Bible Study

[Blue Frackle]

I have a question about something:Have any of the Christian users on this site seen the new Matt Groening cartoon Disenchantment? Because I recently started watching it with my dad and he told me that he doesn't want to watch it anymore because he thinks it's blasphemous. Why does he think that? Well, you see there is this character named Luci on the show who is portrayed as the main protagonist's "inner demon". He's this little black cat-like demon character who sits on her shoulder and convinces her to do bad things. My dad's main issue with the character is that he is portrayed as a hero rather an evil villain despite his demonic nature. In fact, the last episode dad was able to watch before quitting the show involved the gang going on a mission to save Luci from an exorcist because the protagonist needs both good and bad in her life to balance things out a bit. I'm kind of surprised that my dad finds that offensive. I used to watch that old Teen Titans cartoon with him all the time and one of the main heroes on that show Raven is supposed to be a demon but yet she has is still portrayed as a hero nonetheless. Believe it or not, Dad never had a problem with Raven and sometimes even stated that she was the best part of certain episodes much to my surprise. Most of the original Teen Titans show from the 2000s was meant to be serious and dramatic with a lot of the demonic undertones used as plot devices rather than comedic gags like they are in Disenchantment. Seeing as how Disenchantment is a comedy show that doesn't take demons seriously in the slightest, it honestly seemed like it would considered the lesser of two evils compared to Teen Titans in Dad's mind. What do you think? I've honestly considered not watching it myself after my dad's reaction to it but it is always important to make my own decisions in life and considering most of the adult cartoons I watch are much more offensive (some of them even feature parodies of God himself), I overall think this one is much tamer in comparison to some of my other favorite shows. Even if you guys haven't seen the show I'm talking about, judging by the way I had described it do you think that's something I should be concerned about? Do you think the idea of having a character like Luci on a TV show is morally wrong? I kind of need the opinions of fellow Christians here because after all my dad did grow up in the house of my very strict uber Christian grandma who is offended by things that my parents consider completely appropriate such as Pokémon, Garbage Pail Kids, The Simpsons, Dungeons and Dragons, Star Trek, Bewitched, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, etc. She only just recently started warming up to Harry Potter after years of deeming it "blasphemous filth". So the fact that Dad and I were raised under completely different guidelines as to what is appropriate and what isn't kind of conflicts things even further for me.

First of all, you should really take Old Thunder's advice and use paragraphs; I literally didn't read half your post because of this, which is a shame, because I imagine it was thought-provoking.

I can relate to your dad; there are times when I am super-religious, there are times I step away from it: I always think "What are Christians allowed to do for fun?"

Old Thunder explained to me Highway to **** isn't literally a song about celebrating going to ****, but my concerns over that were similar to what you're saying; what if I like a song that's blasphemous? This is one of my favorite songs, where the singer is essentially saying "You can't prove God exists; you're not praying to God, you're praying to yourself"... how can I justify loving this song and being Catholic, doubting the Lord?

Life is too open to be pigeon-held by religion; that's where I'm at right now. No one is wrong for what they believe.

 

[Flaky Pudding]

First of all, you should really take Old Thunder's advice and use paragraphs; I literally didn't read half your post because of this, which is a shame, because I imagine it was thought-provoking.

I can relate to your dad; there are times when I am super-religious, there are times I step away from it: I always think "What are Christians allowed to do for fun?"

Old Thunder explained to me Highway to **** isn't literally a song about celebrating going to ****, but my concerns over that were similar to what you're saying; what if I like a song that's blasphemous? This is one of my favorite songs, where the singer is essentially saying "You can't prove God exists; you're not praying to God, you're praying to yourself"... how can I justify loving this song and being Catholic, doubting the Lord?

Life is too open to be pigeon-held by religion; that's where I'm at right now. No one is wrong for what they believe.

One of my all time favorite Family Guy episodes is Not all Dogs Go To Heaven which ends with Brian telling Meg that God doesn't exist because she's ugly. I just think the episode has a lot of funny gags in it and besides, it has an appearance by Will Wheaton in it. What's not to like!?

So yeah, you have a point about not worrying so much about things like that. Life's too short to spend all your time worry about that kind of thing.

Also, I'm working on my posting style as Old Thunder had said right now. I'm definitely planning on taking his advice into consideration from here on out. Thank you very much for the constructive criticism, Old Thunder .

 

[Old Thunder]

The important thing is this: what do you believe? If your faith is strong, then no matter what you hear, there is nothing that can change it. Thus, anything that's against the concept of God or Christianity isn't going against your faith. It's just that that artist (etc) is stepping out and putting forth what their beliefs are. You don't have to agree with them, though you should respect them.

The argument that listening to things that don't hold Christianity in a good light is somehow detrimental to your faith is a stinking pile of bull created and perpetuated by people who are so shallow in their faith that they think they're afraid they'll lose it with the snap of a finger and thus have some sort of demented need to try to control what they hear, what their kids hear, and what people say.

People deserve to have the right to say whatever they want and believe whatever they believe, and listening to something that goes against something you believe shouldn't be seen as detrimental or hampering your faith or going against the lifestyle God wants you to have - it should be seen as a challenge. What do you think of what they're saying? Do they apply in your life? Do you agree or disagree? Then you reshape your beliefs or you reshape what you think of the song.

It's okay to like things that aren't 'Godly'. It's okay to like things that are anti-religion. The heart of the matter is simply this - what do you personally believe? That's the important thing. Not what anyone says, not what anyone does, not what anyone wants for you. The important thing is being satisfied with your own skin. Apart from that, nothing else matters.

Sure, if you think something isn't going to help your life, you can choose not to listen to it. But instead of casting aside everything that goes against a certain belief, instead, try to examine that and examine what you believe in. You may be surprised at what you find. And throwing away anything that seems to be unGodly will certainly block you from finding some things which are really great pieces of art.

 

[D'Snowth]

The important thing is this: what do you believe? If your faith is strong, then no matter what you hear, there is nothing that can change it. Thus, anything that's against the concept of God or Christianity isn't going against your faith. It's just that that artist (etc) is stepping out and putting forth what their beliefs are. You don't have to agree with them, though you should respect them.

The argument that listening to things that don't hold Christianity in a good light is somehow detrimental to your faith is a stinking pile of bull created and perpetuated by people who are so shallow in their faith that they think they're afraid they'll lose it with the snap of a finger and thus have some sort of demented need to try to control what they hear, what their kids hear, and what people say.

People deserve to have the right to say whatever they want and believe whatever they believe, and listening to something that goes against something you believe shouldn't be seen as detrimental or hampering your faith or going against the lifestyle God wants you to have - it should be seen as a challenge. What do you think of what they're saying? Do they apply in your life? Do you agree or disagree? Then you reshape your beliefs or you reshape what you think of the song.

It's okay to like things that aren't 'Godly'. It's okay to like things that are anti-religion. The heart of the matter is simply this - what do you personally believe? That's the important thing. Not what anyone says, not what anyone does, not what anyone wants for you. The important thing is being satisfied with your own skin. Apart from that, nothing else matters.

Sure, if you think something isn't going to help your life, you can choose not to listen to it. But instead of casting aside everything that goes against a certain belief, instead, try to examine that and examine what you believe in. You may be surprised at what you find. And throwing away anything that seems to be unGodly will certainly block you from finding some things which are really great pieces of art.

Now tell all of this to the religious leaders out there who were boycotting Disney over the live action BEAUTY AND THE BEAST because they made LaFou openly gay and having a man crush on Gaston . . . even though many fans already theorized that about the animated version.

 

[Old Thunder]

Now tell all of this to the religious leaders out there who were boycotting Disney over the live action BEAUTY AND THE BEAST because they made LaFou openly gay and having a man crush on Gaston . . . even though many fans already theorized that about the animated version.

I made some very public statements while the whole thing was going down. Some people are just so stupid.

 

[D'Snowth]

You'll appreciate this:

I challenged a pastor on this a while back. As a conservative military veteran, M*A*S*H was a show he really enjoyed (except for the very liberal Alan Alda), and he was urging his congregation to join in on the boycott of Disney because of that whole BATB fiasco, so I asked him if by his logic, should we boycott M*A*S*H because of Frank Burns, a married man, committing adultery by having an affair with Margaret? He said no, because it wasn't apparent.

Uh . . . I think Hawkeye said it best one time when he said that the only one who doesn't know about their affair was MacArthur's pipe stuffer.

 

[dwayne1115]

You'll appreciate this:

I challenged a pastor on this a while back. As a conservative military veteran, M*A*S*H was a show he really enjoyed (except for the very liberal Alan Alda), and he was urging his congregation to join in on the boycott of Disney because of that whole BATB fiasco, so I asked him if by his logic, should we boycott M*A*S*H because of Frank Burns, a married man, committing adultery by having an affair with Margaret? He said no, because it wasn't apparent.

Uh . . . I think Hawkeye said it best one time when he said that the only one who doesn't know about their affair was MacArthur's pipe stuffer.

Classic double standards.

 

[Flaky Pudding]

I even heard some Christians say that My Little Pony of all things is Satanic because the characters use magic. Talk about an eye roller, am I right? Cute cartoon ponies that use magic and teach kids the values of friendship is about the least Satanic thing I can think of! Maybe all they know about MLP is from the infamous gory Cupcakes fan animation on YouTube .

 

[dwayne1115]

Well there is a verse in 2 Thessalonians 5: 22 that says "
Abstain from all appearance of evil."

Some Christians take this verse quit literally. They also use this verse as well 2 Corinthians 6: 17

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you

I was in a church that taught we should not watch any tv or listen to any music other the gospel, bluegrass and classical.

 

[Old Thunder]

That’s just stupid. That verse anyway can mean two different things - either abstain from something that looks like it could be evil, or abstain from it when evil makes an appearance. Closely related but not quite the same.

I think it means something more like if you can see there’s a literal demon right in front of you, go home. Don’t practice witchcraft or anything like that because you may just open a portal. Etc. Don’t join in if evil appears.