John Gardner and the morality of choice

Abstract

Although interest in literary theory has prompted much discussion concerning the relationship between literature and religious worldview, that discussion has taken place primarily among theorists and not practitioners. Christian writers have few contemporary models by which to note integration of what one confesses and what one creates. John Gardner, whose On moral fiction created a firestorm a decade ago in North America, offers a view of fiction which places significant emphasis on a fundamental assertion about the nature of humanity, specifically that men and women are choicemakers. The framework for this view of the human condition and his view of the role of story in our lives, as well as the life of the writer, is of substantial help in visualizing what we are about as Christian fiction writers.