Horror novelist Stephen King: Divinely inspired?

June 3, 2012
Theresa Johnson

The Rev. Paul F.M. Zahl, a retired Episcopal priest, believes the work of Stephen King contains a measure of divine inspiration. From CNN’s Belief Blog:

The horror master has been preaching sermons to millions of readers for years, only most of King’s fans don’t know it, (Zahl) says.

“People tend to think that Stephen King is anti-religious because he is a horror writer, but that’s completely mistaken,” says Zahl… who has written about King’s religious sensibility for Christianity Today magazine. “Several of his books are parables of grace in action.”

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Jesse Zink

June 3, 2012 5:55 pm

I don’t know Stephen King’s work well but Zahl’s “Grace in Practice,” which is referenced in the article, routinely draws surprising lessons from all manner of science fiction and horror literature/films. I appreciate the way Zahl can find the kerygma of the Gospel in all kinds of “deutero-canonical” works.

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