[quottrethew]

I did some research and found that the book of "Song of Solomon" is an erotica between a married couple...The book I read is sort of an erotica. When I read it I make sure that I control myself. And I really want to finish reading the books, because Anne Rice (The claiming of sleeping beauty Novel) is a great writer. It troubles me that I might be sinning...I really want to finish that book... Isn't it like listening to explicit or sexual music, anyway? Isn't okay as long as you don't rejoice in lust?

[pesty4077]

Dear Kayla,

This question has come up since Scripture and the Old Testament has been read. Especially in the Christian Church we have to be careful to read the OT not on its surface level. Instead we have to read it as to the deeper truth it points to. Otherwise when we read the OT we would want to rush out and stone adulterers and condemn various sinners to death or even kill them ourselves.

So with the Song of Songs we read it not as suggesting a physical relationship. The Holy Fathers who dealt with this book all said the same thing and that we have to put aside all sensual thoughts when we read this book. Then we have to read its descriptions as referring to that most pure spiritual relationship that the faithful have with Christ.

If we are unable to get past the temptations of our thoughts though it's probably best to lay the book aside for now.

In Christ
Fr Raphael

[KellyMP]

Kayla,

Anything which inflames the passions and which is a source of temptation is something to avoid in the Christian life. If reading this book causes you to struggle with the images it implants in your mind, then it is best that you set it aside. The "story" isn't as important as the health of your soul. The Fathers speak often about "guarding the senses" in order to avoid temptation and in Scripture we read the injunction to "flee temptation". Consider the following from Archim Sophrony:

The first step to success in the struggle against sin is to distance oneself from places or people and circumstances connected with our fall. To retire from the world, retreat into the desert, is a positive stage in this respect, since there, in the desert, man sins - violence deception calumny covetousness, debauchery, intemperance, et cetera - are not feasible. Of course this is far from enough. The attentive Christ feels the very presence in himself of passions as yet not overcome because the thought of them may still intrude, as servitude to iniquity and death. Moreover, there are many sins, such as pride, vanity, rancour and the lik, whic may destroy us, whetehr we implement thme or not. Combating them can be a grievous business even in the absolute solitude of the desert. Just reading this "erotica" (which is just a more acceptable word for pornography), even if you resist the temptation to sin, plants within your soul the seeds of enslavement to the passion of lust and love of pleasure. Once this seed begins to grow and keeps pulling you deeper and deeper into its enslavement, then it becomes a monumental struggle. Best to cut it off at the root and not allow the seed to be implanted in the first place. See the life of Mary of Egypt for a description of what happens when this seemingly innocent seed to which you expose yourself flowers into a passionate addiction and the level of spiritual and physical warfare that is needed to overcome it. You might also look at the discussion here on addictions, in particular my post #5.


It is certainly the case where what is tempting to one person and spiritually dangerous can be to another person entirely neutral. I recall spending time with a friend of mine who is a priest-monk. He suggested we rent a dvd to watch one evening and in that movie were some rather "racy" scenes. For me, this would be a temptation, however, for him, he just fast forwarded through the scenes with no difficulty at all as they weren't really integral to the story. I would never rent that dvd on my own because I know I would then struggle with the temptations brought on by those "R-rated" images but for my friend they were of no consequence at all - they had no impact on him at all (at least that was evident).

Coming back to your question about your reading material, I would suggest to you that the simple fact that you are questioning whether or not to read the book is probably a good indication that you should just set it aside. For Christians the "conscience" is the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us. If you conscience is bothering you, then it is the Holy Spirit saying STOP! There are plenty of really good books out there to read that don't include such tempting passages - so pick up something else.

Fr David Moser