Is it okay to read suspense or thriller novels

MOJS4545

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There are a lot of books out today that are either murder mysteries or have death or dying as a theme in them. I wonder if you all feel it is appropriate for a believer to be reading books like that or should a believer avoid books such as for example Steven King novels
 

Lamb

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Those types of books are for entertainment and I don't see any reason to avoid them just because we're Christian. We know that there is evil in the world, evil people, evil spirits.
 

tango

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There are a lot of books out today that are either murder mysteries or have death or dying as a theme in them. I wonder if you all feel it is appropriate for a believer to be reading books like that or should a believer avoid books such as for example Steven King novels

If you enjoy reading them then go ahead. If you start feeling a sense of conviction that you shouldn't be reading them, stop reading them.

Some things are clearly forbidden in Scripture. Some other things aren't explicitly mentioned in Scripture but it doesn't take a genius to figure out they aren't good (e.g. watching porn online - not explicitly mentioned but what Jesus said about lust was pretty clear). I don't honestly thing reading a murder mystery novel fits into either of these categories.

Sometimes people will get a specific conviction that they shouldn't be doing something, or should avoid specific situations. This isn't because of a universal Scriptural mandate but because for some reason it's likely to be harmful to their Christian walk, even if it isn't harmful to anyone else. For example, in general there's nothing wrong with having a beer but if someone is a recovering alcoholic it's not a good idea, and if someone is prone to get drunk on a small amount of alcohol and behave in a way that they are subsequently ashamed of it's best if they avoid alcohol. If that applies to you, chances are you will either feel a sense of conviction that you really shouldn't be doing this, or you'll become aware that doing it draws you away from Christ and you'd rather not deal with that.
 

MOJS4545

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If you enjoy reading them then go ahead. If you start feeling a sense of conviction that you shouldn't be reading them, stop reading them.

Some things are clearly forbidden in Scripture. Some other things aren't explicitly mentioned in Scripture but it doesn't take a genius to figure out they aren't good (e.g. watching porn online - not explicitly mentioned but what Jesus said about lust was pretty clear). I don't honestly thing reading a murder mystery novel fits into either of these categories.

Sometimes people will get a specific conviction that they shouldn't be doing something, or should avoid specific situations. This isn't because of a universal Scriptural mandate but because for some reason it's likely to be harmful to their Christian walk, even if it isn't harmful to anyone else. For example, in general there's nothing wrong with having a beer but if someone is a recovering alcoholic it's not a good idea, and if someone is prone to get drunk on a small amount of alcohol and behave in a way that they are subsequently ashamed of it's best if they avoid alcohol. If that applies to you, chances are you will either feel a sense of conviction that you really shouldn't be doing this, or you'll become aware that doing it draws you away from Christ and you'd rather not deal with that.

Yes, that is probably it. I have felt convicted that some books I should not be reading because of what my mind dwells on. I think we should be careful about what we think about. I need to spend more time in the Bible
 

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I like playing detective and enjoy such shows as criminal minds and first 48 hours, as for books I don't busy myself with fiction.. I like history, religious documents and mythos/beliefs and Christian apologetics, but I never got into mystery novels or thrillers.
Reading secular books isn't a problem I suppose, they might contain some good morals even, or humor for a jolly good laugh, but yeah gore and murder thrillers were never my thing personally.
 

MOJS4545

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I like playing detective and enjoy such shows as criminal minds and first 48 hours, as for books I don't busy myself with fiction.. I like history, religious documents and mythos/beliefs and Christian apologetics, but I never got into mystery novels or thrillers.
Reading secular books isn't a problem I suppose, they might contain some good morals even, or humor for a jolly good laugh, but yeah gore and murder thrillers were never my thing personally.

At times I like to watch forensic files and some of the other shows, but we don't have cable. I don't know of any secular books that have good morals in them.
 

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Yes, that is probably it. I have felt convicted that some books I should not be reading because of what my mind dwells on. I think we should be careful about what we think about. I need to spend more time in the Bible

Spending more time in the Bible is never a bad thing.

I've often found TV shows about forensic psychology to be fascinating. I'm a bit odd (in many ways!) and find subjects like abnormal psychology to be fascinating. People often give you funny looks when you're reading books studying the psychological breakdowns that trigger serial killers and the like but the way the mind works, the way the mind and the body can work together (or fight against the other) and the like intrigues me. That said, I remember watching one TV series relating to forensic psychology and decided to stop watching it because I was finding it just too dark for my liking and I didn't like the way it was making me think. It was a thriller rather than a factual series, so it wasn't as if I was learning anything from it. I just got to the point of feeling it wasn't a suitable thing for me to be watching.

That's not to say it's not suitable for someone else, I just decided it wasn't for me personally.
 
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