As some of you know, I read pretty widely, and that includes books which are not necessarily pro-Christian and may not have Christian themes. I believe this is perfectly ethical and even important if one is well-formed in the faith, but some novels in my collection, while not being overt works of pornography, have sexually explicit scenes, and I am unsure of the ethics of reading them from a Christian standpoint. I have browsed around on other Christian sites and have basically seen 4 positions, but none of them I have seen really strongly argued for, at least among the other positions. They are:
1) It's fine to read the entire novel as long as you don't lust after it
2) It's fine to read the entire novel as long as you don't lust after it and it wasn't made with the intention of provoking lust
3) It's fine to read non-explicit parts of the novel, but skip the sex scenes
4) Skip the entire novel
I feel like my own position is somewhere on the spectrum of 2-3, but I am very unsure. Does anybody have some clarification on this? Note that due to my own denominational affiliation, I would especially appreciate Catholic input on this, but anybody can comment if they have something to say.
1) It's fine to read the entire novel as long as you don't lust after it
2) It's fine to read the entire novel as long as you don't lust after it and it wasn't made with the intention of provoking lust
3) It's fine to read non-explicit parts of the novel, but skip the sex scenes
4) Skip the entire novel
I feel like my own position is somewhere on the spectrum of 2-3, but I am very unsure. Does anybody have some clarification on this? Note that due to my own denominational affiliation, I would especially appreciate Catholic input on this, but anybody can comment if they have something to say.
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