This week on The Word of the Lord Endorse Forever, we move further in our adventures in the acts of the Apostles,

with Peter's second sermon, part two, Peter and John arrested. We cannot but speak. Voices lifted

to God and everything in common. Join me, Pastor Will Whedon, for The Word of the Lord Endorse Forever,

your daily fifteen minute, verse by verse, Bible study on demand.

Listen at thewordendorse.org or your favorite podcast provider.

If you go into a Christian bookstore, you're going to find a section there that might seem

somewhat out of place. It's going to be called Romance or Christian Romance.

And there are a lot of books available there. What are the dangers of Christian Romance,

if any, does it create unrealistic expectations? Does it encourage, well, lustful fantasy,

even if it's a clean version of your typical bodice ripper? Welcome back to issues,

et cetera. I'm Todd Wilkin. We're going to talk Christian Romance novels with Katie Schurman.

She's a campus pastor's wife, a church musician, and a speaker. She's author of the fictional

series Anthems of Zion. Katie, welcome back. It's great to be with you. Why is Christian fiction

generally speaking low quality? I suppose that any industry is as low as its consumer.

So if the Christian Romance industry has lowered its standards, it is most likely because the readers

want that and pay for it and support that industry. So unfortunately, I think the readers,

expectations and desires leave a lot to be desired. What's the goal of Christian fiction?

From my perspective, the goal of Christian fiction is to exhort and encourage the reader

into a further trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as to turn the reader toward a

godly desire to serve their neighbor. That would mean telling stories that have

morality emphasized in a way that either shows the reader sin and helps them recognize that

that is not good for the neighbor or good for themselves. But then also tells the story in such a

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