By Briana Bass, Christian Romance Author, Devotional Writer & Certified Professional Coach

As an author, I write closed-door, small-town romance with faith elements. Nothing explicit will ever be written on the page. I simply don’t feel comfortable writing spicy scenes. Intimacy can still be achieved without anything graphically described.

I may not write spicy books, but I support those who do. And I support those who read them. One of the great things about literature is that there’s something for every taste. There’s room for everyone to find a book or genre they enjoy. And there’s never a reason to judge someone else’s taste. We should all support one another as readers.

For my fellow Christians, please never feel like you cannot read spicy literature. You absolutely can! The choice is yours and it’s entirely personal. Now, some people may try to guilt and shame you and tell you that Christians aren’t supposed to read explicit books. I’m telling you it’s okay. In fact, there’s one book I strongly encourage you to read that has some pretty spicy chapters – The Bible.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Have you read The Song of Solomon, also called Song of Songs? Talk about spicy! What about the Book of Ruth? A young widow, Ruth puts the moves on Boaz in a scene full of innuendo and double-entendres.

And yet, The Bible is held up as the paragon of Christian literature. How hypocritical we are if we say it’s okay to read The Bible but not a romantic comedy because the latter includes graphic content. As a Sunday School teacher, I’m aware there are certain verses of scripture I can’t discuss with my students because it’s inappropriate for their age group. Isn’t that wild? There are parts of The Bible itself that we censor.

If we read The Bible, then we read spicy literature. That’s just a fact because The Bible can be spicy. Once we accept this truth, we can give ourselves freedom to read other spicy literature. We don’t have to be shamed by what we read (or don’t read – you absolutely have the right to read clean romance and only clean romance if you prefer).

Spice Girls

Purity culture caused severe trauma for many women of my generation. To this day, they question whether they are allowed to watch certain television shows or read certain books that may contain sexual scenes. Some people think it’s never okay while others believe it’s fine if you are a married woman. The scale is constantly sliding, and loud, differing opinions leads to further confusion for young women who are already struggling with embracing their sexuality.

Human beings are sexual creatures. God created all men and women to crave intimacy, including sexual intimacy. Ladies, it is a good thing to enjoy love, romance, and sex. It is perfectly okay to read spicy romance books simply because you like them. You don’t have to wait until marriage to read these books, either. It’s healthy to wonder about and explore intimacy. Many romance books can be used as aids to help overcome trauma and to portray healthy, consensual sexual relationships, giving all women (not just wives) examples of how their relationships could or should be.

Spice Up Your Life

Romance novels have differing levels of spiciness, which allows us all to choose what we want to read based on the heat levels we feel comfortable with. What one woman considers low heat may be extra spicy to another woman. The opinions of both women are equally valid.

Spicy books are not evil or sinful. If you become addicted to them, yes, that’s a problem that needs to be addressed but inherently, these books are simply books. It’s human beings who judge whether certain books are appropriate. Since when do we have the power to judge anything? That’s not our place. There’s only one God, and it’s not any of us.

So read what you want to read, ladies! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.