Selecting Your Reading Material

[Wilson L. Deaton]

I've observed something on the book review board that has come to the forefront of my mind in relation to a thread on another post.

This isn't rocket science but here it is:

Most of the time we read what we like!

Are you floored by the profundity of that?

I actually have a point here. Let me elaborate with generalized examples: Those who really see the emergent church as the way to think, read books by and about the emergent movement. Those who tend to see Muslims as a threat read books that teach that Muslims are a threat. Those who see pacifism as the way to go read books that advocate pacifism. Are you beginning to see where I'm going with this?

We like to think that our reading shapes us. We're taught in liberal arts to read broadly. In reality, however, most of us gather reading material the way politicians gather "yes men." We select our reading material that affirms what we already think or feel.

Take me for instance, if I run across a book titled, "Pastoring Your Church the 1980s Way--A guide to traditional methods," don't bet on me reading it anytime soon. Or, for example, I haven't been to the bookstore looking for a books titled, "The Myth of Global Warming."

It's the proverbial chicken or the egg question (sort of). Are we a product of what we read or is what we read a product of who we are?

I'm not sure which comes first, exactly, but I know what comes second! Once we form an opinion, we work pretty hard to solidify it, rather than risk changing it.

I think in the not too distant future I'm going to try to make myself read more material that goes against the grain.

Wilson

[Jim Franklin]

I agree with your premise but true intellectuals will challenge their pet ideas and opinions by reading opposing viewpoints. As an example I once asked my American Government class at BNC where they would place themselves on a continuing line from Left to Right followed by where they would place their parents on that continuing line and most found that they had not wandered very far from what they had heard and been taught in their home. Those that didn't were known as "Rebels."

[Marsha Lynn]

I've observed something on the book review board that has come to the forefront of my mind in relation to a thread on another post.

This isn't rocket science but here it is:

Most of the time we read what we like!

I think you might have a point there!

I actually posted some thoughts on this (http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2006/10/reading-report.html) on my blog not long ago. If you don't want to go there, here's a brief summary:

I am immersed in a church community that presents a very different viewpoint than what is presented in the books I read. The dear people in my "real life" spiritual community often say things that leave me feeling theologically isolated and lonely. The books give me balance, assuring me that I'm not becoming a "Lone Ranger" Christian in the way I apply what I read in the Bible. As long as I keep going to church and listening to Christian radio and hearing the same things over and over, I need to supplement my Bible reading with books that affirm and reaffirm what I see in the Bible. They assure me that I'm not alone in my beliefs and further develop those beliefs. I am a different person because of the books I read. For one thing, I'm not nearly so angry as I would be if I thought all Christians thought like some of them think.

A young liberal scholar on another board once challenged me to go outside my comfort zone in my reading. It seemed like a sensible suggestion. (Maybe I was already there in reading his responses to me? ;) ) I'm probably pretty conservative in that area. I hear enough uncomfortable things as I go through my days that it seems a waste to commit my precious reading time to absorbing more of the same. Even my news magazine is the more-conservative U.S. News, rather than Time or Newsweek.

So what's on your "going against the grain" list? The furthest I routinely wander is to faithfully read the Notre Dame Magazine which started showing up in my mailbox on a quarterly basis when my son moved into a dorm there in the fall of 2003. It's a high-quality publication coming out of a top-ranked Catholic institution that isn't afraid to tackle hard issues. I've found it interesting lately that the typically-Catholic "social justice" emphasis of that magazine and the articles in the Compassionate Ministries magazine coming from NCM are stirring up the same discomfort within me in regards to my "fat American" lifestyle. Once again, it's something I need in my reading diet to balance out the constant pull of our culture (even inside the walls of the church) toward decadence.

Marsha

[David Cash]

Hmm. I read largely for recreation. I like aviation, history, and Christian fiction. In this set, things that go against my comfort zone are probably things that are pretty clearly less than Christian.

David Cash