Theological pornography

"Don't watch that movie." I was told.

"Why not?  It gets great reviews." I replied.

"It is a horror movie.  And it gave me nightmares."
  
I took the advice and did not watch the movie.  The person I was talking to was credible.  I knew that she and I had similar taste in movies.  I also knew I did not enjoy horror movies.  Did I miss out on a great movie?  Maybe, but I doubt it.  Do I regret not watching it?  Not at all.  I choose the media I watch carefully.  I should probably be even more careful.  The things I see in movies and TV shows tend to revisit me at the most inopportune times.  Like when I wake up in the middle of the night and in the darkness and silence some dreadful murder scene from a movie I just watched begins playing in my mind.  Or maybe I remember the scene of some topless actress in that romantic comedy I just watched.  The truth is, the media I put into my mind affects me.

Months ago I sat down with a pastor-friend of mine and asked him to pray for me because I was struggling with a lot of fear in my life.  We prayed and he asked me what I had been reading.  I told him I didn't read much.  He encouraged me to read some classic Christian books.  Why classics?  Because the classics have stood the test of time.  Let their words and truth pour into my heart and mind, he said.  He also encouraged me to listen to Christian music instead of my normal go-to stations on my morning commute.  The point was to immerse myself in Biblical truth as an exercise to build faith.  The first book I began reading was The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis.  From there I started Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan.  Then to Knowing God by J.I. Packer, Spectacular Sins, by John Piper, and then Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges.  The point was not to read books specifically dealing with fear and trusting God, but to feed myself a consistent diet of Christ-centered ideas, and fear-conquering faith would be a natural by-product.

This process has taught me the importance of selecting wisely the books I read.  I choose the books I read the same way I choose the TV shows or movies I watch:  I want to know up front what kind of ideas they will be putting into my mind.  If I'm going to invest minutes, hours, or days consuming a show, movie, or book I want to know that time is well-spent and constructive.  I know as a male I'm drawn to visual images.  I do not want pornographic images infiltrating my thoughts so I try to avoid explicit visuals.  Likewise, as a sinful person it is always a struggle to be faithful to God and so I don't want theological pornography I read in some poorly chosen book being repeated over and over in my head at a moment of weak faith.  There are a lot of popular "Christian" books which are theological pornography.  They feel good now but destroy faith long-term.

When I use my GPS I always start by inputting my desired destination.  I want to know where it's taking me before I start driving.  When I read a book I start by asking up front where the author wants to take me and whether I want to go there.