Love Scene Clashes With Christian Values

[Nancy]

So said Louisiana College President William Rory Lee in ordering the book removed from the college bookstore in 2004.

Source:
Trull, Joe E.. "I Told You So" ChristianEthicsToday.
The Christian Ethics Today Foundation. February 2004 (Issue 48 Page 2)

The love scene in question is, I think, the one in Chapter 14, which lasts about a page and and is a gentle, soul-uplifting release of tension in the lives of two people who are engaged in providing moral support to a prisoner wrongfully sentenced to die. Would the scene have clashed with some people's values if the couple had been white?

The scene is of minor significance in a novel that illuminates the lesson to be learned before dying: that dignity and self-respect are the bricks that form the foundation for strong relationships and strong communities.

Two of the book's passages are sheer poetry. Chapter 19 describes the Christmas program at the elementary school. The children narrate the shepherds' story in solemn, simple language while the author wryly and tenderly describes the uncertain lighting effects that create the star in the east. Chapter 29 contains the condemned man's diary, his summary of his days and thoughts in the last weeks before his execution. Both are moving and powerful.

The novel, like the two men at its centre, is dignified and respectful; it's an enlightening read. If the banning brought it extra readers, then three cheers for unintended consequences.

39 out of 52.