I love science fiction. Most of what I read is science fiction or fantasy. I enjoy being transported to another time or place and taking part with the characters in overcoming their imperfections. Whether it is long, long ago, or in a galaxy far, far away, or in an alternative universe, I become a part of the story because I identify with one or more characters. I am Captain Kirk, saving the universe from destruction and overcoming the no-win situation; or I am Luke Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi using the force to defeat the dark side; or I am John Carter, saving the beautiful Martian princess from a fate worse than death with my unbeatable swordsmanship.
One problem I run into is that a lot of the available science fiction has inappropriate sexual content for Christian readers. This can turn an otherwise intriguing story into something I need to put down and not read or slog through. It would be nice to find more science fiction and fantasy novels written without this type of content. Fortunately, much of the classic science fiction was written before the sexual revolution and is, therefore, free from sexually explicit content. Finding Christian sci-fi and Fantasy novels is difficult, but there are some out there.
This difficulty may be because some Christians find it difficult to accept the idea of alien life-forms or other worlds or realities. Even if that is the case, fiction is something that is imaginary, invented, or untrue. Fiction is a device for putting characters into situations where they must overcome difficulties, even catastrophes, to reach their goal. Whether it is a story of romance, mystery, or fantasy, fiction uses imaginary circumstances to draw us into the story.
The great thing about fiction is the idea of it being imaginary, invented, or untrue. For the science fiction writer, this allows for alien races, travel to distant planets or galaxies, and ships capable of faster than light speed, FTL. And to achieve travel over immense distances. (In fact, the distances require travel speeds many times greater than the speed of light.) This is accomplished through ‘warp drives’, singularities, stargates, or other methods with varying degrees of scientific probability. But it is fiction, so it doesn’t matter. One of my favorite Christian sci-fi series is The Lamb Among the Stars series by Chris Walley, (Chris Walley’s site » Lamb Among the Stars) which uses a type of stargate.
Science fiction allows the writer to create new worlds or times. Time travel can be forward or backward using machines like H. G. Wells used in The Time Machine, or through other supernatural methods. One method I like that the Christian author Stephen R. Lawhead used in the Bright Empires series is Ley Lines. (BRIGHT EMPIRES | Stephen R Lawhead (stephenlawhead.com)) These are areas of supernatural energy that provide a means for certain individuals to travel through time or to alternate realities.
I have two novels in progress. One is a space travel novel that uses a gravity drive to create the singularity that allows almost instantaneous travel between points in space, and the other is an alternate reality novel that uses ley lines to transport the hero to a different time and place. I hope you will enjoy reading them when I complete them.
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