beneath this. N.I.C.E.’s goal: the subjugation of the human race to macrobes. From here, Lewis finally explains the recurring visions of Jane Studdock (revealing the conspiracy) and a holy resistance order. And, lest there be any doubt, we soon learn the worst threat of all. 3. Devils vs. power to demolish strongholds At last, Dr. Ransom enters the story, leading a small diverse group. He’s recruited Christian fellow academics, sure, but also one rather sympathetic skeptic, leading women, and working-class folks. Their enemy is not just flesh and blood, but dark spiritual powers. That’s why we call Hideous Strength a true supernatural thriller. Astute readers will discern demonic activity behind the veil. That’s no surprise for the author of The Screwtape Letters. Yet the activity is more subtle, in allusion, not overt like Peretti. Ultimately we discern the demons/humans spread their evil ideas in an area Lewis knew very well: the corruption of language. Words, meanings, symbols, translations are vital to this story. And perhaps it’s no surprise that the ultimate battle is won not by weapons or even direct intrusions of magic, but by word powers. Clearly the author had in mind a certain Genesis 11 narrative! By the end, one hero utters this divine judgment: “Qui Verbum Dei contempserunt, eis auferetur etiam verbum hominis.” (Kee vehr-boom Deh-ee kon-temp-seh-roont, eh-ees ow-feh-reh-toor eh-tee-ahm vehr-boom ho-mee-nees) Translated: “They that have despised the word of God, from them shall the word of man also be taken away.” These villains “have pulled down Deep Heaven onto their heads.” Holy agents unite from the planets and the past to empower good. Lewis also brings in, quite overtly, his love for medieval cosmology and the planetary influences that are crucial to this universe. And now (with a reread) Stephen has experienced this story with delight like he had hoped, particularly with Lewis’s latter head-hopping and fun-poking at the expense of N.I.C.E.’s evildoers. That Hideous Strength ends with startling eucatastrophe and celebration of biblical and based virtues, from cosmic to familial. It’s no wonder the story has gained new fans in these similar days. Com station Top question for listeners Do you prefer demonic evil in fiction to be overt or subtle? Next on Fantastical Truth Well, we just talked about the first Chronicle of Narnia … the book! Yet many fans found or rediscovered this series thanks to the Disney-distributed, Walden Media–made film from director Andrew Adamson. Want to feel old? That was two decades ago! So now we shall look back at Narnia’s journey to the box office with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which released twenty years ago on Dec. 9, 2005.

“Suddenly Aslan came bounding into it.” That is how C. S. Lewis described the plot twist in his creative process for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. “I don’t know where the Lion came from or why He came. But once He was there, He pulled the whole story together.” And in turn, this story has pulled together the imaginations of millions across the world. Now, 75 years after the first Chronicles of Narnia book was published, let’s explore how this changed fantasy forever. Episode sponsors Sons of Day and Night by Mariposa Aristeo A Faie Tale by Vince Mancuso Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: our retro review of Kathy Tyers’ Firebird The Sun Eater Series is the Modern Sci-Fi Epic Christians Have Been Awaiting, article by Josiah DeGraaf Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes: exploring Narnia The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe review at Lorehaven The Chronicles of Narnia series review at Lorehaven, March 2020 Fantastical Truth episode 24. How Do We Defeat the Top Seven Myths about The Chronicles of Narnia? Part 1 Episode 26. How Do We Defeat the Top Seven Myths about The Chronicles of Narnia? Part 2 Episode 35. Did C. S. Lewis Say It’s ‘Pure Moonshine’ to Create Stories that Teach Christian Truth? Episode 261. Why Do We Love The Magician’s Nephew? Quotes and notes: the creation of Narnia Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrument; then collected information about child-psychology and decided what age-group I’d write for; drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out ‘allegories’ to embody them. This is all pure moonshine. I couldn’t write in that way at all. Everything began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn’t even anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord. —C. S. Lewis, “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s To Be Said,” (1956) All my seven Narnian books, and my three science-fiction books, began with seeing pictures in my head. At first they were not a story, just pictures. The Lion all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself: ‘Let’s try to make a story about it.’ At first I had very little idea how the story would go. But then suddenly Aslan came bounding into it. I think I had been having a good many dreams of lions about that time. Apart from that, I don’t know where the Lion came from or why He came. But once He was there He pulled the whole story together, and soon He pulled the six other Narnian stories in after Him. So you see that, in a sense, I know very little about how this story was born. That is, I don’t know where the pictures came from. And I don’t believe anyone knows exactly how he ‘makes things up’. Making up is a very mysterious thing. When you ‘have an idea’ could you tell anyone exactly how you thought of it? —C. S. Lewis, “It All Began with a Picture,” 1960 [Narnia’]s beauties often get blunted or made lukewarm by the persistent myth spread by well-meaning readers, including many Christians, that the Narnia books are merely “allegorical.” (For example, one author even wrote that Professor Kirke’s mansion “is symbolic of the church” while the wardrobe “symbolizes the Bible.”) But the “allegory” label ignores the stories’ true purpose according to Lewis, who insisted on calling his world a supposal. In one letter, Lewis wrote that his Narnia stories answered the question, “What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?” Lewis then concluded, “This is not allegory at all.” Case closed. And Aslan be praised that it is closed, because if we turn these stories into mere allegory, we might end up using Narnia like a mere code or container pointing to “higher” ideals. —The Chronicles of Narnia series review, Lorehaven, March 2020 Early 2000s edition, with cover based on the classic Pauline Baynes illustration. 1. The Lion … Lewis took great care to model Aslan’s behavior on our true Lion. When the kids hear of him, they have deep heartfelt responses. (That’s why this is book 1, because Aslan must be a surprise to us.) We love this hero because he’s “not a tame Lion, but he is good.” And in this story, Aslan directly repeats the death and resurrection. Lewis in another famous essay disclaims a popular Christian idea. It goes like, “To make fantasy ‘Christian,’ it must be allegory.” But the series isn’t allegory, and Lewis found deep meaning later. Nor is Aslan a simple allegory for Jesus; in this world, Aslan is In modern terms, imagine if Jesus were active in a “multiverse.” Yes, it’s still imaginary. This idea wouldn’t work in serious theology. That’s the beauty of fantasy; this needs no “allegory” for support. 2. … The Witch … Somehow the White Witch has become nearly as famous as Aslan. There’s of course the Snow Queen inspiration that ties her to myth. Yet oddly, Lewis also references the myth of “Adam’s first wife.” Beaver states this as fact, but we later learn her true origin. Here, however, it’s enough to see her as the iconic evil ice queen. Jadis is an overt inversion of the “nurturing” mother-figure. In modern terms she may seem shallow—no motive, no backstory. But as Lewis has said, the fairy tale’s beauty is partly in its brevity. The White Witch is a Satanic-level foe who corrupts the seasons. Lewis, at heart a medievalist, likely built Jovian motifs in the story. That is, a kingly and joyous victory over forces of cold and death. Remember, unlike the film, it is Aslan who wins, not the Pevensies. (Yet major shoutouts go to Tilda Swinton for defining this villain!) 3. … and the Wardrobe When Stephen was a kid, he read the Narnia series all wrong. Those first four books’ “portal” moments felt most fascinating. g., the wardrobe, the train station, the painting, the moor door. There is a genuine thrill to the idea of stepping into other worlds. Yet to this day, perhaps the Wardrobe is the best way into Narnia. Children then as now can hide in real closets and deeply imagine. If we grew up with Narnia, who hasn’t thought it could be true? This seems a great gift of God, to micro-“believe” these fantasies. Perhaps even Father Christmas, on some days, feels possibly real. And then, when the fantasy ends, you must re-face the real world. Lewis abruptly and almost tragically ends this story in England. Later books expand the world and the deeper meanings of Narnia. Com station Top question for listeners How did you first read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Next on Fantastical Truth Long ago, before the great lion Aslan bounded onto bookshelves, C. S. Lewis wrote a science fiction novel set on mythological Mars. From there his hero Dr. Elwin Ransom was carried by angels to the sister planet Venus. And from there … the Ransom/Cosmic/Space Trilogy descended to the dull world of college board meetings, inner-ring politics, and a secret technocratic society bent on world domination with the aid of mad science and demons and everything. Eighty years after That Hideous Strength was published, we explore why C. S. Lewis created this earthbound and weird and wonderful pre-political supernatural thriller.

We still believe in cultural engagement. That’s the Christian mission to share our faith in the real world, seeking to win souls to Jesus. These souls naturally seek biblical influences in stories, songs, and beyond. So why do some believers claim that they want “cultural engagement” but then, when angry or manipulative anti-Christian critics engage us right back, throw up their hands and call for pietistic separation? Episode sponsors Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney by Daniel Schwabauer A Faie Tale by Vince Mancuso The Pop Culture Parent Mission update New at Lorehaven: new book quest for A Study of Shattered Spells Also new: reviews for Lord of Winter and Picked Up Pieces Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild 1. How ‘cultural engagement’ started Christians inherited a legacy of sheltering, e.g. “fundamentalism.” That term also gets associated with “separation from the world.” From there other Christians moved to broader “evangelicalism.” That newer term is more about living in (but not of) the world. Yet this “evangelicalism” had a particular missionary emphasis. We wanted to adapt what’s good about the world for ourselves. And we sought to make comfortable places for unbelievers. This also get associated with “Christian versions” of stories/songs. Now new generations want to reject the first, modify the second. First, they rightly see sin and harm in cultural fundamentalism. Second, they see greatness in many secular stories and songs. Third, they want to make great stories/songs that aren’t terrible. Results? Much content about genuinely bad church dysfunctions. Many reviews and articles praising secular stories and songs. And now, finally, Christian-made stories/songs that are great! 2. How ‘cultural engagement’ is going Now that we’ve identified the graces, let’s talk about the idols. (In this we follow two of the five engagement steps in TPCP.) You see, some “engagement” folks forget that third creative stage. Many got stuck in ranting (supposed) cultural fundamentalism. Yes, our old pal Church Back Home Syndrome reappears here. Others got stuck finding greatness in secular stories/songs. They forgot the part about finding idols in those “cultural artifacts.” They grew so positive that they failed to perceive the real world. For instance, some ignore real hatreds of Christians in the world. We’ve heard from big-name creators who encountered this. They were as “winsome” as could be, but got soft-persecuted. “Engagers” especially neglect finding ways to create new stuff. Perhaps they miss the purpose of “glorifying/enjoying God.” Without spilling tea, Stephen has seen this among some writers. They wanted to “engage” “for nonbelievers” their favorite stuff. So you got articles about Scorsese movies and art-house films. English majors had a particular like for engaging non-pop culture. But regarding actual pop culture, memes, politics, etc.? Ugh, no. A few “engagers” ended up bitter, confused, even deconstructed. Their view of culture is bad; their view of social issues is worse. It’s like they expected “engagement” would not involve conflict. But the very concept includes challenges—of worldview idols! Any creative work will involve creative differences, e.g. conflict. This may explain why some are reverting to cultural insularity. We see the return of pietistic slogans about culture, esp. politics. They speak much of their own discomfort, fear, “piety,” holiness. And they call for separation from implied-bad “worlds” like politics. More often than not, they create nothing new, only more critiques. This is “fundamentalism” all over again—anti-cultural engagement. 3. How we do actual ‘cultural engagement’ Go back to the Bible’s best examples of this method by apostles. Find these in the book of Acts, especially Acts chapter 17. In this keystone text, Paul engages the culture of Athens. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:22–31 Paul isn’t bothered by those bad Christians somewhere else. He also doesn’t cite his “provoked” sense about idols (verse 16). He’s deeply human but also disciplined and rational to engage. Here in the public square, his ideas and challenges are welcome. He praises the Athenians, with a hint of backhanded compliment. Is there humor in his description of the “unknown god” altar? Paul “appropriates” the phrase plus the words of Greek poets. And he re-contextualizes them while assuming God’s word is true. His goal is the specific conversion of heathen nonbelievers. Paul does a lot of setup before later discussions continue. This is an overt pre-evangelistic (Other chats vary.) However, Paul isn’t in this cultural engagement “mode” all the time. Other times it’s better to defend one’s own rights or get tough! If even a top Gentile missionary does this, how much more do we? Perhaps the apostle (also tentmaker and citizen) knew wisdom. We’re not always pro missionaries or pastors. We have vocations. Application: we don’t need less cultural engagement, but more. We still believe in cultural engagement. These other guys do not! Some of them, perhaps, wanted “engagement” as more of a cope. Like their forebears, they find comfort in hating/loving “the world.” That’s simply not a sustainable motive, nor is it a biblical motive. It’ll send you right back to false pietism/bad “fundamentalism.” And it’ll send us back to assume “everything is about evangelism.” Remember again our chief end: not to defeat sin, and also not to impress the neighbors, but to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That’s why it’s so important to make new stories for that reason. Thus our purpose here: we occasionally do a cultural engagement. But more often we seek the stories under the secular stories. And more often still, we share fantastical Christian-made stories. Com station Talena Winters, author of The Rise of Grigori series, wrote this in response to Episode 284. How Would Any Real Aliens Actually Invade Earth?: Just a note about your recent episode about aliens, and the theory one of you proposed about “supernatural tech”. I actually agree with this…Besides what you mentioned about Elijah being caught up in a “chariot of fire,” there are some excellent and interesting passages in the non-canonical Book of Enoch that talk about a Watcher (one of the angels, not necessarily a fallen one, usually described as Uriel) who takes Enoch on a “tour of heaven” in a craft that sounds a lot like a flying ship or craft he describes as a cloud or as being made of spirit…I have a whole lot more I could say about this, with my beliefs being informed, in part, by the work of Michael Heiser. The point is, do I think these demons (and fallen Watchers, though most of them are trapped in the Abyss until judgement) have physical technology, and can they appear in physical form as aliens? Absolutely. Do I think they may be “leaking” technology to humans for our detriment? It absolutely fits their M.O. Top question for listeners How do you culturally engage secular stories and songs? Next on Fantastical Truth “Suddenly Aslan came bounding into it.” That is how C. S. Lewis described the plot twist in his creative process for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. “I don’t know where the Lion came from or why He came. But once He was there, He pulled the whole story together.” And in turn, this story has pulled together the imaginations of millions across the world. Now, 75 years after the first Chronicles of Narnia book was published, let’s explore how this changed fantasy forever.

To fight real monsters, we don’t need toxic empathy or the notion that exorcisms can resolve all demonic problems. Instead we start with the gospel of Jesus Christ that alone brings holiness. Yet how do we also train our imaginations with better stories to help us battle the beasts? Geoffrey Reiter returns to the studio to explore how great literature reflects God’s grace that helps us defeat the darkness. Episode sponsors Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney by Daniel Schwabauer A Faie Tale by Vince Mancuso Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: reviews for Lord of Winter and Picked Up Pieces Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Backstory: Geoffrey Reiter Geoffrey Reiter is Associate Chair of Arts and Sciences and Coordinator of Humanities at Lancaster Bible College. He is also an Associate Editor at the website Christ and Pop Culture, where he frequently writes about weird horror and dark fantasy. As a scholar of weird fiction, Reiter has published academic articles on such authors as H. P. Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, Bram Stoker, and Clark Ashton Smith. His poetry and fiction have previously appeared in Spectral Realms, Star*Line, Psenumbra, ParABnormal, The Mythic Circle, 34 Orchard, and Black Wings VII. His book The Lime Kiln and Other Enchanted Spaces was published by Hippocampus Press earlier this year. Geoffrey Reiter at Christ and Pop Culture The Lime Kiln and Other Enchanted Spaces from Amazon The Lime Kiln and Other Enchanted Spaces from Hippocampus Press 1. Behold the monsters we may see in reality. Last week critics were discussing when to “deplatform” monsters. Today’s popular memes and franchise stories portray evil demons. Others talk about human “monsters” who abuse and manipulate. Some victims or bad counselors advise empathizing with real evil. Others leap straight for exorcisms or aggressive countermeasures. But secular folks may have limited success with combating evil. As one Spider-Man 3 poster said, “The greatest battle lies within.” First we must address the problem of our own monstrous hearts. Our solution is true repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only then can we truly begin fighting back against other monsters. Listen to this episode from our first year. 2. How to fight back: the weapons of saints “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” —Romans 12:21 Our battle often depends on our unique callings and vocations. For instance, some battle evils mainly in their families or churches. Others may be called to move outward to engage the wider world. If we fight back with sinful tools, we risk reversion to monsters. This legacy haunts many Christians, but we needn’t be slaves to it. Nor need we focus solely on the problems amongst ourselves. Behind the gospel, we have many great tools to identify monsters. An underrated tool: great stories that also happens to expose evil and illustrate biblical ways to defeat these monsters in reality. Lately there’s grown a divide between folks who want to “win culture wars” and those who fancy literature. Why not both? A wise “culture warrior” needs reason and imagination. And a wise “literature scholar” must consider real-world applications. These are among the “weapons” with “divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4) built by enemies who are not human. 3. Defeating the monsters of The Lime Kiln Geoffrey has previously joined us to explore Stoker’s Dracula. This brilliant book explores a monster of many potential elements: the suave seducer, the toxic male predator, the foreign conqueror. Geoffrey’s new book The Lime Kiln and Other Enchanted Spaces collects “weird stories” and poems that feature various spooks such as ghosts, a killer robot, a vampire, and unpleasant beasties. These aren’t just pulp favorites, but enduring imaginations. Each monster reveals a particular kind of real-world analogue. We find evil lurking in surprising places, challenging assumptions. And we also find surprising heroes who survive or defeat evil. Com station Top question for listeners Which real monsters have you met, survived, or even defeated? Next on Fantastical Truth We still believe in cultural engagement. That’s the Christian mission to share our faith in the real world, seeking to win souls to Jesus. These souls naturally seek biblical influences in stories, songs, and beyond. So let’s explore a growing challenge: why some believers claim that they want “cultural engagement” but then, when angry or manipulative anti-Christian critics engage us right back, effectively surrender and call for pietistic separation.

Demons do bad things in the Bible and in the modern world. But how does a fallen spirit get around its limitations as an immaterial being? Meanwhile, how do creators of movies about demons get around the obvious budget limitations and need for showing not telling? Answer in both cases: demons “possess” people. Even in sci-fi the bad “entities” do this. But is this really the best word to use for how these Satanic agents can really influence, provoke, or oppress human beings? Episode sponsors Audio-Epic.com: “1232” podcast The Seekers series by J. A. Webb Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: review for Sara Ella’s Glass Across the Sea Coming next: reviews for Lord of Winter and Picked Up Pieces Also new Onscreen: Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Cuts a Careful Line Between Evil and Redemption by A. D. Sheehan Finally, @‌jenbooth.author won the Cultural Engagement Giveaway! Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild 1. People love scary stories about demons. Jesus and the apostles often cast demons out of their victims. Acts has further accounts of what we call “demon possession.” Rumors of demons in society or the wild forests persist in history. Such supernatural narratives have long captured our imaginations. In all history, the present, and in fiction, we often blame demons. And we have many accounts and legends about possession. Christians make whole ministries about “spiritual warfare.” Frank E. Peretti memorably dramatized such encounters. Even pop culture loves the image of priests and exorcisms. Many movies, like Fallen with Denzel Washington, explore demons. A more Christian example is Nefarious, with its possessed killer. Even sci-fi gets in on the spooky, with tales of incorporeal entities Many a Star Trek story hosted these critters from a creepy storm planet, alternate dimension, and/or mystery nebula of the week. These inform our imaginations when we see horribly evil actions. People will say, “that’s demonic” or even “that is demons’ work.” Yet this habit goes way back in the Church—for good or ill. 2. ‘Demon possession is an unfortunate term’ The term demon possession is an unfortunate term that has found its way into some English translations of the Bible but is not really reflected in the Greek text. The Greek New Testament can speak of people who “have a demon” (Matt. 11:18; Luke 7:33; 8:27; John 7:20; 8:48, 49, 52; 10:20), but it never uses language that suggests that a demon actually “possesses” someone. The problem with the terms demon possession and demonized is that they give the nuance of such strong demonic influence that they seem to imply that the person who is under demonic attack has no choice but to succumb to it. They suggest that the person is unable any longer to exercise his or her will and is completely under the domination of the evil spirit. While this may have been true in extreme cases such as that of the Gerasene demoniac (see. Mark 5:1–20; note that after Jesus casts the demons out of him, he was then “in his right mind,” v. 15), it is certainly not true with many cases of demonic attack or conflict with demons in many people’s lives. —Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, p. 423 Grudem carefully reserves the term “demonized” for severe cases. He adds that all 13 instances of that Greek term are in the Gospels. Evil spirits also harass and “torment” people, like Saul (1 Sam. 14). This does not mean they are possessed, but deeply afflicted. Sam Storms’ Spiritual Warfare attributes a lot to demon influence. He does not attempt to sort demons’ power “sets” or ability levels. And he’s incurious about real issues like trauma and mental illness. We don’t yet know how these issues may mix with demons’ work. Stephen’s theory: demons may find troubled people less resistant. In other words, demons target people vulnerable from this trauma. That doesn’t mean these people “demonized” or “possessed.” In fact, it means they need repentance and faith like anyone. After that, demonic influence will be weakened if not eliminated. Such is the testimony of many people who played with evil spirits. When they called on Jesus, demons left and their healing began. 3. Spiritual warfare begins with our holiness. Not All Evil and Sin is From Satan and Demons, but Some Is. If we think of the overall emphasis of the New Testament epistles, we realize that very little space is given to discussing demonic activity in the lives of believers or methods to resist and oppose such activity. The emphasis is on telling believers not to sin but to live lives of righteousness. For example, in 1 Corinthians, when there is a problem of “dissensions,” Paul does not tell the church to rebuke a spirit of dissension, but simply urges them to “agree” and “be united in the same mind and the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10). —Grudem, p. 420 We love biblical exorcisms best because they’re absolutely true. When our Lord drives out a demon, that critter is gone A true Christian will still struggle with personal sin, trauma, illness. Unrepentant sin could still lead to some influence by demons. But nothing in Scripture indicates demons could “take over” us. Since the term demon possessed is a misleading one to use in all cases, especially when referring to Christians, I would prefer to avoid it altogether. It seems better simply to recognize that there can be varying degrees of demonic attack or influence on people, even on Christians, and to leave it at that. In all cases the remedy will be the same anyway: rebuke the demon in the name of Jesus and command it to leave … —Grudem, p. 424–425 At the same time, one wonders if we too have this same authority. John MacArthur, no “spiritual warfare” guru, suggests we may not. He tells of meeting a demon-oppressed girl with the classic signs. I don’t think that demon was afraid of me humanly.  I don’t have any human power to deal with demons.  In fact, Jerry and I didn’t know what to do.  We started trying to send the demons away.  We sent them everywhere you could think of, the pit, the abyss, Phoenix, anywhere hot, you know. And the bottom…the bottom line is they didn’t go anywhere and so we just were praying and saying, “You know, this isn’t working, this casting out thing isn’t working. I’m not Jesus and we’re not apostles and we don’t have authority over that kingdom.” There’s only one way that this girl will ever be delivered and that is when Christ delivers her in the act of salvation.  So we wrestled, literally physically trying to restrain her and get her in a chair and she was so exhausted physically and finally calmed down and we gave her the gospel.  And she confessed her sin. I’ll never forget it, just really gushed out her sin before the Lord and embraced Jesus Christ and then it was just this calm that came everywhere.  There was deliverance.  Nothing to do with me, nothing to do with a formula, nothing to do with an exorcism, nothing to do with that at all, that…that is not what deals with demons.  She needed to be delivered from the kingdom of darkness, you understand that?  And she was. She was. —John MacArthur sermon transcript from Grace to You, “Jesus’ Authority over Demons, Part 2,” July 16, 2000 Many saints, however, have told of their authority over demons. Why didn’t that work with MacArthur? or in other situations? And even Peretti acknowledges some demons can whoop saints. Are these the “edge cases”? Or did MacArthur need more training? Again, Stephen’s theory: mental illness may give demons an edge. Christian cast exorcism! Demon used bipolar! Exorcism ineffective! But if the Holy Spirit moves into the “house,” there’s no room left. That’s why healing must begin with the gospel, which leads to our journey toward constant repentance, recovery from trauma, etc. For those with mental illness, certain therapy and meds may help. Either way, casting out demons won’t redeem a soul. Christ will. Open discussion Com station Top question for listeners What real or fictional accounts of so-called “demon possession” or demonic oppression have you heard? Next on Fantastical Truth To fight real monsters, we don’t need toxic empathy or the notion that exorcisms can resolve all demonic problems. Instead we start with the gospel of Jesus Christ that alone brings holiness. Yet how do we also train our imaginations with better stories to help us battle the beasts? Geoffrey Reiter returns to the studio to explore how great literature reflects God’s grace that helps us defeat the darkness.

Many fans love the idea of demon hunters, whether they are Dr. Abraham Van Helsing’s warrior band, hyper-disciplined young shonen slayers, immortal elves, or K-pop stars. But in response to these righteous crusades, some fans find themselves defending the monsters. Are they really that bad? Shouldn’t we find ways to empathize with them? Today we explore the thorny problem of fans who won’t just defend but actually liken themselves to demons. Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Glass Across the Sea by Sara Ella The Seekers series by J. A. Webb Cultural Engagement Giveaway: The Pop Culture Parent, On Magic and Miracles, and Above the Circle of Earth Mission update Lorehaven reviews: Hideous Beauty, next: Glass Across the Sea Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Concession stand (demon hunters edition) If you’re new, we approach this topic from a biblical worldview. “Demon” definitions get fuzzy when speaking in fantasy worlds. Eastern portrayals get closer to neutral “spirits” or even like fae. But that’s very different in Frieren’s East-looks-West fantasy tale. For more biblical explorations of demons, wait until next week’s ep. Quotes and notes “Killing Demons is Awesome, Actually,” Master Samwise on YouTube, Oct. 17, 2025 When Can Deconstructionism Threaten Christian Fiction? | with Michael Young aka ‘Wokal Distance’, Lorehaven podcast, March 14, 2023 1. In some tales, ‘demons’ are neutral/broken. For this, we must concede fictional redefinitions of “demons.” That goes double for stories with moral, yet not Christian, beliefs. Howl’s Moving Castle (book and film) describes a “fire demon.” But in other tales, demons are more like corrupted human beings. They only have a particular bent toward physical acting-out of evil. Demon Slayer is one franchise that presents demons this way. So does that smash hit of last summer, K-Pop Demon Hunters. Even the Count Dracula gets some sympathy at the very end. Basically they’re more like fantasy monsters, e.g. metahumans. These by design help us reflect on our own monstrous natures. But … that self-directed empathy must lead to desire for change. And in many hero stories, demons must change or else be slain. 2. And in Frieren, demons are evil deceivers. Setup for Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End manga/anime season 1. This world is directly inspired by DnD/RPG tropes, the classic kind. It’s a thoughtful/action sequel to the monomyth fantasy narrative. What happens after mortals die and the noble elf-mage lives on? Frieren trains a protege and recruits friends to take smaller quests. Along the way, they encounter a main series villain: demons. These demons look like humans but have supernatural powers. Moreover, they’re anti-empathetic. No tragic backstory. No hope. Unlike sinful humans or other villains, these can’t be redeemed. All that they claim, weep about, or do at all is meant to fool you. “Demons are simply monsters who have learned human speech.” “For them, words are just a way of deceiving humans.” This is much closer to the biblical picture of these fallen angels. It’s also a challenge to constant broken/tragic villains in fiction. 3. But some fans actually identify with evil. In response, some fans took umbrage to Frieren’s all-evil demons. Many welcomed this as a helpful corrective to overdone tropes. Others pushed back, looking for any “why couldn’t …?” loopholes. One dismissed this with materialistic excuses, “proving” too much! And some refused to acknowledge the existence of absolute evil. To them, any “demon” must be “empathized” with, and that’s all. Worst of all, some got in there and made this all about themselves. They saw themselves in the story not as heroes but as demons. Or they tried a hero-complex with a sociopolitical class evasion. They projected into the story “the marginalized” or “minorities.” A strange thought, this; most of us were just thinking of monsters. But folks often use a “political issue” as performative cosplay. The styling of one’s self as a “defender of oppressed” can make a fun distraction from realistic reflections of absolute evil. Christians see this as more than resistance to trope subversion. Such disputes reveal a terrible human affliction: hatred of truth. It’s an instinctive and sinful flinching at being called at all “evil.” Perhaps our Lord is using even “secular” stories to reflect His Law. No, we are not demons. But unless we repent we’ll share their fate. It would be just for God to destroy us. Thank Him for His mercy! Com station Top question for listeners Do you prefer fictional demons as broken or else totally evil? Next on Fantastical Truth Demons do bad things in the Bible and in the modern world. But how does a fallen spirit get around his limitations as an immaterial being? Meanwhile, how do creators of movies about demons get around the obvious budget limitations and need for showing not telling? Answer in both cases: demons “possess” people. Even in sci-fi the bad “entities” do this. But is this really the best word to use for how these Satanic agents can really influence, provoke, or oppress human beings?

Thanks to all the human drama of this year, you may have missed the news about even more professional military men been sharing testimonies about their witnessing unknown aerial phenomena blasting through the laws of physics. These sightings are not going away, forcing us to reckon with some truly potential scenarios. If aliens really invaded Earth, where from and how would they do it? And how do we discern these invasions and fight back? Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Glass Across the Sea by Sara Ella The Seekers series by J. A. Webb Cultural Engagement Giveaway: The Pop Culture Parent, On Magic and Miracles, and Above the Circle of Earth Mission update New at Lorehaven: weekly(ish!) reviews of the best Christian fantasy Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Listen to last year’s previous episode entry in our Armies of the Aliens series. Quotes and notes: Armies of the Aliens series 22. How Do Christians Discern UFO Accounts in Light of Scripture? 47. Why Do Some People Long for Escape to a Galactic Community? 63. Did God Create Aliens and Would Jesus Need to Save Them? 73. Does the Pentagon’s UFO Report Expose Unidentified Aerial Phenomena? | with Colin Samul 80. What if Satan is Planning Alien Conspiracies for the End Times? | The Jake Muller Adventures with Darby Kern 119. Will Congress Disclose the UFOs Our Favorite Alien Stories Ask Us to Believe In? | with Colin Samul150. Is the U.S. Government Covering Up Spy Balloons or Alien Spaceships? | with James R. Hannibal 175. Are the Aliens Liars, Lunatics, or Lords? 235. What Are the Scariest Stories About Aliens Among Us? 1. Aliens ascend from Hell beneath us 2. Devils descend from the sky above us 3. Devils deceive us with mind invasions Com station Top question for listeners From where do you think aliens could invade—above, below, or within? Next on Fantastical Truth Many fans love demon hunters, whether they’re Dr. Van Helsing’s band of brothers, hyper-disciplined young shonen, immortal elves, or K-pop stars. But in response to these righteous crusades, many other fans find themselves defending demons. Are they really that bad? Shouldn’t we find ways to empathize with their plight? We will explore the thorny problem of fans who won’t just defend but actually liken themselves to demons.

How often does this happen to you? You’re a plain, ordinary, gorgeous heroine, who’s suddenly abducted by aliens and taken to Planet Gladiator Violence VI. There you encounter a bull-headed man with piercings in all his massive muscles, and various events ensue, and if we kept up this description the grown-ups would not let you listen to this podcast episode. And that’s probably the tamest version of what’s now called “romantasy.” These kinds of monster stories are winning legions of female fans. What manner of perversity is this? Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Singularity by Shannon McDermott The Seekers series by J. A. Webb Cultural Engagement Giveaway: The Pop Culture Parent, On Magic and Miracles, and Above the Circle of Earth Mission update New at Lorehaven: new Embergold review, Monster Month returns Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Our current book quest is This Present Darkness Quotes and notes Lorehaven podcast ep. 149. Why Do Christian Fiction Fans Love So Much Romance? Lorehaven podcast ep. 249. What is ‘Romantasy’? | with Parker J. Cole Here Be Dragons: What Christians Need to Know About Romantasy, Kathryn Butler at The Gospel Coalition, Feb. 28, 2025 Ep 1240 | TikTok’s Spicy Novels Are Warping Women’s Minds, Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey, Sept. 10, 2025 Backstory: Parker J. Cole Onscreen writer Parker J. Cole is a USA Today Bestselling author of historical romance as well as a speaker, podcast host, and CEO of the podcast network PJC Media. As an author, Parker enjoys exploring history through the vehicle of romance. Her speaking topics focus on inspiration for aspiring authors. For over a decade, she has interviewed authors from all over the world via her podcast network. Consumed with a plethora of interests that keep her life busy, she lives in Detroit, Michigan. Visit her website at ParkerJCole.com. 1. Explore romantasy’s love and monsters Review of the original better purposes of romantic fiction. Overview of the hazards of romance (like escapism and sensuality). Romance often hints at fantasy, and fantasy often includes romance. Now we see the rise of a new genre nickname called “romantasy.” These stories include the dark and lurid stuff we described earlier. Yet many Christians do this wholesomely, such as perhaps Embergold. 2. Why real women chase the worst boys Stephen recalls this trope in fiction (even comic books) and reality. Harley Quinn, originally The Joker’s lover/victim, might be most famous. Zack brought the news stories of women defending literal assassins. For example, the assassin of the United Healthcare CEO in Dec. 2024. Meanwhile, some fans aggressively and self-righteously defend porn. Even a gentle presentation of “no spice” romantic fantasy angers them. Parker J. Cole shares why this “bad boy” trope was already so popular. Now it’s further evolved from monstrous men to actual monster-men. Romans 1:22 may reflect this perversion involving images of beasts. Verse 26 further describes “[relations] that are contrary to nature.” 3. How our Lord affirms/subverts this genre In the real world, male/female relationships are so often dysfunctional. Men behave passively, women want strength, yet also undergo abuse. Or else either side confuses male strength for “abuse” and vice-versa. Readers may crave to experience power and danger but in a “safe” way. Christians must reflect Jesus in reality and fiction as absolutely powerful. However, He is real, and He is not actually safe, but He is truly good. We are (or were) literally dead slaves to sin, and Jesus sets us free. In other words, all human beings start out as monsters loved by Him. That means men and women are His captives or servants for good! Yet our purpose goes beyond carnal indulgences, thrills, and dangers. He sets us free to serve Him, join His Church, and await eternal joys. Com station Top question for listeners When have you seen real or fictional monsters actually redeemed? Next on Fantastical Truth In all the wildness of this year, you may have missed a stunning bonus feature. Even more professional military men have been sharing testimonies on Capitol Hill about their witnessing unknown aerial phenomena blasting through the laws of physics. These sightings are not going away, forcing us to reckon with some truly potential scenarios. If aliens really invaded Earth, how would they do it? And how we discern these invasions and fight back?

Distortionists in the real world corrupt the beautiful, good, and true.[1. Photo by Bree Anne on Unsplash.] Some individuals who fall into such a dark side might make themselves beyond repentance—that is, reprobate. We might call them “ghouls.” … And such were some of you. We wanted to talk about monsters today, and we’ll start next week. First, let’s turn from the darkness and into the light, keeping our eyes open for hazards as we head into an exciting, messy, promising season of … spiritual revival and renewal for the souls of men and women? Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Singularity by Shannon McDermott Cultural Engagement Giveaway: The Pop Culture Parent, On Magic and Miracles, and Above the Circle of Earth The Tixie Chronicles by Jack Borden Mission update New at Lorehaven: This Present Darkness book quest Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Backstory: Bethel McGrew Bethel McGrew has a doctorate in math and is a widely published freelance writer. Her work has appeared in First Things, National Review, The Spectator, and many other national and international outlets. Her Substack, Further Up, is one of the top paid newsletters in “Faith & Spirituality” on the platform. She has also contributed to two essay anthologies on Jordan Peterson. When not writing social criticism, she enjoys writing about literature, film, music, and history. FurtherUp.net Bethel McGrew on X: @‌BMcGrewvy Life on the Silent Planet: Essays on Christian Living from C.S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy WORLD Magazine (Oct. 2025): “A tragic vision of the world: Three books that shaped my thinking“ WORLD Opinions: “Shocked by evil: the surprising seekers going to church in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder“ Quotes and notes “The salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world.” —C. S. Lewis, “Christianity and Literature,” in Christian Reflections, page 10 1. Real revivals are genuinely exciting. Don’t be cynics based on people trying to make Revival just happen. What they do for man-centered pseudo-events, God does for real. And the fact is: this revival (with renewal) has been developing a while. Zack and I explored this in our episode about the cultural “vibe shift.” Pastor Costi Hinn on a recent podcast discerned between revival for non-Christians and renewal for discouraged or low-energy Christians. On a personal note, Stephen feels that sense of renewal this month. This despite the real grief over great evil (and ghouls celebrating this). Unlike previous efforts that brought mainly renewal, this one is revival. However small or large, people are getting “Christ-curious” and more. They’re reading Bible, going to church, posting tips and testimonies. Moreover, wiser Christians are giving all the gospel, repentance too. Stephen sees the fusion of cultural conservatism, early fundamentalistic revival fervor, and the best and simplest version of doctrinal precision. When even the Secretary of State gets New Earth right, praise the Lord! Listen to our episode 136 about keeping politics in their rightful place. 2. But even true revivals can get messy. Previous revivals (or so-called revivals) often brought mixed results. The Great Awakening was fused with colonial spirit and patriotism. But the results were largely positive across generations in the U.S. The “second great awakening” was dubious, with a lot of emotivism. Billy Sunday blended evangelistic fervor with cultural legalism. And yes, even the martyred Jim Elliot had some real pietism issues. The Jesus Movement had odd personalities, cults, and dysfunction. Stephen witnessed “Young, Restless, Reformed” who emphasized the centrality of the gospel yet largely divided on applications in culture. And yet across all these messes, the Holy Spirit regenerated hearts. This new movement will have a lot more flags than church influencers guessed. Naturally that’ll bring some hazards of Kingdom confusion. But we remain bullish. Let’s not silence these risks, but talk them out. It’s so healthy to air out our differences as Christians or “Christ-curious.” 3. How we respond to real revival or renewal As we mentioned, avoid cynicism but also emotivism or legalism. Look for faithfulness in preaching and Jesus Christ specifically exalted. Beware generic God-talk, focus on morals, mantle-grabbers, and fiends. But don’t confuse secondary disagreements for substantive critique. Know that every time a new person confesses Christ, that’s a miracle! Let the energy and messiness affect you personally in every calling. If you’ve a day job, do it faithfully, even if you can’t do the “big stuff.” Pray for renewal (as we should we doing) and extra energy for holiness. Read your Bible (a good one). Go to church (a good one). And pray. See every good thing as a means to Jesus Christ, not vice-versa. Look for great art, music, and fantastical stories by Christian creators. If you are one, recognize that these may be your own future readers! Don’t skip the enthusiastic folks before you in search of a “modern audience.” That’s ungrateful for God’s work, and foolish marketing. See these great gifts as a foretaste of eternity here on New Earth. Com station Top question for listeners When have you enjoyed true revival or renewal in your life or church? Caleb, a hero of the Lorehaven Guild, tells us: I met Charlie [Kirk] on multiple occasions and listened to his daily show religiously. I have never met a more humble, gracious, generous person who consistently sought to elevate those around him. The first time we met was in 2020 when my wife and I flew down to Phx from Fargo in order to attend the Protect the Count rally the week of the election. After the rally, we were able to tour the headquarters and met him there. We prayed with him, then he invited us to stay, bought us dinner and let us sit in the studio to watch the livestream. While we were there, we also met his pastor Rob McCoy who was coming on the show to speak. Charlie and TPUSA so impressed us, we became supporting members and unofficial ambassadors. We attended every event we could. Anytime he saw us in the audience, he would call us out by name! I once corrected him on some Bible fact, and he was gracious, saying, “A wise man loves correction.” Three weeks before the assassination, we saw him at event in South Carolina. We were invited into the green room backstage at the theater. He jumped up to welcome us, fondly introduced us to the host of the event as his “superfans,” complimented me on the email feedback that had sent him. Then, he put me on the spot. “What’s on your mind, today, Caleb?” I asked a question about how Christians should Biblically view the current physical nation of Israel. So, he suggested that myself and the hosting pastor, who was wearing an Israel/America flag pin, have a quick debate while he himself moderated. He supplied clarifying Bible verses and facts about the current Israeli state. He was very kind to elevate me rather than himself in that situation. He gave me a great compliment, “When Caleb speaks, I listen.” Next on Fantastical Truth How often does this happen? You’re a plain, ordinary, gorgeous heroine, who’s suddenly abducted by aliens and taken to Planet Gladiator Violence VI. There you encounter a bull-headed man with piercings in all his massive muscles, and events ensue, and if we kept up this description the grown-ups would not let you listen to this podcast. And that’s probably the tamest version of what’s now called “romantasy.” These kinds of monster stories are winning legions of female fans. What manner of perversity is this?

Since the late 2000s, children and grownups have been getting drawn into their mobile devices and tablets. Before then, some were also hooked on TV and video games. Yet how could anyone create those devices without training their imaginations on great works of art? Carolyn Leiloglou, author of The Restorationists fantasy series, returns to help us recall the biblical purpose of art and stories, and how we help children learn to love them. Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Beneath False Stars by S. D. Grimm Outlaw Blood by Noah J. Matthews The Tixie Chronicles by Jack Borden Mission update New at Lorehaven: review of Augmented and more every Friday Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild We’re finishing Echo Nova and moving to This Present Darkness Carolyn Leiloglou Backstory: Carolyn Leiloglou Carolyn Leiloglou (lay-LAW-glue) is the author of the middle grade fantasy novels Beneath the Swirling Sky and Between Flowers and Bones as well as the picture book Library’s Most Wanted. Carolyn is the granddaughter of art collectors, daughter of an art teacher, and homeschooling mom to four wildly creative kids. She’s an award-winning author whose poems and short stories have appeared in children’s magazines around the world, including Clubhouse Jr. Carolyn also reviews her favorite children’s books on her platform, House full of Bookworms. Her newest book, middle-grade fantasy Beyond the Far Horizon, released this month. CarolynLeiloglou.com TheRestorationists.com Listen here to our first episode with Carolyn Leiloglou. 1. How to resist the digital screen takeover Stephen recalls life before computers and certainly mobile devices. Even TVs were guarded in his young age, with mixed-positive results. Yet now screens are everywhere, creating dependency and addictions. Overuse of devices can damage children’s developing imaginations. Christians with other parents and leaders consider more screen rules. Zack gives his kids “digital training wheels” at different ages to learn proper use of technology, rather than an all-or-nothing approach. 2. How books can restore kids’ imaginations Great artworks remind us that God, not man, is our ultimate Creator. They often reflect Jesus in their celebrations of sacrificial heroes. And they echo the Holy Spirit who changes people to worship Him. Such artworks also reflect God’s world, with beauties and challenge. They also reflect people with all their complexities and simplicity. 3. Creating the Restorationists fantasy series Quick origin recap of this series, starting with book 1’s 2023 release. In book 1, Vincent finds he can leap into paintings to save their worlds. Then in book 2, Vincent and his cousin Georgia fight the Distortionists. Book 3 ends this trilogy, yet more might lie beyond that artful finale. Final homeschooling and imagination-training tips from Carolyn. Com station Top question for listeners When the distortionists attack, how do you fight for restoration? Next on Fantastical Truth Distortionists in the real world corrupt the beautiful, good, and true. Some individuals who fall into such a dark side might make themselves beyond repentance—that is, reprobate. We might call them “ghouls.” Ultimately that is God’s decision, not ours. Yet we discern their actions and beliefs that are ghoulish. Nonfiction tells us this. Great stories, however, have a different purpose: to show this truth. Bethel McGrew returns to explore with us how Christian creatives can best combat the worldview ghouls among us.

Last week, an assassin’s bullet ended the earthly life of Christian brother, husband, father, and popular political activist Charlie Kirk. Thousands were watching on the campus of Utah Valley University in the early afternoon of Sept. 10, 2025. Millions more prayed for an hour that Kirk would somehow survive. And then we mourned his death. Lorehaven is not a political group. But we do join in this public lamentation. And we look to fantastical stories of great villains and greater heroes to explore the bigger and pre-political questions beneath this tragedy: how we must fight evil in the world. Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Beneath False Stars by S. D. Grimm Outlaw Blood by Noah J. Matthews The Tixie Chronicles by Jack Borden Mission update New at Lorehaven: reviews of Suspended in the Stars and Augmented Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes Our episodes about “culture war” vs. culture creation: 40. How May Fantastic Stories Help Us See Politics in Biblical Perspective? 136. How Did Politics Become King of Evangelical Popular Culture? 178. Should We Weaponize Fantastical Stories To ‘Own the Libs’? 188. Can Political Pundits Create Fantastical Stories? 251. Could a Cultural ‘Vibe Shift’ Advance Christian-Made Fiction? Psalm 7:12–17 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends. I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 (ESV) For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. 2 Corinthians 10:3–6 (ESV) For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. Screenshot from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). 1. ‘Ride with me. Ride out and meet them.’ Our personalities influence how we initially respond to great tragedy. Many people need a lot more time to heal, to weep, to embrace. Yet others (myself included) want to grieve while charging forth. Understand, the martial metaphors we use are not literal. That’s not our place, as podcasters and fantastical fans. But it may be your place in the vocation you’re given. Some listening may literally enforce law and order. You may be a soldier who literally rides out. Either way, we may follow Aragorn’s call. More importantly, we follow Christ. 2. ‘For death and glory.’ But why do we ride? Some find more comfort in ideas dying for Christ. Stephen resonates with this, but would much rather live for Christ. If martyrdom occurs, that’s a bug, not a feature, yet redeemable. Even risking one’s life for the good is better than killing others. Théoden King, in the quote, is willing to risk his life in battle. But make no mistake, the Rohirrim also want to slay orcs. Here we use the “orcs” as bad ideas, not real persons. But for the men of Rohan, their orc-slaying is justice. Orcs are more like demons, irredeemable invaders. They’re disordered, scavengers, and parasites. Just like any evil that infects this good land. What is glory? Only death worthy of song? The Christian must hear, “God’s glory.” 3. ‘For Rohan. For your people.’ We love how Aragorn does not correct Theoden King, yet clarifies this. Their ride forth is not for their own personal satisfaction and pride. Instead they ride for their families, their people, their nation. This good impulse is often slandered as “nationalism.” It’s healthy patriotism. All of us should have it. Patriotism overlaps with simple love and loyalty. We should want all to love “their own” homes. Brits most love Britain. Indians love India. Americans should most love America. And all should respect others’ loves. Aragorn loves Gondor over Rohan. And yet he also loves the Rohirrim. Yes, loves can become disordered. Better to risk this than shun love. 4. ‘Forth Eorlingas!’ … ‘To the King!’ Finally, our “Rohan” is ancient and forever, all good places in one Home. Someday all the saints will ride forth from the sky, led by the final Hero. He will perfectly avenge all evil, pour out their blood over the Earth. No one can question Him, change the subject, or excuse their evils. He will damn to Hell the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet. And there everyone would also be doomed, apart from His grace. Charlie Kirk honored Jesus as Lord and Savior, and so shall we all. He wanted to build a world of heroes and good stories. Us too. That’s why Lorehaven isn’t political. We are instead pre-political. Now more than ever, we need fantastical hero stories to enjoy. Revelation 19:11–21 (ESV) Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. Com station How does tragic evil spur you to ride forth for action? Next on Fantastical Truth Since the late 2000s, children and grownups have been getting drawn into their mobile devices and tablets. Before then, some were also hooked on TV and video games. Yet how could anyone create those devices without training their imaginations on great works of art? Carolyn Leiloglou, author of The Restorationists fantasy series, returns to help us recall the biblical purpose of art and stories, and how we help children learn to love them.

To become a hero following your God-given destiny, you’d best stay out of jail.[1. Photo by Saad Chaudhry on Unsplash.] Yet some Christian heroes do get caught in bad habits that keep them pacing in their tiny cells rather than practicing wise discipline as they go on adventures. How do Christian creators, in particular, fall into the traps of “cage stages”? Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Beneath False Stars by S. D. Grimm Outlaw Blood by Noah J. Matthews The Tixie Chronicles by Jack Borden Mission update New at Lorehaven: weekly reviews, Jenneth’s Light of the World review Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Concession stand Some people and personalities are more prone to certain obsessions. Here we make no judgment about motivations; these things happen. Seeing someone in a “cage” should prompt pity, not anger or mockery. Still, you may want to keep a distance from cages or point the way out. 1. ‘Everything is about my distinct doctrines’! This is the original “cage stage,” referring to folks who find “Calvinism.” That’s a nickname for a particular Christian view of God’s sovereignty. It’s often tied with strong beliefs about local church leadership. The late R. C. Sproul, himself a Reformed teacher, wrote in 2013: My friend Michael Horton often comments on the phenomenon of “cage-stage Calvinism,” that strange malady that seems to afflict so many people who have just seen the truth of the Reformed doctrines of grace. We’ve all known one of these “cage-stage Calvinists.” Many of us were even one of them when we were first convinced of God’s sovereignty in salvation. Cage-stage Calvinists are identifiable by their insistence on turning every discussion into an argument for limited atonement or for making it their personal mission to ensure everyone they know hears—often quite loudly—the truths of divine election. Now, having a zeal for the truth is always commendable. But a zeal for the truth that manifests itself in obnoxiousness won’t convince anyone of the biblical truth of Reformed theology. As many of us can attest from personal experience, it will actually push them away.[1. R. C. Sproul, “Escaping the ‘Cage Stage’,” Ligonier Ministries, Nov. 24, 2013.] But we’ve known folks who found any new beliefs and became intense. Sometimes it feels like a fandom, often associated with famous leaders. In fact, you may have this story when you found Jesus or a new church. But what feels new and thrilling to you may be dull or familiar to others. It’s a challenge to preserve our enthusiasm while also respecting others. 2. ‘Everything is about this fandom I found!’ This one covers a wide spectrum, including Christian doctrine fandoms. But this also covers fantasy franchises, authors, worlds, games, hobbies. Stephen recalls finding the amazing wide world of adventure anime. Even back then he compared this growing awareness to a “cage stage.” Others get trapped in talking about their feelings or personality types. Some won’t stop talking about psychology or self-studying buzzwords. Often this overlaps with a tendency to slap labels on all the things: not just story genres and tropes but also personality codes and conditions. This is a form of creativity, yet also might require some self-”caging.” That way we can better integrate the new fandom with all of reality. 3. ‘Everything is about my political causes!’ Finally, this one may be the worst and the most annoying stage. In our view, this certainly requires some “caging” until folks cool off. Many creative Christians feel very deeply about issues like injustice. When some recently discover, say, “Government is bad,” they go nuts. They’re often vulnerable to alarmism, fake news, and emotive-ism. Some merely dabble in “political” issues, or rather, ideological notions. But if you’re in for a penny, you’re in for a pound. This stuff is totalizing. And that’s why many talk more about politics than their creative work. This, above all, marks a grave threat to faithful Christian creativity. Sociopolitical causes are certainly part of Christians’ work in the world. But if you talk about nothing else, even on socials, that’s a cage stage. That goes double if you anger easily at legitimate policy disputes. Allie Beth Stuckey says, “Politics matter because policies matter because people matter.” So prove that you first value people, then policies, then the politics. If you don’t value people, then you’re forgetting our human purpose. With doctrines, fandoms, or politics, you’d confuse the means for ends. Com station Top question for listeners: Which ‘cage stages’ have you managed to escape? Next on Fantastical Truth Since the late 2000s, children and grownups have been getting drawn into their mobile devices and tablets. Before then, some were also hooked on TV and video games. Yet how could anyone create those devices without training their imaginations on great works of art? Carolyn Leiloglou, author of The Restorationists fantasy series, returns to help us recall the biblical purpose of art and stories, and how we help children learn to love them.

Here in the U.S., we just had Labor Day, meant to mark the actions of hard-working Americans. And right now many Christian families honor the work of Christian heroes who are now at rest, such as pastor John MacArthur and Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson. Many fantastical stories wouldn’t be here without faithful Christians. When they pass on, and people discuss and debate their legacies, how can we best honor their labors? Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Beneath False Stars by S. D. Grimm Outlaw Blood by Noah J. Matthews The Tixie Chronicles by Jack Borden Mission update Lorehaven new reviews: The Heart of the King and Beneath False Stars Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes “John MacArthur, Fiery Preacher and Culture Warrior, Dies at 86,” Ruth Graham at The New York Times, July 15, 2025 “James Dobson Was My Horror, and Yours,” Sarah Jones at New York Magazine, Aug. 27, 2025 (only six days after Dobson’s Aug. 21 death) Naiveté is not a trait to be cultivated in our children. Prudishness is foolish immaturity. It leaves our children gullible and vulnerable. The naïve are the easiest targets for the seductive wiles of temptation. Throughout the book of Proverbs, the naïve (“simple” in many translations) are held up as negative examples. It is a grave mistake to think of our children as little angels who need to be handled delicately so they don’t get corrupted. Rather, they are corrupt little sinners who need to be led to righteousness. “Treating the Symptoms, Not the Sin,” John MacArthur sermon dated May 8, 2015 It began as an experiment. In 1986 Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family wanted to produce a high-quality drama series for the radio. He hoped that it would appeal to Christians looking for alternatives to Saturday morning cartoons or simply families in search of wholesome entertainment. Steve Harris and Phil Lollar, the show’s creators, brainstormed what the series could be. They decided that it should be set in a small town (called Odyssey) somewhere in the Midwest and hearken to the golden age of radio without sounding dated. In 1987, a 13-week test series was aired on the Focus on the Family broadcast. It was called Family Portraits and chronicled the lives and times of Odyssey residents — including John Whittaker and a special “soda shop and discovery emporium” called Whit’s End. Audience response was so favorable that Focus went one step further and created the weekly radio program that would eventually be called Adventures in Odyssey. “The History of Adventures in Odyssey,” WhitsEnd.org, undated article now archived 1. We love ‘small’ and ‘big’ Christian heroes Big heroes take big risks to meet big needs during big moments. They’re truly multi-talented, often skilled with speaking and writing. Best of all, despite their flaws, they truly love our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Our Lord uses few “big” heroes to benefit many churches and believers. Example: big heroes of the Bible, reflected in many fantastical heroes. Even better, He uses leagues of “small” heroes to build up communities. Example: side characters of Scripture (unnamed?), and fantastical NPCs. 2. Yet we may also debate heroes’ legacies. This is less expected after quietly faithful or lesser-known Christians die. During grief, funerals, and mourning, negative responses are less public. That’s less so with big Christian heroes who often get criticized outright. Critics say that MacArthur and Dobson both had blind spots at best. But some go further, accusing them of enabling bad sins against them. Some blame popular Christians for not preventing abuse or hypocrisy. Effectively, “If you had not been here, I would have never suffered this.” 3. How can we best discuss heroes’ legacies? Like Harry Potter with Prof. Dumbledore, we grow by discerning nuance. Stephen suggests honest loyalty with Christian heroes, similar to Harry. We admit blind spots and flaws; we do not expect leaders to be God. We wisely recognize that God alone is good, and He uses flawed men. The same is true of flawed yet faithful Christian individuals who pass on. Obituaries could acknowledge controversies about popular Christians. Yet wiser obits leave wider discussions for later, theme-based content. Com station Top question for listeners Who was the last “big” or “small” hero whose death you grieved? Next on Fantastical Truth Heroes are born (in God’s view!) yet also built (in man’s view!). To become a hero following your God-given destiny, you’d best stay out of jail. Yet some Christian heroes do get caught in bad habits that keep them pacing in their tiny cells rather than practicing wise discipline as they go on adventures. How do Christian creators, in particular, fall into the traps of “cage stages”?

So many books, so little time, space, and money. Many fans love collecting physical copies of their favorite stories, often so much that they run out of bookshelf space. (Stephen and Zack are in this situation!) Now that we have audiobook and digital copies, isn’t book collection a waste of resources? Episode sponsors Oasis Family Media presents “1232” dramatic audio podcast The Waymaker’s Foresight by Dan Megill The Pop Culture Parent by Ted Turnau, E. Stephen Burnett, Dr. Jared Moore Mission update New at Lorehaven: reviews for The Heart of the King and Beneath False Stars Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Concessions: This is about culture in general, not Christian families or homeschoolers. Not focused on this episode about the recent trends of books that are turning away prospective male readers. 1. Physical books make a wise investment. Judas Iscariot, kinda: “These books could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Reading a book is more work than watching a movie or enjoying some other form of entertainment, so people have high expectations. And too many books have disappointed, browbeat, or lectured them. Many people are right to be skeptical that a book will be worth their money. “We’re basically after Joe’s beer money, and Joe likes his beer, so you better make sure that what you give him is at least as pleasurable to him as having his six-pack of beer would be.” — Jerry Pournelle You can always make more money, though. And more importantly, you can make a book budget. There’s also the library. Another concern is that reading books, especially speculative fiction, will not help us get the jobs that make enough money. But every job requires communication and people skills, and this is a skill best learned through a novel. “According to the neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf, so-called deep reading—sustained immersion in a text—stimulates a number of valuable mental habits, including critical thinking and self-reflection, in ways that skimming or reading in short bursts does not.” Zackary Russell’s central bookshelf, as of August 2025 2. Physical books really should take up space. Why own physical books when you can erase any “carbon footprint” they would take up by owning them digitally? People who move frequently—for work, ministry, or personal reasons—might find that owning a large physical collection challenging. Even at my daughter’s college, the first floor of the library is a computer lab. The book stacks are in the basement. Digital books can go in your pocket and you can read them any time you have a spare moment. But of course, you can do a million other things on your phone. Space is more limited but you can usually find room for a new bookshelf or else hang a new shelf or two. Bookstagram and BookTok and “Shelfies” are a thing because people like beautiful physical items. Holding a physical book, especially without any digital devices within reach, helps you more fully immerse yourself in the story. You also remember things more easily from a physical book reading experience. 3. Physical books are well worth your time. This is harder to address, because you can never get back any time that is spent. I certainly didn’t read all the books assigned in high school English class. But do you berate yourself for spending time remembering the past or imagining the future? Or trying to understand someone else? Or picturing a potential course of action? These are all things the imagination helps with, and we train our imagination through fiction. We can’t simply impart life skills or decision-making criteria. We learn those best through stories. Even the book of Proverbs uses stories. “Being bored has become unnatural.” This is the real blight of our time. Smartphones have given us a constant ache for a dopamine rush. And if you’re just reading a book for pleasure, why not read things on social media for pleasure? The real problem is the FOMO from everything digital media offers us. Maybe new laws like Texas cell phone ban will reverse this. Com station Top question for listeners Will you share with us pictures of your physical book collection? The Adaptation Stationmaster commented on ep. 276: Real rainbows in nature have lovely, soft, delicate colors. The rainbow flag looks tacky by comparison. Next on Fantastical Truth Here in the U.S., we’re about to have Labor Day, meant to mark the actions of hard-working Americans. And right now many Christian families honor the work of Christian heroes who are now at rest, such as pastor John MacArthur and Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson. Many fantastical stories wouldn’t be here without leaders like this. When they pass on, and people discuss and debate their ministries, how can we best honor their labors?

Over summer and school seasons alike, many Christian parents want books for their kids that don’t have things like “Agenda” or “Wokeness.”[1. Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash.] But in our zeal to keep bad, poisonous content out of books, might we miss our children’s more important need to enjoy good, nutritious content in our fantastical fiction? Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Winter’s Chill by Morgan L. Busse The Waymaker’s Foresight by Dan Megill The Pop Culture Parent by Ted Turnau, E. Stephen Burnett, Dr. Jared Moore Mission update New at Lorehaven: reviews of Illuminary and The Heart of the King Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild 1. Yes, kids need books that repeat truth! No one should pretend many general market books aren’t “woke,” etc. There has been a vast effort to get this ideology into content for kids. So it’s a great starting point to ask about “agenda.” But don’t stop there. If you do stop there, then you might accept books that share half-truths. Or they may be free of one “agenda” while smuggling in other deceptions. Rainbows may hide lies, but black-and-white stories may do the same! 2. But kids also need books that are good. If we want books that are “free of poison,” that’s a very low bar to clear. What about books that are well-made? Timeless or have potential to be? Ask if any book also has quality level matching what kids want or need. Consider: books made by honest creators, not committee-generated stuff. Also: books that show real heroes, yet with realistic (kid appropriate) flaws. Rainbows might be used for evil ends, but look for good reflections of light! 3. And kids need books that celebrate beauty. Good books have truth/goodness; great ones also honor God’s creation. If “beauty” seems too high-falutin’, just hear that word as healthy emotion. Great books capture all the human experience, with sufferings and joys. They’ll also show the wonders of God’s world and our creations in here. Even better, they’ll hearken to the restored paradise awaiting His people. Rainbows get used to honor ugliness, but God made them for His glory! Com station Top question for listeners What truthful, good, and beautiful books did you enjoy growing up? Next on Fantastical Truth So many books, so little time, space, and money. Many fans love collect physical copies of their favorite stories, often so much that they run out of bookshelf space. (Stephen and Zack are in this situation!)  With the availability of audiobook and digital copies, isn’t book collection a waste of resources?

We’ve just seen the end of this year’s summer blockbuster movie season, such as it was. Most of the drama was about the movies rather than in the movies. Fans debate whether stories should be lighter, focusing on “fun” with simple virtues, as opposed to heavier stories with “serious” ideas. Right now it seems Team Light Stories is winning over Team Heavy Stories—and yet nobody is really winning at the box office. How can Christian fans engage stories that are light versus heavy? Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Winter’s Chill by Morgan L. Busse The Waymaker’s Foresight by Dan Megill Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: Marian’s article about K-Pop Demon Hunters New reviews: Unfixed by Amy L. Saunders, Illuminary by Chawna Shroeder Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes “The Operating System Of Cyberpunk Fiction,” Zackary Russell “Screwtape Wants You to Think Only Horror is Real, but Joy is Sentimental,” E. Stephen Burnett 1. Many fans favor light or fun colorful stories By “light” or “fun,” we mean simpler/popular morals, lots of jokes, color. We don’t mean flippant or crude stories, though some can tend this way. These stories often embrace or lampshade long-familiar genre tropes. They often get praised by fans and critics, but fail to set many records. Lots of people liked the new Superman movie (but not Stephen or Zack). And many people liked the new Fantastic Four (but it’s also struggling). Neither film did better than most DC or Marvel films of the past, pre-2020. And yet more of the big franchises are choosing this creative direction. Critics who want “realism” must recall that real people like lighter stories. Maybe these fans tend to like simple reminders about simple ideas/truths. When real life is a struggle, these fans like to escape into simpler stories. These fans prefer plain “inspirational” figures over “aspirational” heroes. 2. Other fans enjoy heavier or serious stories And by “heavier” or “serious” stories, we mean challenging, realistic tales. We don’t mean nihilistic or deconstructive, though some tend this way. These stories often embrace human tradition (a better version of “trope”). They often find praised and criticism by fans and critics, and set records. Fans loved the Star Wars Andor series and more-serious Marvel/DC stories. And many people like Christopher Nolan’s many films, Dune, and similar. But these stories (in books or cinema) often prove high-risk for many fans. So they are playing better on less-expensive media, such as streaming TV. Critics who want “fun” must recall that life isn’t like a shallow movie-land. These fans may like complex reflections of many challenging ideas/truths. When real life is a struggle, these fans like stories that provide answers. These fans prefer “aspirational” heroes over plain “inspirational” figures. 3. More fans embrace light and heavy stories A surprising amount of franchises insist on both approaches all at once. Some moments are comedic/whimsical; others are dark, challenging, heavy Many manga and anime stories do this, such as Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece. Recent OP plot: “pastor” turns pirate cyborg to save his adopted daughter. Even the smash hit K-Pop Demon Hunters reflects light and heavy ideas. Fans love the teaser for Project Hail Mary adapted from Andy Weir’s novel. The original Star Wars films as well as Rogue One are both light and heavy. Alas, studios struggle with these balanced films, but books may do better. Perhaps these stories best reflect our reality of plain and complex ideas. Real fans like both light ideas/truths and heavier, more challenging themes. This may better match real life, with times to escape and seek out answers. These stories show “inspirational” figures like us and aspirational heroes. Com station Top question for listeners During hard times, do you tend to favor light or heavier stories? Next on Fantastical Truth Over summer and school seasons alike, many Christian parents want books for their kids that don’t have things like “Agenda” or “Wokeness.” But in our zeal to keep bad, poisonous content out of books, might we miss our children’s more important need to enjoy good, nutritious content in our fantastical fiction?

Last month at the Realm Makers Expo, we met many skilled Christian creators who are making amazing stories in books, games, and the visual arts. Yet some people believe all this stuff is pointless or outdated and will soon be replaced by so-called “AI art.” Are they right? Will computer-generated content outpace art made by humans? And is such a belief even biblically defensible? Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Winter’s Chill by Morgan L. Busse The Waymaker’s Foresight by Dan Megill Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: reviews of Winter’s Chill, upcoming Unfixed Also new at the site: Josiah DeGraaf’s take on the recent Superman movie Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes “When you meet anything that’s going to be human and isn’t yet, or used to be human once and isn’t now, or ought to be human and isn’t, you keep your eyes on it and feel for your hatchet.” —Mr. Beaver from C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe “Ginny! … Haven’t I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain?” —Arthur Weasley from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets … Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction. —The Bible, Joshua 8:26 (ESV) Ep 170. Will Artificial Intelligence Destroy Human Creativity? Showrunner: the “Netflix of AI” that would let people make their own TV shows Build AI or Be Buried By Those Who Do Concession stand This is a conversation for story fans, yet with some application for creators. Stephen has and will use AI for databases and limited nonfiction research. However, he still insists this “search engine” give reliable primary sources. We at Lorehaven promote stories #MadeByHumans, covers and content. We may debate using AI generations in marketing for novels and movies. Stephen opposes this; we already have anti-human marketing now, thanks! AI can shape directions of outreach, yet fans want personal connections. Any justifications for generated marketing can easily apply to the stories. We’ll particularly speak below to critiques of “AI will level the playing field.” 1. AI ‘art’ dishonors popular creators Fans, authors, and publishers are debating how/whether to use AI tools. Some take some anti “big corporation” postures against Hollywood, etc. This frankly ignores the common grace in big companies across the world. It promotes a false notion of “democracy” that ignores wisdom and skill, This is the exact notion promoted by Screwtape with “I’m as good as you.” It’s more famously promoted by Syndrome from The Incredibles (2004): “Oh, I’m real. Real enough to defeat you! And I did it without your precious gifts, your oh-so-special powers. I’ll give them heroics. I’ll give them the most spectacular heroics anyone’s ever seen! And when I’m old and I’ve had my fun, I’ll sell my inventions so that everyone can be superheroes. Everyone can be super! And when everyone’s super (evil laugh) no one will be.” 2. AI ‘art’ dishonors faithful Christian artists For years we at Lorehaven have extolled God’s gift of human imagination. We’ve carefully critiqued stories that exchange realism with sentimentality. And we find top storytellers, including last week’s guests, the Bancroft Bros. AI-generated “replacements” will make a mockery of human imagination. If we accept them, we may as well accept “generated” morals and themes. Haven’t we already rejected imposter realities from bad Christian movies? 3. AI ‘art’ can involve sins like lies and theft Big companies let their databases “scrape” creative works under copyright. Now we’ve seen that studios like Disney and Universal are filing lawsuits. Stephen says: good, we need ways to show our societies value imagination. Meanwhile, we go back to biblical ethical views of credit for creative works. Do we believe in books that don’t credit ghostwriters, human or computer? Yes, AI is here to stay, but will likely serve as a novelty, mostly for memes. Clearly some creators will incorporate AI into animation and other films. And for Stephen’s part, if a Christian story did this, he will avoid that work. It’s bad enough out there with bad human-made stuff. Time is too short. Com station Top question for listeners Would you enjoy a full-length AI-generated book or movie? Next on Fantastical Truth We’ve just seen the end of this year’s summer blockbuster movie season, such as it was. Most of the drama was about the movies rather than in the movies. Fans debate whether stories should focus on “fun” stories with simple virtues as opposed to “serious” stories based on “aura” and myth. Right now it seems Team Fun is winning over Team Serious, but also, nobody is really winning the box office. How can Christian fans engage stories that are fun versus serious?

As we’ve often heard, some modern films may feel difficult to enjoy! Yet today we celebrate famed animated tales of yore, including the artists behind classic characters like Cogsworth, Iago, Pumbaa, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Kronk … and now, coming this fall, the greatest Hero of all. Famed animators and twin brothers Tony and Tom Bancroft bring their magic to our studio in advance of their next feature film in cinemas, the traditionally animated Light of the World. Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: Winter’s Chill by Morgan L. Busse The Company: Kingdom Writers, World Changers Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update Lorehaven reviews: recently Anointed, Warsafe, upcoming Winter’s Chill Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Backstory: Tony Bancroft Tony Bancroft is a 2D animator with a passion for animating, directing, storytelling, creating, and teaching the next generation. With over 30 years in the animation industry, Tony Bancroft has been creatively involved in almost every position making an animated film, video, commercial, or short film. His animation and directing skills have been sharpened and honed while working at Walt Disney Feature Animation, Sony Pictures, his own animation company, Toonacious Family Entertainment, and currently, as an independent contractor working with Disney, Warner Brothers, and many more. IG: @‌pumbaaguy TonyBancroft.com Disney.Fandom.com Wiki: Tony Bancroft Backstory: Tom Bancroft Tom Bancroft has over 30 years of experience in the animation industry, much of which was for Walt Disney Feature animation where he was an animator on 4 animated shorts and 8 feature films of which “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King,” “Aladdin”, “Pocahontas”, “Mulan”, and “Brother Bear” were part of the list. He has been nominated for Annie and Rueben division awards, spoken at the Kennedy Center and awarded an entry into the Chicago Children’s Film Festival. Bancroft left Disney in 2000 to follow his heart and help Big Idea Productions, creators of the popular “VeggieTales” animated series, create their first feature film, “Jonah: A Veggietales Movie”.  While there he also Directed/ co-created the popular 2D animated video series “Larryboy Adventures”. IG: @‌tombancroft1 TomBancroftStudio.com Disney.Fandom.com Wiki: Tom Bancroft Light of the World and beyond LightoftheWorld.com on Spotify: The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast 1. Once upon a time, in a faraway decade … How to become a professional character animator in 10,000 easy steps From enchanted castles to ancient China, New Grooves, Veggie pirates Favorite or most challenging classic characters to draw, watch, or imitate From big studios to startup projects, mainstream and Christian shows 2. Honoring the Creator in animated craft God as our divine Artist, breathing into His creatures the breath of life The Cultural Mandate (Gen. 1:28) as applied to animation and filmmaking Origins of Light of the World (September 2025) and its unique approach Challenges of bringing Jesus Christ to life in classic traditional animation! 3. What’s the future of fantastical animation? Hopes for Light of the World and other Christian-made animated films Anticipations for the Realm Makers Expo and other fantastic crossovers Rumors about Disney returning to (groundbreaking?) trad animation Parting words for fans who might like to consider animation themselves Com station Top question for listeners What are your favorite traditionally animated classics or newer shows? Next on Fantastical Truth This month at the Realm Makers Expo, we met many skilled Christian creators who are making amazing stories in books, games, and the visual arts. Yet some people believe all this stuff is outdated and will be replaced by so-called “AI art.” Are they right? Will computer-generated fictional content outpace art made by humans? And is such a belief even biblically defensible?

Last week, Zackary Russell and E. Stephen Burnett celebrated the Realm Makers Expo![1. Photo by Felix Mooneeram on Unsplash.] That means this episode is another Stephen solo show. This one reveals a shocking truth: these days Stephen finds a lot more joy in books than he sees at the movie houses. Can fans, including Christians, help save the cinema from synthetic moralities, sloppy franchises, and scandalized/sillified superheroes? Episode sponsors Oasis Family Media presents “1232” dramatic audio podcast The Company: Kingdom Writers, World Changers Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update Lorehaven reviews: new Anointed, upcoming Warsafe Subscribe free to get updates and join the ever-growing Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes: superheroic articles ‘Batman v Superman’: An Exquisite Superhero Theodicy Does ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Use ‘Safe’ Bad Words? Did Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 Fly or Flop? Revealed: Here’s the Little Trap I Set to Expose Rotten Tomatoes How Does #ReleaseTheSnyderCut Reveal Fandom’s Grace and Idolatry? ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Hints at Redemption from Postmodern Pain ‘The Flash’ Ranks Characters Over Spectacle for a Surprisingly Heartfelt Speedrun Quotes and notes: earlier podcast episodes 17. What Can Christian Fans Learn From #ReleaseTheSnyderCut’s Success? 58. How Did We Enjoy the Heroic Majesty of ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’? 122. Why Are More Fans Turning Against Their Favorite Franchises? 161. How Can We Celebrate the Restoration of Failed Franchises? 199. How Should Christians Fight to Love a Declining Disney? | with Josh Shepherd 258. How Would We Restore Disney Film Franchises? 1. Movie villain 1: made-up moralities Yes, Virginia, there really is a “woke agenda” that ruins a lot of movies. Most recently this resurfaced as associated with Disney/Pixar’s Elio Some claim the new Superman is “woke, but is this only director rhetoric? It’s waning, But look for creators to rally for a last self-worshiping hurrah. Stephen wanted to like Fantastic Four, but one of its actors is obnoxious. No, he doesn’t hold to the “shut up and sing” line. Actors are people too. But viewers can also support actors who don’t get into all that stuff. And yes, there are many such actors. Look for those who avoid politics. Apolitical actors include Henry Cavill, Tom Cruise, and Tom Felton Or directors like Kenneth Branagh, Terry Matalas, Christopher Nolan It may also matter to you whether directors are spouting woke shibboleths. Stephen usually finds it hard to ignore that nonsense from directors. Of course they very likely believe certain things that I strongly disbelieve. But if they spout about bad politics, they say, “You’re not my audience.” They’re revealing they care more about looking “righteous” before others. So it’s okay to avoid certain movies because you’d rather not “reward evil.” And it’s okay to support certain good movies because actors act better. Ask: does the movie’s creators tend to follow the “canon” of true morality? 2. Movie villain 2: flippant franchises Stephen isn’t alone; actor Wil Wheton (Wesley Crusher) feels similarly. A major problem with all those movie trailers was an air of self-indifference We’ve long since jumped the sharks of writers acting painfully self-aware This is the kind of “flippancy” Screwtape loves, where everything is a “joke.” We might also call this flippancy unrealistic. It’s the bad kind of escapism. Reality is real. Some things, including, death and dishonesty, aren’t funny. But this attitude doesn’t just come from bad writers—it starts at the top. Flippancies are increasingly steered by meme-level shtick, even studio PR. For instance, relying on the increasingly rigged Rotten Tomatoes “score.” Flippant systems rank movies as either “great” or “rotten,” with no nuance. Stephen has well-documented how this was done for his own film reviews. Movie critic Stephen M. Colbert first observed this for ScreenRant in 2019: The unfortunate impact is Rotten Tomatoes and other review aggregators regularly give major boosts to movies where reviewers generally lean in a more positive direction, but few people react negatively, by presenting them as having a higher score than movies that were genuinely reviewed better, yet elicited more negative responses. At the end of the day, everyone has unique tastes, and that includes movie critics, so the notion of taking all those disparate opinions on a movie, distilling it down into a simple thumbs up/down, then aggregating that into an average approval rating and expecting it to be applicable to individual audience members seems very backward. As always, audiences are better off finding a particular reviewer or outlet they tend to agree with and trusting in their reviews, or even better, take a “risk” and go see a movie with an exciting premise, cool marketing, or an actor or director you like and form your own opinion. Ask: does a movie company marketing tend to follow a “canon” of reality? 3. Movie villain 3: sillified superheroes Stephen wrote this before two out of three of this July’s big film releases. Personally, he enjoys overtly fun and serious superhero stories in all worlds. That means he likes many versions and won’t “gatekeep” hero characters. For example, he enjoys all the visual Superman adaptations: Reeves, Reeve, DCAU, several DC animated spinoffs, Routh, Cavill, and even Hoechlin. (My jury’s out on the new guy, because of the reasons I’ve listed above.) For years I’ve been allergic to demands of “comic accurate” being used to justify “true to the one single canon, or perception of such, that I like best.” Other fans want to know whether a story is faithful to morality and reality. These fans also want higher standards for cinematography and writing. As one of my social-media friends, Michael John Petty, recently observed: I used to be a major proponent of wanting things “comics accurate,” but nowadays I prefer the phrase “comics consistent.” Not all “accurate to the comics” ideas are good, but if you take what consistently is good and works with the characters, you can’t go wrong. That said, all of these Batmen [Adam West, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck] are great in their own way, and work in their own way for consistent reasons — but that doesn’t mean they all need to be the same. Stephen feels “allergic” to early hype or hatred for yet-unseen versions. And he’s allergic to the sort of Bene Gesserit “seeding” of media narratives. That includes “caught” ideas about a filmmaker’s supposed sincerity or evil. “The key to success is sincerity. If you can fake that you’ve got it made.” (George Burns) At least one director said he loved superheroes because they are stupid. Alas, this director has personally popularized many flippant tropes. Stephen says he considers these “deathworks” that harm our culture. We’re already hearing about how a spinoff DC show gets back to vulgarian. Others, like many Marvel and DC directors, embrace the heroes earnestly. In general, people really need true sincerity about superheroes and villains. When a film or show can offer that, he’ll show up. If not, why waste time? Our loyalty is not to some comic canon or corporate character/figurehead. Instead, he looks to invest time and fandom energy in creators with vision. Ask: does the movie’s creators tend to follow a “canon” of real sincerity? Com station Top question for listeners What movies do you want to enjoy, or avoid, this summer season? Next on Fantastical Truth As we’ve often heard, some movies feel difficult to enjoy! Yet today we want to celebrate animated films across the years, including the artists behind classic characters like Cogsworth, Iago, Pumbaa, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Kronk … and now, coming this fall, the greatest Hero of all. Famed animators and twin brothers Tony Bancroft and Tom Bancroft bring their magic to our studio in advance of their next feature film in cinemas, the traditionally animated Light of the World.

Christian missionaries have traveled oceans to strange new lands.[1. “Clayfire” game concept art is courtesy The Salvation Poem Project.] They’ve smuggled Bibles into hostile territory. Someday they will even journey to space settlements. But what about today’s virtual mission fields in digital spaces, like gaming platforms and communities? Developer Brock Henderson with Christian Game Developers, whose conference teams up this month with Realm Makers, joins us to explore Kingdom service in these open worlds. Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing and Sky Turtle Press present Realm Makers Expo 2025 The Company: Kingdom Writers, World Changers Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update Lorehaven reviews: new A Study of Shattered Spells, upcoming Anointed Subscribe free to get updates and join the ever-growing Lorehaven Guild Backstory: Brock Henderson Brock Henderson is an Iowa-based game developer, designer, and missionary. He believes that video games are the preeminent art form of this century, with an ever-growing influence on our culture. His current work focuses on creating games that move beyond entertainment and spark connections between people. In his 15 years in game development, he has had the privilege of working on everything from the silly to the serious, shipping over 25 titles on nine platforms with more than 3 million downloads. He is the head of game development for the Salvation Poem Project and the founder of PxlPug. He also serves as board president for the Christian Game Developers Community and blogs and podcasts at Faith Forms. Salvation Poem Project BrockHenderson.com FaithForms.games 1. The mission of Christian Game Developers More about the organization’s origin and purpose History of the in-person conference for game creators Origin of the Realm Makers teamup and expectations for this year 2. How indie games remake digital worlds Fans are more frequently disputing design and story of the “big games” So it’s smaller games (mobile or big platform) that draw more attention Examples of games by Christian creators that have broken new ground: “Clayfire” (fantasy adventure game in development at Salvation Poem) “Sainthood” (cozy Christian game) “Bug and Seek” “David’s Mighty Warriors” High Fructose 3. Sketching a future for Christian-made games Realm Makers Expo: a step toward connecting developers and others New creative and technological frontiers for Christians in these realms How players witness wisely for Jesus Christ as they level up in the world Com station Top question for listeners What’s the worst or best Christian-made video game you’ve played? Next on Fantastical Truth Zackary Russell and E. Stephen Burnett are heading for the Realm Makers Expo! That means next week’s episode may be delayed, or might release Tuesday. Either way, it’ll be another Stephen solo show. This one reveals a shocking truth: these days Stephen finds a lot more joy in books than he sees at the movie houses. Can the modern cinema be saved from synthetic moralities, sloppy franchises, and scandalized/sillified superheroes?

Today it appears cooler heads have cancelled the apocalypse.[1. Photo by Emanuel Kypreos on Unsplash.] But were we ever really in that level of danger? This sense of dread feels new. But as C. S. Lewis once wrote, we must practice timeless wisdom when we’re living in an atomic age: “If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts.” Here and elsewhere, how does Lewis encourage us in the art of living and learning in wartime? Episode sponsors Enclave Publishing: The Crier Stone by Lyndsey Lewellen Realm Makers Expo 2025 The Company: Kingdom Writers, World Changers Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update Lorehaven reviews: The Crier Stone, upcoming A Study of Shattered Spells Subscribe free to get updates and join the ever-growing Lorehaven Guild Prologue Readers have an ongoing love/hate relationship with fictional wars. We know war is terrible in reality, but without conflict, we have no story. We’ll explore three ways people react to war, with Lewis’s clear responses. 1. We could retreat to pacifism. As a teen, I met my first “pacifist,” an avuncular young fellow at a seminary. Nice chap. Well-meant. Said he can’t defend his family against burglars. Many listeners may feel similarly, and I do want to respect their thinking. But it’s hard to respect someone’s “ethics” if they’re not from Scripture. I feel the same way about war-obsessives (see chapter 2) as about this. Yet we come to hear Lewis, like his essay “Why I Am Not a Pacifist” (video):   To call [war] useless because it did not also cure slums and unemployment is like coming up to a man who has just succeeded in defending himself from a man-eating tiger and saying, “It’s no good, old chap. This hasn’t really cured your rheumatism!” On the test of fact, then, I find the Pacifist position weak. It seems to me that history is full of useful wars as well as of useless wars. Many have engaged Lewis’s points with select Scriptures and observations. One thoughtful critic said he felt Lewis must not have seen brave pacifists. Either way, it’s better to head to Scriptures like Leviticus and Romans 13. A close second: Lewis’s own fantasy in The Ransom Trilogy and Narnia. Prince Caspian and others reckon well with Martial imagery and wartime. Perelandra illustrates the limits of words and sends Ransom into real battle. Lewis well shows, more than tells, how just wars ought to look and feel. In his own war experience, and as an academic, he’s well-qualified here. Lewis also rebutted retreat in “The Dangers of National Repentance (PDF).” Here he takes a rather dim view of folks who “apologize” for their country. We don’t see this in his fiction, but we do see real folks with fake morals. I like better this Lewis essay, which isolates a particular sort of cowardice: All Christians know that they must forgive their enemies. But “my enemy” primarily means the man whom I am really tempted to hate and traduce. If you listen to young Christian intellectuals talking, you will soon find out who their real enemy is. He seems to have two names—Colonel Blimp and “the business-man”. I suspect that the latter usually means the speaker’s father, but that is speculation. What is certain is that in asking such people to forgive the Germans and Russians and to open their eyes to the sins of England, you are asking them, not to mortify, but to indulge, their ruling passion. I do not mean that what you are asking them is not right and necessary in itself; we must forgive all our enemies or be damned. But it is emphatically not the exhortation which your audience needs. The communal sins which they should be told to repent are those of their own age and class—its contempt for the uneducated, its readiness to suspect evil, its self-righteous provocations of public obloquy, its breaches of the Fifth Commandment. Of these sins I have heard nothing among them. Till I do, I must think their candour towards the national enemy a rather inexpensive virtue. If a man cannot forgive the Colonel Blimp next door whom he has seen, how shall he forgive the Dictators whom he hath not seen? Thus, in our zeal for peace or empathy, let’s not forget biblical justice. We must not blame victims who fight back and excuse evil offenders. Such behavior is against real justice and marks the sin of cowardice. 2. We might ruminate on violence. One popular modern talking point claims that “men don’t read fiction.” And one popular intense rebuttal says, “Yes, men jolly well do read.” Both are half-true; in my view, many men tend to read particular fiction. Most popular men’s sci-fi or historical fiction offers an emphasis on war. LitRPG, games, action and spy thrillers, and military sci-fi have that edge. As a man, I enjoy some of these genres, but not exclusively these ones. Lewis often warned about people who get consumed with warlike imagery. His satirical demon Screwtape encourage this human retreat to “realism”: Probably the scenes [your human patient] is now witnessing will not provide material for an intellectual attack on his faith—your previous failures have put that out of your power. But there is a sort of attack on the emotions which can still be tried. It turns on making him feel, when first he sees human remains plastered on a wall, that this is “what the world is really like” and that all his religion has been a fantasy. You will notice that we have got them completely fogged about the meaning of the word “real.” They tell each other, of some great spiritual experience, “All that really happened was that you heard some music in a lighted building”; here “Real” means the bare physical facts, separated from the other elements in the experience they actually had. . . . The general rule which we have now pretty well established among them is that in all experiences which can make them happier or better only the physical facts are “Real” while the spiritual elements are “subjective”; in all experiences which can discourage or corrupt them the spiritual elements are the main reality and to ignore them is to be an escapist. Thus in birth the blood and pain are “real”, the rejoicing a mere subjective point of view; in death, the terror and ugliness reveal what death “really means”. The hatefulness of a hated person is “real” — in hatred you see men as they are, you are disillusioned; but the loveliness of a loved person is merely a subjective haze concealing a “real” core of sexual appetite or economic association. Wars and poverty are “really” horrible; peace and plenty are mere physical facts about which men happen to have certain sentiments. The creatures are always accusing one another of wanting “to eat the cake and have it”; but thanks to our labours they are more often in the predicament of paying for the cake and not eating it. Your patient, properly handled, will have no difficulty in regarding his emotion at the sight of human entrails as a revelation of Reality and his emotion at the sight of happy children or fair weather as mere sentiment. So in Lewis’s thought, evil spirits want us to refine evil/suffering as “real.” Indeed, we often meet people who act as if joy and love are sentimental. It’s not. If it were, Christians would have no hope in our Prince of Peace. Alas, conflict can be necessary. In fact, without this we’d have no story! But our battles are at worst temporary. If we think otherwise, we are lying. 3. Or we may ‘monitor the situation’ Even if we don’t view war as permanently “real,” we may ruminate on news. We may feel survivor bias, or deep empathy for war victims we don’t know. Some feel almost paralyzed by thoughts of the worst events happening. Lewis fought in World War I and lived in World War II, seeing both sides. Back in 1939 he wrote an essay called “Learning in Wartime” (PDF). Lewis explores three defense versus three wartime enemies of the scholar. He identifies excitement, frustration, and fear, ending with this wisdom: War makes death real to us: and that would have been regarded as one of its blessings by most of the great Christians of the past. They thought it good for us to be always aware of our mortality. I am inclined to think they were right. All the animal life in us, all schemes of happiness that are centred in this world, were always doomed to final frustration. In ordinary times only a wise man can realize it. Now the stupidest of us knows. I do have a more optimistic, eternal perspective on our earthly work. God can end us whenever He wants, but our work does have eternal worth. Lewis wrote more poignantly about real death after World War II ended. This comes from his essay “On Living in an Atomic Age” (PDF), from 1948: If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds. What the atomic bomb has really done is to remind us forcibly of the sort of world we are living in and which, during the prosperous period before, we were beginning to forget. And this reminder is, so far as it goes, a good thing. We have been waked from a pretty dream, and now we can begin to talk about realities. In fiction and nonfiction, Lewis shows the paradox of life on violent Earth. We can’t retreat to pacificism, ignoring biblical courage and present reality. We don’t ruminate on violence and act like only present death is “real.” And we don’t “monitor the situation” and forget God’s callings for us. We follow past wisdom, mind present reality, and anticipate the future. That’s a future like The Last Battle, when all fighting ends for eternal peace. Com station Top question for listeners How do you react first to conflict in reality or in fiction? Next on Fantastical Truth Christian missionaries have traveled oceans to strange new lands. They’ve smuggled Bibles into hostile territory. Someday they will even journey to space settlements. But what about today’s virtual mission fields in digital spaces, like gaming platforms and communities? Developer Brock Henderson with Christian Game Developers, whose conference teams up this month with Realm Makers, joins us to explore Kingdom service in these open worlds.