Note: This article, my first ever piece of published commentary on any topic, appeared in the Bob Jones University student newspaper, The Collegian (Vol 12, No 7), for which I was a staff writer my third and final undergraduate year. I don’t remember writing the piece, and if I had not had the opportunity recently to peruse the bound back issues of The Collegian at the university library, it would have remained forgotten. It is a good snapshot of my mindset during that period in my life, and the core issue of avoiding moral poison while interacting with fictional worlds has continued to be of interest to me, especially in the context of video games and shows. My current feelings toward shows like Game of Thrones and The Idol closely track my feelings then towards Anne Rice and Stephen King. (I have reduced the number of paragraphs in the original to better suit the wider columns of this format.) (DL, June 6, 2023).

Almost everybody likes to settle in with a good book every once in a while and forget the frustrations of the day. A well-written book paints a picture for our imagination in a way few things can. Unfortunately, while enjoying the pleasures books have to offer, we sometimes drop our guard and forget to consider what we read. As Dr. Bob pointed out in chapel recently, the world likes to hide its philosophy in sentimental packages that even Christians may find appealing. While this is an often-noted problem with Hollywood films, it’s equally so with worldly books.