I had never heard the name “Christian Wiman” until three of my classes this semester assigned me to go to a recent lecture at Wheaton College entitled “The Art of Faith, the Faith of Art.” I was told he was one of the foremost Christian poets of our modern time and that the event would be worthwhile for any aspiring writer. A writer, philosopher, and theologian, Christian Wiman connected these subjects throughout his lecture.
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The Value of Fiction
The value placed on fiction, and in particular fantasy, can vary in different circles within society: oftentimes Christians–particularly in an academic setting–can see fiction as inconsequential and even, at its worst, escapist. There is sometimes a desire to place fiction and fantasy in a category of frivolousness when it is not being read for class, only to be indulged in when one has the time and needs a break from the heavier, more “important” reading. As college students, we can become so besieged by the constant challenge to perform well, to write the phenomenal paper, to craft the perfect argument, that we forget that we can in fact read and write for our own enjoyment. As I have read through Alan Jacob’s book Reading for Pleasure in an Age of Distraction, I have come to believe that we can read and write for the enjoyment of it, especially when it comes to fiction, and it is intrinsically good for us to do so.