6 Reasons Why Christians Shouldn’t Read Fantasy (And 6 Reasons Why They Should)
Should Christians read fantasy? This question is a hot debate within Christian circles. While some Christian thinkers and pastors argue that reading fantasy can enrich one’s imagination and deepen one’s understanding of moral struggles, others suggest that certain elements of fantasy are problematic. Below are six arguments for why Christians should not engage with fantasy literature (and six reasons why they should reconsider).
Fantasy Promotes the Occult and the Supernatural
Many fantasy books and films contain magical elements, such as witches, wizards, sorcery, and supernatural creatures. Exposure to these elements can encourage a belief in the occult, which is contrary to biblical teachings.
Rebuttal
There’s no denying that fantasy contains magic, witches, wizards, and more. That’s kind of the point. But using magic in fiction as a storytelling device or a metaphor for truth is not the same thing as practicing witchcraft. While many Christians might fear this as a pagan or occult influence, fantasy actually has its origins in Christianity.
Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister George MacDonald is often regarded as the founding father of modern fantasy. His stories, like The Princess and the Goblin or At the Back of the North Wind, aren’t only classic fantasy novels but moral tales containing nuggets of Christian truths.
Christian author and theologian C.S. Lewis is perhaps best known for his fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. There’s magic, and witches, and talking animals—all that “occult” stuff. But it’s also one of the most beloved and well-known Christian allegories ever written.
Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien has been called the father of high fantasy, and his Magnum Opus, The Lord of the Rings, unquestionably created “fantasy” as a marketing category in the publishing industry. It, too, contains so-called occult elements. It’s also intrinsically Catholic to its core. Jesus healed the cripple so that we may believe in His power to forgive sins and, imitating his master, Tolkien gave us dragons and dark lords so that we may know that evil can be defeated.
Fantasy Can Blur the Lines Between Good and Evil
Many fantasy stories often present morally complex worlds where the lines between good and evil are not clear. This moral ambiguity could lead Christians to lose sight of biblical truth, which clearly distinguishes between good and evil.
Rebuttal
I find this one ironic because, while some Christians might perceive fantasy as morally ambiguous, I often hear the opposite claim by non-Christians, slandering fantasy as too black-and-white and therefore childish. The non-Christian world is painted in shades of gray. It demands lukewarmness and calls it nuance. Good and evil, virtue and vice, angels and demons—these things, and the fantasies that teach them, are childish. The evils in fantasies are too evil, and the good depicted is too good. Vacillation is a sign of maturity. Conviction is childish.
The same forces that seek to corrupt Christians also seek to corrupt fantasy. In my experience, the stories that are true to the fantasy genre’s roots have deep wisdom to share, even when the author isn’t Christian. Neither Ursula K. Le Guin nor Terry Pratchett were Christian. Yet both held a deep respect, not only for fantasy but for the Christian authors and motifs that shaped the genre. And this is obvious in their work. Contrast this with Philip Pullman, whose express intent in his novels was to subvert and undermine C.S. Lewis’ fantasy The Chronicles of Narnia, or much of the grim-dark genre, which finds its titulation in subverting fantasy tropes and motifs. It’s not a coincidence that the “fantasy” novels that seek most to subvert the genre are also the least Christian.
Stick to fantasy authors who respect the genre and its origins, and you’ll seldom go wrong.
Fantasy is Escapist
Fantasy often serves as an escape from reality, which could detract from the Christian’s responsibility to engage with the world meaningfully. Spending excessive time in imaginary worlds may lead to neglecting the real-world struggles that require Christian attention and action.
Rebuttal
Fantasy author Ursula K. LeGuin, paraphrasing J. R. R. Tolkien’s essay On Fairy-Stories, said, “Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape? … If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
As Christians, we’re called to transcend worldly pleasures and embrace God’s otherworldly Truth. However, by distancing ourselves from our earthly problems, fantasy allows us to engage with supernatural truths stripped bare of their mundane filter. The child escapes the bully only to be confronted by the wicked witch. But if the wicked witch can be endured and overcome, then so, too, can the schoolyard bully.
The paradox of fantasy is that, in offering us escape from our mundane problems, it can better equip us to overcome them.
Imagination and Idolatry
The human imagination is a powerful tool. When misused, it can lead to idolatry or an unhealthy attachment to things that distract from God. The vivid, often fantastical worlds created in fantasy literature can encourage unhealthy attachments, especially to the characters or worlds within the stories.
Rebuttal
George MacDonald asserts that there is a God and that it is through art and the imagination that we are closest to Him. This contradicted his Calvinist peers, who disapproved of art as fanciful and iconoclastic. MacDonald argued that an omnipresent God is present everywhere, not only in the physical world but also in the imagination.
If art is the expression of the imagination, and God exists in the imagination, then art can be a path to God and a source of truth.
The Dangers of Immoderate Entertainment
Fantasy literature can sometimes encourage an unhealthy relationship with entertainment, fostering addiction to media and a sense of entitlement to constant enjoyment or stimulation. Reading too much fantasy can distract and lead to neglect of other responsibilities, such as prayer, Bible study, and service to others.
Rebuttal
St. Thomas Aquinas argues that, “evil consists in discordance from their rule or measure. Now this may happen either by their exceeding the measure or by their falling short of it… Therefore, it is evident that moral virtue observes the mean.” In other words: all things in moderation. Of course, consuming too much fantasy is bad. That’s true of all things, even those that are good. As parents, it is our job to regulate our children’s activities to prevent excess. Not just in terms of entertainment and the sloth that ensues from overconsumption, but other extremes as well—like scrupulosity.
Fantasy doesn’t have to be mere entertainment. According to fantasy author Terry Pratchett, “You have to be fairly dense to think that Gulliver’s Travels is only a story about a guy having a real fun time among big people and little people and horses and stuff like that. What the book was about was something else. Fantasy can carry quite a serious burden.”
While fantasy can be entertaining, it serves a deeper purpose. Fantasy allows us to talk about real life without talking about real life. By distancing ourselves from the everyday world and viewing our problems through the lens of fantasy, we’re given a new perspective. The Lord of the Rings isn’t just a quest to destroy a piece of malevolent jewelry. It’s a thesis on the nature of good and evil. Middle-earth isn’t just a fun place to visit. It spiritually enriches those who dare explore it, and the tourists aren’t the same when they leave. Like Bilbo on his journey there and back again, they return home changed—and for the better.
Potential for Desensitization to Violence and Evil
Fantasy stories often contain violence, darkness, and destruction, which could be seen as desensitizing young readers or viewers to real-world issues of evil and suffering. By immersing in fantasy worlds where violence is often portrayed in a stylized and sometimes heroic manner, Christians may become numb to the real evil and suffering in the world.
Rebuttal
The most violent story I ever read came from a history book. If fantasy is often violent, it’s because the world is violent. Rather than censoring the darkness, fantasy confronts it head-on.
As for the notion that fantasy portrays violence heroically, I posed this question to my Catholic writer’s group. One member responded, “Guess what? Violence can be heroic when the situation calls for it. The Maccabees liberating Israel; Joan of Arc saving France; Don John protecting the Christian world at Lepanto; my own Great-Grandfather and his platoon freeing innocents from a concentration camp. We should admire and emulate such people, and their virtues should be taught through fiction.”
Christianity is full of saints who saw evil and responded violently. Perhaps even more heroic, they allowed violence to be done to them, as is the case with the Christian martyrs. They did these things not to glorify violence, but to glorify God.
According to English author, philosopher, and Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton, “Fairy tales are not responsible for producing in children fear or any of the shapes of fear. Fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of the bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of the bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.”
Chesterton goes on, “Fairy tales accustom people to the idea that these limitless terrors have a limit, that these shapeless enemies have enemies in the knights of God, and that there is something in the universe more mystical than darkness and stronger than strong fear.”
Fantasy teaches us that the world can be violent, and dark, and ugly—and it also teaches us that there is a God, and that His servants will stand, fight, and always triumph in the end.
In Closing
While some Christians may fear the potential negative impact of fantasy on a Christian’s faith and moral clarity, many Christians enjoy fantasy for its insights into good and evil and for its spiritual enrichment. As with any form of media, discernment is key. Christians must consider how fantasy aligns with their faith, how it shapes their imagination and worldview, and whether it helps them pursue a deeper relationship with God or distracts from that pursuit.
Ultimately, each Christian needs to reflect on their own spiritual maturity and ability to engage with fantasy in a way that honors God and serves their spiritual growth.
What are your thoughts on this topic? I invite you to join other homeschool parents in the Homeschool Connections Facebook Group to continue this discussion.
