Fantastical Truth

You’ve likely met some Christians who emphasize safety for children rather than preparing them for spiritual conflict. That’s why some more genteel-churchy responses to pop culture have said “it’s useless” or else “stay away” from stories like Harry Potter, Doom , or Dungeons and Dragons . So is it any wonder that a top-selling subgenre among young male readers is LitRPG, often with totally epic a...

“We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. “‘In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth. And the Earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, “Let there be light.” And there was lig...

In spring 2026, social media platform X field-tested a new feature. Thanks to AI advances, with little fanfare, we now have universal translators. And suddenly the “curse of Babel” was temporarily lifted. Americans, Japanese, and Koreans began sharing their love of foods, patriotism, and fantastical stories. But for decades already, people around the world have found the wonder of creativity from...

Doctor Who is dead and not regenerating any time soon.[1. Photo by Krists Luhaers on Unsplash .] Star Wars is suspended in the bacta tank. Star Trek is redirecting all power to life support. Meanwhile, Netflix struggles to sing life into Narnia, bad philosophers stone Harry Potter , and goblins threaten to overrun all that was good in Middle-earth. But there were some who resisted. When studios ke...

This month’s Project Hail Mary film is being praised as a fresh, thrilling sci-fi take that is wholesome and sincere. As expected, we’re seeing more fantastical fans cry out for stories that celebrate the human spirit. Why do we love these stories? And how do different fan trends, even across whole generations, keep swerving between positive portrayals and other stories that may be called “cynical...

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” That’s what the Lord Jesus promised His disciples. How does His word, with support from fanta...

Adaptations. Sometimes we act like we don’t like them. But sometimes we do. And sometimes each new version of a story—book to film or TV show—changes the original but adds something new and amazing. Today we explore the pros and cons of adaptations. Episode sponsors Firebreak by Kathy Tyers Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo The Hole-Man by Dan Daetz The Lorehaven Authorship Mission update Ne...

Kaizoku ou ni ore wa naru! Today around the world, millions of fans who love Japan’s hit manga/anime series, One Piece , are rejoicing for many reasons, including today’s release of the live-action series season 2 on Netflix. Why do so many fans love these comical, earnest adventures of Captain Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates? Episode sponsors Firebreak by Kathy Tyers Realm Makers 2026 C...

Space is a dangerous place. Even recently we learned that the entire Artemis program has been rebooted, adding more rockets and risks! In other worlds and other galaxies, “space” is full of human life, music, adventure, romance, and fantastical new worlds. Just in time for Firebreak , book 1 of the Firebird Interlude Trilogy, we’re joined by longtime science fiction novelist Kathy Tyers to explore...

People want transparency! Or do we? If nothing else, public calls for revealing government secrets raise a lot of ruckus, especially when the secrets in question seem to be covering up aliens. Zack is our UAP/UFO expert. Stephen is intrigued yet skeptical. We’re both all over last week’s headlines. One former president claimed he knows aliens are real. Then the current U.S. president said he would...

For most of their lives, Stephen and Zack have kept their eyes to the stars and wondering if NASA or anybody else will ever again get serious about launching ships up there.[1. Image credit: SpaceX on X.com .] Now it seems that moment is upon us. Lord willing, next month’s launch of Artemis II will drive new great leaps back to the Moon, not only to orbit or put down boots, but to put down roots....

Last week your solo host, Stephen, shared a hot take: that some authors’ sudden hot takes on political topics add more heat than light. These cringe political posts distract from the author’s job and confuse fans, and some go further into sinful slanders. Now that Zack is back, let’s re-engage this topic as fans and explore hope for biblical unity. Without telling anyone to “stop with politi...

Happy Groundhog Day.[1. Photo by Marino Linic on Unsplash .] Maybe in these last weeks you’ve seen this same story repeat: Your favorite Christian author usually posts about whimsical life updates, pet photos, or upcoming release dates. But now she or he is suddenly and very fervently posting about politics. Words get heated. Light dims. And unwise statements share disastrous brushfires instead of...

Allegories. Christians love allegories! That’s a story element of having a person, place, or thing meant a a direct picture of something else, like Jesus or moral virtues. Some people think Jesus did this in parables, or C.S. Lewis did this with Narnia. Others point to Pilgrim’s Progress as a prime example. Even if they’re right about that, might some readers and authors focus so much on pos...

This podcast and other resources from Lorehaven focus on readers. That’s why, when aspiring writers post questions like, Where can I find an agent? or Will you look at my unpublished manuscript? , we don’t have much to share in that department. Until now. We’re journeying into new lands. This month we’re launching the Lorehaven Authorship within the Lorehaven Guild on Discord. Let’s explore how th...

“In one cataclysmic moment, millions around the globe disappear.” Jesus returned thirty years ago. Or rather, He sort of pre-returned, the warm-up act, if you will. Many faithful Christians believe in this kind of “rapture.” And in December 1995, two authors teamed up and used this idea to create the most successful biblical end-times thriller we’ve yet seen. In summer 2024 we overviewed the serie...

Last year brought many challenges for Christian fantasy fans. From flops at the theaters now threatened by streaming slop, to creators making more events for Christian storytelling, to the continued growth of biblical fiction as the top genre of Christian-made entertainment—let’s survey the top ten fantasy-related headlines from last year. Episode sponsors Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen The Cas...

Earlier this month, and just in time for Christmas, Focus on the Family made a fun announcement: an upcoming theatrical adaptation of Adventures in Odyssey. Dubbed Journey Into The Impossible , this 3D animated film will explore the town of Odyssey before the establishment of Whit’s End. What kinds of adventures will a young John Avery Whittaker enjoy? (This special episode was recorded live.) Epi...

“We do not celebrate Christmas that way.” “We do not read those kinds of books.” “We ‘do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.’” We know our world is full of rebellion against God’s law. But many people overreact to moral license with a strict imposing of out-of-context or made-up laws. Faithful saints call this legalism , and Christian fantasy fans know plenty about this. When that influencer o...

Well, we recently talked about the first Chronicle of Narnia … the book ! Yet many fans found or rediscovered this series thanks to the Disney-distributed, Walden Media–made film from director Andrew Adamson. Want to feel old? That was two decades ago! So now we shall look back at Narnia’s journey to the box office with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , which released twenty years ago on Dec....

Long ago, before the great lion Aslan bounded onto bookshelves , C. S. Lewis wrote a science fiction novel set on mythological Mars. From there, the sequel carried Dr. Elwin Ransom by angels to the sister planet Venus. And from there … the Ransom/Cosmic/Space Trilogy descended to the dull world of corrupt college boards, inner-ring politics, and a secret technocracy bent on world domination with t...

“Suddenly Aslan came bounding into it.” That is how C. S. Lewis described the plot twist in his creative process for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe . “I don’t know where the Lion came from or why He came. But once He was there, He pulled the whole story together.” And in turn, this story has pulled together the imaginations of millions across the world. Now, 75 years after the first Chronicl...

We still believe in cultural engagement. That’s the Christian mission to share our faith in the real world, seeking to win souls to Jesus. These souls naturally seek biblical influences in stories, songs, and beyond. So why do some believers claim that they want “cultural engagement” but then, when angry or manipulative anti-Christian critics engage us right back, throw up their hands and call for...

To fight real monsters, we don’t need toxic empathy or the notion that exorcisms can resolve all demonic problems. Instead we start with the gospel of Jesus Christ that alone brings holiness. Yet how do we also train our imaginations with better stories to help us battle the beasts? Geoffrey Reiter returns to the studio to explore how great literature reflects God’s grace that helps us defeat the...

Demons do bad things in the Bible and in the modern world. But how does a fallen spirit get around its limitations as an immaterial being? Meanwhile, how do creators of movies about demons get around the obvious budget limitations and need for showing not telling? Answer in both cases: demons “possess” people. Even in sci-fi the bad “entities” do this. But is this really the best word to use for h...