Sex Is Out

Sex is out. At least it is in the movie industry. Films with sex aren’t doing so great right now. One of the theories on that is that economic recession causes people to stay away from excess of all kinds. Historically, there is some truth to that. There is also some biblical truth to that, since God sends hardships when he calls for people to repent. But what does this mean for Christian books?


My prediction is that it means edgy is out. Okay, so edgy has been out already, but if you’re trying to push edgy Christian fiction, your life just got harder. During an economic downturn, publishers are less likely to take big risks and even if they did, readers aren’t interested.


I think the trend will move away from the feel good religionists and back in the direction of “thus saith the Lord.” When people are hurting, they don’t want to hear what people imagine must be true about God. They have a hard time believing that God will solve all their problems if they’ll just send some preacher money. They want to hear about the God of the Bible, the God who hates sin, punishes the wicked, sends problems into people’s lives to call them to repentance, but loves them enough to send his only begotten Son to die in their place.


We don’t know how long this recession will last, so we don’t know how long the trends associated with it will last. They could last for months, decades or only weeks. We simply don’t know, but if you’ll watch, I think you’ll see people move away from the vices of the world, if only for a short time.

Comments

Michelle D. Argyle said…
I hope it is for a long time, but a short time is a good start. :)
April 6, 2009 at 9:54 AM
Jessica Nelson said…
Hmmm, I've read edgy Christian books and I didn't see anything that was overly sexual in them. Maybe I missed something.
I am glad for the movie industry though, and I've heard that erotica is slowing down.
April 6, 2009 at 10:30 PM
Timothy Fish said…
Jessica,
It isn't my intention to equate edgy with sexual, though that is the case with some novels. I do, however, think that the same market forces that lead to a reduction in one will lead to a reduction in the other. But that is no more than a hypothesis on my part.
April 7, 2009 at 5:08 AM
Anonymous said…
No, wrong again. Edgy is not out. Edgy is what some Christian publishers WANT.

Are these meant to be market guidance, or just your $0.02 off the top of your head?

If the latter, fine. We all have opinions and are fully entitled to every last one.

If the former--take more care. What you said simply isn't so.
April 11, 2009 at 8:16 PM
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