Rebecca Luella Miller, of Speculative Faith, reports that there is some empirical evidence that what we read affects our personality. This is hardly a surprise, is it?
Consider this case. It is anecdotal, not experimental, but anyway:
"What made the change in Lewis? In a word, fantasy. It is no stretch to say that Lewis's faith journey began as a result of reading stories that were dripping with Christian truth -- awakening within him a desire for something he didn't possess." Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware, Finding God in the Land of Narnia (Tyndale House: 2005) The quotation is from p. xi. The stories referred to are those of George MacDonald.
Thanks for reading.
Musings on science, the Bible, and fantastic literature (and sometimes basketball and other stuff).
God speaks to us through the Bible and the findings of science, and we should listen to both types of revelation.
The title is from Psalm 84:11.
The Wikipedia is usually a pretty good reference. I mostly use the World English Bible (WEB), because it is public domain. I am grateful.
I believe it is not just what we read but the words we use when we think. We are continually creating a story in our minds, a stream of consciousness. The choice of words we use in thinking direct our thoughts. Many people complain about "politically correct" language but it is a means to restructure our thinking about gender or race for example.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's also apparent in the ScrewTape Letters by Lewis that he felt a struggle with demons trying to influence his "Christian journey".
ReplyDeleteThanks, Fred. That's interesting. I hadn't thought of it, but it's true, I believe.
ReplyDeleteThanks, atlibertytosay. Lewis was speaking for all of us, I think.