raising Christian children in a secular society

I recently had a discussion with someone (a dear friend) that sparked my interest in knowing where YOU stand.

It all began this past Sunday before our church service began.  We (the choir) were getting ready for the curtain to open.  I noticed that Edward Cullen was filling in on the bass guitar.  For real.  He looked just like him.  (He said he gets that a lot.)  Anyhow, I turned to my friend and asked if she watched Twilight, so that I could share about our visitor, but she said no.  No way, actually.

Now last night at choir practice, we had another discussion.  Another fellow choir member who DOES happen to be a Twilight fan understood why my heart skipped a beat when I noticed Edward Sunday morning.  But again, my friend (friend A) said she had no clue what any of the “Twilight madness” was about and she didn’t care to know.  “It was of the Devil.”

Now, let me go ahead RIGHT NOW and state this:  I am in NO WAY placing judgment on anyone for his or her beliefs.  There are lots of people who feel this way about the Twilight saga.  Vampires and werewolves are demonic.  Okay.  I get that.  I am simply sharing MY feelings and I want to know how YOU feel.  I love my friend and I would never criticize her beliefs OR how she raises her children.  She is a wonderful mother.

But back to the discussion.

She happened to mention a show on Disney called Wizards of Waverly Place.  Normally, I wouldn’t even recognize the show, but Jase (who is almost 5) has recently moved on from Disney Jr. to the “big kid” Disney channel.  And yesterday afternoon he was watching the wizard show.  I was in the den with him, but reading a book.  I wasn’t really paying attention.  So I just asked my friend (Friend A) about it… was it a bad show??  Should I not let him watch it??  She said they cast spells on people and all that sort of stuff…. wizardly stuff. 

Before bed, I mentioned all this to my husband.  I wanted to get his take on it.  He wasn’t really in the talking mood, but he did tell me a little about how he felt.  And we feel the same way.

We’ll begin with Twilight:  I have never read the books but I’ve seen the movies.  They are great.  My husband has even watched them.  I forced him to watch the first one, but he actually enjoyed them all.  I personally do NOT feel that they, in any way, promote demonic acts.  Yes, there IS a group of  “bad” vampires (the antagonists in the story), but there is also a “good” group of vampires (the protagonists in the story).  They do NO harm to people.  But even so, my point is this:  IT IS ALL MAKE-BELIEVE.  Pretend.  100%.

The quality of the movies?  There is no cursing.  There is no homosexuality.  There is no drunkenness.  Now, that’s something that you have a hard time saying about ANYTHING that comes on television or in the movie theaters these days.

To be honest, I would not let my child watch the movies.  Because I think they are satanic?  No.  Because parts can be a little scary and there is some sexual content.  But those are the only reasons.

On to Wizards of Waverly Place:  As I stated before, I haven’t actually watched the show.  So I do NOT know the details about what the characters believe or how they act.  But I researched the story line.  They are a family of wizards: a wizard father, 3 wizard teenagers, and a mortal mother.  They have to keep their wizardry a secret from the mortal world.  I suspect that they do cast spells and practice magic.  That’s what a wizard is (according to Wikipedia): it’s fantasy – a person who has studied and practices magic.

Now will I let my 5-year-old watch the show?  Yes… until I see something that promotes Satan, demonic powers, or until they curse or bring about moral issues that I feel do not fit in our Christian lifestyle.  When Disney stoops that low, yes, I’ll ban it in our household.  But because something is simply about “magic,” I don’t feel the need.  I asked Jase before bed last night about the show.  I asked him what it’s about.  He said “the people do magic tricks.”

So what do we do?  Do we shield our children from these types of things?  From make-believe?  Or do we TEACH them that they are simply pretending?  I will choose the latter.  As a child, I grew up watching The Sword and The Stone, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Aladdin, Hocus Pocus, and the list goes on.  Did I believe they were real?  Absolutely NOT.

Now, call her crazy, but my mother would NOT let me watch The Exorcist or Forrest Gump (yes, Forrest Gump).  But it was for different reasons.  The content was not suitable for me at that particularly young age.  There WERE demonic powers present in one and curse words in the other.

But as for shows about magic and make-believe, they were not off limits.

So how do you feel?  Where do you stand?  I need some opinions from other moms.  I’m not a debater and I don’t want to start an argument.  I just simply want your view.