Good Literature: Responsibility of Christian Home

by A. W. Tozer

"The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord; but the words of the pure are pleasant words." Proverbs 15:26

     It is my belief that we Christians are bound in all conscience to discourage the reading of subversive literature and to promote as fully as possible the circulation of good books and magazines.

    Just what part evil literature has played in the present moral breakdown throughout all the world will never be known till men are called forth to answer to a holy God for their unholy deeds, but it must be very great indeed!

    For thousands of young people the first doubt about God and the Bible came with the reading of some evil book. We must respect the power of ideas, and printed ideas are as powerful as spoken ones. They may have a longer fuse, but their explosive power is just as great. 

     Our Christian faith teaches us to expect to answer for every idle word; how much more severely shall we be held to account for every evil word, whether printed or spoken.

     The desire to appear broad-minded is one not easy to overcome, for it is rooted in our ego and is simply a none-too-subtle form of pride. In the name of broad-mindedness many a Christian home has been opened to literature that sprang not from a broad mind, but from a mind little and dirty and polluted with evil!

     We require our children to wipe their feet before entering the house. Dare we demand less of the literature that comes into our home?

September 8 reading in RENEWED DAY BY DAY

Note: Today we must include in the warning electronic literature, the multitude of articles and blogs available on internet.