IS THERE ROOM FOR BOTH THE BIBLE AND CHRISTIAN FICTION IN OUR LIVES?
(How God used Christian Fiction to Grow And Stretch Me)
I sat quietly as the Bible study teacher relayed how much he disliked Christian fiction, specifically, Frank Peretti and Francine Rivers.
Mr. Teacher felt Mr. Peretti did a great disservice to Christ by introducing Christians to an unbiblical spiritual world bordering on New Age mysticism. He stressed how Mrs. Rivers’ books were presenting another Gospel because she expounded on Scripture, thus twisting God’s truth. Both these authors were hurting the Kingdom because Christians chose to read these types of books instead of the Bible.
This was the first time I had heard criticism of either author’s theology and storytelling. I was astounded and a little irritated.
It just so happens that these two authors were some of my favorites. God has given them amazing gifts for storytelling. It seemed to me that they were pointing people to God. As long as folks were spending time with God in their Bibles, where was the harm?
Besides, just because someone has been given a position of authority in the church doesn’t mean what they say is 100% biblical either. Why should I give any validity to Mr. Bible Teacher’s opinion on the subject of my free time and reading material?
After all, the Bible is full of parables. A parable is a story made up to illustrate a spiritual or moral lesson. Jesus told lots of parables throughout his ministry, but you can also find them in the Old Testament. Isn’t a parable what these Christian writers were publishing?
An Awakening
After calming down, I got to thinking about it. We are to evaluate all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21). And God does say not to add to or take away from the Word (Revelation 22:18-19). Was Mr. Teacher right? Did these books do more harm than good? Is it wrong to spend precious time reading things in addition to the Bible? Or is there room for both the Bible and Christian fiction in our lives?
As I began to ponder these questions, I thought about my BC (Before Christ) days. Even though I spent years in a denominational school, I had very limited knowledge or understanding of God or anything spiritual. The Bible was a coffee table book, and the only time it was read was during mass. The most common way I heard God’s name was in a curse word casually tossed around. Unfortunately, horoscopes and signs from the dead were given more authority than God’s Word.
The accounts in the Bible seemed unreal to me. God felt far away and indifferent. If you sought more of God, you were labeled a holy roller. Nobody wanted to be a freak like that.
For over 20 years, I kept God in this box and escaped into steamy romance and scary Stephen King books. After dedicating my everything to Jesus, I could no longer stand those types of books. They turned my stomach.
It took me a while to read the Bible on my own without feeling like I was doing something wrong. It took even longer before I felt I was beginning to understand it. In the meantime, I missed casually reading and the way it relaxed me!
Off to the library, I went in search of something “acceptable” to my new way of life. I wasn’t sure what that would be, but I was determined to find something. By accident, I stumbled onto a Frank Peretti book. Spiritual warfare in small-town America?? I couldn’t get started quickly enough. I ended up loving how Mr. Peretti took everyday people and made prayer, fellowship, and the spirit world come alive.
Soon after, I discovered Francine Rivers and was blown away at her gift of taking biblical accounts and making them come alive by expanding on their stories.
For Additional Reading: Answered Prayer or Coincidence?
Unlike what my Bible study teacher said, neither of those authors excused, glorified, or justified sin in their writings.
To this day, I believe God used those authors and their books to instill in me a desire to dig into Scripture. I wanted to see which parts were biblical and which were vain imaginations meant to entertain.
On-Going Lessons
Yes, I know. I can hear you loud and clear: those authors write fictional (fake) stories, but the Bible is fact!
I agree. But the mental shift brought about by reading Christian fiction changed how I read my Bible; with new eyes asking and seeking answers to all my many questions.
For example, after reading Christian fiction and digging into my Bible,
I could see God among the harsh reality of life in the Old Testament. Not a cruel taskmaster but a kind and loving God who carefully watches, listens, and speaks. Prior to this, I thought God created us then sat back and watched us destroy each other. I thought we were his entertainment.
They gave me examples of everyday Christians walking out their faith the best they knew how. I had read about Christians in the Bible. Their stories always captured my attention, but I had trouble relating. I wasn’t a fisherman or a leaper or a paralytic. I wasn’t held captive, shipwrecked, or starved. I wasn’t a prostitute or had a virgin birth. I understood that God worked in their life, I just had trouble relating to them as real people.
Prayer took on a whole new meaning from rote, memorized, and obligated prayer to heartfelt pouring out of thoughts and emotions. This allowed me to better understand the emotion behind some of the Psalms and the prayers in the New Testament. I was captivated to imagine God’s ordinary people hitting their knees and lifting holy hands. I had never prayed a heartfelt Hail Mary or an Our Father; this was a huge mind shift for me.
I discovered that angels obeyed God, not man. In fact, God has an incredible army of Angels who obey His every command. I was able to go from talking to and trusting “my angel” to turning to King Jesus.
Where My Help Comes From
Please hear me. I am not saying I get my spiritual information from fictional authors and apply it to the Bible. Nor do I use books to replace my Bible time with God. I have grown to crave my Bible reading/studying time the way I used to crave reading secular books.
I’m saying God uses everyday things in our lives to get our attention, quicken our faith, and bring about revelation. For me, it has been Christian fiction. For you, it might be something different. My husband enjoys movies and music from which he pulls out biblical applications that frequently surprises me.
However, we don’t read, watch or listen to just anything. We have a set of standards we use to evaluate if something is worth our time.
If you are wondering what my standards are, maybe this shortlist will help.
1) Does the book I am reading follow biblical standards? Are the characters consulting psychics, sleeping around, taking God’s name in vain, etc.?
2) Is it helpful to my walk? (Philippians 4:8) Does it propel me to think about and search Scripture?
Depending on the answer to these questions, I happily read the book. Otherwise, it gets deleted from my Kindle or burnt in the trash barrel.
Final Thoughts
Although I didn’t completely agree with Mr. Bible teacher’s opinion on this subject, I did feel it was necessary to take the time to lay it before the Lord to examine and evaluate not just my reading material but my heart.
However, I did agree with him that far too many of us are reading books other than the Bible and calling the knowledge we receive as fact when it is not biblical. We fail to know the difference when we haven’t learned to examine what we hear and read against the mirror of God’s holy truth. As a result, we wander from the faith by following foolish ideas spoken in the name of Christianity (Matthew 7:21-23).
We are all in different places maturity-wise, and we all have our various interests. When faced with downtime, not everyone enjoys reading. But of the people who do, some prefer reading the Bible exclusively.
If we keep in mind 1 Corinthians 8:13, Romans 14:21, we know that all of those are okay. God, in His grace and wisdom, often uses the unexpected as well as the ordinary (everything!) to bring about His purpose and plan.
Friend, this post isn’t meant to be a rallying call to read certain authors. Nor is it a rallying cry to reject all books except the Bible. It is a post meant to encourage you to think biblically about who you listen to and how you spend your time. It is a post meant to help you realize that even people in positions of leadership have a bias that colors their teaching. Thus, we must evaluate everything to see if it lines up with the Bible.
My conclusion: if our priorities are right, there is room for both the Bible and Christian fiction in our lives!
My Prayer
Father God, you are holy, righteous, and pure. You are a good and kind Father. Thank you for the gift of reading as it allows me to read your word any time I choose.
Lord, help me to use the discernment you have blessed me with. You say in Psalm 1 that if I continually seek you through Scripture I will be blessed. Regardless of what else I am doing, help me to always seek you, Father. Open my eyes to see your truths and my ears to hear your voice.
Thank you for brothers and sisters that encourage me to think through what I hear and read instead of just accepting everything as fact. Lord, I lift you up and glorify your holy, heavenly name! Amen!
