Book Banning
I am not a fan of book banning.
Sometimes, books must be banned; when the content is so vile or violent or abusive or incorrect, when the author intends to cause harm, defame or propagate lies, then such books should be banned. But most books, even those that disagree vehemently with the Christian faith or propagate a worldview contrary to the Gospel, should remain available in libraries and bookshops everywhere.
This issue is live this week after Cumberland Council (in south-west Sydney) voted to ban all same-sex parenting literature from its libraries. The flash point for this decision is a children’s book by Holly Duhig titled “Same-Sex Parents”. The book seeks to normalise families of all sorts and helps children manage our world's ever-changing, complex dynamics.
Do I agree with the teaching of such a book? Well, I have not yet read it, but I suspect my answer will be “no”. God, who has revealed himself as Father and from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name (Ephesians 3:14), created us to be in families with a dad and a mum.
So why not (in a world where being a Christian is perhaps getting harder) support a ban and help stop the constant undermining of the Christian worldview? I have six reasons why book banning is a bad idea.
“Bad” books can still help. Even when I disagree with the premise of a book such as Duhig’s, the book may retrieve some good for children being brought up in same-sex families to help them navigate the world they have imposed upon them. Love calls us to be compassionate even to those we disagree with.
Book bannings don’t work. In the history of literature and artistry, whenever a book or artwork has been banned or burned, it has garnered more interest and publicity and ended up with broader engagement - one study claims sales of banned books generally go up by at least 12%.
Book banning doesn’t help children. We live in a world of ideas, and it is the role of parents and caregivers to help children navigate this world from a Christian perspective. Banning books is no shortcut to holiness and does not keep ideas from your children’s ears; in the playground and on the internet, children are barraged with ideas they need help navigating. Now, I am not suggesting that you give Lady Chatterley's Lover to 8-year-olds, but if your primary school child was to bring home Holly Duhig’s book, you suddenly have a beautiful organic opportunity to chat about families and God’s plan for families. Stopping your children from thinking and analysing the reality of the world they live in will neither protect them from it nor ensure they stay Christian; and in fact, it may do the opposite. (Extra note: For those who are parents and care-givers, from my experience as a parent and now a Kidspace Leader, please be aware that the issues and ideas you engaged with at 16 are now being engaged with by 8-10 year olds).
Book bans allow bad ideas to propagate in dark places. One of the important things that happens when bad ideas are published is that they can be compellingly refuted and publicly shown to be wrong. When ideas are kept in the dark, they fester into worse ideas and often expand their reach (eg. the way extremism appears to be growing among young people in private). Again, some books containing gross vileness ought never see the light of day but the more we can talk about and demonstrate the error of bad ideas the better.
No need to be afraid of different opinions. As Christians, we don’t need to be afraid of contrary opinions and ideas. The gospel is compelling and it makes sense of the world we live in because it reveals the God who made the world. As you read the New Testament you will see how often Jesus and Paul come up against contrary ideas and they don’t shut people down, they show the beauty of salvation in Jesus in the face of such ideas (eg. John 5, Acts 17). Let us have more prayerful trust in the message of the Gospel for it is wiser than human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:25).
The Bible will be next. The first recorded attempt to ban the Bible was by Diocletain on February 24, 303 when his “Edict against the Christians” encouraged people to destroy the Scriptures and all liturgical books. Since then, there has never been a century when a ban has not been attempted somewhere in the world. The Bible is of course still banned in at least three countries. And who would not want to ban a book that contains systemic violence, stories of abuse, and a love story that might make even D.H. Lawrence blush.
Literature opens us and our families up to a world of ideas. If we are to help one another navigate such a world and stick with Christ who is more than just one good idea on a smorgasbord of good ideas, we need to learn to think wisely together. I don’t think book banning will help us do that.
