I haven’t read the work in question but I really wonder if the church elders read it or just got the gist of it. Its always good to know what specifically they objected to. Was it a specific thing or the idea of a thing. If the vampires/demons etc were villians to vanquish and faith was the deciding factor on the heroes side, you’d think the church would be all for it. Also in general you would think they would be ok with supernatural fiction because it might put people in a frame of mind to be more ready to accept their own supernatural claims.

On another note, one of the most morally objectionable things I ever read were some of Heinlein’s work where he slowly tried to get the reader comfortable with the idea of incest; like it was no big deal. Part of me couldn’t help but worry about influence that story might have on the wrong people. Because Heinlein is such a compelling and intelligent author, I could imagine someone with unhealthy insectual desires, feeling vindicated and supported rathing than seeking help. I have no easy answers on that one.

But it would be really hard for me to face Christian elders on this issue without reminding that in the bible:

Some of God’s favorite people in the old testament.
Own slaves: unpunished
Commit adultry with their slaves: unpunished
have incestual realations: unpunished

just to name a few. It might be interesting to tell some of those stories in a different context to see if these elders even recognized them.

Whew, that story really got me up in arms just because I wanted to know specifics. What specifically did they object to and could they answer in specifics. Now I may need to read it after all.