[soc.religion.christian] Christian authors

gilham@csl.sri.com (Fred Gilham) (11/08/90)

JMS111@psuvm.psu.edu (Jenni Sheehey) asks
.> On a related note, Does anyone know about any other Christian novelists/
.> Christian writers rather in the vein of C.S. Lewis?  I'd like to have
.> *someone* else to cite!  (I realize that Lewis was remarkable, but
.> there must be *someone*!)

You can try the other ``inklings'' -- Charles Williams, Dorothy
Sayers, even Owen Barfield (though I'm not sure he was a Christian).
You can also try G. K. Chesterton.

Williams wrote 7 novels that are very good, some first-rate poetry on
the Arthurian Cycle, some plays, and some theology that is rather
high-church but nevertheless very interesting.  Sayers, of course,
wrote the Lord Peter mysteries, a set of plays on the life of Jesus
(excellent!), and some really good apologetic essays.  Barfield was
into philosophy and wrote some books such as SAVING THE APPEARANCES,
POETIC DICTION, and WORLDS APART that are opposed to the monistic,
materialistic world view that predominates these days.  Very
thought-provoking and brain-stretching.

There's also the Catholic J.R.R. Tolkien, another inkling.

G. K. Chesterton, another Catholic, wrote some good apologetics
(ORTHODOXY and THE EVERLASTING MAN, for example) and some excellent
essays on Christian beliefs.  I also enjoyed his novels, with THE MAN
WHO WAS THURSDAY being one of my favorite novels.  He also wrote the
Father Brown mystery series, not as good in my opinion as Dorothy
Sayers, but still entertaining.

Other than these, you can try Robert Farrar Capon.  I really enjoyed
his cookbook THE SUPPER OF THE LAMB (much more than a cookbook) and
his book AN OFFERING OF UNCLES.  He recently put out a couple of books
on the Parables with ideas that range from wonderful to quite
questionable; these books require discernment and the ability to
tolerate ambiguity.

My favorite practical theological writer is Jacques Ellul.  He is a
monumental intellect; I can't believe that more Christians don't pay
attention to him.  He is incredible.  He has written 40 or so books,
most of them translated into English.  He is well-known in secular
thought for his book THE TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY.  He has written other
political books like PROPAGANDA, THE POLITICAL ILLUSION and VIOLENCE.
He has written some books that bridge the gap between politics and
theology, such as THE NEW DEMONS, THE ETHICS OF FREEDOM, and THE
POLITICS OF GOD AND THE POLITICS OF MAN.  I could go on and on.  He
has also written theology, like TO WILL AND TO DO.  He is also
well-known for his books THE PRESENCE OF THE KINGDOM, THE FALSE
PRESENCE OF THE KINGDOM, and THE SUBVERSION OF CHRISTIANITY.

Good luck.  I sympathize with your predicament; it's hard to find good
Christian writers and they get ``used up'' so soon!
--
Fred Gilham    gilham@csl.sri.com 
Are Saturday morning cartoons proof that adults hate kids?
 Answer: Yes.   (From "Life in Hell")

dhosek@sif.claremont.edu (Hosek, Donald A.) (11/09/90)

JMS111@psuvm.psu.edu (Jenni Sheehey) asks
.> On a related note, Does anyone know about any other Christian novelists/
.> Christian writers rather in the vein of C.S. Lewis?  I'd like to have
.> *someone* else to cite!  (I realize that Lewis was remarkable, but
.> there must be *someone*!)

Some of my favorites:

Joseph Girzone: A retired Catholic Priest. _Joshua_. He has two
other novels that I haven't read, but if they're anything like
Joshua, then they're well worth it.

Graham Greene: Another Catholic (actually you'll see a lot of
this, it's my specialty as an English major). Some of the more
religiously oriented work would be _The End of the Affair_,
_Monsignor Quixote_, _The Power and the Glory_, _A Burnt-out
Case_. The short stories are also quite good. Religion plays
_some_ role in nearly all his work, but it's most central in the
works mentioned.

Evelyn Waugh: Yet another Catholic. _Brideshead Revisited_ and
_Helena_ would be the most religiously-oriented of the works I've
read (I can't pass up an opportunity to recommend _The Loved One_
which is quite funny, but in a very demented way... it takes a
certain willingness to accept things like Forest Lawn to be able
to fully appreciate this one).

Iris Murdoch: (will he ever run out of Catholics?). _Henry and
Cato_, _A Time of Angels_. These again are the most
religiously-oriented of the works I've read.

Brian Moore: He claims he's abandoned Catholicism for atheism,
his brother and his works indicate that he may not have abandoned
it as much as he thought he did. Read _Catholics_, _Black Robe_
and _Cold Heaven_.

-dh
"The purpose of art is to challenge beliefs."

SECBH@cunyvm.bitnet (11/09/90)

JMS111@psuvm.psu.edu (Jenni Sheehey) asks

 > On a related note, Does anyone know about any other Christian novelists/
 > Christian writers rather in the vein of C.S. Lewis?  I'd like to have
 > *someone* else to cite!  (I realize that Lewis was remarkable, but
 > there must be *someone*!)

Both Graham Green and Francois Mauriac are often cited as "Catholic"
or "religious" authors, however they are not exactly in the vein
of C.S. Lewis.  Their treatments of the experience of faith
and moral predicament in the medium of the novel is outstanding.

Maurice Nicoll, an Englishman, has written commentaries on the
NT parables, which though not fiction are very thought-provoking.

Jack Carroll