Can Christian Women Read Smut?
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We’ve all seen them: The books with covers showing dragons or a whimsical scene, yet the inside is disconnected from what is depicted on the outside. What seemed like a fantasy story or a sweet, hometown romance turns out to be something utterly different.
Spicy books, as they are called today, are no longer solely identified with shirtless men gripping scantily dressed women. Before, these novels were only found in drugstores or a specific place in the bookstore. But today, the spice levels of books can rise regardless of genre; they are not relegated to romance novels.
Better known as “smut,” these books contain explicit sexual material and scenes. Women are typically the main consumers of these types of books, which historically was limited to erotica fiction.
Because of the widespread popularity of spicy books, many Christian women are wondering if it is acceptable to read smut. Is there a line between certain types of romances compared to others (clean vs. open door)? Is it okay if “no one is being harmed?” What level of spice is permissible, if at all?
Scripture has much to say about this topic.
There is a reason that the church historically cautioned individuals on reading novels. Not because all novels are immoral, but the human imagination has a formative power – either to produce good or evil, to make us more like Christ or a deformed image-bearer.
A Note about the Modern Explosion of Smut, Even Among Christian Women
Imagine that you have been told all your life that you are to blame for the hyper-sexualization of women. The problem is with the clothes you wear and the way you look. Not wanting to contribute to the sin of others, you cover yourself up with all modesty, shun makeup, and carefully guard any communication with men. Dating: out of the question. You partake in a ceremony as a young teenager to entrust your virginity to the protection of your father or another male leader until the day you marry.
That is what many young Christian girls and women experienced in the early 2000s during the rise of what is known as purity culture. Although it started with the good intention of promoting purity, it produced shame in many women for merely existing as a female. Placing all the burden and blame on women also ignored the reality that sin starts inside a person – a man’s lust does not originate because a girl or woman is standing in front of him. Each Christ follower is supposed to learn self-control and to curb desires in obedience to the Lord (see 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).
We should not be surprised, therefore, that many women (including some who were wounded by purity culture) are gravitating toward what seems to offer empowerment. Many Christian women who read smut view it as a way to heal their sexuality and the shame. As Marian Jacobs wrote in her article, The Changing Landscape of Smut and Spice, “Open door romance is seen as a corrective to purity culture’s oppression, with those scenes touted as empowering and liberating, even ones that promote extremely unhealthy or abusive relationship dynamics.”
These books seem to tell women a message of freedom, that they can reclaim their power and autonomy. Yet, the very thing that seems to offer freedom is another pair of shackles.
Considering the Human Imagination
When we read a book, we may be reading words on a page or screen, or listening to a narrator. However, as we read, the images appear in our mind. We enter the story.
So, when we read books containing explicit sexual content, we are allowing those images to enter our imagination. Our thoughts become inundated with lustful scenes. We may even feel the same emotions as the main character, leading us to vicariously experience the sexual desire of the characters.
Some individuals might see this as entertainment or an otherwise “guilty pleasure,” but Jesus was clear that lust is equal to the sin of adultery, and a person’s thoughts are not divorced from their actions. He said that if a man looked at a woman and lusted after her, that man committed adultery in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28). The same is true of the reader; if a woman is reading a spicy book and exposes herself to sexual material, she is committing sexual immorality in her heart.
And, of course, the sin of lust does not usually stay within the imagination. Thoughts guide our behavior, which guides our actions. Those who read smut are more likely to continue. Like pornography (which many would argue smut is), the more that is consumed, the tighter the chain of addiction. The person becomes a slave to lust.
As believers, we have been set free so that we are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:6-7). Our Lord has washed us clean and set us on a new path of following Him and doing good. Allowing ourselves to be shackled by sin and enslaved to lust does not align with who we are in Christ. We are meant to walk in the newness of life He has given us, living as people of hope and purity.
Honoring Marriage and Keeping the Marriage Bed Pure
There are some things in life that should stay behind closed doors. What goes on within the realms of marriage (or what should be preserved only for marriage), is not for all eyes to see. Part of keeping the marriage bed pure is by honoring it – keeping it within the bounds of the God-ordained union between one man and one woman (Mark 10:6-9).
Even if the characters in a book are married and sexually explicit scenes are included, we must ask: “do I need to know or see what happens behind closed doors?” Nothing edifying comes to the believer from being invited as a third-person observer to this relationship. As the author of Hebrews wrote, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” (Hebrews 13:4). This is especially true if the imaginative entering of these scenes leads to lust.
But some may wonder: what about the books in the Bible that include sexual imagery or a reference to an act of intimacy? Song of Songs is one book that has left many believers pondering the reason for such language. The church has historically viewed this book as an allegory for the relationship between Christ and His Bride, the church, or merely as a celebration of marriage. Also, unlike smut, Song of Songs is composed of poetic language and does not include descriptive, explicit sexual acts. Similarly, when two individuals join in marriage in Scripture, the union is mentioned but not described in detail (see Genesis 24:67; Ruth 4:13).
We must remember that marriage is only a fading image of the reality that we all truly desire – to live with God. The unions between men and women here on earth end at death, and in eternity, none will be married (Matthew 22:30). But as believers, we will be forever united with the Lord Jesus as His bride: people washed cleaned and made ready to dwell with the Lord on a renewed earth. That is the grand mystery, of which marriage is only a shadow (Ephesians 5:25-32).
Meditating on the Good: The Call of Every Christian’s Life
Books might not be what we think of when dealing with sins such as adultery or sexual immorality, but the types of books we read matter. Though sin does not originate outside of us, since Scripture is clear that uncleanness starts from within, what we feed our imagination shapes us and can fuel existing spiritual struggles.
Scripture encourages us to focus our thoughts on what is holy. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8). If we are filling our minds with impure images and sinful desires, we are not staying focused on the good or lovely. As a result, our spiritual life suffers.
Our Lord told us that anything that is causing us to sin should be removed (Matthew 5:29-30). Using extreme language of plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand to avoid sin, He shows how seriously we should guard ourselves.
If the content we are consuming, including smut books or even “clean” romance books, is leading us to develop lustful and sexually immoral thoughts, then we should stop reading and get rid of them. For a time, especially if we are addicted, we might need to stop reading any type of book altogether except the Bible, to refocus our thoughts on what is ultimately true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable: the Savior. He can help us walk the challenging but needed path of healing our relationship with literature and other forms of entertainment.
For those who are currently reading smut, either because of addiction or to break free from purity culture, there is hope that something better exists. Our minds, bodies, and imaginations were meant to be used for the glory of God, and He can set us free from the shackles that currently enslave us if we turn to him in honesty and confession.
Not only will He set us free to walk with Him, but He gives us Himself; Jesus is the One we truly long for, and we find ultimate satisfaction in Him. In Christ, we receive freedom from sin and shame.
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