The words come from the tortured protagonist in Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. For years, this powerful story of a man ignoring his conscience has struck readers with the awesome reality of God's ultimate judgment. And yet some Christians won't read it. Because it's a secular novel. In recent years, the Christian community has drawn a sharp line between what's sacred in reading material and what isn't.
Religious fiction dominates the bookshelves in many Christian homes.
Christian publishers even reject the traditional mass market paperback size in favor of their larger trade paper versions, as if they don't want to risk looking like a secular book. In essence, we've labeled the secular novel unclean. And we've done so for some very good reasons. Many secular books advocate actions and lifestyles that we oppose as immoral. Some openly mock our beliefs, portray graphic sex and violence and spew foul language.