Virtuous Reality Blog

A few weeks ago I sent a message to everyone in our Facebook group (Girls Gone Virtuous) asking if you had read the Twilight series and what your thoughts were. It was the biggest response I've gotten yet to a message so I thought maybe we should talk it out here. That way we can have a semi-conversation about these books that seem to be taking over the world in the same way Harry Potter did. I do want to lay down a few blogging rules first though.

1) It is never appropriate to attack someone because you disagree with them. Please think before you respond and be respectful of each other.

2) I will always respond from a Biblical perspective - don't attack me for that either. The point of this ministry is to encourage and point you guys to Jesus every chance we get.

3) Please don't get worked up because we're talking about something you might believe is anti-Christian. God covered some VERY controversial topics in the Bible and my goal is to please Him in how we discuss this.

I have read the first book in the series and was very intrigued by the story so I'll kick things off with the two questions I've been asking myself - What do you like so much about the books? And what do you think God thinks of them?

Ok, let's go! Who's first?

"A thing may be morally neutral and yet the desire for that thing may be dangerous" - C.S. Lewis

Ok...(deep breath)...I've been reading all the comments on our last blog and LOVE that you guys are talking this thing out. I also love that almost everyone played nice in responding to each other - those who didn't, did not get posted...because I have that kind of power *flex*. And I've been tempted to chime in a million times (sometimes I exaggerate) with my own thoughts but really wanted to see what you all are thinking before I threw out my 2 cents. With the movie coming out in a few days, it seems like the perfect time to narrow the discussion a bit, so get ready to catch my 2 cents and roll with the comments again. Same rules as last time - let's respect each other and think from a Jesus perspective before responding.

Uno - The thought that spends the most time rolling around in my head is this: Anything that consumes us or that we obsess over more than Jesus is most likely something we need to step away from. I had to do this with these books myself, because they are very intriguing and the romance of it all can suck me in faster than a vacuum on steroids, but I heard this quiet voice in my soul ask me to "please walk away". Our world has built up human relationships as the ultimate goal for girls but Biblically the ultimate relationship is always always Jesus. He's the original White Knight riding in on His horse to save us (Revelation 19:11) and He is the only Faithful and True love who will satisfy. So anything that sets itself up against Him as something better or more exciting is only a lie...and I've been hurt by that lie way too many times for me to want to go there again.

Deux (see how multi-lingual I am) - Edward and Bella's relationship is not a healthy one even though it may seem like it. It is not healthy for one person to constantly be battling himself to keep from killing another no matter how sexy you make the whole thing. The dangerous and obsessive aspects of their relationship would be unnerving and scary in real life and would most likely destroy both the people and the relationship. The devil has done massive harm to Jesus' people by making what is dark and harmful look sensual and exciting. It also bothered me that Bella was the one pushing the physical relationship because marketers have spent millions telling your generation that it's good for girls to be sexually aggressive and obsessed with sex but the reality is that it only leads to pain and heartache.

Three - I do believe that the books can spark good conversation and that God can use even dark things to bring His kids to Himself. However, if you find that you are obsessed with the stories and dream of being swept off your feet by someone like Edward, you probably need to step back from the books and spend some time pursuing the Lover of your soul who died so that you could truly live. We settle much too easily for what the world has to offer and miss out on the one thrilling relationship that we were made for.

There's so much more but I want to hear what you're thinking, so now it's your turn again.