Reviewing Real-Life Make-Believe

biopage_randy_grandsonsPhoto credit: Eternal Perspectives Ministries (www.epm.org).

I was asked to review an article featured in the May-June issue of Bible Study Magazine about Randy Alcorn’s writing and Bible study. The title is Real-life Make-Believe by Christy Tennant.

Alcorn is known for being both a non-fiction and fiction writer–which is impressive.  Not all writers can also create imaginary worlds. He is a best-selling author of over 30 fiction and non-fiction books, including Heaven, The Treasure Principle, The Ishbane Conspiracy and more.

As a fiction writer he claims that when he writes about God in a story, he is extra careful to make sure that the perception he gives of God is biblically based. Many a fiction writer who includes God as a character in his or her book, fails to portray God as He is in the Bible. Alcorn says, “If you’re going to put words in God’s mouth, they better be true to Scripture.” If I were to pick up a fiction book that had God as the character, I would want to know that what I was reading was an accurate depiction of His nature, character, attributes and more. And there is no better place (or I might say no other place) to find this than in God’s word.

I really appreciate how Alcorn is keeping in mind the non-believer when he writes. His hope is that if a person has never read the Bible or may not agree with the truths in the Bible, that he or she will still find biblical truth on the pages.  A story is what often opens the reader’s eye to truths he would have otherwise never seen. But the opposite is true also. If a writer conveys a non-biblical, anti-Christian worldview, than the reader’s perception of God could be jacked up and jaded forever– a mere tragedy altogether.

Personally, Alcorn relies on his wife Nanci to help him in the creative process of his writing, but also in his spiritual relationship. While they both have independant quiet times, they also come together and share truths they’re learning in Scripture. It’s like a double dose of sugar. It’s no wonder again, that his writing is biblically based because it stems from his own personal time with Christ and time studying with his wife.  

In the last sentences of  this article, Alcorn says how the study of God’s word  has shaped his writing. Christy concludes in saying, “The effects of Alcorn’s bible study are evident throughout his writing. When God’s word is at the center, so is His story.” Alcorn’s intense study of the word has been the launching pad for his writing. This can challenge all of us as Christian writers to know where we must begin in the often intimidating process of writing.

Because Alcorn has put first things first, it cannot shock us that Alcorn has become one of the greatest writers of our day.

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