Spiritual Porn
Since a few friends of mine recently rented that movie Constantine last week, I have spent some time reflecting on what truly attracts us to movies with such a huge spiritual connotation. I headed out as soon as the movie started, claiming that Taco Bell and an early night to bed would be a better use of my time. As a personal decision, I decided in the past to avoid all of those movies that have no true context and spiritual foundation and I'm sticking to it for now. It is hard for me to see any viable reason to spend hours out of a day watching movies such as these. As spiritually flawed as many movies are, I can hardly see what place they would hold in my life because they certianly do not make me "think." Nor are they entertaining...which is the other reason I would choose to watch a movie.
Because of all of this, I do wonder what would cause a group of Christians who I value and consider very similar to myself, to watch such a movie. The only thing I can come up with is that movies like Constantine or that exorcism movie that recently came out, appeal to us spiritually in a very similar way that porn might appeal to some. Obviously I'm not as disgusted by Constantine or the people that watch them as I am with porn addicts, but I do see similarities in the appeal. Just like porn, I think movies with a heavy spiritual context that is obviously far fetched, offers us a false reality that makes our heart race and minds wander. I've heard the arguement..."as long as you keep it in proper context its ok blah blah blah...." but truly I wonder why you would want to even watch a movie that requires the viewer to maintain a "context." Isn't creating the context the producers and directors responsibility? Similarly, many will say that as long as you are solid in your belief, viewing movies like these shouldn't be a problem. Wasn't it during his sermon on the mount that Jesus said just lustfully looking a woman was as bad a sleeping with her? I think part of what He was offering in that was that no matter how "solid" or outwardly "good" your behavior or spirituality may look, we never can really eradicate the sin completely on our own. Why must we tempt ourselves and in the context of this blog, why must we open the door to a spiritual battle that is very visible and apparent by supporting such fallible movies?
Because of all of this, I do wonder what would cause a group of Christians who I value and consider very similar to myself, to watch such a movie. The only thing I can come up with is that movies like Constantine or that exorcism movie that recently came out, appeal to us spiritually in a very similar way that porn might appeal to some. Obviously I'm not as disgusted by Constantine or the people that watch them as I am with porn addicts, but I do see similarities in the appeal. Just like porn, I think movies with a heavy spiritual context that is obviously far fetched, offers us a false reality that makes our heart race and minds wander. I've heard the arguement..."as long as you keep it in proper context its ok blah blah blah...." but truly I wonder why you would want to even watch a movie that requires the viewer to maintain a "context." Isn't creating the context the producers and directors responsibility? Similarly, many will say that as long as you are solid in your belief, viewing movies like these shouldn't be a problem. Wasn't it during his sermon on the mount that Jesus said just lustfully looking a woman was as bad a sleeping with her? I think part of what He was offering in that was that no matter how "solid" or outwardly "good" your behavior or spirituality may look, we never can really eradicate the sin completely on our own. Why must we tempt ourselves and in the context of this blog, why must we open the door to a spiritual battle that is very visible and apparent by supporting such fallible movies?
posted by carlymarie | 10:45 PM
2 Comments:
Interesting ideas here. I can imagine not wanting to subject oneself to prolonged exposure to Keanu Reeves. But that begs my question: What do you do with "The Matrix?" Doesn't it create a quasi-Christian (and I mean QUASI) context that is potentially misleading? Or is it different from "Constantine"? I am one step away from agreeing with you, so a good answer would help.
I think the Matrix was roughly based on Gnostisism (sp?) which was a very early diversion of Christianity way back when. Key point there....it's a diversion of Christianty. I think movies like the Matrix could be even more potentially dangerous because the spiritual fallicy isn't nearly as blatant. It actually has some believers thinking the plotline is biblical and aligns with the truth!
ALTHOUGH, part of my arguement was about why movies draw us in and capture our attention. The Matrix had lots of attributes like new graphics and computer generated fights, lots of big guns, high publicity, character development, etc. that I think constantine and many others lack. Since Constantine lacks those attributes, there has to be something else that draws people into the audience. I guess thats the relationship between that particular movie and porn that I was trying to illustrate.
I probably wouldn't recommend either. Keanu should find a day job.
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