Science fiction and horror movies

True. But its a good thing it happens anyway unlike the Great Deception.

 

...if I understood you correctly I can only conclude that Forum Boards are such a waste of time.

 

Both of these genres have examples of godly and ungodly books and movies, imo. Per the norm, the vast majority are at best, time wasters and, at worst, deceptive or corrupting influences.

An example of a movie with sci fi and horror elements that has a Christian element worth the watching, imo, is M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs." Incidentally, it features aliens. The aliens are critical to the plot, but the movie is really about a pastor that turned his back on God after a tragedy, how he lives in bitterness, and his ultimate redemption and the restoration of his faith.

My experience is people find inspiration in surprising places and overlook or forgive much in the literature they like. For example, Tolkein's Rings series features as a main plot point a group of spirits of the dead that are contacted by a protagonist, made a bargain with, and subsequently save the day. This is an example of necromancy that hasn't bothered most Christians that love the books. I like the books as well, but we may be hypocritical in not condemning this depiction of a positively-portrayed use of necromancy or of C.S. Lewis's use of creatures of pagan religious origins as good guys in the Narnia books. Even as a child, I was uncomfortable with the implications of faun Tumnus, an image of the god Pan, talking to a lost little girl alone in the woods and luring her home to his cave (though he did drug her, in a way, and betray her; he was regretful and later he became her friend).

Roleplaying games, too, have quite a negative reputation among many Christians. But there are many Christian-based RPG's and a gamemaster using a demon as a character in the game is, imo, no different from a writer giving words to a demon in a story, or an actor playing one in a movie. If the whole Bible were made into a movie, someone would have to play Satan, after all.

Perhaps this is a case of the meat of which we may eat if our conscience allows, but should avoid if it does not.

The market of Christian fiction seems to be growing quickly, especially horror. I've been reading some of these books lately and find the "Christianness" varies wildly. Some novels have a strong message or theme and a solid biblical world view, while others don't mention Christ, have no Christian characters, and don't appear to have any deeper themes; they just don't have the graphic sex and language of secular novels.

I think there's a place for fiction, (I see Christ's parables as a possible example), and some genres have particular strengths: old fantasy, for example, is particularly good at depicting the concept of purity, and sci fi, if done well, can give me a sense of wonder about "what's out there" that always gets me thinking about God.

 

Well, that means you are in much better shape than me. With 54 posts, you have invested almost none of your time, and you can stop now and follow a more productive activity.