Thoughts on Twilight

When I read Twilight books I liked them in some ways but they really bothered me but I couldn’t say exactly what. I read this article from the Breakaway magazine and it all came clear to me. Bella cares more about her boyfriend than anything else in life. Is that healthy? Is that the most important thing in life? Love and romance is a good thing but in everything a good dose of moderation would help these books out a lot.

Spiritually Empty “Twilight”

Q My Friends are fans of the “Twilight” books, about a teen girl who falls in love with a vampire guy. Are they OK to read?

-Jill, Berlin, Ohio

A What is it about vampires? Blade. “Buffy.” Underworld. “true Blood.” Our culture seems to have a romantic fascination with bloodsuckers. While “Twilight” isn’t as grave as biting page-turners by Anne Rice or Stephen King, Stephenie Meyer’s series feeds on that same gothic attraction, sometimes in unhealthy ways.

These books about a mortal girl, Bella, and her undead squeeze, Edward, get spiritually darker and more violent as the story builds, taking a big leap in book four. There’s also a lot of physical intimacy. Even though cuddling in bed stops short of sex before marriage-is that really the wisest place for singles to curl up?-Meyer later spends quite a few pages describing the couple’s honeymoon.

An even broader concern is how Bella’s love for Edward blinds her to the value of her own soul. Romance rules. Informed that joining him in the vampire realm will result in an eternity with no hope of salvation, she decides, “Compared to the fear that he didn’t want me, this hurdle-my soul-seemed almost insignificant.” She assures him, “if you stay, I don’t need heaven.” Could infatuated teens in love with “love” adopt a similar attitude?

The thought of always being young and energetic is appealing because God designed us to live forever, However, He wants us to look forward to the eternity He has planned (John 14:2-4; Revelation 21:1-5), not be captivated by a spiritually empty take on vampire mythology. I’d skip these books and the movie.