Faith Through Fiction: Analyzing Stories Through a Biblical Lens

Introduction

Stories are captivating and engaging for humans and have been so for the entirety of our existence. They provide connections to people, events, and emotions that can resonate within our own lives or help us empathize with other people going through difficult times. Stories allow us to live through the life of another person and see the world how they see it.

If you’re the type of person who loves to sit down with a book or watch a movie to be engrossed in a captivating story, the temptation can be to turn off our brains and just consume the content to be entertained. Sometimes this is perfectly fine when we need a bit of time to rest and relax and should be encouraged.

But as Christians, we are called to “put away childish things” and to be “transformed through the renewing of our minds”. We have a responsibility to be in the world but not of the world and part of this responsibility is engaging with popular culture and proclaiming the truth of the Gospel through it. To be counter-cultural while living in the culture instead of receding into our comfortable Christian communities where everyone agrees with us.

To accomplish this calling, we need a framework for stepping into the culture, consuming popular media, and using that media to spread truth. To help you remember the framework, use the acronym CARS which stands for Consume, Analyze, Reflect, Share. So, let’s jump in.

Phase 1: Consume the Content

Phase 1 begins with reading or watching the content but not just watching mindlessly to be entertained. This is not to say that you cannot receive enjoyment or entertainment as you consume but just that you aren’t turning off your brain completely.

The goal is to engage with the content using a critical eye, looking for elements in the story that either the characters or the creators reveal as something related to a worldview. We are looking for things such as themes, morality, character decisions, beliefs, references to religion, motivations, or other things that reveal substantive elements about how the characters think and view the world.

Remember that we are just consuming in this phase so now you are simply going to document each of these instances that jump out at you. If you are watching a movie or TV show, have a notebook open to jot down the timestamp and a few words so that you can go back later to dig in deeper. If you are reading a book, you can also have a notebook open if you don’t like to write in your books or you can make notes in the books themselves using sticky flags to mark spots or passages that you want to go back and look at. If you don’t mind writing in your books, something else you can do is mark passages with a simple line down the margin with a short comment about it to help you remember why it was important.

When reading, the best way is to use a combination of these things which could look like marking spots in the book as you read and then recording of a log in a notebook at the end of a chapter with everything you marked. This will make it easier to review your notes and find those spots in the book.

Phase 2: Analyze the Content

Now that we have consumed the content and marked spots that were impactful or revealed something about a character’s worldview, we can go back through those notes and start to analyze them on a deeper level. In this phase, the goal is to compare what our piece of content says about the world to what the Bible says about the world.

The way we analyze can vary depending on what the content is and if we are looking at an entire work or just a small passage or scene. Starting with the important passages and scenes is a great way to begin and as you start to go through the smaller items, patterns will begin to emerge revealing what the whole work wants the consumer to walk away with.

When looking at scenes here are a few things to think about and questions you can ask to start thinking analytically. This, of course, is not an exhaustive list but something to get started with.

What the Text Says

• What is the character’s worldview and belief system?

• Why does the character believe what they believe?

• What was the motivation behind a character’s decision?

• What is the character’s goal in this scene?

• How does the character achieve this goal?

What the Bible Says

• Does the Bible agree with the character’s worldview?

• What passages of scripture speak to the themes in this scene?

• Are there people in scripture who went through a similar situation?

• How does this scene depict human brokenness and sin?

Phase 3: Reflect on the Content

Now that we have analyzed the content and compared it to the truth of scripture, we can start to reflect on our findings and apply them to our own lives. We compile all the things we analyzed and distill them down into how it changes your daily life.

Many times, you will find that there are both truths and lies in a scene. A character will have the right motivation or goal, but their actions do not align with Biblical principles. This is part of reflecting. Finding disconnects between the characters, scripture, and what your own beliefs are.

Here are some questions to ask as you reflect.

• How would I react if in the same situation as the character? How would Jesus react?

• Does my worldview more closely reflect the character or the Bible?

• Does this scene affirm your faith or challenge it? Why?

• How can I grow from thinking about this situation?

• Do I need to change something in my life to be more like Christ?

After you have reflected and thought about some of these questions you should have a few takeaways for a new way of thinking, a revelation about scripture, or a change in how you want to live.

Phase 4: Share Your Conclusions

Finally, we have come to the end. We consumed a piece of content with a keen eye, analyzed those things that stood out to us by comparing it with scripture, and reflected on the analysis by thinking of practical ways that we can be more faithful Christians as a result of consuming this content.

The last step is to not keep these findings and applications to yourself! How can the body of Christ, whatever Christian community you are a member of, benefit and grow if you are not sharing the ways that you are growing and learning to be more like Christ?

Paul reminds us in Ephesians that as the body of Christ becomes mature, we will no longer be swayed by the waves of culture but strive to attain “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. – Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV)

And in the same way, how can people who don’t know the truth of the gospel hear it if you are not willing to go to the places they are to share it with them as Paul states in Romans? Reclaim the things that our culture is fawning over and inject the thing they are really searching for and need which is a relationship with their creator.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” – Romans 10:14-15 (NIV)

Here are a few ways that you share your discoveries as you read and watch content.

• Share in everyday conversations. People commonly ask about any interesting content you’ve seen or read which is a perfect place to chat about things superficially and then go deeper as the conversation continues.

• Use social media to share. This could be in a review on Goodreads, Letterboxd, or IMDb or just on general ones like Facebook and Instagram. Share one takeaway from the last movie you watched or book you read and ask your friends or followers their thoughts.

• Create a piece of content. This is a bit more investment but if you are passionate about a piece of content or type of content, a great way to consistently share your faith is to create content around it. Make a video on YouTube, record a podcast, or write a blog post on what you have learned and how filtering that content through Biblical truth changes how you live.

Conclusion

There you have it! A complete framework for analyzing media from a Biblical worldview. I pray that you can use this as you consume content to become more like Christ yourself, share your findings with the body of Christ, and proclaim the truth of Christ to those who haven’t heard.

Stories are powerful and they are all around us. Use them as a means of fulfilling the great commission to help people find and follow Jesus Christ.

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)

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Appendix: Putting the Framework into Practice

Now that we have our framework, let’s see it in action! This is a small passage from The Shadow Rising, Book 4 of The Wheel of Time that we will consume, analyze, reflect on, and share our findings.

Phase 1: Consume

She examined the book. The Way of the Light, by Lothair Mantelar. Opening it, she read at random. “Therefore abjure all pleasure, for goodness is a pure abstract, a perfect crystalline ideal which is obscured by base emotion. Pamper not the flesh. Flesh is weak but spirit is strong; flesh is useless where spirit is strong. Right thought is drowned in sensation, and right action hindered by passions. Take all joy from rightness, and rightness only.” It seemed to be dry nonsense. […]

“Lothair Mantelar,” Gawyn said in a tight voice, “founded the Whitecloaks. The Whitecloaks!”

“He was a great man,” Galad said firmly. “A philosopher of noble ideals. If the Children of the Light have sometimes been . . . excessive . . . since his day, it does not change that.”

Phase 2: Analyze

Definition of Abjure – To renounce upon oath; to abandon

Part of this character’s philosophy is based on abandoning all forms of pleasure so that they reject all parts of their flesh which are weak and rely only on the spirit which is strong. Their fear is that, should they allow their flesh a foothold, they will not be able to have the right thoughts or make the right decisions. Their joy should be found in being right and making the right decisions.

What does scripture say?

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. – Ephesians 5:16-18 (NIV)

What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” – Romans 3:9-12 (NIV)

Phase 3: Reflect

While much of the sentiment in this character’s philosophy is rooted in truth, it goes too far and expects perfection from those who follow it like a works-based gospel. The truth that he speaks is that the flesh is weak, and the spirit is strong. Doing the right thing will be hindered by our flesh and passion.

But the solution is not to just try harder to find joy in doing the right thing. Our sinful nature prevents us from acting that out perfectly and consistently throughout our whole life. Instead, the solution is resting in Christ’s work on the cross. We need more of Jesus in us, not more willpower.

Additionally abandoning all forms of pleasure is not the way God intended things to be. He created the world and everything in it for us to steward and enjoy. We should seek to experience those things that God created for good. The issue is when you desire pleasure for your own personal gratification to satisfy your flesh instead of praising the Lord for this good thing he has given you.

Phase 4: Share

In this case, I recorded a podcast with my friend about the book in which we discussed this scene and our takeaways from it. You can check out the clip below taken from the full podcast.