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April 23, 2009
The G-Rated Christian: Part I - Does God Call For Us to Become Ned Flanders?

Protecting oneself from temptation and slipping into sin is a constant battle all Christians understand. Some of us are quite weak and the slightest push in a particular direction will lead them to a fall. We are also prompted to refrain from luring another into sin. These issues pose a constant discussion in Christian circles as to what is and what is not permitted while leading a “Christian life”. In this culture of leisure we are particularly exposed to more temptations than previous generations. As it turns out its easier to be tempted to watch a Hollywood bimbo jiggle her wares in some movie if one doesn’t have to waste time doing things like keeping their crops alive or fending off disease and invading armies. The advances in technology and science ease our lives and we’re finding that, like Chaucer said, "Idle hands are the devil's tools". In other words, many find it hard to remain good while living in this great age.

Reacting to the flood of media we have experienced over the last 50 years, many have opted to take the road of least resistance. To them walking with Christ means one must refrain from watching movies. Many contend that any non-Christian flavored media is sinful by nature and should be avoided. The problem with these points of view is that they do not promise the favor of salvation. Only grace affords us that. These positions usually derive more from a stance of legalism than actual acknowledgment of Christ’s love. If one chooses freely, and for good reason, to avoid these things I support them fully. Again, many of us are burdened by weaknesses and anything people can do to shield themselves is a benefit. Those who blindly follow doctrine and haven’t bothered themselves with investigating these issues for themselves – well, you and I will disagree. I will never stop you from your choice, but we will disagree on your decision (or lack of a decision as I would contend.)

The common tract with Christians is to rely on the ratings system as a means to decide which films are permitted and which ones should be avoided at all costs. Some only see G-rated films while more allow PG (and the occasional PG-13) movie to be seen. The usual rule is that R-rated films are off limits and inherently sinful.

This is wrong.

Without going into the details of how or why the ratings system was developed in the late 1960’s (I’ll get into that in another post,) I first have to say that the ratings system is by no means a proper judge of the spiritual value of a film. If a Christian is only interested in avoiding content such as nudity, sexual scenes, harsh language and violence, then yes, the ratings will work. The problem is that the ratings do not cover CONTEXT. Example: there is a difference between the shower scenes in Schindler’s List and the one in Porky’s. One (Porky’s) was performed to illicit lust in the audience the other (Schindler’s List) was done to show the horrors of the victims of the Holocaust and the cruelty of the Nazis. Both scenes show the content of full frontal nudity but the context is very different. Both are R-rated films. A Christian who refuses all R-rated movies is casting out the good with the bad for the sake of simplicity. I personally think Schindler’s List is a brilliant film that any adult Christian should see. It is an intelligent and moving piece that juxtaposes the worst of human endeavor against all that is good in the human heart. Spielberg’s frank imagery is needed to make his point. While Spielberg is not a Christian, we can still look at his work and its effect in the light of Jesus and ask does this film with all of its graphic scenes follow Ephesians 5:11 “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” I say yes. By getting a clear idea of the crimes committed and the impact felt by its victims Spielberg did fully expose the evil in the Nazi world. We, as an audience, are made aware that these were events are more than just paragraphs in our history books but were experienced by living people, children of God, who were slaughtered by the minions of the devil. One following the rules of the ratings system throws out important works out of laziness not righteousness.

For those who cite verses such as Psalm 11:5 “The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.” or perhaps Romans 12:9 “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” or any of the other verses urging us to only view what is beautiful, I agree with you. These verses should be tightly clung to whenever one looks over their choices of entertainment. This said, we should not simply decide that what is “good” or “beautiful” always equates a sanitary view of the world. In my opinion, sanitizing this world to make it appear sinless is a lie. I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure lying isn’t a Christian tenant. Yes, there is beauty in this world but there is also sin. To promote a view of this world where sin is not treated seriously is wrong in my estimation. We are to “take captive every thought” (2 Corinthians 10:5 and “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) we cannot do this if we simply avoid the unpleasant things so we don’t have to give them consideration.

What we need to be careful of is the celebration of sin or the promotion of it. This is where you will find the cautions listed above will have more effect. The love of showing and experiencing violence is the difference between things such as the violence in Saving Private Ryan and the violence in Hostel. If a production blurs the distinction between the right and the wrong (Pirates of the Caribbean for example) or drops all pretensions and comes out on the side of evil (Mr. Tarantino, I’m looking at you) we should tread very lightly if at all. I will go further and say that the avoidance of culture by Christians has lead to the rapid decline of our society. Perhaps we should look at why Christians have fallen back on the ratings system in the first place. As Christians continue to pull away we have seen the abandoned culture fester in the hands of those left behind. Without Christians engaged in the culture we allow for those consumed by evil and the things of this world to take control. The explosion in porn, torture films and crude behavior in popular culture should not surprise us. The only thing we as a collective condone is condemnation of non-Christian thought. If we are disengaged then we don’t have a voice in the culture. If we don’t lead they won’t follow.


Related posts:
 The G-Rated Christian: Part II
The First Step is to Watch Where You're Going
Learning Remote Control Control





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posted by Michelle Obama's Left Nut at 7:00 AM




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