I was asked to repost a previous blog I’d written about the
book 50 Shades of Grey, in the wake
of the release of the movie and the resulting brouhaha.
Well, if you want to read that post, feel free to click
here: http://fragileclayjars.blogspot.com/2012/06/fifty-shades-of-grey-i-jump-into-fray.html
But I have some other thoughts I’d like to share instead…
1.
50 Shades is actually “fanfiction”,
initially created by E.L. James as a sexualized version of Edward and Bella
from the book Twilight…A book
involving a romance between a teen girl and a man who is over 100. Where was the furor when we allowed our
children to ingest THOSE books, supporting the idea that an age gap of 80+
years is fine for our daughters? Just
because Edward LOOKS the same age as Bella doesn’t negate the fact that the
relationship borders on pedophilia.
2.
The main character, Mr. Grey, gets his name from
a 2002 sadomasochistic movie titled Secretary. In this movie, the mental illness of the
female character is well developed, yet it is billed as a “comedy” on
IMDB. Did the Christian community throw
a fit about this movie?
 |
| In this scene, Mr. Grey tells her to sit there without moving until he returns. She stays that way for 3 days. |
3.
Boycotting or fussing about a single book or
movie (or song, for that matter…) will not change the culture around us.
 |
| Remember all the "change" that was created by getting all fussy over this song? Me neither. |
4.
There will always
be books and movies about people in broken relationships, because we are
broken people living in a broken world.
We are called to act/react in a way that is congruent with both our
beliefs and the lifestyle of love Jesus emulated and commanded of his followers.
5.
It is my opinion that the enemy is using an
excellent tactic by deflecting Christian time, energy, and passion into
piddling efforts which will have no sustainable results. If you truly care about REAL people caught in
destructive relationships, use your time, money, energy to go out there and get
involved with a local organization that is down in the trenches. For example: Safe Harbor House
6.
Get dirty…meet and talk to people who have been
in destructive relationships…both men and women. Find out the pain behind the behavior, and
love the person anyway. You know, that
thing that Jesus was so good at.
7.
If we continue to shout vitriol about people in
lifestyles different than ours instead of attempting to understand them, they
will look at us and want nothing to do with us.
Is that our ultimate goal as Christians?
It’s not mine. If a person isn’t
yet a believer, what reason would I have to judge their behavior and condemn
them? You don’t hate people into Christ.
8.
Abused boys often turn into sexually aggressive
men, which is an issue that needs to be faced instead of crucifying the men for
being maladjusted and having PTSD. I know this is an extremely
difficult stance, but somehow we need to find a way to create an environment
for abusive men to seek and receive help and healing in an accepting
environment. For example, the Journey to Freedom program provided by CitiLookout http://www.citilookout.org/services.html
9.
It seems like mainstream Christianity has become
a litany of items to become passionate “against” instead of “for”. We are not on the losing side, and we are not
on the defensive. We are warriors, and
it’s time to stop acting like we are on a slippery slope, slowly losing
ground. The best way to achieve a
positive culture is to create, not destroy.
10.
And just to be a teensy bit controversial (if I
haven’t been already), keep in mind that there’s a touch of erotica in the
Bible too…
You are tall
and supple, like the palm tree, and your full breasts are like sweet clusters
of dates. I say, "I'm going to climb that tree! I'm going
to caress its fruit!" Oh yes! Your breasts will be
clusters of sweet fruit to me, your breath clean and cool like fresh mint, your
tongue and lips like the best wine.
