Im being hammered on about reading books outside the bible.

[handy]

So if we're only supposed to read the Bible, I suppose that people who existed before the Middle Ages didn't read. Seems legit... >_>

I absolutely hate it when people try to enforce the idea that "the Bible is all we need." First and foremost, the Bible is a collection of books inspired by God. God is all that we need, not the Bible. As far as the Bible is concerned, it's just a way for us to learn more about who God is and what He asks of us.

Secondly, when people realize I'm a writer and aspiring author, I'm smothered with comments like, "that's great! I'm sure you'll glorify God with your writing!" While I do want to glorify God with what I write, I don't need to write so-called "Christian" books that mention Jesus on every page.

I also get the crowd that simultaneously claims to believe that my ability to write fiction is a gift from God, but that the Bible is the only book we should read. People who hold to such opinions are often very ignorant and, sadly, unintelligent.

You bring up a lot of really good points to consider... especially the point of "ability to write fiction is a gift from God, but that the Bible is the only book we should read."

That was very good to point out!

Authors such as Tolkien, Lewis and to a certain extent L'engle, show that one can be a Christian writer without "mentioning Jesus on every page."

 

[Stan53]

Im having a hard time with this. The Lord is my first place in everything. I recently have started reading some books and am really enjoying them. I was sharing this with a close friend of mine, and ever since I am constantly cornered about reading anything other than the bible.

He said the bible is what molds and transforms us, and the bible talks about it being all we need, so we should read outside the bible. And that God is angry when we go to anyone other than him or sources other than him.

I dont believe there is anything wrong with reading other books. But boy this is really hard constantly having to hear about this.

This is what was said last night....

"did you read the bible today? good. psalms 19:7 says the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul" so.. its all we need and everything we want to know about is in the bible.

ezra 9:12 and deuteronomy 23:6 says do not seek their peace or their prosperity

he wants us to seek from Him and anything outside of His Word upsets Him becaause we are complete in Him"

i then told him thank you very much for you input, and he responded, its not my input its what God says, i shared the verses.

this has been going on for a while, and it is starting to make me feel bad.

I'm going to assume your friend said we should NOT read outside the Bible.

Well the Bible disagrees with that. Phil 4:8, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Just make sure you don't treat other books like the the Mormons treat the book of
Mormon, as greater than the Bible.

 

[MaxTO]

Sorry but I think the bigger problem is having a " friend " that attempts to use their religious views to manipulate you into the kind of person that he thinks you should be .

To me this behavior is very troubling . You need to address this issue in a friendly matter and politely tell this person that this type of forced controle is not exceptable .

 

[JuliusStClair]

Secondly, when people realize I'm a writer and aspiring author, I'm smothered with comments like, "that's great! I'm sure you'll glorify God with your writing!" While I do want to glorify God with what I write, I don't need to write so-called "Christian" books that mention Jesus on every page.

Zom, I am also an aspiring author - I completely agree with you! I have two books published so far, and they both deal with common religious questions we all have (although my books are Young Adult so they're issues from the tamer end). My goal is to get people thinking and TALKING about issues we tend to shy away from, while reading some really enjoyable books! I want to get God at the forefront of our thoughts without writing anything cheesy or stereotypically "Christian."

I'd love to hear more about your works. Do you have anything out yet? What kind of literature do you write? It's always great to be able to connect with other aspiring authors.

 

[jk123]

Wow, does he read the news paper? The mind is a muscle that needs exercised as well. How do you develop your own beliefs if you don't hold God's word up to the world? I'm not saying to read smut, but who can fault a good fantasy escape such as Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or even a good mystery by Dean Koontz. Does your friend eat food other than the sacraments? Still, always be polite, read the Good Word daily but how can Christians really help others if they cannot relate to their world even on the most basic points.

 

[Keith]

Reading secular material helps you understand how people think. You may even become more effective in discussing the Bible with friends if you understand how they think.

 

[Cthree17]

God made us in His image. He is creative, and so are we. Art is an expression of our creative nature, a creative nature that God gave us. This doesn't mean we should just passively soak up everything that is out there, using this reasoning as an excuse. But I believe that by being an active audience member to the things I read, watch, and listen to; analyzing the messages within movies, books, music etc from a Christian standpoint (always asking myself "What would Jesus make of this?), can really help me grow in my faith and gain a much richer understanding of the world I live in.

Until I read 'Slave Girl' by Sarah Forsyth, I had no idea about the extent to which human trafficking exists today. That book gave me such a tremendous amount of empathy for victims of human trafficking; enough to make me want to do something about it. It's a book with very little (if any) hope, that reveals the worst of humanity. But if it inspires someone like me to do something about it, then that is where the hope lies. That is where the value lies. And ultimately, that is where you will find the love of God in such a piece.

I think the problem with reading books outside of the bible comes when you stop analyzing them through the view of your Christian faith. If they are simply a form of entertainment, and nothing more, you might want to start questioning some of the things you are reading.

 

[Spring Waters]

Before I let myself feel bad about reading books that make me feel great, I'd rid myself of the guy who works at making me feel bad because I'm not reading what he insists is the only book I'm allowed.
Maybe you should hand him a Bible and tell him that he should consider reading it so as to learn how to treat his friend with respect.

Im having a hard time with this. The Lord is my first place in everything. I recently have started reading some books and am really enjoying them. I was sharing this with a close friend of mine, and ever since I am constantly cornered about reading anything other than the bible.

He said the bible is what molds and transforms us, and the bible talks about it being all we need, so we should read outside the bible. And that God is angry when we go to anyone other than him or sources other than him.

I dont believe there is anything wrong with reading other books. But boy this is really hard constantly having to hear about this.

This is what was said last night....

"did you read the bible today? good. psalms 19:7 says the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul" so.. its all we need and everything we want to know about is in the bible.

ezra 9:12 and deuteronomy 23:6 says do not seek their peace or their prosperity

he wants us to seek from Him and anything outside of His Word upsets Him becaause we are complete in Him"

i then told him thank you very much for you input, and he responded, its not my input its what God says, i shared the verses.

this has been going on for a while, and it is starting to make me feel bad.

 

[farouk]

Before I let myself feel bad about reading books that make me feel great, I'd rid myself of the guy who works at making me feel bad because I'm not reading what he insists is the only book I'm allowed.
Maybe you should hand him a Bible and tell him that he should consider reading it so as to learn how to treat his friend with respect.

Romans 14, about Christian liberty, would also be a great passage to read...

 

[Knotical]

Here is an analogy that my serve in this thread.

Bank employees are trained to spot counterfeit money by studying real money so well that anything else would be obviously false.

 

[Spring Waters]

So whats that say about the coins? ;)

 

[Knotical]

So whats that say about the coins? ;)

Are coins considered money?

 

[Spring Waters]

Depends on which currency you are referring to. Paper or coin. There is a difference because "Money" is a classification. "A circulating medium of exchange."
Not a denomination.

 

[Knotical]

Depends on which currency you are referring to. Paper or coin. There is a difference because "Money" is a classification. "A circulating medium of exchange."
Not a denomination.

I was not distinguishing between paper or coin money, as the same training applies. The point of using this analogy is to say that you should know the bible so well that you will be able to spot a false doctrine right away without having to actually study that false doctrine. You would just know it is false because of what you know about the Truth.

 

[Spring Waters]

OK

 

[P31Woman]

Im having a hard time with this. The Lord is my first place in everything. I recently have started reading some books and am really enjoying them. I was sharing this with a close friend of mine, and ever since I am constantly cornered about reading anything other than the bible.

He said the bible is what molds and transforms us, and the bible talks about it being all we need, so we should read outside the bible. And that God is angry when we go to anyone other than him or sources other than him.

I dont believe there is anything wrong with reading other books. But boy this is really hard constantly having to hear about this.

This is what was said last night....

"did you read the bible today? good. psalms 19:7 says the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul" so.. its all we need and everything we want to know about is in the bible.

ezra 9:12 and deuteronomy 23:6 says do not seek their peace or their prosperity

he wants us to seek from Him and anything outside of His Word upsets Him becaause we are complete in Him"

i then told him thank you very much for you input, and he responded, its not my input its what God says, i shared the verses.

this has been going on for a while, and it is starting to make me feel bad.

Is this boy a Christian or involved in a cult?

 

[Grazer]

I read a variety of books, fiction and non fiction. There's nothing in the bible that says we can't or shouldn't.

The bible says "lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5) It goes on to say trust in the Lord but I've also taken the first bit and applied it to myself in terms of I think a certain way so I may miss certain things. This is why I read the likes of John Lennox and Peter Enns, I've learned so much from them but all the time I'm engaging God with it.

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