Why Christians Should Read Fiction…

WARNING: THIS IS A SARCASTIC POST. READ WITH CAUTION. 

The only book that kids (especially Christian kids) should be able to read is Harry Potter. Giving them books such as the Bible, stories by CS Lewis, or any of the Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts would only misdirect a child toward darkness.

The Bible is a horrible piece of “literature” that discusses the demonic. Throughout the entire book, there are references to snakes, people dying of deadly diseases, and spirits. Shrouded in metaphors and allusive rhetorical questions isn’t going to save a child’s soul. The promotion of drinking, higher gods, and the wondering around in the desert isn’t a good model to be teaching young minds. And is it really possible for a donkey to talk? I don’t believe this. Now, I haven’t read the Bible, nor have I studied ancient Hebrew, but what I’ve heard from others who haven’t read the book, as well as what I’ve read from the back cover, shows that this isn’t suitable reading material for anyone.

CS Lewis over glories animalism. Plain and simple. Who would allow for someone to proclaim that an animal, such as a lion, could be royalty or king; that’s absurd. If you read any of the Narnia books, you are dealing with a horrible, horrible let down for readers. How dare CS Lewis identify kids as Kings and Queens of a land!? How dare he expect that kids can find refuge in others and in the “truth”… I haven’t read the entire series, but I did see the film adaptation trailers, which were filled with violence and cheerful music. I have yet to read CS Lewis’ science fiction, but I can only venture to say that it is just as grotesque. I can see Lewis sitting with Tolkien (who is obsessed with materialism and jewelry in his books) discussing how to corrupt the truth for child readers.

Now… why Christians should read fiction? Here it is…

Harry Potter, the entire series, embodies the simplistic story of a child destined to save his world. JK Rowling pens 7 (a number that has been favored by people for a couple days) books that tell a great story of a young boy’s purpose, journey, and eventual success over evil. Nothing in these books is questionable. They each have redeeming qualities because of the illustrations at the start of each chapter. Next time you think it’d be wise to sit down and devote yourself to reading Scripture for 10, 15, or 20 minutes, I think that your time would be better spent reading about a boy with a deformity on his forehead.

Let me reiterate that Harry Potter should be the only book that we Christians read… Harry Potter and, maybe, The Great Gatsby.

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