The Unsafe Writer by Mike Duran

Jessica just returned from travel and we've given her the day off to recover. She'll be back to teaching us publicity next Friday. I've been wanting to repost Mike's excellent article anyway. It's one of my favorites. Mike just signed with literary agent-Janet Kobobel Grant of Books and Such. Janet's got great taste obviously and Mike is blessed to have such an awesome agent. If you like Mike's article, you can read more from him at: www.mikeduran.com)

Mike Duran is a freelance writer living in Southern California. In between working construction and rooting for the Lakers, Mike’s managed to develop curriculum and teaching resources for numerous churches. His short stories have appeared in Infuze and Alienskin Magazine, and articles in The Matthew’s House Project and Relevant Magazine. Mike is currently completing his first novel, a supernatural thriller about a resurrection that awakens more than a dead man. When Mike’s not writing, he’s thinking about it, which produces a state his wife and four children affectionately call AWOW-- Absent Without Writing.



Awhile back, Gina posted a topic entitled, "How Edgy is too Edgy?" which got a lot of response. The question is reflective of a much larger discussion amongst Christian writers regarding the CBA. On one side are those who say the industry is too conservative, going for what sells and ruffles the least amount of feathers, sacrificing hard answers for sanitized entertainment.

Among the defenses, is that the “Christian novel” is a genre unto itself and, like all genres, has its own set of readers with certain expectations. Accordingly, CBA readers don’t want “edgy” – they can get that at the cineplex or the office. Instead, they want books that will affirm their beliefs and values, inspire hope, and not mimic the world, disturb or leave people guessing.

Axe-grinding can be found on both sides, but even-handed primers like this and this can still be found. Dave Long, acquisitions editor for Bethany House, contends the CBA has made great strides, that the Us and Them mentality—the sacred / secular divide—has shrunk, and that the only real non-negotiables of Christian fiction anymore are no sex, no cussing, and a Christian worldview. Yet within those boundaries, there is great latitude.

Still many contest that the CBA strictures are far too limited and unrealistic. For instance, sex may be implied or referenced, but the actual portrayal of sex—even between married partners—is anathema. Imbibing protags—be it champagne toasts or wine with meals—proves problematic.

And of course, Christianity must triumph, which sometimes leads to predictable, tidy resolutions; i.e. repentance, deliverance, conversion, etc. Terry Mattingly's, On Religion column goes so far as to suggest that, had Shakespeare attempted to squeeze Romeo and Juliet past the gatekeepers of the CBA, we'd either have a happy ending or a frazzled, unpublished bard.

I’m an outsider, for the most part. But the discussion reminds me of a similar one that takes place in, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe between Lucy and the Beavers. Lucy asks if Aslan, the kingly lion and lord of Narnia, is safe.

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

It's a wonderful picture of Christ, isn't it? He will stalk our prejudice, shred our pride and roar into our complacency. Jesus is good, but He isn't safe.

My guess is that most Christian publishers would like to be both good and safe—they want to produce material which is decent, moral and scripturally sound (good), and clean, positive, inoffensive and user-friendly (safe). After all, who’d want to risk the accusation that their “Christian novel” is “risqué,” “course,” “exploitative” or “blasphemous.”

Interestingly enough, some of those accusations could be leveled against Scripture itself. I’ve always considered the Bible R-rated, for tucked away in the sacred text is some awfully gnarly yarns. Herein you’ll find such non-family fare as King David’s adultery, Solomon’s harem and Saul’s suicide. And who could forget the time Lot offered his virgin daughters to an angry mob, Noah got smashed and Samson the horndog had his eyes gouged out.

There are rapes, murders, human sacrifices, homosexual orgies and a group circumcision. Leviticus addresses such “behind-closed-door” issues as incest, bestiality and intercourse during menstruation. There's also a significant gore factor. Like when Jael Heber's wife hammers a tent peg through his head (Judges 4:21) and Herod gets eaten by worms (Acts 12:23).

The Bible contains numerous beheadings and impalements, the citywide slaughter of firstborns, plagues of flies, frogs and more blood than all the Friday the 13th films combined. David once collected 200 Philistine foreskins (which, I’m sure, they did not give up willingly) and Isaiah the Prophet once preached naked (don't try that for a plot twist). And speaking of naked, Solomon's Song contains some of the most blushingly erotic references in holy writ. Scripture is good, but hardly safe.

But maybe the worst offender of safe, was Jesus. Talk about edgy. Christ told tales that infuriated the gatekeepers of the industry. They preferred stories about "Good Pharisees," so when the half-breed scum Samaritan landed the leading role, the brain trust was up in arms. Jesus was not a “mainstream” kind of guy. He railed against the establishment, hung out with a bad crowd and got branded as a glutton and a drunk (Matt. 11:19). And Jesus’ stories didn't always have a happy ending.

Remember the final scene of, The Rich Man and Lazarus, with the rich man begging for a drop of water on his swollen tongue while the credits roll? Or the Parable of the Wedding Feast, which ends with the dinner guests in outer darkness, wailing and gnashing teeth. Jesus told stories, not to entertain, but to communicate eternal truths. Oftentimes thzt meant being edgy, pushing the envelop and ruffling feathers.

While still an atheist, C.S. Lewis read G.K. Chesterton and George MacDonald, authors that eventually contributed to Lewis's conversion. He later wrote:

In reading Chesterton, as in reading MacDonald, I did not know what I was letting myself in for. A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere...

I hereby propose that we set more traps. I'm not talking about reeling in readers with wit or suspense, and then sucker-punching them with the gospel. I'm talking about addressing real issues with the type of quality and honesty Scripture demands, avoiding easy answers and portraying the hard truth about the human condition. It would be refreshing to encounter, even occasionally, a pastor who drinks beer and makes passionate love to his wife. They exist in real life, so why not in Christian literature? Or how about the Choir Director that loves God and uses the f-word when she discovers her son’s a homosexual? How about a prophet with a gambling addiction, a porn star who gets saved and justifies reasons to stay in the business, or a missionary who dies her second day in Africa, without converts. These are the types of people we find in the real world and the Bi ble. They are confused and conflicted, unfulfilled and disappointed, and their ends are not always glamorous. And herein lies the trap. This is how stereotypes are broken and defenses disarmed, where atheists take a second glance and outsiders feel strangely welcome.

This is edgy. Where grace intersects life; where God hangs naked and bloody on a cross, absolving His executioners. Of course, walking this road may land us outside the pall of the mainstream, which is exactly where Jesus ended up. Oh well, maybe that’s the price you pay for being unsafe.


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