I've been asked, for the zillionth time, how I can support Twilight as a Christian.
Okay, let's look at Deut 18:10: "For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, of function as mediums of psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord."
And, for good measure, Phil. 4:8: "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing: Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Okay, notice something for me: All the evil practices in the Deut. passage are REAL. They deal with the occult and the powers of darkness, and they EXIST.
Vampire and werewolves do not exist. Neither does The Blob, the Thing from Outer Space, Frankenstein, the Borg, or, I *think,* the Yeti.
Any reader who can tell reality from fantasy should not have a problem with the Twilight books. My book club read the first book, and while some ladies didn't care for the story, no one was offended. Why? Because there's nothing offensive in it.
Instead, the books are the typical YA structure (independent, detached heroine encounters problem and solves it through pluck and courage) and the theme of them is love, which you will see depicted in many forms: maternal love, paternal love, passionate love, platonic love, unselfish love.
Bella is a wonderful heroine because she is unselfish and giving. Edward is the perfect hero because he exhibits Christ-like love, willing to lay down his life for his loved one, honorable, true, faithful, honest, and CHASTE.
As I've said before, the entire "I want to bite your neck" thing is a thinly disguised metaphor for sexual temptation, and Edward and Bella DARE not yield. As in real life, Bella doesn't understand the strength of the male sex drive, but Edward does--and he does not push her.
I believe the reason the books have hit such a strong chord with teen girls AND their moms is that they are all about what a teenage girl feels like--those strong, passionate, obsessive emotions (Yes, I remember them), that sense of awkwardness, that sense of being alone and out of place.) Stephenie Meyer has hit the nail on the head.
Now, with all that said, let me say that if a Christian's conscience is pricked, then don't read the books. No one is holding a gun to your head. :-) OR you can celebrate the creative imaginations that God gave all his creatures and enjoy them with a clean conscience. The wise parent could even use these as a great sounding-board for conversations with son and daughters about sex and passion. Why not read the books together and then discuss?
I believe (strongly) that Christians have to understand the culture in order to reach it. That doesn't mean I fill my head with filth, but it doesn't mean that I bury my head in the sand, either.
Yes, Ms. Meyer is Mormon. Even though I don't agree with Mormon theology, I would have to say that I probably don't agree with the theology of the authors of most of the books I read (and there is no Mormon theology in Twilight.) And I think there are some Christian books which contain false theology which are probably more harmful than Twilight.
Almost forgot to mention that the "good" vampires in Twilight don't kill people--they're "vegetarians," meaning they only kill animals for food (same as most of you).
So . . . there's the opinion of Dr. Hunt. Have a great day! And look, isn't that a biblical metaphor on the cover?
Angie
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