The time has come to explore the wild lands. From legalism to worse attacks on God’s image in us, many Christian fantastical fiction fans have suffered what can only be described as spiritual abuse. How can we show Christ’s love to these enemies while more importantly healing from these attacks that may come from relatives, the church back home, or other bullies who might slander us because of our faith or even because of the fantastical stories we enjoy? Today we begin our new four-part series: Fantastical Foes.

articles • news • library • reviews • podcast • gifts • guild

1. Enclave Publishing: Enhanced by Candace Kade
   
2. Once Upon a Ren Faire by A. C. Castillo
   
3. Realm Makers 2023 conference
   

Marian Jacobs writes about Jesus, monsters, and spaceships. Her work has featured at Desiring God as well as Stage and Story, and she has written many articles for Lorehaven.

• MAJacobs.com
  
• follow @MAJacobsWrites on Instagram
  
• recent article: Christian Critics of ‘Purity Culture’ Are Still Influenced By Its Fantasies
  

L. G. McCary, author of That Pale Host, writes supernatural and dark science fiction on many diverse topics. She has written articles and coordinates social media for Lorehaven.

• LGMcCary.com
  
• Lorehaven’s review of That Pale Host
  
• follow @LorehavenMag on Instagram
  

• This topic may seem really general, but applies to Christian fantasy fans.
  
• Many fantasy fans have unique tastes or see the world in unique ways.
  
• Fantastical stories can also provide a sense of escape from real pain.
  
• We want to share empathy, but also warn against some real hazards.
  
• Episode 112 explores fiction examples about loving/fighting enemies.
  
• Episode 120 explore how Christians enjoy biblical freedom in fiction.
  
• This whole episode is like a concession stand before more of this series.
  
• In our Fantastical Foes series, we explore top threats to Christian fantasy:
  

1. Deconstructionism
   
2. Sentimentalism
   
3. Sexualityism
   

• Subscribe free to Lorehaven for all updates
  
• Soon we’ll announce more about spring events
  
• Read our new review of Charles’s Williams’s classic War in Heaven
  
• Join our Book Quest, starting this week, only in the Lorehaven Guild
  
• Stephen has restarted his personal site under the Lorehaven Authorship
  
• Follow Lorehaven.com for more updates about that upcoming project
  

Along with “There once was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it,” (Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C. S. Lewis) and “The building was on fire, but it wasn’t my fault,” (Summer Knight, I think, by Jim Butcher), Charles Williams’ opening line in War in Heaven is among literature’s best.

“The telephone was ringing frantically, but nobody was there to answer it but the corpse.” Or something like that. Sure beats “It is a truth universally acknowledged, …” by Jane Austin (P&P) or Lewis’ own “Marriage was ordained, thirdly, …” in [That Hideous Strength].

If a church or group of Christians hurt you, that is part of your origin story. True heroes, on their journey to victory, often face many temptations to the dark side. One of those temptations is to a fantastical foe we’re calling deconstructionism. Everyone needs to test your faith. And if the church back home had rotten construction, you may need some remodeling. How can we do this, showing sympathy to ourselves and other victims who need to tear out bad structures, while refusing to let professional demolition crews destroy the gospel? Let’s explore a first Fantastical Foe: deconstructionism.