In his aptly titled book How to Read a Book, Mortimer J. Adler makes the observation that, while the best-selling books in America are typically non-fiction, most of us learn to read based on fiction. Therefore, there is a disconnect between the way most of us are taught to read and actually read. The issue of reading becomes even cloudier for many Christians, who, for whatever reason, refuse to read most fiction.

While there has always been the “Christian Fiction” subgenre, for the most part, many of these books suffer from the same philosophical and artistic defects that much “Christian” music does. The method seems to be to simply take the storylines and ideas of the “secular” culture, sanitize the content and republish it as a “safe” alternative to what’s “out there” in the rest of the world.

While there have been exceptions (J.R.R Tolkein, C.S. Lewis and Flannery O’Connor as possibly the most notable), Christians rarely get involved in the pursuit (either writing or reading) artistically challenging fiction. The plight of Christians in literature is quite similar to those in music. In music, specific (explicitly “Christian”) content has been made the sole determining factor. Therefore, with content (a specific message which much be communicated) driving everything, far too often, actual creativity is sacrificed. Much the same may be said for the way many Christians view reading; we’ve come to expect our art with a bit of propaganda. If it’s not didactic or polemical, many Christians feel it’s simply not worth their time.

Yet, we listen to music because, at some level, we find a connection there. It speaks about our circumstances (love or breakup), it helps us channel powerful thoughts and emotions (protest music) and yet it challenges us creatively. Fiction can play the same role. In fiction, we are often presented with scenarios that simply do not fit in non-fiction writing and yet fit with life as we actually know it. We are drawn into worlds and characters that may resemble our own situation, or may captivate us because they are so far removed from our own circumstances. There is a sense in which we are able to connect with a work of fiction that is not present in non-fiction. While we may feel quite passionately about the topic of a non-fiction book, this is rarely the same kind of almost unexplainable connection we can feel with fiction.

And yet fiction can be just as, if not more powerful at teaching and making points than it’s “true,” non-fiction counterpart. By placing concepts in real-life scenarios, it is actually possible to make a point more forcefully than merely arguing logical nuances. Fiction helps us to remember that many of the points that we so often debate involve real people with real problems (while, hopefully, employing vivid language!) and require real solutions.

For example, I’ve been reading Squat by Taylor Field. Squats are abandoned buildings taken over by otherwise homeless people. Since these people are living illegally, they live in a world where calling the police for help is often out of the question. The streets develop their own laws. Field’s work tells the story of a squatter named Squid and a predicament he finds himself in. Field develops his characters well, allowing just enough “real-life” detail while not over-painting. For example, the way Squid bites his thumbs and wrings his shirt when he is nervous. These details are not overdone and immediately draw the reader in to Squid’s life. By making his points in a fictional setting, Field is able to engage the reader at a level many non-fiction works simply never do.

Field has been a minister in inner city New York since 1986. As such, I’m sure that Field has many passionate opinions about the way the church cares, or fails to care for the poor in our country. Yet rather than write a logical argument about the issues at hand, Field has done something more powerful, he has told us a story. In doing so, Field is not only able to engage our minds but our hearts.

For example, one of the most powerful lines in the story has also become its tagline: “We live in a squat. We don’t know squat. We don’t have squat. We don’t do squat. We don’t give a squat. People say we’re not worth squat.” In a few powerful lines, Field has captured the sentiments of many who cling to these exact feelings. Rather than engage in removed dialogues about the self-perception of the poor and its relationship to their status, Field powerfully confronts us with the fact that real people live behind our abstract discussions and one of the things we are called to do as Christians is care for the poor (Leviticus 25, Deuteronomy 15, Psalm 12:5, Proverbs 14:21, Matthew 19:21, etc.).

Yet Field is quick to remind us that these issues are much more complicated than we would like to believe. One of the characters, known simply as “Unc” becomes the mouthpiece of much of the confusion surrounding the church’s position regarding the poor. In one conversation with a volunteer working in the neighborhood, Unc asks a series of probing questions:

“Do you think that other hardworking people should start work at six in the morning so that we can have that chance to sleep through the morning? Do you think it is good that kindhearted churches like this one give food to people like me so that I can read all day and have money for drinks? Did you know that because there are several mission-type churches here in this neighborhood, people come from all over because they can stay in an abandoned building for free, get free meals with people like you serving them, then spend taxpayers money for crank?”

These words, coming from a man biting the very hand feeding him are more powerful and thought-provoking than most non-fiction accounts could ever be. By placing them into a fictional, well-developed context, Field gives a brief insight into the many hours of real-life wrestling behind them. Knowing the context in which he ministers, Field has made a point without having to explain his point. Field has succeeded in reminding why, in the right hands, fiction can be so powerful.

• Read How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler
• Read Squat by Taylor Field
• Read Flannery O’Connor
• Read J.R.R. Tolkein
• Read C.S. Lewis
• Visit the Squat book blog