If the entertainment industry is any indication, modern man desperately 
needs to “escape.” It’s understandable when you consider how bleak things can appear — globally, economically, and existentially. What better way to forget that you don’t have a good job (if you have one at all), your love life stinks, your knees are shot, an asteroid just missed striking earth, and the nuclear black market is thriving, than to get lost in a good book or movie? It’s understandable that you’d want to escape.
What I don’t understand is why Christians are in need of doing so. I mean, Christians are supposed to have abundant life and be fully engaged in the world that is. So why do they read fiction to “escape”?
Yes, I realize there’s those who’ve challenged the idea that escapism is fundamentally and exclusively negative. Like, J. R. R. Tolkien who wrote in his essay “On Fairy-Stories” that escapism, in its attempt to understand and envision a different reality, contained an element of emancipation. C. S. Lewis was also fond of suggesting that the usual enemies of escape were… jailers.
At the risk of sounding like one of those jailers, I get that some reading transports us to a very healthy place, one that fires our imagination and inspires us to right living. It just doesn’t seem like a lot of Christians read fiction for that reason.
I recently heard a respected CBA agent conjecture that one of the reasons Historical fiction is so popular among Christian readers is that during hard economic times, people want to escape. And nothing says “escape” like petticoats, parasols, and remarkably clean-speaking pirates. But if you’re reading because the economy sucks, perhaps you should be reading Making Ends Meet on a Shoestring Budget rather than Love Finds You as Far Away from the Here-and-Now as Possible.
Which leads me to ask,
- Do Christians read books to sharpen their discernment or to give it a rest?
- Do we read books to help us engage the world, or detach from it?
- Do we read books to add excitement to our lives, or stave off terminal boredom?
- Do we read books to help us love our spouses more, or create expectations that will never, ever, be matched?
- Do we read books to think more, or think less?
- Do we read books to enrich our time, or kill time?
- Do we read books to revel in life or forget about our crappy existence?
Listen, I can definitely “escape” by reading Buck Rogers and the Venusian Vixens. Question is whether the planet I land on will be any better than the one I’m fleeing.
Do Christians read books to sharpen their discernment or to give it a rest? Sharpen my discernment and grow spiritually.
Do we read books to help us engage the world, or detach from it? Engage–I look for many books that will help others as well as myself.
Do we read books to add excitement to our lives, or stave off terminal boredom? Both, but mainly for excitement.
Do we read books to help us love our spouses more, or create expectations that will never, ever, be matched? Sometimes it ends us being both, but the goal is to grow.
Do we read books to think more, or think less? MANY books make me think more!
Do we read books to enrich our time, or kill time? Sometimes both, but hopefully the first.
Do we read books to revel in life or forget about our crappy existence? Revel in life!
I read to re-adjust my mind-set. Life on this planet in its current state is hard, and living a just and obedient and self-controlled life is hard. My mind needs a break from all that life or death responsibility. Taking a mini-vacation of the brain enables me to stand and withstand.
As for those who would seek to sit in judgment of what I partake of to restore my drained batteries, I give not a moment’s thought to the loud, harsh opinions of those pinched, hectoring judges. I like my planetary romantic adventures – they enable me to better deal with the muck and mire of this grey world.
Johne, are you implying I’m a “pinched, hectoring judge”? For your information, I just finished “The Monstrumologist” and I’m currently reading Koontz’s “Frankenstein.” How’s that for “pinched”? 😉
Ahahaha. You’re one of the more open-minded thinkers we have.
No, I don’t lob insults at people between the lines. If I attack you, as my people say, ‘you’ll be awake, you’ll be facing me, and you’ll be armed.’ 😉
#browncoatsFTL
“It just doesn’t seem like a lot of Christians read fiction for that reason.”
I think, because a lot of us don’t speak up, because we don’t want to deal with those hectoring judges Johne is talking about.
There are innumerable reasons why to read fiction. All of them beneficial. But if I COULDN’T escape through reading? If reading didn’t transport me to another place of some kind?
What would be the point? And yeah, I’ll admit I’m an idealistic, fancy-free, life-is-a-journey-that’s-why-all-stories-are-awesome kind of guy. I’m more than a touch romantic. But the minute a novel or story fails to pull me in and transport me somewhere else, I’m done. Because I think that’s every writers’ goal. Or should be. To transport their readers to worlds apart and uncharted and unknown. Or, to places known and loved and revisited often.
Did I say I was a touch romantic…?
I’m going to reply to these with fiction rather than nonfiction in mind. And in general, I’m a big believer in the idea that reading fiction can and should (1) grow our compassion, and (2) allow truth to do an end-run around our defenses and reach our hearts.
?Do Christians read books to sharpen their discernment or to give it a rest?
Both. In the first instance, since you’re ID-ing with the book’s MC, you can try out your discernment in that person’s circumstance. On the other hand, the book is a self-contained world, with more shape and less (supposed) randomness than real life. So you can give your discernment a rest, because with the vast majority of books you’re going to close the book at the end with your own real life unchanged. You don’t, in the end, carry the responsibility for the MC’s problems.
?Do we read books to help us engage the world, or detach from it?
Both, for pretty much the same reasons as above. In a story, we can visit lands and interact with people we may not meet in the real world; we can get out of ourselves. Through the problems of a fictional character we can gain strength to cope with our own; I’ve seen it happen. OTOH, we don’t, in the end, carry the responsibility for the MC’s problems. There’s nothing wrong with taking a physical vacation, or time off work. There’s nothing wrong with taking a mental vacation by means of a novel, either.
?Do we read books to add excitement to our lives, or stave off terminal boredom?
Either of these can fall short of the mark, I think. If we read books to literally ADD more excitement to that excitement which our lives already contain, I have no problem with that. However, if books are our only excitement, or we are terminally bored, then we may be medicating with books, and I think God wants and requires more for us in the real world. I’ve known bookworm types who have fasted from novel reading for a time because they felt convicted that reading was taking them over.
?Do we read books to help us love our spouses more, or create expectations that will never, ever, be matched?
This is a big reason why “Christian romance” bothers me. Going by what I’ve observed, I think too many women are reading these books and feeling a stir of discontent with their own very real (and possibly unsaved) husbands, or are set up for unrealistic expectations in a future spouse. These books can be a temptation to yearn for greener grass and fail to appreciate your mate. Taking this example and extrapolating it to reading in general, we all need to be discerning about what effect our reading is having on us.
?Do we read books to think more, or think less?
Both. Sometimes we don’t know which book will have which effect, either. Your life can be changed by the book you least expected; but sometimes we just need a joyride.
?Do we read books to enrich our time, or kill time?
See above.
?Do we read books to revel in life or forget about our crappy existence?
Many Christians have the mindset that we must slog through life on this miserable earth until we either die or are snatched away to the sweet bye-and-bye. Therefore, I think it’s possible that more Christians than average are reading to escape their crappy existence. They have a crappy existence by definition, if not personal experience; the fallen human condition is “crappy existence.” But to look at this in a positive way, many children, especially, have endured miserable home lives and other huge problems by hanging onto books as a lifeline. It’s how they find out there are other ways of living, how they find hope, especially if they’ve not been introduced to Jesus at all. So “forgetting one’s crappy existence” through books can, for some, become a bridge to reaching a place where they CAN revel in life.
Sorry for the wonky format above!
Balance.
I think we most certainly need times to “recharge” and how that happens isn’t nearly as critical than that it does happen. And this could be an introvert vs. extrovert issue. I don’t know. But this isn’t too different from the concept of “retreats” in the church. Sometimes retreats are to learn something, get away from the daily grind enough to take a step back and see the bigger picture. Or deal with a non-demanding issues that are nonetheless important but have been sitting on the back burner for way too long.
Good fiction can do that. And I don’t think it is necessary to every time put a practical outcome/spiritual growth goal to it either. Sometimes just being entertained is all that is needed. To be in another world and another person’s shoes, which in and of itself can be enlightening. I don’t think that is bad.
But if we spend a good percent of our time escaping, that can be an issue. One time I went to a retreat in Colorado Springs, up in the Navigator’s camp grounds. A wonderfully recharging time of my spiritual and emotional batteries. Nothing like sitting on top of a mountain, Pike’s Peak in the background, watching the sunrise, and singing hymns to God. I loved it up there. What an escape! But as sermons have said so often, at some point, I had to come down from the mountain, leave the camp, and return to the daily grind. But I did so with fresh energy, purpose, and direction.
I think good fiction can do that. And sometimes you can’t even put a finger on a specific thing you learned or a spiritual truth that has been impressed on you. You just know that you have come away from it inspired and strengthened.
Not all fiction will do that, obviously. Some is better than others. But a life without entertainment and release from the grindstone will rarely give us the opportunity to allow God, who can use an donkey, to speak to us, even in works that are not specifically labeled as “Christian.”
Balance. Too much of a good thing is bad, including how-to/spiritual growth books, which is what it seems too many Christians think is the only thing worth reading. It’s not all about us. And perhaps that is fiction’s biggest contribution. Getting ourselves outside of our world and experience/empathize with another’s. To see a bigger picture…like God does.
I concur with John Cooke’s statement — reset is the perfect description of why I read fiction. Sometimes I just want to experience an adventure, and let’s be honest, while our lives–mine included–are quite fulfilling and for the most part wonderful, there’s just something about a journey through a fantastical realm that excites us. I don’t know what our definition of “escape” in this context is, but if it means excluding all else in your life then no, Christians shouldn’t read to escape. If it means taking a break from the nasty parts of this hard world, then sure. I keep these thoughts in the back of my head: the fiction I read is not real; my life is real; Christ is real. Done and done.
Escape is a motivator, that’s for sure. That’s why Christians believe in a pretribulation rapture.
Not all Christians.
😉
“Christians are supposed to have abundant life and be fully engaged in the world that is. So why do they read fiction to “escape”?”
I’d consider reading fiction to be a part of my abundant life, and that being fully engaged in the here and now doesn’t preclude rest. In fact, pleasure reading is one of my staple Sabbath activities.
I nearly always look for something to learn, either about writing or living or both, in the fiction I choose. However, I do think I understand the perspective of a person whose stated goal in reading fiction is to escape. One person I respect a great deal explained to me that she doesn’t read to be challenged, because she considers her circumstances challenge enough. And without sharing her specifics, I can’t help but agree.
I’ll venture to guess that the escapist position probably contributes to the prevalence of squeaky-clean fiction in CBA. If Christians have to live in a fallen world all day every day from ever since ’til kingdom come, why not declare one’s imagination as a mental-Sabbath safety-zone? And I don’t mean to say that I have anything against stories that are gritty, edgy, and/or challenging. I’m just not very surprised that the supply and demand are exactly as they are.
Thought-provoking post. Thanks Mike.
Most of those same questions could also be asked (with equal validity) about watching TV. And it’s got to be a really bad novel before it’s worse than most TV shows.
Of course, TV shows have another big question that needs to be asked: Does watching this TV show make you feel better about yourself and the way you look, or worse?
Trust me, I love shackles as much as the next guy, but I have been ordered to:
1) Untether myself from the corpse of my old self
2) Cast off anything that would beset me from completing my mission
3) Occupy
4) Be still
5) and be free indeed.
In other words, I’ve been commanded to escape, not to wrestle with Stockholm Syndrome.
So whether it is the braces bursting from Forrest’s crippled legs, Samwise Gamgee taking up the burden of the ring to rescue his beloved friend and master, Oscar Schindler realizing how many more lives his car would have bought, Mrs. Flood lying in bed at midnight, weeping, the vanishing man on the airplane, or a thousand other vivid scenes and ocean deep themes, you bet that escape, in some form, is a fundamental (and, frankly, irresistable – I didn’t ask for it, specifically, it was given as a condition of what I did want: salvation) process of my daily life.
I’m not an antichrist, after all!
Certainly, escapism can become its own prison, but not because escape is bad, but because the devil is, and sin corrupts many good things.
Mike,
I address this topic on my blog. However, I did slightly different.
http://kammbia1.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/wisdom-of-marion-2-16-can-christian-fiction-just-be-entertaining-and-enjoyable/
I believe should read to escape and have fun as well as reading seriously. Somehow, we tend to think that life is all one way or black or white. And God is author of everything…I believe he would want to us have to some fun as well.
This is missing in our current form of Christianity. It seems like to some Christians that doing anything fun is a “sin.” Nothing could further from the truth.
There is a time to be serious. There is a time to escape and having fun. Reading should be ones of those activities that’s enjoyable too.
Marion
I can honestly answer “both” for every question you asked—with the exception of the one about unrealistic expectations for my spouse. (I don’t set out to *create* unrealistic expectations…but it’s nice to get swept up in a story about improbable love every once in a while. It certainly doesn’t mean I expect that in real life.)
To quote The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony: “I’m a million different people from one day to the next…” My reasons for reading depend on my mood, my life circumstances, my age, etc.
I agree with R.L. Copple: it’s all about balance.
As a child, I read to escape a very hard existence. L. Frank Baum was my guide. As a writer today, I pray that my writing is not an escape from boredom or social concerns, etc. Rather, I hope that it is a light for those escaping Babylon.
Why WOULDN’T Christians want to read to escape? The Lord has promised us many wonderful things, but an easy life is not one of them and life most certainly isn’t.
But even apart from escape, I’m always looking to see how I can learn to handle difficult life situations better by analyzing how a character responds to their situation and in what ways they made an impact on the world around them.
I love escaping from the troubles of my everyday life into a carefree fictional world. You know, like the one in The Hunger Games.
Interesting that we both posted on this topic, Mike, after the discussion over at Spec Faith resulting from your post there.
What I discovered, though, is that “why do we read fiction” is not an issue only Christians debate. So here’s the question: Should Christians read fiction for different reasons than non-Christians?
Becky
I have nothing to add, really, save to say I confess to reading as an escape valve.
If a novel grabs me by the throat and pulls me in, then when I finally surface, I feel recharged. For the past several weeks I was on a pulp SF binge, and then shifted gears, and right now I’m reading the Agent Pandergast series of novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Caramba, those lads can write. The things are dark, gripping, shocking, multilayered, and peppered with enough historical tidbits to keep me entertained for hours.
So does reading for escapsim make me shallow, or even worse (gasp!) a “carnal Christian”? Ya got me. All I know is what works for me, works well.
Katie Weiland tweeted this quote: “Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.” ?Lloyd Alexander
I like this. It reinforces the idea that in escaping from life, we may be better able to understand life, to get the most out of it. So reading to escape is like investing in yourself, in your world, in your future, the gift that keeps on giving.
If we are going to ask whether Christians should read to escape, should we not define “escape” by what Scripture reveals about escapism in its various forms? Certainly, mankind can seek escape from reality through innumerable means, many rooted in unhealthy, selfish desires that lead further away from God. However, I don’t see that properly resting our minds and bodies, reinvigorating our soul and refocusing our purpose are unGodly. In fact, they are integral to our growing relationship with God. Scripture even tells of times that Jesus withdrew from both crowds and situations, and certainly these were not sinful. Rather, they served to strengthen his connection to his Father and further His work. I believe the answer lies in understanding FROM what and TO what we are escaping.
I think the answer to all of the questions above would be that Christians and people in general read to do both, whether they are conscious of it or not. Some will approach it from angle A and other B, but still, I believe, engaging both realism and escapism. I believe that, as authors, we are in effect peddling escapism. I don’t think this is a bad thing. I agree with C.S. Lewis. If the escape is into a good place then I don’t see anything wrong with it.