Do you have a favorite fictional Christian conversion story—a story arc from a novel or movie that really captured the experience of coming to Christ?
I ask because I’m curious, but also because, judging by popular Christian fiction and film, “realistic” conversion stories must be extremely difficult to write. I’m sure that, like me, many of you have read or watched well-intentioned Christian stories that featured unrealistic, overly abrupt, and often cheesy conversions. You know—the character is plodding along through the story quite normally, when suddenly within the span of 500 words he has been hit by the Four Spiritual Laws and given his life over to God, and we move right back to the main storyline.
Not every conversion scene is that hokey (and hey, I’m not knocking sudden conversion experiences—it happened to the Apostle Paul!), but it seems strangely difficult for Christian writers, who after all have firsthand experience with religious conversion, to write conversion stories that feel authentic. This critique of a Left Behind conversion scene [caution: language] could apply to any number of Christian novels I’ve read:
[protagonist Rayford Steele’s conversion] reads less like the testimony of someone falling in love than it does like the testimonial of someone who is very pleased with his new insurance policy.
Like many conversion scenes, this one is intrusively intimate, making the reader feel like a voyeur. It affords little respect for the idea that something transcendent might be occurring, and it offers no meaningful context suggesting that what we are peeking at through the blinds is ultimately an act of love. What keeps it from being purely a piece of spiritual porno is the authors’ earnest hope that this scene should also serve as a kind of instruction manual.
Left Behind is a few years old, but for a more recent example, here’s an excerpt from a review of the new faith-friendly film The Last Sin Eater:
...what’s really unconvincing about the picture is its portrayal of the process of conversion. I leave it to others more theologically adept to discuss the doctrinal issues involved. What’s dramatically disastrous is the ease with which character after character—Cadi, Fagin, Miz Elsa, and slews of others (apart from Brogan, of course)—immediately react positively to the mere mention of Jesus’ name. That’s not just implausible; it makes the whole message the picture’s trying to convey simple-minded.
With all this in mind, I’d love to hear your thoughts about the following two questions:
- Why is it so hard to write a convincing conversion story? Are cheesy conversion stories the result of lack of artistic talent, or is there something inherently extra-challenging about conveying such an experience in fiction?
- What writers or filmmakers are doing it right? What stories of Christian conversion have struck you as both true-to-life and Biblically accurate? What makes those scenes work?
(OK, I sneaked more than two questions into that list.) What’s your take?
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February 16, 2007 at 15:24
The problem with conversion stories is that you could take up a whole two hours of movie, which are generally intended as escapism, to tell a good conversion story. Because conversions happen in steps, not in a step. The conflict of a conversion, the renunciation of a life you still want to live, the acceptance of something you want to reject…it’s loaded with inherent emotional and intellectual issues that can’t ben conveyed in an action movie…or even a romance or comedy, for that matter.
The best recent movie that portrays this conflict is Bruce Almighty, even if its not explicitly Christian. Jim Carrey spends the first one-fifth of the movie blaming God for all his woes, being caustic with his girlfriend for her faith in some all-good being that apparently has no love for him, the next three-fifths of the movie trying to play God and reject the Almighty as overrated. But in a beautiful transition scene, he calls on Grace (his girlfriend) to love him, but of course love is free, not coerced, and she walks away. That night she’s praying that God would love Bruce, and Bruce is suddenly struck by the pain he has caused her and his own desperate need for her love and God’s approval. Instead of falling down at the feet of Morgan Freeman (God), he spends the last sequence of the movie going out and rectifying the world as a human, trying to atone, and his conviction in God isn’t Bible-waving, but tacitly accepting. This is conversion in real life. We don’t start waving Bibles around, our life is changed from the inside out by this acceptance and realization that we need Grace (the metaphysical love kind, not the Jennifer Anistion girlfriend kind).
February 16, 2007 at 18:49
Safely Home, by Randy Alcorn (published by Tyndale), is the best Christian fiction book, make that, one of the best Christian books, no wait, best books I have read in the last 5 years. Andy, I know you would love it. It has to do with Christian life in Contempoary China and has the most sensitive, accurate portrayal of a conversion experience I have read in a few years.
February 16, 2007 at 19:48
In “The Testament” by John Grisham, the lead character comes to faith, I believe in a real and gradual way. I read it years ago so I can’t remember more details, but it’s my favorite.
February 16, 2007 at 22:15
DeNiro’s character “Rodrigo” in The Mission
-wow. A conversion story done better than any other in film. Not just the dramatic moment of his forgiveness, but his discipleship under the influence of 1 Cor 13. Wow.Duval’s character “Mac” in Tender Mercies.
John Turturro’s character “Pete” in O Brother Where Art Thou. Oh-no—wait . . .
February 17, 2007 at 07:44
Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair – the novel, not the movie. Greene was a strongly sacramental Catholic, and the novel reflects his theology in a beautiful way through the personal “conversion” of a woman living in sin (because of his theology, I doubt Greene would call it a “conversion”). One factor that makes the narrative successful is that Greene reveals it through other people – the woman converted is dead at the beginning of the novel. Greene also handles the miraculous brilliantly, in a completely “natural” manner, if that makes sense for something “supernatural.”
The movie, unfortunately, takes a bizarre left turn about halfway through. Good film, but not the masterpiece of the novel. Also, the film is quite explicit sexually – funny how words look different when translated into pictures.
February 17, 2007 at 14:37
The only example given that I have first-hand knowledge of right now is Bruce Almighty, though the moment his “conversion” seems most real to me is when he realizes that Grace’s wellbeing is more important than his selfish desire.
But to choose the literary conversions that have most touched me, I’d have to choose Edmund in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” and Eustace (who almost deserved it) from “The Voyage of the Dawntreader.” Both individuals had to come face-to-face with their failed humanity before yielding their will to that of a savior. Luckily, since this is Lewis’ primary intent for his readers, he had the leisure of exploring the gradual process of shifting one’s ‘god’ from the god of self to the God of All.
February 17, 2007 at 19:17
The best fictious conversion experiece I have read is in one of Frank Perriti’s books (Piercing the Darkness or This Present Darkness – I don’t remember which). A young girl is pursued by forces of evil throughout the book. She has close calls but God has sent angels to watch over her. God speaks to her at the right time and she accepts Christ as her Savior. This is how it goes…
She ends up in a wooded area as God speaks to her. As she begins to talk with the Lord two rows of angels bow with their wings folded as Christ appears. Christ touches the girl and forgives her sins.
I can’t do it justice but it was very moving.
Gary Hill
February 17, 2007 at 22:52
I think my favorite fictional conversion stories have to be from Gilbert Morris’ EXCELLENT House of Winslow series of novels. Particularly the first one, involving family patriarch Gilbert Winslow. The scenes make me want to cry; they’re just so powerful.
Josh
February 18, 2007 at 17:21
My favorite is “Alyosha the Pot” by Tolstoy. It’s about a humble serf on a Russian estate who is used as a slave by everybody he knows—parents, employer, etc. Then he and the cook fall in love with each other, and Tolstoy says that he is “surprised by something”
-the experience of being loved, not because of what he can do, but just for himself. The master makes them break off their friendship. Shortly thereafter Alyosha falls off the roof while doing some repair work, and Tolstoy comments that just before he dies, “He seemed surprised by something-then he stretched himself out, and he died.” In other words, Tolstoy is suggesting in a very subtle way that Alyosha experiences the loe of God. Not a very good summary, so read it for yourself, but I love the way that the experience of coming to know the love of God is described. Another story, “The Death of Ivan Ilych,” also describes a deathbed conversion in this way. Both well worth reading.February 18, 2007 at 17:30
A few writings came to my mind as I read some of the comments on your site. Frank Peretti wrote a book called “oath”. It’s not my favorite of his works(heavily allegorical)because it was sometimes hard to follow. If I were not a christian or if I were a new christian I could probably relate to it better. Why? It deals with real struggles that many people go through(saved or not) but would never admit. I believe as christians we are sometimes terrified to cross the lines of creativity for fear of what others would think. A real conversion would not just deal with surface issues but with everyday issues.Creative people are in hollywood because there wasnt a place in most churches to release their gift so they went to where it would be embraced. I personally like The village, Signs, and Lady in the water by M Night Shymalan. Deep spiritual meaning with real spiritual struggles with overcoming them in the end.
February 18, 2007 at 17:45
Hi Everyone –
As a writer with limited experience, I have found it incredibly difficult to convey the range of emotions and conflicting thoughts involved in conversion. Hopefully, by weaving the threads of the character’s journey to faith throughout the main story, it doesn’t seem “pat” or “artificial.” I’ve also got another character, whose conversion to faith will be spread over more than one book.
One conversion story, which I found realistic was in the Left Behind Series. I’m referring to the character, Rosensweig (spelling? – sorry can’t remember which book in the series). There were numerous encounters with this character before he realized the truth of the gospel.
Anna
February 18, 2007 at 20:51
Wow, lots of great suggestions, everybody. Thanks, and keep ‘em coming!
Jaybee: I’m glad you mentioned Tolstoy, as I’m a big fan of the deathbed-conversion in “Ivan Ilyich” as well.
Another one of my personal favorites is in “The Samurai,” by Shusaku Endo. One of the characters comes to Jesus via a long, difficult, and winding path, but it’s all the more amazing for having done so.
February 18, 2007 at 22:32
I think that conversion stories are so uniques to the individual that it makes them hard to write. God creates each one of our stories. There’s no way to come up with one in a human mind that would be as thrilling as something that God came up with. I think a story as simple as Cinderella can show a lot of what being romanticized by Christ can look like.
February 19, 2007 at 14:13
Not sure if this exactly fits the question, but I have always been a fan of Ben Hur. Seeing his life and strugglewhile the story, and actions of Christ are woven through it.
February 20, 2007 at 00:24
I think that conversion stories are hard to write because of the time constraints of either a movie or novel. In the case of my conversion, for example, it took many years of realizing that the Lord had been wooing me by His Holy Spirit to come to Him. These days, I’m in the process of trying to recreate my own experience into a novel and finding it hard to do. In my humble opinion, in order for a conversion story to be successful, it needs to be able to get inside the character’s heart, for the viewer or reader to empathize so deeply with the converted person’s hurt or empty life that when the character finally comes to Christ, there is a great rejoicing from the audience, like a Rocky knocking out Apollo kind of rejoicing, but with tears.
February 20, 2007 at 13:51
C.S. Lewis’s main (human) character in “The Screwtape Letters” seems the most believable conversion story I have ever read. Otherwise, I agree with E French.
March 13, 2007 at 16:04
I’m late to the conversation, I know, but I would like to add Jean Valjean’s conversion in Les Miserable. I don’t know that the book or the show ever describe as a Christian, per se, but the story of how the grace and love shown him by the priest change his life and his actions is a far more powerful description of a Christian conversion than anything more explicit I’ve read or seen recently. Inspector Javert’s struggle over the contrast between the requirements of the law and the effects of grace make the story even more powerful.