At the beginning of 2021, my One Year Chronological Bible Reading Plan had me in the throes of Joseph’s story—after more than twenty years believing his son was dead, Jacob, the Hebrew patriarch, learned Joseph was actually alive. In his frail, old age, Jacob faced the startling proposition to leave Canaan, the land he’d known…
Stand and stare into the sky. Crane your neck back so far till the only thing within your gaze is crystal blue. Or maybe it’s crimson rouge, shot through with streaks of merigold, that fill your vision. Perhaps it’s the night itself opening like a chasm above, ready to engulf you and the earth in…
Close your eyes and imagine a long-running battle between a hero and a villain coming to an end. It doesn’t matter which hero or which villain; they’re all interchangeable here. It doesn’t matter how long the two have been pitted against each other — ten episodes, maybe twenty, maybe 110 minutes of a two-hour movie….
A version of this article was published in Speculative Faith on December 7, 2018, under the title, “Growing Diversity in Fantasy Genres Gives Us Hints of Eternity.”
By definition, science fiction and fantasy are unique among literary genres because of the presence of a wide range of diverse characters and people groups. Certainly, many are fictional (as far as we know)—Vulcans, Calormenes, sentient droids. Certainly, many portrayals, such as that of female characters and Native Americans, have been fetishized and over-troped. But, like much of the world, science fiction and fantasy are growing up, growing wiser, and embracing the stories of traditionally marginalized people groups. Some might say SFF is ahead of the curve.