What does Christian fiction have to offer the body of Christ?
Good question. Christian fiction has come a long way. I’m very grateful for that. But the history of Christian fiction is very big, very prominent. Take Pilgrim’s Progress (1670s), a work of fiction. For a long time, people said it was the second-best selling book of all time. Besides the Bible itself, it is arguably one of the most influential books of all time, and it’s a work of fiction, an allegory. Then, there’s Charles Sheldon’s In His Steps (1898) from which we get the question “What would Jesus do?” Very powerful. He was preaching this Sunday evening series, and he started with that question. Every week he would write what got published as an article. Eventually this was all put together in In His Steps. Nobody’s going out and buying Charles Sheldon’s non-fiction writings, though they’re probably good. But that novel captured people’s imaginations. And there’s Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). There’s a work of fiction based on reality, but with made-up characte
