It seems to be the result of Fundies having been exposed to the fantasy genre, rather liked it, but knowing that they musn't write about demons or wizards or any of that stuff because it'll lead the poor readers into sin (not to mention what it's do to the author), so they can only write that kind of stuff if they write what the Bibble reveals to be true... And of course, because what the bible reveals to be true about demons and magic and stuff is (a) very little, and (b) not designed to be used in this way, the end result is a grotesque perversion of both the theology and the art form.
The core problem is the failure to recognise that fiction is a different thing from reality, or that readers are capable of distinguishing the two, and/or to grasp the nature of metaphor, which allows us to say useful and valuable things about reality without having to laboriously figure out and transcribe literal truth.
I remember when the "first" (because Lewis and Tolkien weren't evangelicals, so they didn't count) "Christian fantasy" novels started appearing in the late 70s, and being reviewed in "Buzz" and other such Christian (i.e. evangelical "nobody else counts"-type Christian) magazines. There was much brou-ha-ha between those who said "At last! Guilt-free fantasy reading!" and those who claimed it was the thin end of the wedge for Satan to slip this evil fantasy/fiction stuff into the life of the church and use it to confuse impressionable young Christian minds, by distracting them from reading the pure unsullied scriptures. Ironically, the current crop of "rapture literature" seems to show they were right to be concerned... =:o\
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The core problem is the failure to recognise that fiction is a different thing from reality, or that readers are capable of distinguishing the two, and/or to grasp the nature of metaphor, which allows us to say useful and valuable things about reality without having to laboriously figure out and transcribe literal truth.
I remember when the "first" (because Lewis and Tolkien weren't evangelicals, so they didn't count) "Christian fantasy" novels started appearing in the late 70s, and being reviewed in "Buzz" and other such Christian (i.e. evangelical "nobody else counts"-type Christian) magazines. There was much brou-ha-ha between those who said "At last! Guilt-free fantasy reading!" and those who claimed it was the thin end of the wedge for Satan to slip this evil fantasy/fiction stuff into the life of the church and use it to confuse impressionable young Christian minds, by distracting them from reading the pure unsullied scriptures. Ironically, the current crop of "rapture literature" seems to show they were right to be concerned... =:o\