By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
Amy Carmichael was a dedicated missionary in India from 1895 to 1931, focusing on rescuing children from temple prostitution. She authored nearly 40 books and emphasized the concept of Calvary love, contrasting her sacrificial life with modern ministry approaches that prioritize comfort and doubt.
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
In my review of a book set in Wicklow, Alabama, the protagonist, Anna Kate, returns to bury her grandmother and confront her family history while grappling with magic realism. I explain the genre of ‘magic realism’, discuss my genre preferences, and note that some genres present stumbling blocks to some while not to others.
Continue reading “Chick Lit with a Touch of Magic: Blackbird Café Review”By Elizabeth Prata
I discuss reading fiction as a Christian. Despite the notion that some people have that “God’s word is enough” and that other reading isn’t required, I and others argue that fiction enriches our understanding of human experience and offers valuable leisure. I share insights from Leland Ryken and Tony Reinke, urging people to consider the importance of good literature in a busy life.
Continue reading “Why Christians Should Embrace Reading Fiction”By Elizabeth Prata
Chip and Joanna Gaines are executive producers of “Back to the Frontier,” a Magnolia Network show which debuted July 10 featuring families living without modern amenities. Controversy arose over including a homosexual couple with surrogacy-born twins, prompting criticism from those who see it as an affront to the traditional values the Gaines’ claim to uphold, and a misleading portrayal of family.
Continue reading “Chip & Joanna Gaines: Controversy Over LGBTQ+ Family on Magnolia Network”By Elizabeth Prata
The article discusses the internet and social media. It highlights influencer Hannah Ricketts’ negative review of Nobu Hotel, which sparked significant public response which reflected the power of social media influencing. I warn about the influence of false teachers on believers, emphasizing the need for vigilance against misleading influences in today’s digital age.
Continue reading “The Power of Social Media Influencers in Today’s Digital Age”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
I discuss the genre of Christian romance, with its emphasis on Christian values, faith, and wholesome themes. While this genre avoids explicit content, the field varies widely in interpretation and acceptance of certain topics. The piece also points to Harlequin’s influence in popularizing these narratives while advising readers to choose wisely.
Continue reading “The Christian Romance Genre: Faith and Fiction”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
I share my summer experiences as an educator enjoying time off to read, reflect, and engage with media. I experienced a lengthy internet outage that interrupted my studies and entertainment. I mention various books, focusing on their content and spiritual themes, while expressing gratitude for the opportunity to use my time wisely.
Continue reading “Tales from the internet outage”By Elizabeth Prata
New Year’s Resolution. I said to myself, “Self, NO MORE BOOKS.”
There.
I lasted one month.
But what is a bibliophile to do when there is a great sale on books AND the person is a Christian who needs the money? Buy a bunch, of course.
Bibliophile: “a person who collects or has a great love of books.” I love books, everything about them. Their construction, their looks, the possibilities they offer for imagination taking flight, for reality being put aside for just a little bit. I love old books, first editions, oir just good books. They are friends.
I love finding them, inventorying them, shelving them, thinking about them.
Bookworm: “a person devoted to reading.” I love reading but admittedly as I’ve aged and I’m still working full-time in a mentally demanding job, I have little energy to read on a weekday evening anymore, pitifully.
What’s the difference between a bibliophile and a bookworm? Not much. They often go hand in hand. A bibliophile is someone who loves books and often collects them, while a bookworm is an avid reader. Bibliophiles may also enjoy the physical aspects of books, such as their smell, feel, and appearance, while bookworms may be more interested in the content, says AI. I’m both.
My home growing up didn’t have many books or even a bookshelf but both parents read. In a later childhood home there were lots of books. The downstairs den had floor to ceiling built-in bookshelves. I used to enjoy looking at the titles of these grown up books. As for me, my library card was fairly worn out with how much I was there getting more and more books to read.
I also love giving them away. If someone needs a book, either any book or a certain book, they can have it if I have it.
I’ve got three other bookcases with books in them, all secular. One is in the bedroom and two are in the living room. A small shelf in the kitchen has cookbooks, and on my table is a small shelf of ‘what I’m reading now or next.’
My theological library-
It’s been many years of accumulating, curating, looking. About 18 years, to get to this point.
OK, this is it. No more books. 😉
By Elizabeth Prata
Part 1- Navigating Christian Romance Novels: What’s Acceptable?
In part 1 of this short series about Christian Romance novels, I’d gone over the dilemma many women feel when seeking a clean, good, historical romance book. There are many thorny issues within the Christian publishing arena among novelists who discuss whether to go clean (tame), spicy (edgy) or just explicit (obscene). If it’s true that one man’s trash is another’s treasure, one woman’s clean book is boring to another, but an acceptably spicy book to one is too racy for another.
Is it OK to read romances (like Harlequin & its ilk) if the sex isn’t explicit? Are Christian romances a good substitute for secular romance genre reading?
I had explored the complexities of Christian romance novels and the challenges of balancing faith with engaging narratives, avoiding sin and idols, and inviting deeper contemplation. It isn’t just a sex scene that might instill sinful lust in a reader’s heart, but the subtle instillation of romantic expectations from these books that then lead to an idol of marriage, or romance, or husbands. These idols weren’t speculative, I’d found many comments on chat boards opining about this very issue of romantic marriage becoming an idol for some.
KimG on the Puritan Board said, “However, I find that these kinds of books allow Christian women to vicariously relive the emotional high that comes from falling in love without actually finding someone new to fall in love with. It promotes envy and lust by producing a longing for a storybook romance that no husband can ever live up to“.
The bottom line is, what Christian readers want, especially the sub-genre of Christian romance, is a well-written story that presents characters wrestling with life and coming to solutions based on biblical principles- without going into the arena of ‘too graphic’.
How to navigate this issue?
Let’s go to the Bible. While the Bible doesn’t tell us specifically what to read, there are many guiding principles in the good book for us to live by.
Principle #1: Permissible but not beneficial?
Should Christian women read Romance Novels? Well, we know that the Bible says that ‘All things are permissible to us, but not all things are beneficial. (1 Corinthians 10:23). So while the Bible doesn’t tell us explicitly what to read, we understand that while we may read anything, not all things are good for us.
Principle #2: Think on these things
We are admonished to do the following in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.“
Is this romance book worthy of praise to Jesus? Is it commendable? Is it pure?
Principle #3: Conforming or transforming?
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
Is this book helping my mind or presenting a stumbling block? Is the book showing me a good way to negotiate a relationship in a Godly way, or is it raising unrealistic expectations of how romantic relationships operate?
Principle #4: The Conscience
Hebrews 13:18 reminds us of the importance of our conscience: Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.
While reading one romance book may not violate your conscience, reading a bunch of them may begin to instill an idol…is your conscience starting to speak to you? Are you reading too many and neglecting devotionals and Bible study?
Principle #5: Guard your heart, eyes, and mind
Guard your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23 says. 2 Peter 2:14 warns of false teachers “having eyes full of adultery”. Are these books causing you to lust after a fictional character, a known person, or anyone other than your husband? Your eyes are full of adultery. Are your eyes full of jealousy because someone you know seems to have a relationship like in the books, but you do not?
Principle #6: Stumbling block to others
Romans 14:13 says Therefore let’s not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this: not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s or sister’s way.
Do you know of a younger sister in your life (younger chronologically or spiritually) who is weaker than you and by these books will succumb to stumbling?
So what good books are out there?
What are some alternatives to Christian romances? Some of the classics are mentioned frequently as a substitute, such as Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Charlotte Brontë…
Other clean Christian books not particularly of the romance genre are Charles Martin books. Below is a page with a synopsis of each of his Christian books, some of which have romantic relationships, and some not.
All Charles Martin book synopses- https://rebeccajwhitman.com/2021/12/01/the-power-of-the-written-word-charles-martin-books/
Clean books that aren’t romance or Christian are the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, Agatha Christie, Mrs Pollifax book series, All Creatures Great and Small series, and many others.
We can read biographical books about marriages of the saints from the past, such as Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon, wife of Charles H. Spurgeon by Ray Rhodes Jr., Marriage To A Difficult Man:The Uncommon Union Of Jonathan & Sarah Edwards by Elisabeth D. Dodds.
The Christian Lover is a book by Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin where we read love letters from saints of the past. The book blurb says, “Each letter gives us a glimpse of what marriage should be: joyful companionship, deep passion, and unfailing commitment through the ups and downs of life.” More here
To conclude, reading Christian romances is a matter of personal liberty. As with all decisions you make, it is a personal one, but hopefully you are making decisions based on Godly principles.
Continue reading “Navigating Christian Romance Novels: What’s Acceptable? part 2”By Elizabeth Prata
Back in 1992 Bruce Springsteen published a song called 57 channels (and nothing on). It was during the time when streaming movie channels had gone to a 24 hour format, (yes, HBO hadn’t always been 24 hours), cable tv was expanding, and satellite television was coming in. In my day in the 1960s and early 1970s, we had 3 broadcast channels, and later Public TV added a 4th.
Many of us marveled at the expansion of available choices for personal entertainment, but shortly we were disappointed at the vapidity of them all and frustrated by the lack of quality. It was true, 57 channels and nothing on.
Thirty-three years later we have even more opportunities for our personal entertainment in not only streaming movies and TV, but music, internet content, podcasts and print media in books. Despite the widening of choices, Christian segments of each of those industries still remains small. What do we watch/listen to/read without our eyes/ears/heart becoming dispirited (or righteously offended) by the content? For readers, aren’t there ANY safe, well-written romance books? 57 Publishers and nothing to read…
Continue reading “Navigating Christian Romance Novels: What’s Acceptable? part 1”
the-end-time.org 