Balancing Truth and Beauty in Our Writing

A Literary Dilemma

Christian authors and readers are often faced with a dilemma. We’re encouraged to think about those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8), so surely those things should apply to what we read and write. There is certainly a lot of beauty in our world, and much that is praiseworthy. But life is also messy. What do we do when the truth isn’t pure or lovely? Every day, people are abused, children die of malnutrition, lives are lost to suicide, homes are destroyed by natural disasters, finances are lost to scammers, and bodies are wracked by illness. Should we avoid reading and writing about such ‘unlovely’ topics?

Biblical Clues for Balancing Truth and Beauty

I think most of us would agree that we shouldn’t avoid the messier issues in our writing. After all, the Bible itself includes some ‘unlovely’ content—incest, rape, murder, deception, greed, infidelity, torture, and a myriad of other examples of sinful people doing what comes naturally. However, when read in context, the Bible’s overall message is one of hope. Yes, there is sin and evil in the world, but Jesus overcame death and sin on the Cross. If we come to Him in repentance, He forgives us and we have the assurance that we’ll spend eternity with Him in a place where every tear will be wiped away. The question isn’t whether we can write about the uglier side of life, but how we write about it.

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Examples from Mainstream Literature

Some years ago, I studied Creative Writing at Tabor College (which I highly recommend by the way). For one of my assignments, we had to read some mainstream novels and discuss how they intersected with issues of faith. Three of the novels I chose were The Reader by Bernhard Schlink, Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks, and Atonement by Ian McEwan.

[Spoilers ahead]. One thing these books have in common, is that they all have imperfect main characters who have done things they regret. Haven’t we all? However, each book ends with the protagonists believing they are, to some extent, unforgivable. As Bethia says in Caleb’s Crossing, ‘a lifetime’s sermons tell me I have earned the hard judgement of an angry God’ (pp. 307-8). In The Reader, Michael tells us that he has written about his experience ‘to be free of it, even if [he] never can be’ (p. 217). Briony, the protagonist in Atonement, believes that ‘there is no one, no entity or higher form that she can appeal to, or be reconciled with, or that can forgive her.’ (p. 371).

A Christian Writers’ Approach

These books also have good qualities, such as beautiful prose and thought-provoking content, but they left me feeling flat. We leave the characters in a state of hopelessness. Yet these novels shine a light on an obvious way in which Christian authors can be distinctive. We have a message of hope and that should come through in our writing. For some, that might mean writing explicitly Christian content. For others, it might be a subtler treatment of values. Either way, our work should be informed by a Christian worldview that offers hope in the darkness, and leaves our readers feeling better for having read our books.

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In my novel Scattered, I took a more subtle approach. There is some specific Christian content, as my heroine Maggie has to work through issues of abandonment and come to the point of realising God is the One who will never leave her. However, other themes are more implicit (e.g., forgiveness, loving others unconditionally, persevering in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and overcoming evil with good). Although Maggie is confronted by many difficult situations in her quest to reunite with her family, the theme of hope comes through.

Explicitly Christian books do not have a monopoly on hope, of course. There are some wonderful mainstream novels that have good values and hopeful endings (e.g., Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford; The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer). As Christian writers, however, we can make it our aim to ‘shine like stars in the universe as [we] hold out the word of life’ to those in the world (Phil. 2:15-16, NIV).

How About You?

What books have you read that do a good job of balancing truth and beauty? If you’re also a writer, how do you grapple with these kinds of issues in your work? I’d love to hear your comments.