{"id":31704,"date":"2017-01-13T11:36:10","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T15:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?p=31704"},"modified":"2017-01-13T11:36:10","modified_gmt":"2017-01-13T15:36:10","slug":"what-work-of-christian-fiction-should-i-review-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2017\/01\/what-work-of-christian-fiction-should-i-review-next.html","title":{"rendered":"What Work of Christian Fiction Should I Review Next?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019ve finished my review series of Michael Farris\u2019 Anonymous Tip<\/a>. I enjoyed reviewing a work of Christian fiction, though, and I\u2019d like to do it again. With that in mind, I have obtained copies of three works of Christian fiction, and would like your input on choosing which one to review next. Bear in mind that I began reviewing Michael Farris\u2019 Anonymous Tip in December 2014; it took us over two years to wade through the entire book, cover to cover. Whatever we\u00a0choose,\u00a0it\u2019ll be around for a while!<\/p>\n

Option #1:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"15978529_10104112598656328_428008811_n\"<\/p>\n

The first book I\u2019m considering reviewing (above) is also written by Michael Farris. Its title is \u201cForbid Them Not,\u201d and it covers a fictional future in which the U. N. Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified, with dire consequences.<\/p>\n

Washington, D.C.\u2014January 27, 2005. After a landslide election that swept a Democratic majority into the United States Senate, today the Senate voted 69-31 to ratify the United Nations\u00a0Convention on the Rights of the Child. Following a liberal shift of power in the government, two families find themselves on the brink of the unimaginable\u2014removal of their children from their care. This new legislation limits parents\u2019 ability to teach fundamental Christianity, spank their children, or make educational decisions, such as electing to homeschool. Laura Frasier, a public school teacher, finds herself in the middle of a philosophical maelstrom. As an ideological battle in the United States Supreme Court ensues, Cooper Stone must defend these families\u2019 right to raise their children according to their own values.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This book would give us the opportunity to delve more deeply into Farris\u2019 ideas about parental rights, and I\u2019m interested in seeing whether Cooper Stone blurs ethical lines as effectively as Peter Barron. I\u2019d also like to know whether the romance that surely plays out in this novel is as ethically concerning as that in Anonymous Tip. Still, some of my readers may be ready for a break from Farris\u2019 novel-writing.<\/p>\n

Option #2:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"16111648_10104112598636368_1150604618_n\"<\/p>\n

Next\u00a0(above)\u00a0I give you The Vision, by Debi Pearl. Yes\u2014that<\/em> Debi Pearl. In addition to her deeply problematic misogynist marriage manual, Created To Be His\u00a0Help Meet, Debi is the author of a series placed in the end times.<\/p>\n

Asher Joel moved across the country to eastern Tennessee to carry on his friend\u2019s vision for reaching lost souls\u2014and to gain respite from the terrorists who murdered his friend, Dan. But there he finds himself in the center of a maelstrom of mystery, terror, death, the looming threat of a catastrophic volcanic eruption\u2014and the consuming fear of losing the woman he loves. Through it all, he and his friends work tirelessly and courageously to fulfill their vision. The Vision is a touching love story, a dramatic race against evil, and an emphatic reminder of the power of God that will take you on a ride so real you will find it difficult to separate fact from fiction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Full disclosure: I have not read this book. But I just flipped through it and it looks like it could be a real page-turner. There\u2019s a lot that happens. Based on my perusal, the\u00a0Last Publishers is an evangelistic group\u00a0focused on creating content in Arabic in an effort to convert the Muslims that are infiltrating the U.S. Oh and there\u2019s stuff like abortion described in ways it does not<\/em> happen, and\u00a0pregnancy, herbs, and midwifery.<\/p>\n

Option #3:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"15979049_10104112598796048_1992443805_n\"<\/p>\n

Finally (above) is option three: Francine Rivers\u2019 novel, A Voice in the Wind. This is a\u00a0book\u00a0I read about three million times as a teenager. Some time ago, a commenter suggested it as an option for a future review, and I like the idea.<\/p>\n

A Voice in the Wind<\/em>\u00a0transports readers back to Jerusalem during the first Jewish-Roman War, some seventy years after the death of Christ. Following the prides and passions of a group of Jews, Romans and Barbarians living at the time of the siege, the narrative is centered on an ill-fated romance between a steadfast slave girl, Hadassah, and Marcus, the brother of her owner and a handsome aristocrat. After surviving the massacre of her family and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, Hadassah is captured and sold to a well-to-do merchant\u2019s family. Brought to Rome, she is pressed into service as a personal slave to hedonistic Julia Valerian.\u00a0 Hadassah struggles to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and to treat her masters in a manner in keeping with His teachings, but she is forced to keep her religious identity a secret in order to survive.\u00a0 Confused and alone, she has only her faith to cling to as she tries to subtly bring God into the lives of her captors.\u00a0 Reckless, impulsive, and villainous, Julia tries to undermine Hadassah at every turn.\u00a0 But Julia\u2019s brother, Marcus, is a different sort altogether.\u00a0 Is it possible for a love between Hadassah and Marcus to flourish considering not only their differing stations in life, but also the gap between Hadassah\u2019s unrelenting faith and Marcus\u2019 lack of belief in anything?\u00a0 Simultaneously, Atretes, a captured soldier from Germania, is forced to become a gladiator. This is the time of Rome\u2019s decline and the decadence of a civilization on the verge of self-destruction serves as a powerful backdrop to the Barbarian\u2019s struggle for survival in the arena.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s lots that goes on in this book, I promise. This book could provide an interesting lens into talking about how Christian fiction (and evangelicals more generally) handles the early church period. There would also be lots more about things like gender relations and the evangelical treatment of love and romance. It could be lighter than the other two in some ways\u2014but not in others.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to invite my readers to leave comments indicating which they\u2019d prefer. Feel free to rank the three options, even. I\u2019ll go through and make a tally after a day or two. And then next Friday, we begin.<\/p>\n

I have a <\/b>Patreon<\/b><\/a>! Please support my writing!<\/b><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve finished my review series of Michael Farris’ Anonymous Tip. I enjoyed reviewing a work of Christian fiction, though, and I’d like to do it again. With that in mind, I have obtained copies of three works of Christian fiction, and would like your input on choosing which one to review next. <\/p>\n

Click through to read more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":31715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Work of Christian Fiction Should I Review Next?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I have obtained copies of three works of Christian fiction, and would like your input on choosing which one to review next.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2017\/01\/what-work-of-christian-fiction-should-i-review-next.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Work of Christian Fiction Should I Review Next?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have obtained copies of three works of Christian fiction, and would like your input on choosing which one to review next.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2017\/01\/what-work-of-christian-fiction-should-i-review-next.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Love, Joy, Feminism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-13T15:36:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/166\/2017\/01\/stack-of-books-1001655_1920-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Libby Anne\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Libby Anne\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2017\/01\/what-work-of-christian-fiction-should-i-review-next.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2017\/01\/what-work-of-christian-fiction-should-i-review-next.html\",\"name\":\"What Work of Christian Fiction Should I Review Next?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-13T15:36:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-13T15:36:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#\/schema\/person\/fae465c1bbb5cbdf26c9e73bfd1b73d2\"},\"description\":\"I have obtained copies of three works of Christian fiction, and would like your input on choosing which one to review next.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2017\/01\/what-work-of-christian-fiction-should-i-review-next.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2017\/01\/what-work-of-christian-fiction-should-i-review-next.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2017\/01\/what-work-of-christian-fiction-should-i-review-next.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Work of Christian Fiction Should I Review Next?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/\",\"name\":\"Love, Joy, Feminism\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#\/schema\/person\/fae465c1bbb5cbdf26c9e73bfd1b73d2\",\"name\":\"Libby Anne\",\"description\":\"Libby Anne grew up in a large evangelical homeschool family highly involved in the Christian Right. 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