What does God think of the web of lies known as fiction? Since fictional stories are untrue by definition, should Christians avoid them and stick to nonfiction? Is writing fiction a form of lying?
The answer to all of these questions is no. Christ and the prophets spoke in parables, which are fictional tales. Yet the parables cannot be considered lies, because God never lies.
Lying is sinful because the liar intentionally distorts reality, trying to portray untruth as truth. It is a form of hypocrisy. Yet an author of fiction doesn't claim to be telling a factual story, so the motives are completely different.
In fact, fictional storytelling can be used to tell profound truths, even in ways that nonfiction cannot. Nonfiction tells practical truths -- facts, in other words. Fiction -- if the story isn't merely intended to be entertainment -- tells transcendent truths.
No comments:
Post a Comment