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Please Return to the Lands of Luxury
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154. What If You Had to Fake Being Genetically Modified? | Enhanced with Candace Kade
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Enhanced, Candace Kade
Bear Knight, James R. Hannibal
The Wayward, Tabitha Caplinger
Fortified, V. Romas Burton
Canaan Sleeps, Daniel Camomile
Silver Bounty, Victoria McCombs
A Sword for the Immerland King, F. W. Faller
Calor, J. J. Fisher
Once Upon A Ren Faire, A. C. Castillo
The Genesis 6 Project, Michael Ferguson
Exile, Loren G. Warnemuende
Aberration, Cathy McCrumb
The Truth Beyond the Lies, Kathleen Bird
Frost, Winter's Lonely Guardian, E. E. Rawls
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154. What If You Had to Fake Being Genetically Modified? | Enhanced with Candace Kade
Fantastical Truth, Mar 21, 2023

153. When Can Deconstructionism Threaten Christian Fiction? | with Michael Young aka ‘Wokal Distance’
Fantastical Truth, Mar 14, 2023

152. How Can Christian Fantasy Fans Heal from Church Trauma? | with Marian Jacobs and L. G. McCary
Fantastical Truth, Mar 7, 2023

151. How Can Fantastical Satire Sharpen Our Theology? | The Pilgrim’s Progress Reloaded with David Umstattd
Fantastical Truth, Feb 28, 2023

150. Is the U.S. Government Covering Up Spy Balloons or Alien Spaceships? | with James R. Hannibal
Fantastical Truth, Feb 21, 2023

149. Why Do Christian Fiction Fans Love So Much Romance?
Fantastical Truth, Feb 14, 2023

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Please Return to the Lands of Luxury
“Jon Tilton explores complex topics like memory loss, personal and societal responsibility in this light sci-fi story.”
—Lorehaven on Mar 24, 2023

Exile
“This gentle fantasy from Loren G. Warnemuende shows little magic or strange creatures, focusing on complex emotions and relationships.”
—Lorehaven on Mar 17, 2023

Illusion
“Frank Peretti’s last novel creates a romantic world with sci-fi flourishes where likeable heroes, villain twists, and familiar places sell a dramatic performance.”
—Lorehaven on Mar 10, 2023

War in Heaven
“Charles Williams’s classic supernatural thriller pairs a deeply spiritual worldview with perceptive examinations of human nature.”
—Lorehaven on Mar 3, 2023

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Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
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/ / Stories

Jesus’s People Need Fantastic Stories

We need fantastic stories like we need food, water, air, love, and above all, Jesus himself.
E. Stephen Burnett on Jan 1, 2019
2 comments

Jesus’s people need fantastic stories.1

We need them like we need food, water, air, love, and above all, Jesus himself.

Really? Can we say we “need” fantastic stories? Why not just say “want” or “can use”?

To answer, we start with Jesus’s true story, the gospel. As the hero, Jesus lives, dies, and resurrects. He redeems evil enemies to turn them into his supporting cast of worshiper-preacher-adventurers. It’s not only the greatest but the most fantastic story ever told.

Clearly, Jesus believes his people need that fantastic (and true) story.

But isn’t this gospel enough? Why devote time and thought to man-made stories?

At Lorehaven, we don’t believe human stories are simply “harmless entertainment.” In fact, the gospel itself reveals that God told humans to imitate his creativity (Genesis 1:28). God made our story-making gifts originally good!

But stories are also dangerous. Since Genesis 3, we’ve corrupted God’s good gifts.

Now, Jesus has saved his church to work and create forever in a redeemed world that he will rule. Until that day, Jesus calls us to recover his purpose for human creativity.

That means we must train to explore human stories—as worshipers of God, as his church, and as ambassadors in the world.

Many resources already help Christians explore general fantasy fiction. Yet we believe Christians are uniquely able to “shop local.” We can share with one another excellent tales that only Jesus’s people could create.

That’s why we’ve launched Lorehaven magazine, with issues every quarter.

Inside, flash reviews help you find the best Christian-made fantastic-genre novels.

Book clubs help you engage these stories with friends and family in your real life.

And encouragement from Christian “fanservants” will help you in this God-glorifying mission: to learn about and love Jesus more, and find his truth in fantastic stories.

  1. For my first story at EStephenBurnett.com, I’m debuting my first Captain’s Log in the debut issue of Lorehaven Magazine. This editor’s note was originally exclusive to (free) magazine subscribers in the spring 2018 issue. ↩
E. Stephen Burnett
E. Stephen Burnett creates sci-fi and fantasy novels as well as nonfiction, exploring fantastical stories for God’s glory as publisher of Lorehaven.com and cohost of the Fantastical Truth podcast. As the oldest of six, he enjoys connecting with his homeschool roots by speaking at conferences for Christian families and creators. Stephen is coauthor of The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ from New Growth Press (2020, with Ted Turnau and Dr. Jared Moore). Stephen and his wife, Lacy, live in the Austin area, where they help with foster parenting and serve as members of Southern Hills Baptist Church.
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  1. Speculative Faith | Why 2019 Could Be an Epic Year for Christian Fantastical Fiction says:
    January 1, 2019 at 10:59 am

    […] My first article reflects my first Captain’s Log for the spring 2018 Lorehaven issue. […]

    Reply
  2. Speculative Faith | EStephenBurnett.com: Week One of Weekday Blogging, Complete says:
    January 8, 2019 at 8:31 am

    […] Jan. 1: Jesus’s People Need Fantastic Stories […]

    Reply

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Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
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