A Concerning Trend in Christian Fiction

I recently had an old friend (we grew up together and went to the same college) who is also a Christian fiction reader and mom contact me about a concern she had about a trend she was seeing in Christian fiction. I encouraged her to put her thoughts down into a guest blog post, because I think her concerns are valid, as a Christ-follower and a mom and a consumer.


Here's what she wrote:


I read a lot of Christian fiction. Lately, there has been a recurring theme that bothers me. There is a Christian hero/heroine and a non Christian hero/heroine. The Christian character is drawn to the non Christian and willingly starts dating and falling in love. Usually the non Christian becomes a Christian but that isn't the problem. The problem is a theme that goes against God's Word. 
I Corinthians 6:14 says, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"
Since this is true, why are writers using this theme? Why are they writing as if this is not a problem? Rarely do the characters struggle with dating or not dating non Christians. I have daughters who read these books. I don't want them to think this is right. I also know that the fairy tale endings in the books are not true in real life. Whenever we go against God's Word there is heartbreak and consequences. (Just take as an example my aunt who knowingly dated, married and lived with her non Christian husband for over 40 years.)
Are Christians and non Christians drawn to each other in real life? Yes they are. So could writers use that situation to show the struggle that Christians have in that area, what God says and what happens when we go against that? They could possibly even have some kind of double story, one with the ending of how the characters life goes when they obey God in this area and what happens when they don't. 
Another thought is that the main characters are struggling with this and some supporting characters show the consequences of this, or the joys of obeying, and help the main characters make the right decisions. Or, light bulb idea, use a different theme for conflict and tension.
Thank you writers for all the good material out there. I love to read and I love to have good material for my girls to read. Keep it up!

I have to agree. I have never encouraged 'evangelistic dating,' and I have seen the difficult and sometimes devastating results of a Christian knowingly and willingly marrying a non-believer. Our church has more than a few "Church Widows" who attend without their husbands, who are placed in the unenviable position of trying to raise children in the faith, only to have them drift away in middle school and high school when the non-church-going parent says the kids don't need any more church. 
My friend didn't list any titles or authors who were writing this theme, and I'm not going to either. What I am going to do is challenge my writer-friends to consider carefully the impact their words and plots have on readers, especially young readers. And I'm going to challenge readers to use their best judgment when picking up even titles published by Christian authors. Use Scripture as your guide, and if a situation comes up in one of the books that concerns you, use it as a teaching moment for your daughters and sons. Use it as a talking point with your friends. 
What trends or concerns do YOU have regarding Christian fiction?