I'm sorry. I got really tired last night at 12:39 a.m. for some strange reason. I didn't even get to my point so I'm sure I was entirely confusing.
There is one thing about entertainment that I want to make stridently clear. Stridently.
I have not "arrived" in this area. I am still testing the limits of my conscience, guided by the Holy Spirit.
I know that my top ten yesterday have elements that are negative as well as ones that are positive. My struggle is with that balance. I call myself a "big picture" Christian. I want to know what the main point of anything is. The thing to remember, is that the Bible has a great deal of sex, violence, and all manner of nasty happenings and people. They aren't the point, and they are never portrayed positively, but they have to be there to get the whole picture.
That's why I find Christian entertainment overwhelmingly benign. I enjoy it, and I support it, because I'm hoping it will improve, but somehow we got it into our heads that being a good Christian means ignoring evil. We are supposed to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves." How can we do that if we take apart every work of art and fiction and entertainment the world offers and pick it apart to point out the frailties of human nature, as if we ourselves do not possess that same nature and were just as much slaves to it as them at one point?
I have heard the term "Pagan Christians" referred to in this culture, and I do think there is a definite strain of this disease making it's way through the body of Christ. The Bible says in Revelation that this time will be marked by "lukewarmness," so of course it is going to affect us. But I am not sure that this term is as all-inclusive as some seem to want to believe. It goes back to that judging issue. We are not at liberty to judge others based on where they are in their relationship with Christ, and just because one person is more sensitive to something than someone else does not necessarily mean that the second person is wrong or engaged in behavior displeasing to Christ unless the Bible clearly says so.
I'm going to be pretty blunt with the previous generation or two. You've got a few ideas that don't seem quite biblical. It seems like you've twisted a few things said in the Bible to meet your own preferences and traditions. So when I hear you say that Twilight is evil because it is about a fictional character called a "vampire" and Wicked is evil because the main character is referred to as a witch by others, well, it just makes me think of your heroes. I grew up in a group that REALLY liked Shakespeare. I like parts of Shakespeare too, but there are enough negative elements that I could call it "pagan" as easily as some call modern entertainment the same. Shakespeare was sarcastic, inconsistent in his theology, risque and he liked to use edgy language. If this is acceptable just because he's a few hundred years removed, that doesn't make sense to me. It seems hypocritical, if I can be perfectly honest.
That being said, I am not speaking from a podium of all-knowing wisdom. I am still VERY much working through this. I can only be honest and tell you the things that have made my wheels turn and my brain figure things out about people and places and happenings that caused me, in turn, to be inspired to create.
And now, from one clueless blogger to you, I ask for your wisdom and insights. Tell me where I'm way off, let me know if you agree.
Thanks for reading!
i'll comment, since i have a story to go with this.
ReplyDeletei take a lot of heat for liking "glee". now, i'm not here to proclaim the wholesomeness of that show or to seduce anyone to watch it. seth and i are drawn to it for the music, hands down. we're suckers for musical theater, and nothing tickles us like 80's songs being revamped by teenage vocal groups. we generally think the storylines are over the top and soap opera-y. there's a whole lot of "that would never happen in real life" stuff. that being said, we're both firmly settled in our convictions about issues such as divorce, adultery, homosexuality, and such. glee has in no way convinced us that it's okay to divorce your wife, even if she fakes a pregnancy.
anyway, glee taught me something recently. there was an episode about a gay character, kurt, being bullied and persecuted. i'll admit, nothing about homosexuality makes me comfortable. i believe that it is sin, and i don't find anything about it particularly entertaining. i'll go so far as to say that in my life i have struggled to have a compassionate attitude towards homosexuals. well, i have to say, that that ep of glee was very well acted, and i was able to see how a person in real life would respond to being tormented. it was very emotional. so while i don't agree with kurt's behavior, i do applaud his friends seeking to protect him and love him unconditionally.
a lot of people probably think that sounds naive and "pagan" of me, or they think i've been desensitized, but this year i have been making a determined effort to see people through the eyes of Christ. that means being more sensitive and less judgmental. that means loving people in spite of their sins, like Jesus loves me in spite of mine. and that episode of glee helped foster compassion in me for homosexuals.
and i think that's a good thing.
oh, and i was going to say, i think it's good, rather than to watch or read things mindlessly, to be aware of your thoughts while being entertained. that ep of glee honestly made me think "my heart hurts for people struggling like that--how they need Jesus". if i had thought, "being gay is perfectly fine" or "man, gay people irritate me", then those responses should cause me concern.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a key point. We are to THINK while we experience. To go even further, we are to think biblically.
ReplyDeleteAnd I for one do not find it naive and pagan to love people the same way Jesus did. He made a few people uncomfortable with who he hung around as well. :)
Mandy, I would like to comment on your blog entry today. And I must say first that I am extremely grateful you are willing to discuss all subject matter, not just what is easy for you, thanks. I enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteBack to the point. I used to think, when I was young in my relationship with Christ that I would be a certain way because "that's what God wanted". By pursuing that path I became judgemental, very judgemental. But I thought I was right because the Bible said so. This included my view on gays, drugs, life choices, you name it. Then my family was in a crisis. Due to the nature of this crisis, most people who I considered my friends at the time turned their backs on me and my family. These were the Christians mind you. The people that stuck around were of "questionable" character, or so I thought. Long story short, but seeing this first hand, being judged first hand by so called Christians, I realized I was that way too. So I turned to God, started all over asking Him "why would Christians treat me this way? Jesus didn't treat people this way, He loves people, and we are all sinners."
I received an answer, in the form of support from the people who I thought I was supposed to shun because they were wrong. Those who stuck by me didn't have to, I had judged them and scoffed at how they were and the choices they had made and the sins they had committed. Only then did I realize that I had been a horrible Christian. Sure I prayed, I studied the Bible, I went to prayer group. But man oh man, I was not doing right by Him. Since it is not my place to judge, who am I to do so?
I was put through a situation by the Lord that woke me up to who I am, and how I can serve. I will tell you that I may not condone homosexuality, or alcohol or drugs or adultery or gluttony, but it is in no way my place to judge someone for it. At the end of a person's life on Earth, they will answer for what they have done or not done. I cannot do that.
I would not have gotten through a lot in my life without knowing the people God put in my path. People who are gay, ex-prisoners, and drug users have all influenced me. I have not been swayed away from God by accepting people for thier own, if anything after my experience, it has brought me closer, and for that I am grateful.
In my former church, where they scattered like cockroaches in a lit room when I went through that crisis, it was the people who had spent their lives being judged by people like "us" who were the ones who were the least concerned with if my kids should play with theirs and more concerned about making sure we got through it ok.
When I meet Christ I want to be able to say, "I accepted people for their choices and loved everyone with open arms, because You have done the same thing."
Yes this is winded, but I must say, there is a lot to be said about the character of a person who helps you without question in their time of need. I am still friends with many people from that time. I will be their friend, they don't have to be exactly like me, it is their choice, as my faith is my choice.
I do judge, we all do it. But I strive not to so that I can know that person for who they are and why God has put them in my life. Just think about how many peole you pass on the street, kind people, good people, who are "sinning". Oh wait, that's all of us! I enjoy anyone who makes me think and who is good to me and my family. Gay, tattooed, adulterer or whatever. I love the Lord, and more so for teaching me the value of a person, no matter what sin they may be committing.
Please, I am not trying to offend or start a debate. I am just happy you discussed this subject. Thanks!
I didn't log on to this post today expecting to be brought near tears. Thanks, Corina.
ReplyDeleteIn keeping with the idea of "objectionable elements" in entertainment, the musical "Rent" is one such offering that may be considered to be pretty offensive to a lot of people I've known and loved over the years. While I admit discomfort with a lot of its content, there was one scene that stood out to me, and seems to be in keeping with what Corina is talking about. I believe it happens on Christmas day, in the early 1980's, when AIDS was just becoming known (and feared, and used as an example of God's judgment upon sinners.) A support group of HIV patients is talking about their struggles, and one of them stands up and starts singing a musical question -
Will I lose my dignity
will someone care
will i wake tomorrow
from this nightmare
The members of the group, obviously from different walks of life and there for different reasons, all supported each other in a way that brought me to tears, not just because of the camaraderie among the group, but because of the realization I had that the "church" had failed these people- it was in large part because of the church's response to this "plague" that this question was even being asked.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Corina. (I don't mean to hijack your personal account with a story from a movie)
WOW, Corina. Gwen is absolutely right. That was beautiful. INSPIRING! :) Thank you for saying what so many Christians are afraid to say, afraid to think, just because they've been told a certain way.
ReplyDeleteI think Judging is as big a problem, if not a bigger problem for the church than any other sin, because it is seen as acceptable and allowed to run rampant.
Lord, please help us love all of our fellow human beings, for they were created in your image, and there is no one else like them. Let us see the beauty in every person, and with our loving and gentle attitudes lead others to love you.
Amen.