Reading is Useful
pragmatic reasons to read literature

by Michael Wagner

Publisher's note: As creatures of a God who has made many things which appear to be "useless," we believe that art needs no utilitarian justification. Nonetheless, some people need a bit of extra encouragement to get them reading. So here is one writer's take on a few "uses" of reading literature, originally published in the July/August 2005 issue of Reformed Perspective under the title "Is Literature Useless Fluff?"

Some people see reading as just another form of entertainment or a way to pass the time - it’s nice to read if you have the time or if you don’t have anything better to do, like watching television, but reading itself is not an important activity.

It’s true, of course, that reading can be simply a form of entertainment if, for example, someone is reading trashy novels, but it can also be a very important activity. No Christian would dispute the necessity of reading the Bible, the most important book of all. Other books, as long as they are good books, can also play a beneficial and significant role in people’s lives.

The mighty pen

Reformed Christians understand that the Bible applies to every area of life. This would include, then, the humanities such as the fine arts and literature. It’s easy to see such things as "airy-fairy concerns," trivial compared to day-to-day necessities such as earning a living. But this view does not do justice to the role that literature actually fulfills in society.

A better perspective is presented by Louis Whitworth in his book Literature Under the Microscope: A Christian Case for Reading (Probe Publications, 1984). He makes the case that reading is not just a way to kill time. “Literature is powerful. It is so strong and persuasive that restrictive governments are frightened of it and seek to control what is written and those who write. Literature is not innocuous and harmless, but is a strong influence on our thought and behavior. If we read the great old books we will, in the main, be encouraged to be better people” (p. 48).

Three benefits

There are at least three general ways that literature contributes to human well-being.

1. Learning from others

   First of all, a reader can develop greater insight about life as he or she learns from the experiences of the characters involved in a story. When reading good literature, one can learn from fictional people just as one learns from the experiences of actual historical figures. “As we read great books we escape the bounds and limitations of having only one life and benefit from the experiences (and imaginations) of others as well. From such books, we glean the distilled wisdom of thinkers who brought their ideas to bear upon the experiences of their lives. Reading their books allows us, in effect, to stand on their shoulders and reach higher because we learn vicariously what they learned, not having to experience everything ourselves” (p. 18). This is especially beneficial when we can learn about suffering and tragedy without having to suffer or go through a tragedy ourselves. It’s much safer to be exposed to these things through literature.

2. You are what you read

   Another, and perhaps more significant, benefit of good literature is the effect it can have on reinforcing a reader’s moral perspective. Whitworth says that much of the great literature of Western culture is generally compatible with the Christian worldview. Material written before 1900 at least, was written within a cultural framework based on the West’s Christian foundation. Biblical knowledge was widespread and served as a moral guide for society. Certainly any educated person would be assumed to have a degree of Bible knowledge. And so the literature of this period, especially those works considered to be great literature, largely reinforces the perspective of Christian morality. Much modern literature, on the other hand, has abandoned basic moral standards, and immerses the reader in vile and wicked imaginative experiences. So one must be careful.

   With good literature, however, the kind grounded in traditional Western culture, the moral perspective of the reader can be developed and strengthened. Literature has the “ability to develop the reader’s moral vision through the means of imagination. This awareness (the moral imagination) is developed not through theory or abstract reasoning but through stimulation of the reader’s moral perception. As he observes the actions (mistakes, right choices, heroic decisions, or compromises) and the outworking of those actions (increased problems, victories, or defeats) the reader can grow morally as he participates vicariously in that imaginary life context” (p. 30).

   The Bible provides mankind with explicit moral instructions such as the Ten Commandments, but it also gives moral lessons through the recounting of historical events. Fictional books can also provide a form of moral instruction through stories. “Literature is especially effective at teaching morality because it teaches within a context of life and relationships (though imaginary and vicarious life and relationships)—not ‘gray abstractions.’ Interestingly enough, this is often the way the Bible teaches morality—namely, teaching through story, parable, and history” (p. 30).

3. Preserving the past

   A final way in which literature contributes to human well-being is by preserving culture. Through literature people learn about the experiences and struggles of their ancestors, the stories that were commonly told, and the values that imbued the culture. In this respect the teaching of literature is a vital cultural task because it passes on the society’s “collective memory.”

   As previously noted, the great literature of the West largely embraces the Christian-based morality of the past. It therefore helps to transmit that morality to future generations. As such it would be a barrier to the goals of those who oppose traditional morality. Cutting off young people from this literary cultural heritage would make them more susceptible to revolutionary ideas. With this in mind “it should not be difficult to understand why some groups oppose the study of older books like the classics and promote instead only modern literature (usually humanistic, nihilistic, existentialistic, materialistic, hedonistic, Marxist, or feminist)” (p. 28).

   Because of the important role that literature plays in transmitting Western culture from one generation to the next, Christians should support good literature. “It is obvious we Christians should be concerned primarily that norms and values consistent with Christian expression be passed on; and good literature (as described here) helps preserve them and accomplishes the task. Much recent contemporary literature, on the other hand, has tended to oppose Christian values, denigrate them, and promote the opposite effect. Yet the great works of the human heart and imagination convince first one generation, then another of the great sanity and wisdom of ‘normalcy’ over perversion, of moderation over excess, of self-restraint over anarchy, kindness over cruelty, and order over chaos” (p. 28).

   Some older literature is bad, of course, and some recent literature is good. But generally speaking, the “great” works of literature are old because they have proven themselves through time. That is, they “have an enduring interest to mankind” (p. 5).

Conclusion

Recognition of the contribution that literature makes to culture effectively refutes the notion that it’s a bunch of literary fluff appreciated only by artsy types. Good literature can help to support the cause of traditional Western morality in the culture war. In fact, we need the traditional literary canon for the culture war (pun intended). Whitworth suggests that “the Christian faith and the Bible have produced the greatest flowering of arts (including literature) of any force on earth” (p. 45). We should not take this part of our heritage for granted, especially in light of the important contribution it makes to preserving traditional Western morality and culture.