J. B. Phillips on God in Fiction #2

In his 1966 book, Your God is Too Small, the Oxford educated clergyman and translator J. B. Phillips wrote, “There are three main ways fiction can mislead us, and in consequence profoundly affect the idea we unconsciously hold of God and His operation in human life.”

He goes on to list 1) the tacit ignoring of God and all “religious” issues, 2) the willful misrepresentation of religion, and 3) the manipulation of providence. I am taking a post to comment on each of these, as we readily see them in modern fiction.

Fiction misleads us with…”the willful misrepresentation of religion.”

In the television series Everybody Loves Raymond, Amy’s parents are presented as religiously devout. Hank and Pat McDougal, portrayed by Fred Willard and Georgia Engel, are written as aloof, odd, and out of touch. When their foibles and failures are discovered, everyone is aghast—as if their religiosity should have set them apart from humanity.

We could forgive the writers of a sitcom, as they are ever on the search for a joke, but must faith be the source? As with any group of people in our culture, herein lies a valid claim of misrepresentation.

While, for the most part, modern fiction ignores God, when a devout character surfaces they are usually written as a member of the clergy or a foil for ridicule. There seems to be a chemical reaction that occurs in the prose—introduce faith to a character’s design and they become unable to present any other facet of themselves.

Another misrepresentation is a hyper-focus on the struggle and search for faith. The coming to faith, while sometimes a story in itself, isn’t where the more interesting conflict lies. A person of faith seeking to remain faithful in their culture is a dynamic mine for story and ripe with opportunities for conflict.

So once again, we writers need to ensure we’re not perpetuating an inaccurate view of religion. And being aware of this potential bias is the first step.