My House, Caronport Saskatchewan
Waiting for Supper to finish Cooking, 5:33PM
Weather = Clear Skies, Calm, and Melting :)
One of the absolutely incredible things about Christianity is the freedom every believer has to do as he or she sees fit. It is so scandalously radical when you understand how far this freedom goes. The instant reaction is to say "yes there is incredible freedom in Christ, but..." and we instantly try to put qualifiers on the freedom.
And perhaps a qualifier is necessary. Christian freedom is not to be confused with freedom from all restraints. Christian freedom is indeed two sided. God allows us to do anything we want, but if we are indeed seeking Christ then God will change our desires to be the same things that God wants. There is freedom against the oppressive rulings of religion.
Here are two passages on Christian freedom.
So what does it mean to have this freedom concerning books? In short, it means that Christians can read whatever books they want! Christians are free to read books on any topic, even books that promote things that are contrary to Christ's rule.
There is a mentality within many streams of Christianity that this should not be the case. I think this idea is quite pervasive in many denominations.
We'll start with the most extreme that Christians should only read the Bible and books written by approved authors Books about Science will lead Christians to doubt the Bible and damage their faith putting their eternal soul in jeopardy! Novels like the Harry Potter series give the Devil opportunity to work his evil in your life and in the lives of those around you! The philosophers of any age are fools with unenlightened minds who only lead people astray by an earthly wisdom which is not like God's wisdom. One must also be extremely wary of books written by false believers! (basically anyone who thinks differently than you do)
Here's another version, Christians shouldn't read certain books because looks bad and reflects poorly upon the church. I mean, what would the kids at school think if they saw you reading Harry Potter or Twilight and what would the church board think if they saw their pastor reading and enjoying [insert scandalous title / author here] (The Shack, the Q'uran, Liberal Theology, etc...) Christians are supposed to be different, set apart by God, and if unbelievers see you reading these books then they will think that you are no different than them. Worst of all it could damage the image of the church.
I'm quite sure that I haven't done these ideas complete justice, but I don't care. Christians are free to read whatever books they want and any objections to this fact will disappear in light of God's omnipotence and omniscience. If a Christian is truly a Christian then he or she will have God's Holy Spirit inside of them, directing them into all truth. How can someone lose The Holy Spirit inside of them? Well I suppose one could tell him to go away or just ignore Him forever, but reading books (even witchcraft books) can not effect a Christian's spiritual status. Christian Children do not read through Harry Potter and decide to just become a Wiccan instead.
There are perfectly good reasons for Christians to read Nonchristian books. After all, how are you going to understand this generation's fascination with Harry Potter if you never read the books? (to say nothing of the value of a well written story in and of itself) How are you supposed to understand the thoughts a troubled teen girl's view of love if you've never read Twilight? How are you supposed to speak intelligibly about Evolution if you've never read Darwin and and the school of books that came after him? How are you supposed to help people in a car accident if you've never read the First Aid book? I suppose that in all things you could pray and proceed in faith that God will give you the correct words / understanding / divine miracle for the occasion, but why then do so many Christians look like complete idiots and make many wrong decisions and say so many stupid things?
God's truth is not restricted to one book. Furthermore how is one supposed to appreciate truth if one never encounters anything to test it against? In reading books we can understand an idea and in understanding an idea we can properly critique it or even destroy it utterly.
But what if there is a powerful idea that goes against Christianity and can't be disproved? The answer here is that all truth is God's truth. Be bold little Christian, do not be afraid, God is God and nothing can happen without his willing it. Supposing that something like the Theory of Evolution was actually a historical fact, that the Earth wasn't actually created in 6 literal days for instance, then Christianity would not fall apart at the seems because it is only understanding more deeply how God created the universe in history. This would re-interpret the way we think about Genesis and make it more narrative and less scientific fact, but there is no need to be afraid. The Christian may pursue truth and understanding of reality to whatever end it may have without fear. To do any less is to already doubt your own faith in a supposedly all powerful, all knowing God.
Restricting books on the other hand will stunt growth and is also one of the signs of indoctrination. If Christians were to only read The Bible and books written by 'trustworthy Christians' then they would be an absolutely ignorant and stupid people. We would be easily manipulated, completely backwards and nigh useless in the world of today. We would be superstitious, foolish, and continually afraid of the outside world. This is not the call of Christ, but it is a strong distrust of him.
The book of Proverbs tells us to strive after wisdom and understanding. It is such an incredible thing. Even as a Christian I could study and understand an idea and have it spur on and grow my love for Christ and understanding of all things. Even if the idea is damaging to faith, understanding it allows one to know the presuppositions and intricate train of thought within its making and you can simply say "I understand it fully and also disagree with it for the following reasons, and I am completely justified in doing so!"
Now the complete freedom of Christ concerning books is just like the complete freedom of Christ concerning alcohol, some people just can not handle it. With books come ideas, and ideas can do great harm to an individual and to a community. Therefore not all Christians should be introduced to all books, just as not all Christians be introduced to alcohol. There are some who's faith would collapse if they studied something like Evolution or 'Religious Studies' (which is often a thoroughly a-theist division in most universities). If someone is troubled by your freedom to understand non-Christian ideas then Paul has commanded us not to talk about those ideas around that person.
So the Christian can read books without fear. To live in a religion where truth were fragile and could not stand up the very worst (or even a moderate amount of what) the world could throw at it would be a very contrary place for someone who believes in a supposed all powerful God. It is helpful to remember that the focus of the Christian is on Christ, not on knowledge for knowledge's sake. I am convinced that true knowledge of any type is the realm of Christ.
To quote Paul in the book of Romans:
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39
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