Have Christians Become More Radical?

Question by : Have Christians become more radical?
More recently I’ve noticed a growing number of “Christians” chastising people for the types of music they listen to, movies they watch, or games they play. I’m a Christian who made a confession of faith in Christ when I was seven. I read the Bible and have a regular prayer life. I try to stay away from porn and I do everything in moderation. But that’s not enough for some people. Radical Christians see me wearing a Jimi Hendrix shirt or enjoying some reggae music and they try to “correct” me, even though what I’m doing isn’t sin in God’s eyes. I watch R-rated movies and enjoy some of them a lot. It seems that a lot of Christians reject that there is a line between fiction and reality. The Bible says to have a clean mind, but my brain doesn’t dwell on thoughts about sex and violence after watching a movie like “Natural Born Killers” or what have you. More importantly, they say everything you listen to comes out of you. Well, that’s not true because I cussed more at a young age and since I started watching movies with more profanity, my desire to cuss has gone down. Not only that, but the problem with cuss words isn’t the words themselves, but the context we use them in. Whenever we cuss, it is usually out of frustration. Most cuss words today are inventions of humankind. Bottom line, there is a line to be drawn between fiction and reality and just because some people take movies for more than what they are, entertainment, doesn’t mean responsible people shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy them.

Also, at church camp, there was discussion between our cabin leaders, who aren’t much older than us, about whether or not Christians should watch Harry Potter because it deals with themes like witchcraft. While I can admit that yes, some children who watch Harry Potter try to imitate what they see, it doesn’t mean that other people who’s heads are on straighter shouldn’t watch it. I hate Harry Potter but the creators weren’t exploiting the theme of witchcraft. They were taking it and using it as the basis to write good fiction. To me, that’s not sin. But being a couple of good ole boys from Western Kansas our cabin leaders still had objections. Two of the most ridiculous were that it “opens the doors to all kinds of witchcraft” and that it “plants a seed that grows into something evil.” I thought to myself “I’ve never heard anything more stupid in my life!” Thankfully they were nice and didn’t try to cram their message down my throat when I respectfully told them that I disagreed. In my humble opinion though, what they were saying was more sacrilegious than any kind of witchcraft in any book/movie/television show. If we should stop watching things because they have pagan imagery, what about the tons of Bible verses with pagan imagery? There are countless references to the cross in the KJV Bible even though Jesus didn’t even die on a cross. He died on an upright stake if you read the original passages that the Bible is adapted from. At this point I gave them the benefit of the doubt. They had likely been indoctrinated at a young age so I won’t demonize them.

Then came another issue. They basically said that the consumption of pornography will always lead to drug abuse of some degree. While I think enjoying porn is sinful, it is not as grave as an addiction to heroin or meth. A “statistic” which I haven’t been able to find any evidence proving it’s existence shows that most houses raided for drugs also have some kind of pornography in them. Well, pornography has become a staple in many American households. That doesn’t mean there’s a connection between it and drug addiction. The user’s love affair isn’t with the porn, it’s with the drugs. Also, they referred to it as “sickening.” Okay, porn isn’t good but to call it sickening just shows what they think about the human body. Furthermore on the subject, most people don’t get lustful thoughts just by watching a simple nude scene in a mainstream movie or hell, even a sex scene. If they do, they’re the ones who need to not watch movies, not us.

What do you think? Have Christians become more radical? You can back your statements up with scripture but it’s not likely to change my opinion. I’ve read more scripture than most fundie wackos.

Best answer:

Answer by Beavis
Considering the witch trials, Crusades, and inquisition, I would say no. Christianity is quite peaceful today compared to the past.

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