Real Christian discussion

Hey everyone :) For this blog post I wanted to have a conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of liking the media for fun. To learn more about why I changed this up, look at my recent post in this topic.

I believe that Christians should not watch nudity and sex scenes because it incites lust in us when we watch that sort of thing.

Rebecca L. Snowe wrote: "I believe that Christians should not watch nudity and sex scenes because it incites lust in us when we watch that sort of thing."

Very true.

God made our nakedness to be beautiful, but after the fall everything, including the things God created to be beautiful, were corrupted. That's why you shouldn't look on another persons nakedness unless your married to them. In Genesis Noah was drunk and was naked before his son and it was shameful, so his two other sons covered up his nakedness and then they were blessed.
So, no, I don't think it's okay to consciously watch nudity in a movie, you can certainly avert your eyes if it was unintentional, but if we want to keep pure hearts and minds than we should avoid it whenever we can. Our bodies are beautiful, but they are also corrupt, we can't blame this on anyone but ourselves. For now our nakedness is shameful (except in marriage of course), but one day we will be restored and will have new and uncorrupt bodies (and minds), there will be no shame, and our bodies will be truly beautiful!
Thank you for bringing up this topic Rachel, I think it's very important to discuss!

No wonder naked and sex bothers me so much.

It depends on our comfort level. Like me it's a definite no no . You might actually learn something from the movie ( and hopefully it's not about sex).

Tamara, you brought up some good points. My cousin said she watches Game of Thrones because she likes the storyline and the scenery in it, so I can't take her interest away from her any more than some one else can take what I like away from me. However, it IS questionable because she's also a baptized believer. I wouldn't bring this up around her because in addition to being my cousin, she's also one of my best friends and I wouldn't want to push her away. I will pray for her that she can be morally minded enough to know the difference. I also read a review on Game of Thrones by this one mom who said she tried watching it with her son who wanted to see it because he loves medieval action, but she was disappointed by all of the rape scenes.

Well, we have no jurisdiction over others so I think your doing the right thing by not pushing your convictions on her. Although, if she claims to be a Christian you do have the duty to kindly point out anything unbiblical in her actions. The best thing you can do though is pray, which I'm sure you're already doing. :)

Yes, I am already doing that for sure :) In the end it has to be her own personal choice, she can either choose to keep on watching it, or she can choose another alternative. Some Christians have deeper gifts of discernment than others, which is why I choose not to watch Game of Thrones.

I agree! We should focus on keeping our own hearts pure before trying to show others what's right and wrong.

Tamara wrote: "I agree! We should focus on keeping our own hearts pure before trying to show others what's right and wrong."

Right! It's not always easy, but we're called to be patient with other people. They might not know better and we have to remember that there was a time when we didn't know any better either, and God forgave us. May we have the same forgiving attitude towards our friends who watch these shows. This doesn't mean I'm condoning that they watch it, but rather choosing to show them the right way by example instead of a lecture.

Exactly! And that's the way we should be with everything in life. :)

:)

Right y'all! Amen!! I couldn't have said it any better!! What we watch, read, see, and hear becomes a part of our memory, and that memory incites who we are. We should be careful and not allow filth to corrupt our innocency! Nudity and sexual content in TV and movies is used to corrupt and make us not only sin against God, but against our own bodies as well.
Right on my friends †

Amen MK!

Here is an article to read (and an audio of John Piper to listen to) that would be good to share with Christians who see no problem with watching nudity:

seven-questions-to-ask-before-you-watch-deadpool

The article lists seven reasons, but JP gives twelve reasons in the audio at the end of the article.

Perhaps we shouldn't watch things that's OVER PG13.

My family has cable TV (unfortunately), but it's mostly on Velocity (car stuff), HGTV, Food Network, or the Hallmark channels. I don't watch it much. My husband is the one who wanted cable. We watch some superhero TV shows, but some of them we don't watch because LGBT is being pushed on them.

My family goes to see only 1-2 movies per year, and they are usually either superhero or Disney/Pixar. Even though we have a ClearPlay DVD (now Blueray) player, we still don't watch many movies. When we first got one in 2009, we went through decades of movies that the kids had never seen because we had spent the previous 8-1/2 years watching only old stuff (1930's-1940's movies, old TV shows like I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, and Leave it to Beaver) and Disney/Pixar (we didn't have cable, satellite, or even an antenna). We long ago ran out of new stuff for my kids to see and don't use it nearly as much now. We mostly just use it for the movies we own.

My 21yo son loves superhero movies and comic books. He goes to see almost every superhero movie that comes out, and Deadpool is a favorite character for him. He was so disappointed to find out that the movie has nudity. He told me about it and said he and his fiancée would wait for the Blueray so they can watch it with ClearPlay.

A ClearPlay player allows the user to set filters to remove certain content from movies/tv programs as they are being watched. The filters have to be created for each individual movie or TV program, and usually the most popular stuff gets filters created for it. The system works quite well, although it isn't perfect. Even with ClearPlay, there isn't much that comes out each year that we would watch. We have turned off quite a few movies because there was so much profanity being muted (lip reading is too easy sometimes -- sigh) or skipped that there didn't seem to be much movie left. I started doing searches at ScreenIt and PluggedInOnlien (or whatever they're called) to see how many profanities were in movies before I would bother with getting them from the library or through Netflix. FYI, ClearPlay is a Mormon business.

I really liked that article!
I don't think it's bad to watch some R rated movies. For example The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies extended edition is rated R for violence, but it doesn't have anything innapropriate in it. Violence doesn't bother me, but if it bothers you maybe you wouldn't want to watch an R rated movie like that, or any for that matter, but that doesn't make it wrong for anyone else. Make sense? I'm certainly not condoning sexually innapropriate movies with or without swearing, only those that are rated R for violence or gore without those.

I want clearplay so badly! So I can watch my favorite movies without the languages and nudity. (Crimson Peak has nudity! Why you foolish movie makers use vintage background and ruin it with bad scenes!)

As you can see, YouTube is being a PAIN THE NECK! Because I have to skip over on some of them.

I admit I don't mind when a tv show or movie hints at implied sex. I like Friends and The Big Bang Theory because they're so funny, they do have ocassional bed scenes but nothing graphic ever occurs. I just don't see the point of including full frontal nudity in HBO networks. It's almost like they think anyone over the age of 15 won't sit down and watch it unless they put some in there. Now granted I know that people have stated that the Game of Thrones books included nudity too, but it's too bad they didn't change it ro implied when they brought it to the screen.

I think we can if we know not to act they way they do. It also depends on the context. I watch and anime series where some of the characters take off their shirts to go bathe and I'm certainly not dying to go topless.

Ok, so just wanted to give you guys the heads up that this conversation is going to go in a slightly different direction. I have decided to give Game of Thrones a chance, and I've been liking it. I'm starting out with the first book, George R. R. Martin is as skilled as J.R.R. Tolkien. Yes, there are graphic themes in Game of Thrones, but I'm being realistic here. It's not a series for kids, it's a fantasy for adults, so it's bound to be edgy. (and I'm sure some mature teens are fans of Game of Thrones if they can handle the content). However, my reason for liking it isn't based off of the gritty content. I like it because of the adventure, the high fantasy, and the characters, even if they do some things I disagree with. So I just wanted to let you know I want to change this to us talking about the strengths and weaknesses of shows and movies in the media. I would say the strengths of Game of Thrones are it's adventure and fantasy, it's weakness is treating women like sex objects a lot and selling them over into forced marriages, but I know that's how some of the medieval political system worked back then.

Is it all right if I do one for something I like?
I'll put it in spoiler tags.
(view spoiler)[ Weaknesses of Adventure Time: According to the fan Wiki, there are references to different idols/religions. However, they're subtle and I wouldn't have made the connection without the site. Also, the show contains fantasy violence which isn't graphic, but is unsuitable for young kids. It's not an adult cartoon, but not for preschoolers either. I'd say for tweens and up.
Strengths: It's funny at times, quirky, and not without some sad parts. Overall, it's my favorite show on TV. (hide spoiler)]