Last week was Halloween. This meant picture after picture of witches, ghosts, and goblins, and all other such creepy creatures. Decorations galore. This also meant, of course, an abundance of scary movies.
Now, typically I don't care for scary movies. I'll only watch them outside of my house. And, I can NOT do blood and guts (Texas Chainsaw, Walking Dead, etc). But, sometimes I get in a strange mood and want to watch one.
So, this past Halloween found Stephen and I, along with a couple friend, at the theater to watch Ouija. It was creepy, scary, and haunting. I have vowed never to watch a scary movie for quite some time. Maybe never.
After getting home that night, Stephen and I had a conversation about these type of movies: are we wrong in watching them? I've had this topic in my head ever since. One Scripture passage, in particular, stands out - Philippians 4:8.
"Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any
excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these
things."
Certainly scary movies seem not to fit any of these words. So, most Christians would probably adhere to the decision that scary movies are something we should not engage in. But, I want to go a little deeper.
I want to consider several things.
1. What is the point of scary movies?
2. Why do we put scary movies on the "do not watch" list, but not, say, romantic drama/comedy?
3. How does this apply to us?
First, what is the point of scary movies? Well, obviously, to be scary! But, going deeper, horror movies were originally intended to show good vs. evil. That has definitely expanded and some are scary just to be scary, but we can still see this in a few movies.
I wholeheartedly believe that demons exist. Some Christians may not agree/forget/not think about it. But, hearing stories from the other side of the world, and even some here, I do believe they are real. Satan is most definitely real and will do anything to scare us and lead us away from God.
Horror movies about demons can serve as reminder that they exist since many of them are based on true stories.
Second (and third) why do we single out scary movies? I've heard people say that the Bible doesn't tell us to watch scary movies or subject ourselves to the like. The Bible doesn't tell us to do many things that we do. Staying on the topic of movies, romantic comedies and dramas. Ask any girl what she thinks about Nicholas Sparks, The Proposal, Valentine's Day, etc, and she'll likely say those are her favorite movies ever. Even though they include sex outside of marriage, approval of homosexual couples, and subjecting us to more of celebrities bodies than we should see.
Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise. Do the above movies follow these guidelines? No. So, why are these different than scary movies? To truly be consistent, if you don't watch horror movies for those reasons, you shouldn't watch Nicholas Sparks or any romantic type movie. Or, almost any movie in general.
To truly be consistent on your reasonings, you can not focus on just one thing. You have to examine your whole life - for this post - every movie you watch. Once we do this, we'll find that there's not many options left.
When Stephen and I were talking about this last week, he actually said that there was time period where he didn't watch too many movies. Partly for this reason. Maybe that's the point of this.
We didn't come to a conclusion. Although it seems like an obvious conclusion is getting rid of all our movies and never going to the theater again. It's one thing saying something, it's another doing it.
It's hard for me to come to a conclusion. Sometimes I like scary movies. I love romantic movies of any type. I don't want to give these up...but, at some point I think I'm going to have to. To truly live a life that follows the verse above, we can subject ourselves to most of the filth that's in movies. Even the ones we love.
We can't just pick and choose want we want Scripture to mean and the implications it has for our life. We have to realize that there's more to this life than what we want to do and what we like. We are meant to do what God wants us to do - following His will and glorifying Him in ALL aspects.
So, if you think horror movies are wrong to watch because they don't follow Philippians 4:8 (or any verse), then think through the other movies you watch. Think through all aspects of your life. Be consistent.
*****this post may seem a little rambley. I apologize! I'm still working through the implications! I would love to hear your thoughts as well! Just leave a comment on here or facebook!****
