Fifty Shades of Whatnow???
My pal Karen (I link to her blog a lot because she has really thoughtful, intelligent, thorough posts on current themes in most women's lives, and I like that) recently wrote a great little piece on the book Fifty Shades of Grey. I was one of the ones "in hiding" (which I took no offense to because I'm in hiding regarding a lot of current events/fads etc.) because I didn't know what she was talking about at first. After reading her post I recalled a few friends maybe mentioning it here and there, or comics parodying the book, and me not knowing what they were talking about but smiling and nodding.
This is not a book I want to smile and nod at.
I like the challenges Karen put out there for us as believers to be ready with a biblical defense. So when ladies in my small group or in the line at Trader Joe's or on the soccer field (Ben's, not mine) start talking about the book I will have an opinion based on the Bible, not on what I think - which is always a goal for me. (More, "Well the bible says...". Less, "well I think...".) And when she called out Christian bloggers to say something I figured that included me.
So here I am, NOT smiling and nodding, and NOT reading Fifty Shades of Grey.
Here's my biggest reason why:
It is not okay for my husband to read a novel with explicit sex scenes in it. It is not okay for him to read a novel with inexplicit sex scenes in it. It is not okay for him to read a novel with kind of sort of sexy-ish scenes in it. And it's not okay for me either. Why would I want to fill my mind with scenes from someone else's sex life? That sounds a lot like, like... like porn.
It was interesting when a commenter on Karen's blog suggested the book couldn't be categorized as porn because it depends how you define porn. I disagree with her definition, as I feel it merely scratched the surface of the world of pornography. And in a Christian culture that hardly ever speaks on the sinking trap that pornography is because it's uncomfortable and embarrassing this book can give us our chance, our foothold to say NO. Enough. This is not okay. I will not partake.
Oh Sarah, you're such a prude. It's not that bad. It's not like I have a Playboy sitting on my nightstand. I read it and I'm fine.
Well, the bible says...
"Do not conform to the patterns of this world..." (Romans 12:2)
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Hold Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." (1Corinthians 6:19-20)
"... whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8)
So I say no.
What do you say?
This is not a book I want to smile and nod at.
I like the challenges Karen put out there for us as believers to be ready with a biblical defense. So when ladies in my small group or in the line at Trader Joe's or on the soccer field (Ben's, not mine) start talking about the book I will have an opinion based on the Bible, not on what I think - which is always a goal for me. (More, "Well the bible says...". Less, "well I think...".) And when she called out Christian bloggers to say something I figured that included me.
So here I am, NOT smiling and nodding, and NOT reading Fifty Shades of Grey.
Here's my biggest reason why:
It is not okay for my husband to read a novel with explicit sex scenes in it. It is not okay for him to read a novel with inexplicit sex scenes in it. It is not okay for him to read a novel with kind of sort of sexy-ish scenes in it. And it's not okay for me either. Why would I want to fill my mind with scenes from someone else's sex life? That sounds a lot like, like... like porn.
It was interesting when a commenter on Karen's blog suggested the book couldn't be categorized as porn because it depends how you define porn. I disagree with her definition, as I feel it merely scratched the surface of the world of pornography. And in a Christian culture that hardly ever speaks on the sinking trap that pornography is because it's uncomfortable and embarrassing this book can give us our chance, our foothold to say NO. Enough. This is not okay. I will not partake.
Oh Sarah, you're such a prude. It's not that bad. It's not like I have a Playboy sitting on my nightstand. I read it and I'm fine.
Well, the bible says...
"Do not conform to the patterns of this world..." (Romans 12:2)
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Hold Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." (1Corinthians 6:19-20)
"... whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8)
So I say no.
What do you say?
Comments
Thank you for being bold.
WOW, I need to read stuff before I post it.
Don't get me wrong I love sex and I'm fine talking about it but it would seem odd to talk to Jesus about other people having sex....Thanks for writing this post It's made me think of other things that I watch/read that might need to get kicked to the curb.