In 2013 Chalcedon’s vice-president, Martin Selbrede, explained our move into fiction–after a long history of publishing works on theology and Christian analysis of society and culture.
https://chalcedon.edu/resources/videos/christian-use-of-fiction
As exemplified by Our Lord Jesus Christ’s parables, fiction is “a vehicle for conveying ideas” and showing how Christian principles play out in real life, often accompanied by spiritual and personal conflict: “If there is no friction, there is no fiction,” Martin says, and he’s right. And that, of course, is the difference between a story and a sermon.
“We waited 45 years before we turned to fiction,” so as to lay a strong theological foundation for everything published by Chalcedon. We didn’t want mediocre fiction built on weak theology.
It was time to move into fiction, Martin says, because with fiction, “You can suddenly get people thinking.”
Martin has written a Christian novel, Hidden in Plain Sight, which explores the nature of reality; and we also have my Bell Mountain fantasy novels, with ten of them in print so far and No. 11, The Temptation, just about ready for publication.
Well, if you’ve ever wondered why a Christian educational foundation decided to publish fiction, this will explain it for you.
I really admire Martin Selbrede and all his accomplishments. He was asked how he is able to get do much done, and his reply “I don’t have a television set.”
Martin also doesn’t stop working till he’s finished.
There’s nothing wrong with fiction.
Well, there were some who thought it was a frivolous thing for us to do.
I don’t see that, one bit. Your books are uplifting. They don’t claim to be bible commentary or for teaching the Bible, but they do indeed show characters living a Godly life.
That was just what Martin had in mind.
And that’s quite valuable. The Bible give us guidance and insight, but we need wholesome entertainment as well.
I still remember the first time I heard of you was through Chalcedon’s website