Practicing Theology - You are what you read

I'm taking a short break from "Theology 101" this week because I'm still mulling over the "Reformed charismatic" topic and hope to post more on the topic this week.

Kim over at "Upward Call" made THIS POST TODAY that got me to thinking, how do you choose what you read? How do you respond when you find yourself reading something that doesn't "square" with your Xian worldview?

I do a lot of reading--I enjoy it and I NEED it. Most of my reading outside of the Bible is related to theology, Xian living, or Xian history. Some of my reading is related to home schooling, and very little is fiction (although I do enjoy some historic novels). So, you see if I choose unwisely some very MAJOR areas of my life will be impacted!

I choose what to read based on what is available from sources I trust, and I examine those sources on a regular basis. I also "listen" to what others (whom I respect and trust) are saying. Sad to say, if a certain book is being promoted, talked about, pushed, and marketed in and by the popular "Christian" community I tend to be suspicious of the book. So, as you can imagine when the "latest" by Lucado, Dobson, Swindoll, Warren, Driscoll, etc. come out I'm not joining the lines to buy it--much less read it.

There was a time when I would buy and/or read ANYTHING that came out of a Xian bookstore. Then I began to "narrow" my selections to books only written by professors/ graduates from certain seminaries, authors with particular denominational affiliations, and certain mainstream "christian" publishers. Unfortunately, it wasn't long until I had to refine my criteria even further!

Kim's post today is an excellent example of what you can find if you don't put much effort into determining what you read, or if you've become lax and will read about anything that some acquaintance suggests, or anything that the local Xian bookstore is pushing/marketing. Please, redouble your efforts and guard your mind and heart!