And so it is . . . Having jumped over to read the posted reviews at Amazon for Becky Wade's My Stubborn Heart, there were several readers who couldn't let the words I mentioned in my review yesterday pass without comment or criticism. "Not appropriate in a Christian novel" and the like appeared as predicted. Also complaints for the mention of Yoga workouts with warnings to research its origin, the observation of Halloween, Friday poker nights among old friends with a $5 limit ($5 is nothing, folks), the "hotness" of the hero noticed by the seventy-year-old women - like that kind of sight must be dead at 60 or maybe 50? Give me a break. If I hadn't expected it, I would've been flabbergasted, but, alas, it was more than predictable, it was a given. Which continues to disappoint me about some Christian readers.
Let's take poker first. The game of poker is a card game with multiple kinds of hands often selected by the dealer. Betting on the hand you've been dealt or acquire depending on the particular game can be done with money represented by chips, played with just chips, or other venues. Strategies, which include what is termed "poker faces", include bluffing by pretending not to have a great hand when you do or vice versa and/or not giving away anything by your expression. It's fun and harmless when played like those in this novel demonstrated. I completely missed the fact that some Christians would be offended by this example of "gambling" and card playing. Good grief. These are the same people who will play a mean game of Monopoly and bust every other player's stash to win. Or will play Battleship, Life, UNO, or you name it to compete and win a game.
Halloween next. No one hates Halloween more than me. I do. I hate it. Stripped down it celebrates evil. Period. I don't like so-called Harvest Parties or anything else used to placate kids wanting candy or a chance to "dress up" in costumes. Costume parties are available year 'round if you like. So, do we have that straight? However, there is no more than a peripheral Halloween "event" in this novel. Get over it.
The older generation noticing and commenting on a hot guy. Geez. Hellooo! I hope these women who were offended by the older ladies in this novel recognizing the hunkiness of the hero realize how foolish they sound when they gain some years themselves. If they were older women who made these comments, I don't know what to say other than I wonder if they think their husbands don't notice a good looking woman of a younger age. We're not talking vulgarity here. We're talking reality.
Yoga classes. Yes, most people know the background of Yoga. How 'bout Martial Arts? Or any other thing originated within pagan cultures? Some Yoga is absurd and the philosophy behind it is errant. However, some good exercises can be pulled from the collection without embracing the mindset behind them. Did the readers of this novel really feel like Yoga was being endorsed or pushed from its pages?
And, of course, the use of the words I mentioned in my review raised the eyebrows, ire, and hackles of some readers which prompted them to state with authority they were "inappropriate for a Christian novel".
Oh and one more. One reader was offended when the heroine went on a couple dates with an attractive, flirty guy. Keep in mind this heroine is a 31 year old virgin who is a faithful Christian and knows she wants a committed relationship and marriage with a Christian man. She goes out with this guy because he's fun. She has no lurid intentions and trusts she can handle him. He makes no ugly moves on her and recognizes her attraction to him is limited.
Heavy sighs.
I know some readers have a very low threshold for "offensive" language and other possibilities included in some novels. I can appreciate that to a degree. However, stating in a review what you prefer reading is not the same as making a doctrine out of what should and shouldn't appear in a novel. Why must some Christian readers assume their opinions rank higher on the holy meter in establishing what's "acceptable" in Christian Fiction? One reader excused her criticisms by stating she was probably more "conservative" than other readers. Frankly, this isn't really the case and gives "conservative" a bad connotation.
What really stands out here is the severe legalism involved in the judging of Christian Fiction. For readers to be offended and disappointed by these examples in this story smacks of doctrines without grace for those who walk in different stages of Christian life and development. The list of qualifications to pass the muster of these readers requires a glossy observance of strict conduct by characters who walk an intolerant line in life, rarely engaging in the playful, the frustrating, the hopeless, the romantic, the unmapped aspects of living outside a binding religion. Frankly, I find these legalistic opinions offensive way above what was included realistically in this very inoffensive romance.
The final question I'm asking myself is this: Is this really the dogmatic demographic to whom Christian Fiction desires to cater?
Father, in your loving kindness please minister to us all. We're all desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.