I listened to an aspirant Christian author lamenting how boring the Bible was. I wondered if he was reading the same Bible as I, because I feel Christian writers have an enormous advantage over other writers. Perhaps it’s just me, but we have this wonderful, exciting book filled with characters and events that have not only changed lives but history as well. It makes Robert Jordan and Neil Gaiman look pretty ordinary. Just think about it:
A talking snake and donkey
Power rods
Super strength humans
Giants, angels, and demons
Monster fish
Prison escapes
Supernatural dreams
Palaces and shacks
Rags to riches
Epiphanies
Kings and slaves
Heroes and villains.
And it includes thousands of years of human history.
The variety is incredible. And through it all, there are ordinary people, just like us, winding their way through the labyrinth of faith and life. Who cannot be inspired by it all?
Many of our greatest books were inspired by the Bible. Here are just a few:
The Brothers Karamazov by Feodor Dostoyevsky
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S.Lewis
Absalom by William Faulkner
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. If these great authors could use the Bible as a source and inspiration, why not us?
For the non-fiction writer, we have verses of inspiration, chapters that teach, and words that warn and reprimand. Every aspect of life is covered from birth to death, love to marriage, leadership, business, spiritual and material guidance, family, and dealing with enemies. It covers a wide range of emotions from depression to wonderment. It is a glorious book that no writer can ignore.
For those who want to delve deeper, there’s theology, eschatology, Christology, missiology, and all the other subjects that will fulfill a scholar’s life.
But there is one requirement, one secret to success as a Christian writer. We can get the spelling and grammar right. The plot and layout might be brilliant, but they mean nothing if we get our biblical facts wrong. The most important thing to be successful as a Christian writer is to read your Bible. Read it over and over again. Each time, you will find new inspiration.