Lit by Tony Reinke

I’m writing this blog from beautiful Byron Bay, where we are gathered along with family to celebrate a wedding. Both my husband and I come from non-Christian backgrounds and, to our great sadness, remain the only believers in our entire extended family on both sides. Whenever we gather with them, it further underlines how great a chasm lies between us. On the surface, the shape of our lives may look similar. We dress in similar clothes, we eat similar food, we all have work, we’re raising or have raised children, we all have home duties and shop at the same kind of stores, we go on holidays, we have health concerns, interests and hobbies. The list goes on. But the way my husband and I approach all of those things, by God’s grace, has been transformed by the gospel. We are now seeking to do all of those things to the glory of God. We no longer consider that life consists in those things, we no longer worship those idols.

As I read Chapter 4 of Reinke’s ‘Lit’, his imagery of the ‘canyon’ that separates us as readers from non-Christian authors is so strongly echoed in our lived experience. In many ways, when we relate to our non-Christian family members, it feels like we’re speaking a different language. That’s the enormous difference a biblical worldview makes. It would be so easy as Christians to retreat into our enclave and only relate to our church family, who share our worldview, because we understand each other. Yet we are called to remain in the world, even though we are not of the world. Which is why I’m such a fan of Reinke’s argument that there is much to be gained from reading non-Christian literature, as long as we recognize the pivotal difference that Christ makes to everything, and as long as we are able to sift what we read to extract the ‘gold leaf’.

I’m was so glad to find that Reinke built on his discussion of discernment: that he explained the growth of discernment not just in terms of the presence of the Holy Spirit but the gradual development of a biblical worldview. It was great to have this clarified as a ‘cluster of touchstone propositions’ that act as gatekeepers, allowing us to test various ideas and providing a framework for understanding everything else. He reminds us of the importance of developing and strengthening this worldview before we expose ourselves to certain texts. The example I mentioned in my last week’s blog post was a novel by Alice Walker called ‘The Color Purple’. It’s a classic & profound text, but really I probably shouldn’t have been reading that as a 14 year old or as a new Christian. Reflecting on this and Reinke’s words made me think about how, as parents, we need to be discerning about what our children read and when. Kids attending public schools are generally being exposed to lots of texts that are espousing a completely different worldview. Perhaps the kids are not mature enough to be able to filter what they are reading/hearing? I’ve been so happy to have kids that love to read that perhaps I haven’t been careful enough about the material they were reading. And yet, in many ways I feel like I’ve largely lost control over that, having made the decision to send them to government schools. The example of Harry Potter also made me a bit uncomfortable – I was intrigued to know exactly what it is about Rowling’s books that was the basis for his decision to disallow them until later.

It was wonderful to have Reinke articulate a well-thought out set of reasons for why it is beneficial to read non-Christian books. I’m a member of a mixed book club: we have Christian and non-Christian members. Obviously, if we only read Christian books, I doubt the non-Christian women would continue to come! Not only that, but I’ve always truly found reading fiction by non-Christian authors to be a blessing to me, in all the ways Reinke describes. And being in a book club if this kind opens up opportunities to discuss the themes raised in the books and bring gospel perspective into those discussions. The other great blessing to me is the stimulation of imagination – the subject of Reinke’s sixth chapter. I don’t think it’s just the fantasy genre that does this: even reading novels which are realistic stimulates imagination and empathy, both of which are hugely important as we seek to know God more and also to share His love with those around us. By getting outside of ourselves and imagining what it’s like to be someone else, we learn how to look at the big picture, take a different perspective etc. And we can bring those things to bear in understanding the Bible, as well as in the development of our wisdom and character.

I think Reinke has done an excellent job of making a theological case for why Christians should be dedicated readers. Now I can’t wait to get into the practical tips for reading in Part 2 of ‘Lit’…

Meet Kristen Butchatsky

I am a wife to Pete, a mum of three girls, and a music teacher. I am a long-time member of the wonderful church family St Aidan’s Anglican in Hurstville Grove, having come to Christ through a youth group ministry at age 14. I love singing, reading (obviously!!), walking my dog, Ned and going to see plays, movies and musical theatre.