Before answering the big question, I’d like to provide an analogy. Did you know that for good fiction writing, characters should not only have a surface-level purpose but also a deeper driving force, perhaps carnal or even emotional pursuit, that they might not even fully comprehend or admit is driving their actions. This creates deep characters and gravitational writing.
Why am I telling you this? Well, in an odd way, The Respian Man novel also has a surface-level theme which is undergirded by a deeper purpose.
On its surface, The Respian Man is simply a relatively clean adventure novel, safe for young adults (15+) with Christian themes that are not overbearing. This way, both Christians and non-Christians alike can enjoy the story without consternation. This, however, is just a cover for the undercurrent that goes unseen until the conclusion of the book.
The underlying purpose, the underpinning force that inspired the novel, is this: the desire to provide intrigue and insight into Young-Earth Creationism in an entertaining way.
That is correct, our characters (Preston, Tabby, Salvatore and Beauregard) are just a conveyance, taking the reader on a journey that ends with an intriguing theory about what Earth might have been like before the Biblical global flood. Footnotes litter this work with insights into items of intrigue, such as military concepts, weapons, history, and most importantly, terms related to creationism. Here is a sample section of text from the end of the book, providing you with some insight into how creationism underpins the story:
“Although we can’t confirm this, we believe it’s mostly due to an additional layer of atmosphere on Oswella that Earth doesn’t possess. We think it encases the entire planet like a fishbowl, except instead of glass, it’s made of water, which accounts for the thick morning dew. That’s what waters the vegetation. It’s as if we’re in a biblical pre-flood world, where the great flood and Noah’s ark never happened.”
Below are two examples of footnotes the reader might stumble across in this chapter:
Oxygen concentration – Scientists have discovered that Earth once had a 67% higher oxygen concentration than exists today. Earth’s oxygen concentration is 21% of the air we currently breathe. However, when analyzing air bubbles trapped in samples of fossilized amber, oxygen was found to constitute as much as 35% of the gases. With 67% more oxygen, life on Earth would have been drastically different than in the modern age.
Additional layer of atmosphere – If the Bible is true, it suggests that Earth, in its original form, may have been different than Earth today. In Genesis 1:6-8 it says, “Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.” The word firmament means sky. Some speculate this passage suggests there was a sky between Earth’s oceans and water ‘above the (sky).’ If this interpretation is to be believed, this could mean that at one point in time, water surrounded the earth like a bubble.
Later on, the following is explained:
“I believe Earth used to be the same, thousands of years ago, before the flood, (…) If I had to guess, the flood occurred when the atmospheric water canopy collapsed, probably after being hit by a meteorite, which broke the surface tension. My assumption,” Beauregard says, pointing up at the sky, “is that it’s not regular water up there. It’s a potent alkali solution – a slurry of salt, water, and ethanol. Salt, an alkaline, absorbs radiation, allowing people to live longer by eliminating cellular degradation from sunlight. Ethanol keeps it from freezing and also probably contributed, in part, to the vast petroleum deposits on Earth after our water layer fell to the ground.” He pauses to scratch his chin thoughtfully. “Needless to say, Earth’s flood[1] is what changed it from being like Oswella into what it’s like today.” He gestures to the horizon. “For all we know, we could be living on pre-flood biblical Earth right now. Wouldn’t that be something?”
So to answer the big question, yes. Absolutely. Creationism is not only embedded in the novel, but it is the driving force behind the world-building of the fictional world of Oswella. The Respian Man is meant to intrigue readers with deep concepts that encourage them to learn more and consider other explanations for why the world is the way it is.
If you wanted to share a fantasy novel that is undergirded by Christian themes and Creationism, The Respian Man is a great choice. You can find links to the Amazon page on the Buy Book tab on our website. Of course, this novel is not comprehensive when it comes to Creationism, not at all. But it is an appetizer, if you will, sowing the seeds of intrigue in curious minds so that wiser discourse can be had about theology, philosophy, and science, all of which is done in an entertaining and educational way. Help spread the message and buy a copy for a friend or relative today!
The Flood – In Genesis chapter 7, verses 11-12, it says, “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.” This text suggests that the source of the flood was twofold: 1) water (fountains) burst out of the ‘great deep,’ suggesting there were subterranean caverns of water beneath Earth’s crust before the flood, and 2) the “windows of heaven were opened,” suggesting that the water above the firmament broke and fell to the Earth. The Bible further elaborates in Genesis 7:19, “And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered.” In verse 24 of the same chapter, it says that the flood lasted one hundred and fifty days, further suggesting the Earth endured a flood of global proportion.
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