Book Bliss! The famous Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford
Christian literature can exist only in the same sense in which Christian cookery might exist. -C.S. Lewis
An interesting perspective, you might be thinking, especially coming from a devoted believer, C.S. Lewis. The label of something being Christian, or secular, seems to cast a shadow on the work itself. Such as Christian music or Christian books, which get shoved into a market that only certain folks will notice. Why can't Christians write books or create music that isn't labelled as such but that gives glory to God? Must it be stereotyped so? I like something C.S. Lewis said, that we don't need more Christian books, we need more Christians who write books.
I know people, who are not believers, that have read The Chronicles of Narnia books or The Lord of the Rings, and they were drawn into the meaning and the story. But did they know that the authors of those books, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, were Christian men who lived in Oxford, had theological discussions, and wrote extensively about Christianity? Probably not, but they are reading the stories enriched with the morals, values, and lessons that are Biblically based. Would they have picked up those books if they were labeled specifically as Christian books (even though they are not)? Possibly not.
Point being- we live in a world with all kinds of cultures, beliefs, and views. The beauty of our differences is that, as Christians, we can give glory to God in many different ways, to many different people, even if we don't stick to the strictly safe "Christian" section of things. To venture elsewhere, by physical travel, books, music, or by engaging people who think differently, is to bring God's glory to another place that needs the light. Or to go to a place and see the light that others did not see.
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