How Reading a Book I Disagree With Benefited Me

I recently read a book that I disagree with… and I enjoyed the experience.

A family member gave me a Christian book for Christmas that is meant to help Christians overcome a particular struggle. That family member hadn’t read the book--she just picked it out because it seemed like something that would interest me.

I was hesitant to read the book because I didn’t think it was something that really applied to me. However, I read it because I like to give all books a chance and since it was a gift. As I read the introduction, I found myself thinking, This isn’t completely biblical…

I am sure the author had good intentions, but there were parts of the book that seemed more cultural than Christian. The introduction said that the book could help readers overcome the things that keep them from “following [their] heart or doing what [they] want to do.” Several other parts of the book encouraged similar things--follow your heart and believe in yourself.

But… I shouldn’t follow my heart, because the Bible says that the heart is deceitful. And I shouldn’t do what I want to do--I should do what God wants me to do, I thought.

The book confused me at times because it did encourage reading and listening to God’s word. Yet it also emphasized things like following your heart and being free to be who you are. Was this book promoting a cultural message or a Christian message? Was the author someone who had Christian beliefs but had just picked up cultural terms?

After I read the introduction, I wondered if I should even finish the book. Would it be beneficial if it included advice contrary to what I believed? I kept reading anyway.

I decided to annotate in the margins of the book as I read. That way, when I disagreed with a statement, I could write why I disagreed with it. I also emphasized true, helpful statements that the book made, because it contained plenty of those, too.

Writing in the margins of the book helped me to sort out why I disagreed with certain things. I could see whether I disagreed because I was being overly cautious or was deceived, or whether there were genuine, biblical reasons why what the book said was wrong.

Reading a book that contradicted some Biblical beliefs--beliefs like I shouldn’t follow my heart, but follow Jesus, or that I’m not good enough, but Jesus is--actually helped strengthen my faith.

If someone doesn’t know why they believe something or have faith in someone, is it really true belief? Strong faith has to have a foundation, and if someone doesn’t know what the foundation of their faith is, maybe they need to figure it out. Or maybe they have a weak foundation, and need to build a strong foundation on the Word of God.

I had a weak foundation of my faith for many years. If I had read this book then, I would have thought it was cheesy, but I wouldn’t have seen anything more wrong with it. After all, if you want to be happy, you should follow your heart, I would have thought.

I think I’ve reached a point in my faith where it’s strong enough that I can read and analyze contradictory perspectives and not be swayed. I know enough of the truth that I can recognize when something is not the truth.

If I come across another book I disagree with, I’m not going to immediately turn away from it. Who knows, I might even seek out a book with a contradictory worldview to mine so I can understand what people with other worldviews believe.

I want to consume more Scripture than anything else, though. I need to believe God’s Word over the words of other books.

From the vast popularity of the book I read, I know many people agreed with most, if not everything that the author had to say. There are many people in the world who are living in deception, and I want to try and understand what they believe and why.

Jesus knew what those He was trying to reach believed. He knew what those who opposed Him believed, because He knew everything, and I should take the time to learn about what others believe, too.

What book are you reading right now? Is it one that’s challenging or helping you grow in your faith? We don’t always have to read books like that, and fiction books can be wonderful, but it can be good to read challenging Christian books or books that you don’t completely agree with occasionally.

When’s the last time you read something you disagreed with? Do you think you grew from reading it?