Read good books!

Yesterday I shared with a colleague that I was tired because I read so late the night before and this started a discussion on fiction. I had just reread A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle and told her how much it impressed me.  Immediately her comment was that this wasn't a christian book.  I have to admit I bristled.  I have read a lot of books by Madeleine L'Engle, fiction and non-fiction, children's lit and adult, and she writes in her later memoirs how much having her faith questioned by evangelical Christians pained her. It is a wonderful book written by a thoughtful and intelligent person who is a Christian but Madeleine L'Engle does not write books that would fit into the Christian Fiction section of rapidly disappearing bookstores or that drop down menu in Amazon.

I cringe when the term Christian is used as the first filter for choosing a novel. It is condescending and assumes that the Spirit working with in us is ineffective. When I read a novel I want to be entertained but also I want to be challenged in my world view. If I read only what I perceive to be safe or what is labeled safe by others, how will I grow?  How will I gain insight into the opinions of others that may differ from mine but still deserve my respect and consideration?

I can think of many authors and books that have had an influence on me and how I view the world. From Gone With the Wind to I'll Love You Forever  by Robert Munsch.  I wept over Katherin Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia and couldn't put down Winds of War  by Herman Wouk. I have read and reread the books of Carol Shields, Roberson Davies and Marilynne Robinson and learned a lot of the heart of the aboriginal community through In Search of April Raintree and the deeply thoughtful books by Joseph Boyden. Other titles and authors just keep rolling through my mind.  They have all shaped me and helped me grow as a person and a follower of Christ, even if they did not themselves have a christian world view.

We need to be careful but we do not need to be fearful.  All good literature is searching for the the truth and with the help of the Spirit we will be able to discern this truth in what we read. Or be dismayed at the opposite.  There is so much powerful and beautiful prose in our world, lets keep reading it, sharing it and growing from it.  Its another great blessing from the Word.