Forbidden Love: What Lines Does Our Faith Not Cross?
Posted By Jacque on May 29, 2008
There has been a lot of discussion lately at Dixon Homestead about Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia, and the question, “is it really a good influence in our lives or is it sin masquerading as an allegory to a Holy God?“.
If you know our family, you know we love Lord of the Rings. We have recently become bigger Narnia fans, but we have loved LOTR since the first movie came out in 2001. And, I type that word ‘love’ in cautiously, because there is always something hanging in there, questioning if this is ok, whenever we watch it and see the ‘reading the palantir’ or the wizard’s staff giving him such powers of evil or good. Then there are the hideously disgusting orcs and the beautiful, yet very eery-looking elves who can live forever and have all kinds of mystical powers. How do we justify this magic and sorcery against such Bible verses as:
Deuteronomy 18:10-11
10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
Now, we did not “use”, “consult with” or “become”, but so what? Did we become “unequally yoked” in our love for this? Are we overlooking the fact that we were watching hours of evil and darkness, where the Scripture tells us to not have communion with darkness?
2 Corinthians 6:14
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
It is not easy being that voice, calling to repentance, out in the wilderness. Especially when it comes to popular culture, and even moreso when it comes to telling Christians that something they enjoy or even love and have built a part of their lives around is actually sin. John the Baptist was beheaded for being the bold one, standing out, calling sinners and God’s People alike to repentance. But, he had to, to prepare the way of the Lord.
I feel that Jocelyn, though she did not want to look at LOTR in this light, has stood in this manner. Because she found out something that was sinful in her life, she took it to the Word, objectively, and even though it came out on the side she didn’t want it to, she is getting it out of her life. She is renouncing it and doing what the Word says.
I single out Jocelyn in our family on this issue, because though Amanda and Rachel, and even Eric, have read LOTR, Jocelyn took it upon herself to read many more JRR Tolkien books and find out much more than the other children did. And, so, for Jocelyn to be presented with the article I read to her of a post entitled, A Former Witch Looks At The Lord Of The Rings, well, she did not want to believe it. This post is her reply, but you will find the original links in her post. Also, her next post, Abstain From ALL Appearance Of Evil, further answers comments and misunderstandings about her stand.
Then, Prince Caspian came out a month later, and Amanda, Jocelyn, and Rachel went with their dad to see it. It just confirmed so many things. That night, Rachel had a terrifying dream about witches and our family and our home, and, well, another confirmation. The use of Pan (Mr. Tumnus), minotaurs, centaurs, satyrs in CON gave us another topic to research and discuss. One thing that particularly bothers me is the fact that, in both LOTR and CON, man may be made in the image of God (though not entirely with Aragorn as a Numenorean – man mixed with elf), but man/beast mixed races, animals, elves, witches, etc. are all races in these stories. Man, made in God’s image has been diluted. These creatures of the make-believe are all different races. Man is not the superior race, created in God’s image. To me, that is humanism disguised as an angel of allegorical light. Fiction notwithstanding, children do not differentiate these facts. Frodo is as real as a Hobbit as Aragorn is as a Man or as Gandalf is as a Wizard. Certainly I can differentiate as an adult, but do my children?
Deuteronomy 18:9-11
9When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
And, let me caution you, parent, as you consider this. I found out something on Sunday, as Matt and I discussed this with our children. Jocelyn made a statement in her post, and it cut me. I asked Matt if he noticed that. I asked Jocelyn how we even got interested in the LOTR. Sadly, I had no recollection of that. She said I was away scrapbooking, and Matt brought the movie home for them to watch.
“When I was 11, my dad brought home LOTR. At first I was kind of leery of the scene where Saruman is using the Palantir. I had never heard of any of it, and we never watched any Disney classics, especially ones that had witchcraft in them – like Beauty & the Beast or the Little Mermaid. It was something that wasn’t necessary or allowed.
I must at admit that I really felt uncomfortable when we watched LOTR for the first time. I mean the whole story is based is centered around a magical object, filled with spelling-speaking elves and wizards… but when my parents continued to let us watch the films, I led myself to think it was alright.“
How did I miss that? How, in all of my being aware of the garbage and worldliness in so many kids’ movies, did I miss this? It was like a knife in my spirit. Hence the questions between Husband and Wife, in private: “Why did we allow this?”. “How could we, who have studied spiritual things like witchcraft and satanism and the End Times for years! not have seen this?”.
During our discussion of the whole LOTR/CON discussion that our discovery and Jocelyn’s articles, some questions came up in our family:
WHY do we Christians not allow our faith to cross every line in our lives?
WHY is it that if it is comfortable to us or an amusement, that we exclude it from the Bible and what the Bible says about such things?
WHO do we think we are that can do that?
We say we want holiness, but we refuse to put it to our flesh and be crucified as we know we are called to.
I think we are selfish, complacent and arrogant to think that we can apply our own desires and opinions and interpretations to a Holy God and His Word. Giving up a sin that has become a part of ourselves is not easy, but Jesus set the example, and we are not called to do the “easy”.
Spiritual bondage has become a bit like soft-porn in this world, and especially our nation: it is a huge blind-spot to most Believers, and having this blind spot, many do not wish to see. It is taking “Christian Liberties” too far. All things are lawful, but all things are not edifying. We are called to edification, not self-gratification.
Robin posted about the sinfulness and witchcraft involved in role-playing video games, etc. in her most-recent post, A Christian View of World of Warcraft. Now, considering the hideous creatures and half-naked wh*res in this game, I think Christians would be more likely to agree on this point, but I truly see no distinction between make-believe worlds of CON and LOTR and make-believe worlds of role-playing. Certainly, we do develop a love for these characters and make heroes out of them for ourselves, our faith and our children. Is this right?
Why do we choose to dilute the Old Testament and the Gospel and replace it with a “better (allegorical) version”? Do we really believe our children won’t understand the Word or will be bored by the Word? And, if we do, what does that say about our belief of the Word? That it IS too hard to understand and it IS boring? I mean, for heaven’s sake, we teach our children to write their names, learn and recognize the phonetics of letters and numbers and their functions at the ages as early as three! And, God’s Word, which He instructed us to teach to our children, is too difficult to understand or perhaps too boring? YIKES!
If our children know more about Belle, Frodo, Lucy Pevensie, Jack Sparrow, Shrek, the Little Mermaid, etc. than the character of God, because we have repetitively allowed them to learn it through watching or hearing or reading, then what kind of Believers in God are we?
Proverbs 4
5Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
6Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
7Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
8Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
9She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
In response to the questions above, what lines are so hard for our faith to cross? The bottom line of a Believer’s faith should be to glorify God, as it is our purpose. Here are some lines that come to mind:
the media – movies, games, tv programs, music, computer
fashion – any and everything we wear or accessorize with
friendships – not every friendship with an unbeliever, just the ones that we are yoked to in our hearts and cause us to choose sinful behavior over our Lord
habits – are they Godly? Are they held in proper place in our lives?
desires – are they edifying?
materialistic things – are they necessary? Are they held in proper place in our lives?
time – This is big. God instructs us to use our time, not just wisely, but for His glory.
education – do we pull all education of our children into the light of the Word? Do we allow others to teach them their doctrines and beliefs (even indirectly)? This includes peers, who are much more an influence than teachers are usually. And, this includes Christian peers, too.
church – Do we hold the church to a Biblical standard or have we just accepted what the church says and does, because, well, after all, they are the Biblical authority in our lives? If we do not stand for the Word in our churches, then we are relegating it to a political arena where opinions will muddy the true lines God has set as standards for Hie People.
Oh Lord, help us to be mature, wise and discerning in these areas. I desire to please you and hear you say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Revelation 2
2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
blessings!
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Some of the other media-related popular culture
things we avoid are:
*Disney *Shrek *Pirates of the Carribean
*Bibleman(sarcasm and worldly inclusions) *Focus on the Family
*video games *Veggie Tales
This list will be added to periodically.
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12 Responses to “Forbidden Love: What Lines Does Our Faith Not Cross?”
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As a new homeschool mom living in IN, I am really enjoying your blog =)
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Okay…can you give insight as to why your family is..how do I want to say: anti-Focus on the Family, and Veggie Tales? (yes I’m picking your brain again) ☺
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I am not fond of Veggie Tales either Beth. Even Focus on the Family have become so far from the truth as they have become Liberal in their stand.
Jacque, I totally enjoy a good deep Bible study and often times I am deeply convicted as well. I have a stricter stand on entertainment than my husband does and I pray that someday our standards will line up better. For now, I do all I can to teach our children God’s Word and how to discern between what God would have them to decide and what the rest of the world tells them. Although we avoid worldly influences the best we can, sometimes other ‘Christians’ are just as hindering to our walk with Christ.
I know my home won’t go totally anti-fantasy right now, but we have taken a few steps closer. Thank you for your study and for your stand. Most of all thank you for your friendship and support.
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Wonderful post Jacque!!!
I am not, nor have I ever been fond of Veggie Tales either…I guess that’s a step in the right direction for me and my family…However I have always liked Focus On the Family’s Adventures In Oddessy…What are your thoughts on that??
I am also curious to know your stand on Kenneth Copeland and others like him, like Jesse Duplantis and Jerry Savelle??
I must have lost you on Yahoo tonight, either that or you had a Little to care for…either way, I’m sorry we couldn’t chat longer!!! I would like to further discuss what we were talking about though!!!
*HUGS*
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A great post, Jacque…The Bible says that if we are hearers of the Word, and not doers of the Word, we deceive ourselves. Yes , when a person hears the Word and does not do it, deception enters his heart. The Bible also says that lawlessness(or deception) will run rampant in the last days.
The reason for this is because people will not love truth. The Bible says that men will love themselves more than they love truth…lovers of themselves(and their own will) more than lovers of God(and the truth)
If we settle in our hearts that there is nothing good for us outside of the will of God, we will not be deceived.
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Jacque,
Thank you for sharing your convictions. You are brave. God bless Jocelyn for following God’s whisper.
Lord, help us all to be mature, wise and discerning.
In Him,
Robin
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Wonderful post Mother Dear, and I’ve linked you.
Love
MJ
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In the past year the Lord has been convicting us of all these very same things. I appreciate and are thankful for your post on the topic and I praise the Lord for His work in the life of your daughter.
Grace & peace
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Well, Alexandra, without going too much into depth, I would say that these subtle things that are sinful in the WORD have been placed very well by Disney and the other producers to the point that you, as a Believer did not recognize them. Don’t feel bad, neither did I for a long time. They were *subtle*. As a matter of fact, the LOTR and CON are some of my favorite fiction movies, and I also could tell you in-depth (as Jocelyn could so much more) about the similarities to the WORD. That is exactly how the enemy gets us: Frog in the kettle.
The Bible instructs us clearly to be wise and that wisdom is calling to us. We are to take hold of wisdom and gain it. We are to know the enemy. We are to be discerning. It is not a matter of naivete, but that we must ask the LORD to show us where the subtleties of the world lie. We do not need a sexy cartoon character from any movie to take the place of Joseph and the Biblical account and God’s lessons from the WORD. We need to stop taking a counterfeit, and just desire the real thing.
Because life is about good and evil and God is about good and the devil evil, there will ALWAYS be good and evil in every movie. It is unwise to use that as a comparison.
I was reading Exodus 20, the Ten Commandment,to Issac, 5, today, and I read that God is a jealous God and we are to put nothing before him. He created us for a purpose. We are to praise him in all we do, not bow to the idols of this world, even if “they are ok”.
As far as Tolkien and Lewis, I cannot attest to their salvation or to their intentions in their books. I know that many religions profess to be Believers in the one true God, but then there are many times other things about their faith that detracts from that purity in religion. I cannot say whether this is true or not in their cases, but I can say that we are not to play with witchcraft at all. You can judge for yourself if they did.
There are white witches in this world who only cast good spells on people. Does this make them less into witchcraft? No. They are witches, by their own claims, and practice the craft.
Just because we are unfamiliar with a sin does not absolve us from it. If we are speeding in a 35mph zone, the ticket is still issued (or legally can be). An excuse of not knowing does not take precedence over the law. This is true of God’s laws. Certainly, we have been set free from the Law of sin and death, but, the sin still has its effects on us, and we will find that we still reap what we sow. Sin cannot bear good fruit.
Many blessings~
Mrs. Dixon
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I love reading your blogs, and this does not change my good-thoughts about you, but on some of the things in this post, I must respectfully disagree. With tLOTR, yes, I agree…and I think tCON should only be read/watched by children, but young adults (adults as well of course). But I don’t see anything wrong with tCON…it is after all, make believe, and if it is a sound, mature person reading/watching, they shouldn’t be confusing centaurs with humans made in God’s image. The violence in it, I do think is not for children…there is enough of it in the real world already. Yes, I am a young teen, and had I known what the movie contained I may not have watched it. But even before I had ever heard of centaurs, etc, I imagined them in my imaginary play…it’s just a child’s imagination. It wasn’t a moral problem, it was just imaginary play. And I think all children have imagined being the king or queen (or princess, or prince) of their own kingdom.
As for Beauty and the Beast…yes, I suppose contains witchcraft. But honestly, it never occurred to me until now…I thought she was an angel sent from God! And oh how I looked up to Belle, sacrificing her freedom for her father, and like Joseph of the Old Testament, made the best of the situation, and eventually became a princess because of it! Belle was always a role model to me…she was smart, and brave, kind, and funny, and never let her situation beat her down…and because of it she had her fairy-tale ending. She forgave Beast, and gave him a chance. She loved someone who was “unlovable”. She taught him how to be kind, even when he was not kind to her… I just don’t see anything wrong with that. And, call me naive, but if your kids were raised with God and the Bible…there’s a good chance it wouldn’t have even occurred to them that the angel/witch/whichever-it-is could be a witch.
Oh, and after reading Miss Jocelyn’s post (the part “Narnia does have magic and creatures who represent humans having relations with animal”) it just dawned on me about that! It never occurred to me before…in my mind they were just their own species, and not necessarily half-human, but half human-like. Yes, I suppose I’m very naive, but I never even considered that thought! Sometimes it seems to me that by not allowing things like B&tB and tCON, it’s making more of it than it is…not always, but sometimes. Like I said, these thoughts never crossed my mind until they were pointed out to me. But in my mind, still, “centaurs” are their own make-believe species, not a cross-breed, and the woman with the rose was an angel
Ummm….I was going to say something else, but I forgot…LOL, I think I’ll just shut up now ^_^
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My sister-in-law just sent me your website. Wow, do I have a lot to learn! I’m enjoying all your posts. For the most part, I’m nodding my head. We have 5 children and although no TV in the house, it’s so hard to control the DVD player. I think I’m the one battling my conscience the most and too often I lose. For the kids, sometimes I just want the quiet time in such a small house, you know? Or I like to “treat” them. But to cause them to sin? What an awful treat! The Bible says that we will be responsible for every foolish/idle thing, and that we must “redeem the time” right? That just doesn’t leave anytime for foolishness on the computer, telephone, DVD, or anywhere, hey? Ugh! What an incredible, impossible responsible. Sometimes I despair for all I am unwilling/unable to do. It really is hard to run, strive and wrestle!!! Anyway, I’ll keep reading and thanks for the education!
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December 22nd, 2009 at 3:23 am
I do understand wanting quiet or to treat them and putting in a video… it is WAAAYY too easy, isn’t it!?
I also agree that it is hard to run, strive and wrestle. I pray we will all become more willing to DO more of what he has commanded us to do. We are to be DO-ers of the scripture and not just learn and hear only.
Faith without works is as dead as is works without faith. They are a balance of the Old and New testament commandments – a perfect balance of Yahweh and Yahshuah. We must DO as David, Israel and Moses, etc. DID , and also believe in the Messiah as they did in their hopes for Him. They combined their “works” with their Faith, even 4000-5000 years ago. And, we are told that their faith and works were counted to them for righteousness. And they had not even seen the Messiah come then. Their faith – in their hope- was enough.
Wow… may we be found faithful!!
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