I'm Catholic, is it alright for me to read books by James Joyce(cause he renounced his Catholic faith) ?

Question

He renounced his faith and doesn't believe in God so can I still read his books. It would be great if someone found a Catholic site reviewing James Joyce's books.

Like for example: A Portrait of the artist as a young man

Answer 1

It's up to you, just be careful that his views don't influence you away from your faith.

God bless.

Answer 2

It is okay,reading Joyce isn't going to convert you into a non-believer. Think about it, you have read many books written by non-Catholics in the past, have you been harmed? You might be surprised by the list of authors and books that were banned as reading material for catholics in the past, the policy was ended in 1966. Alice in Wonderland and the Rights of Man were on the list.

Answer 3

Doing so would be a grievous sin, but it's up to you.

Answer 4

In that case, don't read the Bible because it too renounces the Catholic faith.

Answer 5

yup. Its a mark of the wise to entertian a thought w/ out having a confict in what he belives in.

Answer 6

Of course.

But, just like any author, when reading their work, take his background into account.

With love in Christ.

Answer 7

Of course it is. On the other hand, reading James Joyce is an utter bore and in that sense a form of self-sacrifice and penance for your sins - lol. Do you mean to tell me that you actually got pleasure from reading Ulysses?

Answer 8

That is entirely up to you. If they interest you read them.

Answer 9

It is also alright for a Catholic such as yourself to read the Bible.

Be Blessed:-)

Answer 10

If you must read books by one who "used" to be of the Catholic persuasion, why not enlighten your mind by reading the works of the greatest ex-Catholic of all time, Martin Luther?

You are most welcome. And may God guide you into all truth!

Answer 11

Hi, TJ:

The church does not encourage reading such material; in fact, there was a time when the priests were instructed to confiscate any Bible translation you had.

I would not poison my mind by reading anything religious written by an atheist as there is much in the Bible to substantiate God's existence, and His prophecies tell world events centuries in advance.

To build faith in God, the Bible code proves Jesus is the Messiah and much more. See http://abiblecode.com

And if you want to read about a Catholic who maintained his faith while searching for biblical truth, read Charles Chiniquy's "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome", it's down loadable on the internet and is so interesting it's hard to put down.

Ben Yeshua

Answer 12

I would be careful going about reading books from someone that deserted the Faith. The thing is and many Saints say this, spiritual reading, even if fantasy or fiction is the food for the soul and nourishes it. Reading bad books, is like feeding the soul poison, it hurts the soul and leads it to evil. So, be careful if you decide to read him. I have never read him so, I can't say what is wrong with his books. But might I suggest reading Catholic authors like Chesterton, Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien.  

Answer 13

You are not going to read James Joyce, rather you are supposed to read a book! Just know about the book whether it's good or not, that's all. You talk the way as if you were not going to read a classic written by a non Catholic writer!  

I have had read books on Dracula, Vampire, Ghost & 007 Bond--so what? These are not in my life or in my culture.  

Answer 14

Why on the earth could you not read his books? They make good reading, very interesting. I read all of his books years ago and enjoyed them.

Then again, seeing that you ask a question like this I should say definitely not. If you cannot make up your own mind what to read/ not to read you you should read nothing at all nor should you use Yahoo7 answers, using a computer is a sin, didn't you know that?

Do you read the newspaper? Did you ever think that the editor might be an atheist? Where does it all end...

Give me patience!

Answer 15

There's nothing that says you can't read a book simply because the author wasn't a fellow Catholic.

Answer 16

Oh no. If you read his books you'll probably end up going to h**l!

What a joke. I honestly hope this is a joke question.

What difference does it make? You're human, humans are curious creatures - simply READING a book (whereby you're not HURTING anyone) won’t land you in h**l.

Please, PLEASE just TRY (I know, it must be HARD) and use the brain god gave you to form your own views and opinions.

Purely following what some giant body (the church) says is right wont guarantee you a position in heaven. I would say that you'd have to be a genuinely good person (by your own accord) - instead of being a scared little idiot who follows what someone else deems as being ‘right’

You're utterly medieval.

Answer 17

I don't think that we Christians should avoid reading or watching works by non-Christians or Atheists.  That's perpetrating ignorance.  Remember, back in the day, The Church denounced Galileo.  Boy, were they ever wrong, and was that ever stupid.  In retrospect, all that accomplished was to give cynics more fodder to be cynical.  

Of course, that doesn't mean that you should go out and watch p**n.  I'm speaking about exposing yourself to legitimate thoughts by intellectuals.   But, it can be challenging to your beliefs.

Keep your faith, but don't do it by refusing to expose yourself to new ideas.  If your faith can't stand up to other ideas, there's not much faith there, is there?

Answer 18

If you have only ever read a book written by a Catholic author you severely missing out on some fantastic novels and text books.

Your maths text book may have been written by a Jewish person you know, better check ...

Answer 19

You're going to h**l just because you said his name....

Answer 20

I think it's fine to read books by people of any faith.  My understanding is that Joyce's books do not attempt to subvert people to evil or anything, so I can't imagine that there is a problem.  Unless you feel that his writing is negatively affecting your faith, enjoy yourself!

Answer 21

I would think Joyce's spiritual journey would be especially interesting to a Catholic.