Some of the most famous writers that have ever been read happen to be Christian authors who have subtly (or not so subtly) injected their faith into their stories. That includes authors like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, along with modern-day writers like Frank Peretti, and they've helped contribute to the list below of the most popular works of Christian fiction.
Here are 10 examples of the most famous works of Christian fiction:
1. "A Wrinkle in Time"
Although author Madeleine L'Engle was raised as a Christian, she questioned her faith as she grew older before ultimately reestablishing it.
As Brian Lavin of Brown University writes, "Throughout the novel, L'Engle portrays many characters as messengers of God, and ultimately she concludes that anyone who has faith can serve God."
2. "Christy"
This 1967 novel by Catherine Marshall made such an impact that the awards for the best evangelical fiction books were named
the Christy Awards when they were created in 1999.
There are estimated more the 10 million copies of "Christy" in print.
3. "The End of the Affair"
Written in 1951 by Graham Greene, this book,
according to the Christendom Review, "is not merely a story of human love, well though Greene understands human love, painfully, accurately, and unblinkingly though he treats of it. Ultimately, the most important story here, as anywhere, is God's love for man."
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4. "Gilead"
About Marilynne Robinson's 2004 novel,
New York magazine wrote, "You can appreciate and admire Marilynne Robinson's beautifully evoked novel if you don't share her religious values: You can even be moved by it. But unless you are a believing Christian with strong fundamentalist leanings, you cannot truly understand 'Gilead.'"
5. "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe"
The first book in C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia," features Aslan the lion, who is widely interpreted as a Jesus Christ-like figure to the children who find themselves mysteriously transported to the fantasy world of Narnia that Aslan rules.
6. "The Lord of the Rings"
A reader might not think of Christianity when taking in this masterful series of fantasy books,
but J.R.R. Tolkien himself described these works as "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision."
7. "Love Comes Softly"
Janette Oke's 1979 novel inspired a series of sequels, and according to "
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Fiction" author Nancy Tischler, readers could follow "this family of Christian pilgrims from novel to novel … [Okes'] constant refrain throughout the series is God's abiding love."
8. "The Man Who Was Thursday"
Martin Gardner of Books & Culture: A Christian Review called "The Man Who Was Thursday," "a masterpiece by G. K. Chesterton, [that] revolves around two of the deepest of all theological mysteries: the freedom of the will and the existence of massive, irrational evil."
9. "Wise Blood"
Flannery O' Connor's grotesque — in the literary sense — novel is a story simply of "sin and redemption,"
according to The Guardian. However, it is one of the greatest novels to invoke the name of Christ, but it is more likely to be found in the library of a college than a church collection.
10. "This Present Darkness"
Frank Peretti's supernatural novel in 1986, "This Present Darkness,"
according to World magazine, astonishingly took the Christian publishing world by storm, ushering in the modern age of Christian fiction.
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