TA TALKS BACK: BANNING TWILIGHT? – A CHRISTIAN MOTHER’S PERSPECTIVE
TA member ifellhard read yesterday’s TA talks back about Banning Twilight and wanted to share her opinion:
As I was working on a reply to yesterday’s TA Talks Back “Banning Twilight†thread by Shaelana, I found that I had more to say than I first thought. I got a little fired up and I want to comment on schools banning the books as well as attempts by any others who wish to do the same.I can understand school administrators not wanting kids bringing the books to school as outside reading material, as they are quite a distraction. If I had these books with me “back in the day”, I know that Trig, French, Physics, or Biology would have been the last thing on my mind and I’d be working hard to sneak a peek at the Cullens during class instead of listening to the teacher. (As an adult reader, I had laundry and dishes piled up for days and my kids ate food that didn’t require cooking while I read the books.) That’s one thing, but the outright banning of “Twilight” because of the content makes as much sense as banning something like “Grimm’s Fairy Tales”. If you ban “Twilightâ€, you might as well ban “Romeo and Julietâ€â€¦they actually go through with a double suicide in that story! Teenage suicide is a significantly bigger threat than fictional shape-shifting wolves and vampires roaming the woods of the Pacific Northwest!
I am a religious Christian woman and strongly disagree with the banning of any book – whether it’s being done by schools, churches, or any other group. God gives me free will and a wonderful mind to discern right from wrong and good from evil. He has also graced me with common sense. Simply reading a love story where a few of the characters are supernatural, mythical creatures is not a problem, nor is it a threat to my soul. The people wanting to ban these books need to realize that the real problem is when someone tries to translate fiction into reality and actively seek out things that go against the tenets of their faith and the norms of society. If someone were to try to practice a “vampire diet”, that would be a serious problem. Swooning over the words that Edward says to Bella…not so much. I will guarantee you that most of the people who desire to ban “Twilight†have never even cracked the pages of the books. They most likely base their assessment on what they’ve heard through the grapevine – rumor and speculation at best. This is not a piece of literature that denounces God nor does it seek to undermine him or society. It’s just a story. In fact, I have seen my minister’s children reading these books and most of the women in my Bible study have as well.
I see many messages in Twilight very consistent with my faith. The most glaring is not succumbing to temptations of the flesh. This applies to Bella and Edward for their desires prior to their marriage (abstinence) and to the Cullens for their thirst for human blood (temperance). We don’t see the kids in the Twilight Saga doing drugs or drinking alcohol. There’s no rampant sexual promiscuity with any of the other characters. How wonderful is that message today where you can’t go through thirty minutes of television programming without some kind of sexually suggestive message making its way in to your home? I think that young people today need more positive messages about not giving in to every temptation that comes their way.
We see Bella’s selfless acts for so many people throughout the story – willing to sacrifice herself to spare her mother’s life. She was constantly worried about Charlie and even Jessica, Mike, Angela, & Ben as newborn vampires hunted her down. She even apologized to Edward for the way that her blood tempted him. Although Bella is not very religious, she does live by The Golden Rule of treating others the way that she would like to be treated. She treats everyone with respect and kindness – even when they have been less than kind to her (e.g. Lauren). For crying out loud, the girl even cooks and cleans for her parents. Again…there aren’t many examples of kids like that on today’s TV programs.
Another great message is that we will all be dealt bad things in our lives and we are called to rise above them and make the best of what we’ve been given in this life. Carlisle’s story is great for making this point. He found a way to exist as a vampire without taking human life and to do good things in the world. He has taught his family to do the same. The Cullens live together as a true family and not just as a coven of vampires. Their bonds of love bind them intensely close and demonstrate a very functional family dynamic in a society where the divorce rate is astronomical, parents are absent, and children are killed and molested by their own family members.
We also learn that gaining immortality in this Earthly realm is not necessarily a good thing. We know that Carlisle was very lonely and needed a companion (just as Adam was alone and God gave him Eve because he knew that mankind could not live a solitary existence). Rosalie’s story tells us that immortality comes with a price – never changing and being unable to have children is the cross that she must bear.
A message of faith is also woven throughout the Saga. We know from the conversations that Bella has had with Edward and Carlisle that they are concerned for their souls and have strong beliefs in whether they will or won’t have an afterlife. Carlisle has kept the cross carved by his father for hundreds of years. If he didn’t still have a belief in God, he wouldn’t have kept it all that time. Edward repeatedly tells Bella that what he is isn’t natural and that he should have died in 1918 and that he will not end her life and put her soul in jeopardy. He wants to be with her forever, but sets aside his selfish desires and is content with the time that he can spend with her in her natural life.
I am looking forward to the day that I can share the Twilight Saga with my own daughters and they can fall in love with a fictional gentleman and his wonderful family just as I did and we will discuss all of the points that I’ve mentioned. God bless Stephenie Meyer for such a fantastic story that spans the generational gap! We will have an open dialogue where we can relate it to what they have been taught in church over the years. It is my responsibility to use every opportunity that I can find as a teachable moment. If I am to be afraid of a book like “Twilight” jeopardizing my daughters’ souls, then I have not done my job as a Christian mother in teaching them.
Talk Back to us….what do you think?
