A lot of people spend hours watching movies and television, but some of us spend as much time (if not more) reading books. If someone asked me for the top five things I spend time doing, reading would be near the top of the list.

But just like movies and television can influence the way you see the world, books can have the same subtle effect on your thinking. For years, I’ve personally struggled with my joy in reading, knowing that a good bit of the material that I choose to indulge in is not God-honoring or praise-worthy. Much of the science fiction novels on the market are actively pro-evolution, pro-naturalism, and very atheistic. The fantasy genre in general is full of paganism and actively anti-Christian. Even straight fiction genres in the mass market seem to thrive on social and political correctness and promote secular amoral behavior that is blatantly non-Christian. And yet, I enjoy reading any well-written novel. I’m an escapist at heart, liking nothing better than losing myself for hours in the made up worlds of someone else’s imagination.

Is this wrong?

I’ve known many friends who have suffered a conflict between their faith and their reading habits and have literally thrown away all of their secular fiction books in an attempt to free themselves of their addiction to non-Christian ideas. I’m not going to judge that action. For some, this reaction may be the only way they can free themselves of what can become a very unhealthy obsession. I’ve even contemplated such an action myself, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Perhaps I am weak, but I like to think that in some ways I am strong—strong enough to read the world’s ideas and think critically enough to find enjoyment but not be sucked away from the correct way of thinking.

Ah, there it is again. I need to think critically, even while I escape into a good read. I need to apply true thinking, biblical thinking, to everything I put before my eyes. I need to spend time with the only true book (the Bible) so that I can know counterfeit ideas when I read them. I need to be willing to follow a story’s logic beyond where the authors are willing to take it. I need to look for God where the authors never intended to portray Him. I need to be aware of the underlying worldviews, the subtle messages, and the blatant agendas that work their way into every book on the market. In other words, I need to not just read, but think constantly and critically about what I am reading.

So, since I like to read and do a great deal of it in the fantasy, science fiction, and romance genres, I have decided to add a category to the "Are You JUST Watching?" blog. From time to time, I will post a critical thinking review of a novel I have just read. This blogging will keep me honest in my own critical thinking approach to my reading, as well as, I hope, provide useful food for thought and ground for discussion for my fellow bookworms in the Faith. Feel free to share your own comments on the novels that I will discuss in the future, as I’m sure I will miss concepts worth discussing.

Coming very soon: one or more posts on the acclaimed and highly popular Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. I have finished the books, and the posts are already in draft.

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