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147. Why Can Christians Celebrate Stories about Merlin and King Arthur? | with Robert Treskillard
Fantastical Truth Podcast, Jan 31, 2023

A Crown of Chains
Reviews, Jan 27, 2023

The Magician’s Nephew Taught Me Christ’s Compassion in the Midst of Grief
Elijah David in Articles, Jan 26, 2023

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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
Exile, Loren G. Warnemuende
Aberration, Cathy McCrumb
The Truth Beyond the Lies, Kathleen Bird
Frost, Winter's Lonely Guardian, E. E. Rawls
Dream of Kings, Sharon Hinck
The Change, Bradley Caffee
Quest of Fire: Desperation, Brett Armstrong
Wishtress, Nadine Brandes
Flight, Kristen Young
The Deliverer, Jason William Karpf
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147. Why Can Christians Celebrate Stories about Merlin and King Arthur? | with Robert Treskillard
Fantastical Truth, Jan 31, 2023

146. How Did Animators Adapt The Wingfeather Saga For Streaming TV? | with Keith Lango
Fantastical Truth, Jan 24, 2023

145. How Did Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ Shape Christian Fantasy? | with Rebecca K. Reynolds
Fantastical Truth, Jan 17, 2023

144. Which Top Six Fantasy Franchises Gave Fans Grief in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 10, 2023

143. Which Top Ten Lorehaven Stories Proved Most Popular in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 6, 2023

142. What Christmas Gift ‘Tools, Not Toys’ Helped You Grow As a Person?
Fantastical Truth, Dec 20, 2022

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A Crown of Chains
“A Crown of Chains creatively retells a biblical tale to explore themes of providence, racism, faith, and fidelity.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 27, 2023

Lander’s Legacy
“Lander’s Legacy stacks modern thrills and complex characters on a foundation of biblical what-ifs.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 20, 2023

Prince Caspian
“Pacing starts slow but creature lore grows in C. S. Lewis’s sequel, introducing practical tyrants and talking-beast politics into a Narnian resistance.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
“New and returning readers of all ages would do well to seek deeper magic within C. S. Lewis’s faithful classic.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 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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Join My Livestream This Thursday: Seven Ways to Find Truth in Fantastic Stories

You may have grown up hearing that certain fantastical tales are “bad” or “good.” Yet how does Scripture actually reveal that popular culture is a mess of all the above?
E. Stephen Burnett on Oct 6, 2020
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This week I’m hosting another livestream courtesy of Realm Makers: “Seven Ways to Find Truth in Fantastic Stories.”

You may have grown up hearing that certain fantastical tales are “bad” or “good.” Yet how does Scripture actually reveal that popular culture is a mess of all the above? Lorehaven’s E. Stephen Burnett, coauthor of the new nonfiction book The Pop Culture Parent, shares seven questions1 to help us discern, engage, and enjoy these stories.

For me, ’tis a favorite theme. We even have it on Lorehaven bookmarks, available at live events should-we-ever-have-those-again-etc.-etc.

Sign up here at Crowdcast. You may also see this mirrored on Facebook. But only Crowdcast has the direct chat and interactive capability.

Or you can get a look at my notes. These of course are based on our five questions from The Pop Culture Parent. To these I’ve added two of my own:

1. Explore the story itself.

  • Who does what, and why?
  • What happens in the plot?

2. Discover this story-world.

  • What place is this?
  • What styles and images do we find?

3. Find the common grace.

  • What is beautiful, good, and true?

4. Discern the idols.

  • What may the story exalt for “worship” apart from God?

5. Behold the gospel!

  • Idols always fail, so how does Jesus fulfill the story’s broken promises?

6. BONUS: How can this story help Jesus’s people glorify Him?

7. BONUS: How can this story help me better enjoy God forever?

Oh, and you can also get a replay of our last livestream: “How Can Fantastical Stories Boost Your Bible Reading?”

  1. Originally I posted these questions last spring, back when we had actual live events, etc., etc. ↩
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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  • Seven Ways to Find Truth in Fantastic StoriesSeven Ways to Find Truth in Fantastic Stories
  • The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for ChristA Wild Review of 'The Pop Culture Parent' Appears!
  • Let's Start a Club for Writers!Let's Start a Club for Writers!
  • The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for ChristGet a Free Chapter from My First Book, The Pop Culture Parent (Coming Fall 2020)
Lorehaven magazine, spring 2020

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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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