As inspirational fiction breaks new ground, an old debate is being revived: What makes an acceptable "Christian" novel?

With new categories stretching the traditional boundary lines, Christian publishers and retailers are looking again at how far faith-based fiction can and should go.

The issue was recently brought to the fore by one of the category's most popular Christian novelists. In a blog post entitled "What's Wrong With This Picture?," Ted Dekker took issue with a set of guidelines he discovered for authors of Steeple Hill novels. Dekker questioned whether the content guidelines-which included the exclusion of profanity and related words as well as sexual references-were too "puritanical."

But Dekker himself then came under fire from others like literary agent Chip MacGregor. "Different readers want different types of stories," MacGregor responded on his blog. "If some people are offended by certain words or situations, isn't it legitimate to write a book for them?"

"It's definitely getting more difficult to keep up with the reader's tastes," said Karen Grosse, owner of Lighthouse Christian Books in Green Bay, Wis. "Up to now, we have trusted the publishers and gatekeepers for the most part, but the more basic question to ask seems to be, 'Why push the envelope?' Is it because it further explores the human condition or because the publishers want to expand their appeal by emulating the secular market?"

Read the full report in the February issue of Christian Retailing.

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