Rebecca Cusey is a movie critic who writes for World Magazine, the Washington Post, and The Daily Caller (among others). She has a post titled “Christians and Movies: Recognizing the Danger Within, Not Without,” on her blog Tinsel.
She writes:
When I’m at church or other Christian gatherings, however, I get two specific and unique questions: What do I think of Harry Potter? (love him) and How do you deal with swearing/nudity/violence/crude humor…how can you stand all that depravity and soul-sucking grossness that Hollywood throws out?
Hmm… That one is a bit harder.
The short answer is swearing, sex scenes, crude humor, and poop jokes don’t really bother me.
The long answer is that the question, with due respect to the Parents Television Council and Ted Baehr, has some theological issues and may be the wrong question entirely.
The crux of her thinking flows out of Matthew 15:11 – “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” She honestly assesses the real dangers that the Christian must deal with when she writes:
Frankly, I’ve had more spiritual wrestling with the Pottery Barn catalog than movies. It leaves me discontented with the same living room furniture I had loved hours before. I want to buy not just the velour recliner, but the lifestyle of the hypothetical family in the catalog, complete with the tennis matches and beach vacations on their delightful calendar. My calendar tends more toward dog vet appointments and car oil changes. The catalog gives voice to the whine in my heart.
You can tell that there have been years and years of thought behind her comments. This is a manifesto in a sense and is extremely helpful in framing the real issues.
The application of the principles to our children is important. So, if you are wondering how this applies to what you let your children watch, she addresses the question in this article as well.
Follow Patheos
Family: