As a Christian, I believe there is truth. Not just my truth—especially in this age where everyone is seemingly operating by their own set of facts—but one truth. The Truth. Ultimately, that there is a God who created the world we currently all occupy. Everything in our lives stems from this truth of God’s character and nature. I believe we get a hint of this nature through God’s creation, God’s word, and the presence of miracles still happening today.
I know this could shock you, but not everyone believes this way.
I like to go to author talks. I may not necessarily read the author’s work, but I think there is value in listening to particularly successful authors’ presentations for many reasons. What do they talk about? How do they engage an audience? What have they learned about the writing craft? Three authors that I’ve heard speak live are Jodi Picoult, Lisa Scottoline, and Dan Brown. I heard Dan Brown’s talk in the last month.
The last author on that list, Dan Brown, pertains to this discussion so just hold his name in your mind.
I also went to a talk given by Douglas Axe shortly before Brown’s. Axe is first a scientist and secondly an author whose debut book, Undeniable, a nonfiction title that puts forth an argument (along with some very interesting scientific research) for intelligent design over evolution. You can find Douglas giving a talk on that here. I was more interested in hearing Douglas Axe talk about the subject matter and not necessarily his writing process.
However, this is not a discussion of evolution versus intelligent design, but of writing and writing truth.
Douglas Axe’s talk was attended by approximately one-hundred to one-hundred-and-fifty people. It was given at a local Christian university. He was enjoyable to listen to, but didn’t talk much about the writing craft. He spoke exclusively about how his research helps prove intelligent design.
Contrast that with Dan Brown’s talk, whose latest novel, Origins, has an evolutionary bend. In fact, the tagline of his talk was Can God Survive Science? It is fiction highlighting his recurring character, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon, made infinitely more famous by Tom Hank’s portrayal of this hero in three hit movies. Brown’s talk was attended by nine-hundred people and given at a local hotel with a large conference room.
What struck me most is that one side of the debate is clearly winning. The author of a fiction title espousing evolution was attended by six times as many people as the nonfiction title discussing intelligent design.
You might say, of course, he’s a bestselling author and who knows about this Douglas Axe guy anyway?
True. True.
Which is why all truth is God’s truth no matter who speaks it.
In Dan Brown’s talk, he discussed his perspective that scientists feel that man will eventually create artificial intelligence that will develop consciousness. And if that artificial intelligence has self awareness and is left alone by itself in a box without knowing its creator would it not ask the same questions we do about God?
Keep in mind, a good thirty minutes of his speech was spent talking about how the intelligent design discussion has pretty readily been disbanded by Darwin’s theory of evolution. That man creates gods to fulfill a knowledge gap and give explanation to things we don’t yet understand scientifically, and the reason we still hold on to a god is that we haven’t ultimately answered the question of the beginning of our species and why humans have consciousness. His view is that once science answers these questions—God will ultimately die.
I was struck most acutely by his statement on artificial intelligence in italics above because if it would take man to create an artificial intelligence that would eventually have self awareness why is it such a stretch to think God did the same thing in us? Which is why I say Dan Brown may not be as far from realizing the ultimate truth of God as creator.
Ultimately, what I think the contrast of these two talks showed me was that fiction is a powerful way to spread a message and that even someone who stated in his talk when posed the question “Who is God for you?” responded by saying, “God is the love between people.” can spread ultimate truth even if he doesn’t personally believe it.
God is truth and ultimately owns all truth. Right?
Lastly, what I found most interesting was the cover of both of their books shown in the photo. Interesting right? That two authors on opposite sides of an issue could have book covers that so resemble one another.
Tell me what you think Seekerville. Can God’s truth be spoken by unbelievers? Is fiction valuable in spreading a message? If it is, what are some of the best ways for Christian authors to get the truth out in a novel without feeling like they’re Bible thumping? Give an example of a novel that has done this well in your mind.
Jordyn has brought an amazing prize package with her to celebrate the release of Taken Hostage from Love Inspired Suspense. Leave a comment for your opporunity to win! Thank you, Jordyn. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.
A DEADLY RANSOM
When neurosurgeon Regan Lockhart’s daughter is kidnapped, the abductors want to make a deal for the little girl’s life. If she wishes to ever see her child again, Regan must hand over the virus she uses in a radical cancer treatment. But bounty hunter Colby Waterson can’t let her trade the cure, which is his sister’s last hope. He’s already lost a wife and baby, and he won’t lose anyone else. But when a mistake leads both him and Regan into the hands of the bad guys, the kidnappers up their demands. Now Regan must create a biological weapon or her daughter dies. For Colby, no case has ever been this personal. He’ll need every skill he’s got, because only he can save both his sister and the woman he’s growing to care for.
Jordyn Redwood is a pediatric ER nurse by day, suspense novelist by night. She hosts Redwood’s Medical Edge, a blog devoted to helping authors write medically accurate fiction. Her first two medical thrillers, Proof and Poison, garnered starred reviews from Library Journal. Proof was shortlisted for the 2012 ForeWord Review’s BOTY Award, 2013 INSPY Award and the 2013 Carol Award. Poison shortlisted for the 2014 INSPY Award and the 2014 Selah Award. In addition to her novels, she blogs regularly at Redwood’s Medical Edge and the WordServe Water Cooler. You can connect with Jordyn via her website at www.jordynredwood.com.
