Theological fiction is fictional writing which shapes people's attitudes towards theological

beliefs A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take ...

. It is typically ''instructional'' or ''exploratory'' rather than descriptive, and it engages specifically with the theoretical ideas which underlie and shape typical responses to religion. Theological fiction, as a concept, is used by both theists and

atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

, such as in fictional pantheons and cultures in theological fantasy literature.

Theological and religious fiction

The subject matter of theological novels often overlaps with

philosophical novels Philosophical fiction refers to the class of works of fiction which devote a significant portion of their content to the sort of questions normally addressed in philosophy. These might explore any facet of the human condition, including the funct ...

, particularly when it deals with issues from natural theology (also called philosophy of religion). For example, Roger Olsen notes that the problem of evil is a feature of some significant theological fiction. Theological fiction also overlaps with religious fiction or

Christian novels A Christian novel is a Christian literary novel which features Christian media genre conventions. The tradition of Christian fiction Christian novels are works of imaginative literature drawing on Christian themes, theology, and social norms. T ...

(also called

inspirational fiction Inspirational fiction is a sub-category within the broader categories of "inspirational literature" or "inspirational writing." It has become more common for booksellers and libraries to consider inspirational fiction to be a separate genre, class ...

), especially when dealing with complex ideas such as '' redemption,'' '' salvation'' and '' predestination,'' which have a direct bearing on attitudes towards religious practices. Some authors try to distinguish a '' theological novel'' as one which denotes a more idea driven plot, rather than a novel which is about people who happen to be interacting with religion, but the distinction often proves difficult to sustain when ideas and actions are closely interwoven, each influencing the other.

Theological short stories

Examples of the genre (also called

novellae In Roman law, a novel ( la, novella constitutio, "new decree"; gr, νεαρά, neara) is a new decree or edict, in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publi ...

) include: *''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

'' (1759) by Voltaire *

Book of Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the Septuagint and the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian Old Testament of the Bible, but excluded from the Hebrew canon and assigned by Protestants to the apocrypha. It tell ...

(1st Century BC) by Anonymous *"

Hell Is the Absence of God "Hell Is the Absence of God" is a 2001 fantasy novelette by American writer Ted Chiang, first published in , and subsequently reprinted in ''Year's Best Fantasy 2'', and in ''Fantasy: The Best of 2001'', as well as in Chiang's 2002 anthology, ' ...

" (2001) by Ted Chiang

Theological long fiction

Examples of theological long fiction include: *''

Philosophus Autodidactus ''Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān'' () is an Arabic philosophical novel and an allegorical tale written by Ibn Tufail (c. 1105 – 1185) in the early 12th century in Al-Andalus. Names by which the book is also known include the ('The Self-Taught Philosop ...

'' (originally '' Hayy ibn Yaqdhan'') (12th century) by Ibn Tufail *'' Theologus Autodidactus'' (originally ''The Treatise of Kāmil on the Prophet's Biography'') (1268) by Ibn al-Nafis *''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

'' (1320) by Dante Alighieri *'' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678) by John Bunyan *'' The Brothers Karamazov'' (1880) by Fyodor Dostoevsky *'' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (1950) by

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...

* ''Silence'' (1966) by Shūsaku Endō *''

The Shack A shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair. Shack or The Shack may also refer to: Places * The Shack (Williamsport, Ohio), a Registered Historic Place in Pickaway County, Ohio, United States * The Shack Neighborhood Hou ...

'' (2007) by William P. Young

Linked series of theological fiction

Individual stories can be linked in series to constitute a composite novel or a short story cycle, where a group of stories interact to convey a richer or fuller story than any of the single elements can. Examples of linked series of theological fiction include: *''The Journey Series'' by Richard P Belcher. It comprises 20 novels exploring

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

Theology.

References

{{Fiction writing Christian literature Christianity in fiction Fiction about religion Novels about religion

Theological and religious fiction

Theological short stories

Theological long fiction

Linked series of theological fiction

See also

References