To Read or not to read? (yes, it's a lame title. ^^;)

[The_Spoon]

Okay, I was wondering if it was nessisarily wrong to read such books as Stephen King where it's riddled with profanity and material for mature audiences.

I have currently read a number of his books including the entire gunslinger series, Dreamcatcher, It, and Carrie, although it never really occured to me that I might be hurting myself by reading these things.

My dad, who is a pastor (although just not to any church.), is okay with me reading them and is actually slightly impressed that I get most of the meaning out of it, but I'm still confused a bit.

Anyone care to help clear up the mess a bit?

The Spoon

[JudgeNot]

Fiction is the key word.  Reading Stephen King is less likely to make a sinner out of you than is the ‘literary’ trash at the supermarket checkout.  (That stuff is DANGEROUS!)  

I've read all (yes ALL) of King's books, and I've read all of Dean Koontz's books also.  I don't believe I'm any the worse for it.  However, I don't read their kind of fiction exclusively.  

If you like King/Koontz type of books, there are quite a few Christian fiction authors who can keep you tuned into a good read.  Ted Dekker, (read 'Blink' - you'll love it!) and Frank Peretti write some stuff that is greatly entertaining, and 'supernaturally' based.  

Unfortunately, there aren't enough Christian authors writing the kind of 'supernatural-action-fiction' to keep up with my voracious reading appetite.  

[The_Spoon]

Okay, Thanks. ^^
And I have read Frank Peretti's Hangman's Curse and Nightmare Acadamy. I'm not sure if there are any more though.

Thank you for clearing this up for me, as a person once told me that reading Stephen King was wrong. (I was just like. 0.o;; meh? and got very confused.)

Once again, Thanks for your help. ^^

The Spoon

[JudgeNot]

Hey Spoon -
What I posted is just my opinion and should not be confused with biblical authority.
 

Get a second opinion (and third).
 

Yours in Christ,
JN

[The_Spoon]

oh. right. ^^;; I'll keep that in mind.

The Spoon

[Tabitha]

I've read Stephen King and Dean Koontz before, and I do not think that there is anything wrong with it. I like Dean Koontz better because I think that he does use excessive profanity and violence as filler like King does. Don't get me wrong, I know Koontz's books have a lot of violence, but it's relevent to the plot. You obviously recognize that these elements are wrong, or you wouldn't be questioning it. As long as you are mature enough not to incorporate it into your life, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Willowbirch]

Okay, Thanks. ^^
And I have read Frank Peretti's Hangman's Curse and Nightmare Acadamy. I'm not sure if there are any more though.

The Oracle, The Visitation, and Monster are pretty good Frank Peretti books!

[ZakDar]

Well it's always great to have an alternative view, eh?

I was a big fan of the science fiction/fantasy genre. I read Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Stephen Donaldson, etc.

It took the Lord a few years, but I finally got the point and threw all those books in the garbage. You see, Science Fiction generally challenges the existence of a god. Fantasy, on the other hand will permit numerous gods.

Of course, the REAL danger with fiction is it is going into your head, and from your head it can get down into your spirit. And if it gets down into your spirit, eventually it will come out of your mouth which is activating your faith. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

So, at what I believe to be the prompting of the Spirit of God, I chucked all those books out. And I'm real glad I did because it set my path to read, watch, and/or listen to God's Word. And I've grown much stronger because of it, which for me is absolutely critical.

I prefer to set my sights on the Lord, AND KEEP THEM THERE!!!   There's way too many distractions in the Western world, and these distractions nowadays are very, very, very, very bad. F ew short decades ago they weren't so bad but there can be no denying that Satan has step things up considerably.

Therefore, my recommendation would be to put the King and Koontz down, and stay strictly with true Christian authorship.

[RLOWE]

Some of Heinlein's EARLY books if findable, are good AND fairly clean.

I like "Door Into Summer".


Also one idea to keep reading but not the bad words:

If it is YOUR book, consider marking through bad words with a black colored pencil.
Then when you see the marked through read it as a bleep if at all.