Christian Horror: On the Compatibility of a Biblical Worldview and the Horror Genre by Mike Duran

Author:Mike Duran [Duran, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Blue Crescent Press
Published: 2015-05-06T04:00:00+00:00

IV. “Christian Horror” —

Toward an Apologetic

THE THESIS I HAVE FOLLOWED throughout this work is that horror is an eminently biblical genre and that Christian artists should be at the forefront of reclaiming it. Thus far, I have sought to show that many horror tropes are indeed compatible with a biblical worldview. Employing the grotesque and horrific in our stories can be a powerful tool in expressing the true nature of reality and the afterlife, and awakening spiritual and moral sensibilities to the world around and beyond us.

But what might such stories and art look like? What would be some of the defining traits of biblical horror? What, if anything, makes it different from any other expressions of the macabre or terrifying? And how does a Christian artist approach such a genre without succumbing to excessive darkness, morbidity, or simply employing gratuitous gore for the sake of entertainment or unhealthy fascination?

In using the phrase “Christian horror” — by which I mean horror tales and art created by Christians that aligns with a biblical worldview — my assumption is that embracing such a worldview will often distinguish such works from others (as opposed to, say, stories from a relativistic, materialist, purely erotic, or secular worldview). Of course, unless a storyteller is using her art as blatant propaganda, we must allow room for subtleties and nuances. “Christian” stories, like the people who write them, should not be primarily recognized by their self-ascribed labels, but by deeper, more substantial content. Calling someone or something “Christian” does not make it so. God’s love, truth, and redemptive realities can exist in many things not advertised as “sacred.” If “the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed” (Matt. 13:31), as Christ taught, could it not be “like” lots of other things we commonly overlook? Perhaps even things we condemn? In general, when approaching art, casting a wider net, having “eyes to see and ears to hear,” discerning biblical truth in places not exclusively deemed “Christian,” is wise.

Film critic Jeffrey Overstreet put it this way in his book Through a Screen Darkly:

God’s truth is not available solely in Scripture or in the mouths of preachers — it can also be discerned in the way a tree grows or the way a sugar cube absorbs coffee. God may be revealing Himself not just through the charity of a compassionate saint (Dead Man Walking) but also through the shocking evil of a desperate preacher (The Apostle)...

…Christ’s incarnation teaches us that spiritual things and fleshly things are not separate. The sacred is waiting to be recognized in secular things. Even those artists who don’t believe in God might accidentally reflect back to us realities in which we can see God working. [67]

Such an approach is good to take when discussing the parameters of horror from a Christian worldview. If we simply limit our scope of what’s “Christian” to art that satisfies the evangelical censors or makes positive references to God or the Gospel, we may miss many, many glimpses of the sacred all around us.

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