The Forgotten Genres: Why do Christians Ignore Darker Books?

God can use anyone and anything for his glory. As Christians, we love to say this, but do we live like it? How often do we write someone or their work off as if God can’t use them? I don’t know how often this happens, but I’ve found it to be true in the book world. A large portion of the Christian book world is fluffy. 

Fluffy? Yeah, you know, soft and squishy. Amish. Romance. Amish Romance. Historical… romance. You get the picture; it’s mostly romance. And it’s so fluffy! Like a gentle little dog who never so much as barks. Don’t get me wrong, fluffy dogs are good, and so are fluffy books. But why is it these books seem to be all there is? 

Are Christian authors afraid to dive into darker, more adventurous waters? It’s like we think our books have to be sparkling white to honor God. But the Bible is not “fluffy.” It depicts wars, murder, rape, genocide. These things are dark and horrible, but God’s word tells what really happened and will happen without pulling punches. 

These things are, though terrible, parts of life, because sin has deformed God’s perfect creation, leaving evil and pain all over the earth. One day, God will make all things right, but in the meantime, we have to live in this sin-broken world. The world is fallen, so why do we shy away from dark subjects in our books? 

Fiction shouldn’t be a carbon copy of reality, but it should help readers see reality in a different light. Sometimes, looking at real things through a fiction lense can give us a new perspective and deeper understanding, because it makes us think about things in ways we never would otherwise. Reading invites us to see things through another person’s eyes. True, that other person is usually a fictional character, but it still gives us a different perspective on life. When done well, this can deepen a reader’s empathy and understanding of what others go through. But how will that happen if our characters never go through anything? 

Again, I’m not bashing the “fluffy” romance books. They have their themes and the characters have their trials. What I’m saying is, why not take a dive on the deep end? Why not step into the shadows, not to glorify the dark, but to shine a light? 

As Christians, we should aim to impact everyone we meet with Christ’s love. His love doesn’t cling to the clean surface, but reaches into the darkest depths. There is no one God doesn’t love; no distance, he won’t cross to save a soul. He reaches out with love and grace to the chief of sinners, and he stands by us in life’s hardest storms when all seems lost. God is greater than anything we could ever face, even the darkest of times. 

Often, the dark moments are when we see God the most. In those moments, we see God clearer because when we come to the end of ourselves, we finally take our eyes off ourselves and turn them to God. When all we have is God, we realize how big and loving he really is. He stands by us, strengthens us, comforts us. No darkness cannot douse the light of God’s love, but the hard times can push us closer to him. 

How can any of this be reflected in books if authors shy away from real-life situations, problems, and questions? 

Yes, a Christian book should be clean. We should honor God in all things, including our writing, and filling our books with trash doesn’t honor him. We can depict the depravity of sin and the darkness of life while still keeping the stories clean. 

Now, there are different ideas of what “clean” means. To me, clean means no cussing (Ephesians 5:4), and no bedroom or overly steamy scenes (1 Corinthians 6:18). I’m also not a fan of graphic violence, but some violence is fine—after all, I’ve written many battle and fight scenes myself. This is my opinion of “clean.” This is the standard I use when writing books, but my books also dive into murder, suicide, depression, and several other less than fluffy subjects.

Clean, but not ignoring reality. It’s okay for Christians to address violence, doubt, abuse, ect., so long as we do so in a godly way. If our books are filled with characters whose biggest problems are shallow or there is no growth, who are we helping? 

I know I’ve already said this once or twice, but I need to make this clear: I. Am. Not. Bashing. Romance. 

If I were, I’d be a hypocrite. I often read fantasy romance, include a dash of love in my own stories, and, as I said earlier, God can use anything for his glory. If I said he couldn’t use “fluffy” books, I’d be lying. He can, and I’m sure he does. If you write or read these kinds of books—awesome! Keep it up. 

I believe every type of clean book—yes, even Amish romance, which I hate but many people love—has its place. And that’s the problem. While God can use every genre, the Christian book world is very prejudiced. 

If you receive my newsletters, you know I always include a link to free books. I use a website that helps organize these group promos. The process is simple: find a promo that you qualify for and is suitable for your book and join it. There are promos for every genre, and even a section for Christian books. 

Here’s the problem. There are rarely promos for Christian speculative fiction. Most promos are for “fluffy” books. Many say all genres are welcome, but if you click into the promo, all you see is romance and more romance. Contemporary romance, mostly. Obviously, my fantasy books involving battles, strange creatures, and powers wouldn’t fit in. The only promos that are run regularly and include fantasy and the like have a rule against violence, saying it can’t be “on screen.” Hmm, let me check my book. There’s a fight scene where a man is knocked unconscious, and another where the hero is ambushed, beaten, and left for dead. Oh yeah, and blood. It’s a fantasy! Of course there’s violence! I honestly don’t understand how they can run a fantasy promo and expect the books to not have violence.

So, I’m rarely able to join a Christian promo. That means I have to go to the secular section, which doesn’t work too well, because, again, my books are Christian. I wind up having to warn my readers of possible unwanted content in the other books involved in the promo, and it stinks. I’m not the only one with this trouble. I’ve seen other Christian books in secular promos. Do we want to join promos involving books that are less than Christlike? Speaking for myself, no. But the Christian community hasn’t left us much of a choice. 

If we truly believe God can use anyone and anything, then we need to live like it. Adventurous stories packed with action can honor God just the same as cozy and swoony romance. And those of us who read and write on the darker side are no less Christian. The books are no less Christian. And God can use them all. 

So why don’t we stop the prejudice toward darker books? Not everything has to be fluffy and sparkly. The same God who created fluffy puppies also made fierce lions. Both have their place. 

When we depict the darker side of life, intertwining it with God’s love, grace, and truth, we can reach those who have and are walking those dark roads. We shouldn’t shy away from hard subjects, and we shouldn’t ostracize books in less fluffy genres. People are different. And if Christians only write, publish, and promote one or two genres, we’re missing a large section of society that could be touched and helped by books in the speculative realm. We need to provide more opportunities for a wide range of genres, because God can use those books too. 

Let’s resolve to support our fellow Christian creatives no matter what genre they write. Romance, fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and on and on. We can all glorify God and he can use anyone and anything. Let’s live like that truth is true.