Reading with Discernment

I came across this article earlier today, written by my former rhetoric teacher (now co-worker :) ).  She once again articulated what I always thought but could never get down on paper in a reasonably coherent fashion.

You can read the article here.  (It opens in a new window.  :) )

My favorite part:

"...Whatever is true” includes not just beauty but also the whole truth about, well, truth. What’s true and real is that this world is full of sin. It’s ugly, and it warps everything it touches. And evil is evil; it is to be avoided, not desired.

 I think I've been trying to say that for a long time but always failed.

It's important to realize that you aren't going to become tainted by sin just because you read about sin or watch a movie where people sin or, God-forbid, even know a few people who are sinners.  =P  You're already a sinner, and there's nothing you can do to make your condition worse (or better, for that matter :) ).  Isn't it good that God knows exactly how terrible we are and chooses to love us anyway?

And then people's next argument is that "all things are permissible, but not everything is beneficial," which is obviously true.  (Even if you don't believe the Bible is inherently true, I think we can all agree that certain things influence us negatively.)  I think that's where discernment becomes especially important.  For example, if I find that reading books about a certain topic (let's say... romances, because I can't think of anything else) leave me more open to sinning, then I shouldn't read romances.  But someone else might be able to read those types of books without any ill effects, and I shouldn't try to stop them just because it's not helpful for me personally to read about those things.

I'll be interested to read Part 2 in this series, and if there are more parts to look forward to, all the better!  :)