I have not read this series...for a number of reasons. I would like to share one of the main reasons with you. This is not something known by many people but it has been an area in my life that I had to give God control over. In my younger days, high school and early college, I was addicted to romance novels. I subscribed to Harlequin Romance and would get my 6-8 books a month. If you know anything about Harlequin Romance novels, you know that the stories were all the same. Young love. Lot's of passion. Hunky guys. Sexual tension. Innocent love (at least, back then it was...don't know if they've crossed that bridge now). Those books were full of soft pornography (not in pictures, although the front cover of many of those novels could certainly be called that.) The big problem for me was that as I dwelt on the stories and meditated on the pictures my mind conjured up, the soft porn turned into full porn in my mind. Problem!
Romans 8:5: "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."
Needless to say, once I realized how contrary to scripture that was and how I needed to be " transformed by the RENEWING of my mind...." (Romans 12:1-2) I realized I had to let go of those things and fill my mind with God's word....and God's ways.
Reading the description of these stories and seeing the trailers of the films were enough to raise red flags with me....because of where I've come from. Some of the testimony I've given you is also part of the reason why I'm careful with the movies I watch. Of course, there is a lot more to this than what I've written here. However, I get the impression sometimes that you (general you) think of me as some kind of super saint because I don't do certain things. I want you to understand, it is God's work in my life and in my heart that has brought me to some of these conclusions. Not me....but GOD!!!
Anyway, with all that in mind....I would love to get your feedback on these two articles. Comments? Insight? Disagreement? And then, look at the video by John Piper. May it move us all....
Looking forward to the discussion :)
~Lily
The Twilight Series from a Christian Perspective, Part 1
The Twilight Series from a Christian Perspective, Part 2
The Twilight Series from a Christian Perspective, Part 2
Hi Ladies!! I read the two articles Lily just posted about Twilight and I watched the short yet powerful John Piper sermon. Here are some of my thoughts:
ReplyDeleteI have never read the Twilight books or seen any of the movies, simply because I don't have the time to :) but I still found some golden nuggets of truth from the articles...
At the end of part 1 the article talks about how Bella and Edward idolize eachother. They only think about the other person all the time, they want to be with them all the time and this is just NOT GOOD! It seems ridiculous but I have felt this same way. It is all so subtle in the book and movie but it is still there.
Piper's sermon talked about being at war with our sinful desires. WAR!!! He said that a soldier in war has heightened senses and is ready to shoot at even a cracking of a branch!!!
Oh how I need to be in God's Word 24/7 to help me FIGHT in this war! I constantly find myself giving attitude or saying hurtful things. My tone of voice often surprises me and before I know it that "meaness" inside my heart comes out at those I love most!!!
It is a 24/7 all out war!!! And only God can help me fight it.
This past sunday's lesson in Sunday school has been on my mind all week. It is so hard for me to filter my mind and my words. Not counting bad words in Spanish...yeah..that's me!!! Saying "Oh my God" all the time...yeah...that's me!!! Saying something mean to my brother and then saying "I'm just kidding"...yeah...that's me too!!!!
There is so much stuff to fix and I know I need God's grace to fix it! Thank you for sharing all this good stuff Lily!
Love you all :)
-Ev
Wow! That was really interesting. I totally understand what Lily was saying about the romance novels. Too much of any romance books can really get to someone.
ReplyDeleteSomething that really got to me was the "criteria for a good Christian book". This criteria is a good starting point- but defintly needs to be expanded on. And it does not hit the mark on the sexual content. Edward and Belle would have had sex if they could, the only reason they didn't was because it would be harmful to Belle. The articles were very interesting and protrayed some helpful insight for me.
- Jamie Todd
(Lily's niece) :)