The Gateway to Biblical Speculative Fiction

As a writer I find inspiration in a variety of places. Through people, events, places, and even news articles. I have different sources for my ideas, and often those sources might come from other books. Not plagiarism, but ideas that might flow from these sources. Perhaps I find inspiration in the oddest of places, or maybe my train of thought is odd in itself. I’d image that it’s the latter of the two.

Strangely enough, the most useful source for me is a piece that is far from speculative and without a doubt non-fiction. That is the Bible. It’s what I call the “gateway to Biblical speculative fiction.”

I’m sure there might be a handful of you out there that are shaking your heads and saying that I’ve lost it. Well, you might have a point, but at least you can let a crazy man ramble on.

The Bible is full of stories that could father great speculative fiction.

First let’s look at our League of Super Heroes.

1. Jesus-part God part man, able to heal any disease or illness, can cure any physical issue, raise the dead (even himself).
2. Daniel-able to tame wild beasts, and foresee the future.
3. David-able to take down the greatest foe with the smallest weapon, and can cast out demons with his angelic harp.
4. Sampson-strength of a thousand men.
5. Paul-able to endure any situation with great ease, and apparently the same is true with pain (the thorn in his side).
6. Peter-able to walk on water (if only for short periods of time).
7. Noah-able to assemble any group in a reasonable amount of time.
8. Jacob-able to wrestle with the supernatural.
9. Joseph-able to foresee the future, and has a touch of gold.
10. Moses-able to do amazing feats with his staff.
11. Elijah-able to call fire down from the heavens.
12. Solomon-obtained wisdom greater then all of those in Egypt.

I’m sure I have left some out but those twelve should at least get you thinking. Any one of these would be great to form a character for your very own speculative story. But why stop there?

How about a resume of military generals?

1. Gideon-lead 300 men against 135,000 Midianites (that’s about 450 to 1). You might find something similar in a fictional book titled “300” that is about the hit the movie theaters in April, where 300 Spartans face an entire army of Persians in the battle of Thermopylae.
2. Joshua-Lead his troops in a siege. No siege weapons were needed, with the exception of trumpets.
3. Jehoshaphat-defeated three armies at once with no weapons…unless you count song and praise unto God.

There are many more names and stories I could meantion, but I only want to spark an interest in you to search the scripture out yourself.

It would be very easy to take one little part of the Bible and create a speculative story. Daniel I Weaver’s “Seeing Blind” in Light at the Edge of Darkness is a prime example of what could be done. If you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to do so. It’s one of my favorites.

There is an idea for a novel. Create speculative fiction spin-offs from biblical stories. So, if you’re stuck in your current WIP (work in progress) and just can’t seem to press forward, take a Bible story and create your own speculative spin-off. You could always pit the biblical heroes against their counterparts like Ahab and Jezebel. If that doesn’t work, you’ve lost nothing and gained some quality time with the greatest Book of all time.


C.E. Lavender
Chad Lavender's Blog
Rise Up Alliance: Sermon Blog