Are you a Christian?if so,did the fact that you are a Christian influence your interest in Twilight in any way,whether negatively or positively?how so?
Twilight allows Christians like myself to explore the subject of vampires without feeling like I've betrayed my faith because, first of all,they don't drink human blood--at least the Cullen family don't(which is really the only inherently evil thing about vampires because, in the bible, the Law of Moses clearly forbids the Jews from drinking human blood.However Jesus' blood is MORE than human,It is divine.) and,unlike vampires in most vampire stories,the Cullens make a real effort to redeem themselves.Vampires are not evil unless the person was evil before he or she was turned-Evil lies in the heart of the individual.The Cullens clearly prove that.vampires in other stories usually either embrace the fact that they are vampires or,if they don't, they don't do anything to make up for it.Even Louis in Interview with a Vampire,as much as he hated what he was, didn't even make any effort to redeem himself.Stephanie Meyer has created the type of vampire you can respect-with dignity, integrity and, above all,CONVICTION.Carlisle himself said in New Moon "By all accounts,we're damned,regardless.But,I hope,maybe foolishly,we get some measure of credit for trying."He also said "In the 400yrs since I've been born I have never seen anything that has made me doubt whether God exists in one form or another"This proves that Carlisle still has faith in God and that he and the Cullens still have a chance at redemption despite what they are-otherwise,he would just raise his family as other vampires-with no remorse or respect for human life.Also,considering the fact that Stephenie Meyer is Mormon(even though I dont agree with that particular form of Christianity),I think she intended for the vampire and the lust for blood to be a metaphor for the everyday temptations that we as human-beings face.And the Cullens not conforming to the vampire lifestyle of drinking human blood is a metaphor for Christians who don't conform to the rest of the world in order to follow a higher purpose.And,even though I am not a wolfpack fan,If you think about it,they are a metaphor for the gay and lesbian community who feel they didnt have a choice to be who they are(I myself believe eveyone has a choice,but then again,who am I to judge?.I firmly believe in "let he that has no sin cast the first stone"-I am certainly not without sin so I am not one to throw stones)You can see alot of Christian undertones in the Twilight story-including the Cullens belief in the exsistance and value of the soul.Thats why I am a twilight fan
Tags: Christian
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Daidalos Falvius on -
I am a vampire and a Christian. Ut oh....Look folks, Jesus himself stated: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; . . . he who eats my flesh AND DRINKS MY BLOOD has eternal life and . . . abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:51, 54, 56).
Christ himself at the "last supper", as well as in other places within the scriptures, tells his followers and disciples that the wine they drank, represented the blood he was about to shed for them at the crucifixtion, the scripture in many places talks about how one must have this blood to be granted eternal life as well. The Holy Roman Catholic Church teach's that this wine litterally transmutes into blood when the Christian imbibes it, when recieving the Eucharist. So how precisely is reading a book about vampires, even those who are so called unrepentant vampires such as myself for example. A "betrayal of the faith"?
Besides, it is God that created the vampire in the first place. ;)
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Permalink Reply by TwilightTrinity AKA Shaun on -
Thats great Daidalos,im glad ur a Christian,but I think u are taking the scripture to the extreme--Although it says "he who eats MY flesh and drinks MY blood", thats about Jesus,consumption of any HUMAN blood is an abomination.Christs' blood is divine,we are human.So believing we can have eternal life by consuming any other blood but His is a mockery to Him.But man,you are entitled to believe what you believe,my blog is just what I got out of the Twilight story.So,if ur a Christian,God bless,thats awesome.
Shaun
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Permalink Reply by TwilightTrinity AKA Shaun on
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I just think consumption of anyone elses' blood But Jesus' completely trivializes what He did.Its like saying "ANYONE can give me eternal life,not just Jesus".
Daidalos Falvius said:I am a vampire and a Christian. Ut oh....Look folks, Jesus himself stated: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; . . . he who eats my flesh AND DRINKS MY BLOOD has eternal life and . . . abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:51, 54, 56).
Christ himself at the "last supper", as well as in other places within the scriptures, tells his followers and disciples that the wine they drank, represented the blood he was about to shed for them at the crucifixtion, the scripture in many places talks about how one must have this blood to be granted eternal life as well. The Holy Roman Catholic Church teach's that this wine litterally transmutes into blood when the Christian imbibes it, when recieving the Eucharist. So how precisely is reading a book about vampires, even those who are so called unrepentant vampires such as myself for example. A "betrayal of the faith"?
Besides, it is God that created the vampire in the first place. ;)
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Permalink Reply by TwilightTrinity AKA Shaun on
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As I Said before Diadalos,It sounds like you have taken scripture to the extreme.And,by the looks of your profile,you have taken the existance of vampires literally.I mean, you said you are a Christian.So,is that pic in your profile supposed to be a testament to your Christianity?because,with all seriousness,it looks like a testament to the devil himself.I,on the other hand,I look at the existance of vampires as fiction.I wouldnt be able to call myself a Christian,otherwise.But,Again,like I said, you are entitled to your beliefs just as i am.My blog was just what I got out of the Twilight series.Please don't take it personally
Daidalos Falvius said:I am a Christian. Ut oh....Look folks, Jesus himself stated: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; . . . he who eats my flesh AND DRINKS MY BLOOD has eternal life and . . . abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:51, 54, 56).
Christ himself at the "last supper", as well as in other places within the scriptures, tells his followers and disciples that the wine they drank, represented the blood he was about to shed for them at the crucifixtion, the scripture in many places talks about how one must have this blood to be granted eternal life as well. The Holy Roman Catholic Church teach's that this wine litterally transmutes into blood when the Christian imbibes it, when recieving the Eucharist. So how precisely is reading a book about vampires, even those who are so called unrepentant vampires such as myself for example. A "betrayal of the faith"? Besides, it is God that created the vampire in the first place. ;)
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Permalink Reply by Bellabells on -
I can't fully say that all of Twilight has Christianity in it, but for what it does have it's clear that the Cullens are always trying to redeem themselves. They know what they are and they don't want to be what they are. They'd rather be human though it's impossible for them. I love that about them, they're always trying to be better :) They're the closest thing to Christian vampires that I've known :) I all of them :)
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Permalink Reply by TwilightTrinity AKA Shaun on
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I agree,and i didnt mean to say that Twilight was entirely Christian based.Just that it has a lot of Christian values that we can relate to.Thanks for ur response:-)
Bella Marie Cullen said:I can't fully say that all of Twilight has Christianity in it, but for what it does have it's clear that the Cullens are always trying to redeem themselves. They know what they are and they don't want to be what they are. They'd rather be human though it's impossible for them. I love that about them, they're always trying to be better :) They're the closest thing to Christian vampires that I've known :) I all of them :)
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Permalink Reply by ♥Little Blonde Vampire♥ on -
I'm actually an Athiest but I don't find drinking blood evil. But, we all have our own opinions.
Nice thoughts though.
=D
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Permalink Reply by TwilightTrinity AKA Shaun on
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Well LBV, Christian or not,If u dont consider drinking blood evil,I'd like to know what ur idea of evil is.Because,even though drinking blood is accepted in some religions,it is considered forbbidden in most societies and religions,not just Christianity.
♥Little Blonde Vampire♥ said:I'm actually an Athiest but I don't find drinking blood evil. But, we all have our own opinions.
Nice thoughts though.
=D
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Permalink Reply by TwilightTrinity AKA Shaun on
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Jessica,I completely agree with u.I'm not saying that reading reading or being interested in vampires makes you less of a Christian by any means.I just think that,if a person person is not careful, they can open a door allowing the wrong spirits in.And the "mainstream" vampire does suggest things that go way against the word of God--And not only Christianity.Although drinking blood is accepted in some religions and cultures,it is considered forbidden in most others.Of course,vampires are fictional characters,but there are those out there who take the idea of vampires too far and even believe in them and practice the drinking of blood.Also, the "typical" vampire has complete disregard for human life.That's what has always kept me from enjoying this subject and thats what I mean by "betraying my faith".But Twilight changed that.It gave us vampires we can respect.Who STILL hold onto their humanity and respect for human life.So we,as Christians can feel COMFORTABLE exploring this subject.And hey,that's just my opinion.
Jessica wife of Emmett said:I’m a bit confused. Does being interested in other vampires make you betray faith? Vampires like werewolves, mummies, gremlins, etc are all fictional representations of “evil”. Just because you read about something like that doesn’t constitute a betrayal of faith and I wouldn’t dare base the term evil on a creature’s ingestion of blood. Vampires have been used to represent evil, but I don’t think that means a Christian shouldn’t read about them or be entertained by stories with Vampires. Vampires also were used as a tool for propaganda against foreigners way back when, but ignoring the literature doesn’t help bring awareness to the problems with that sort of writing. If anything reading about it and exploring the meaning behind such “evil” creatures and the popularity behind them can only help expand your knowledge and in turn strengthen your faith. I guess I can understand your connection with the desire for redemption being similar to Christian values, however it’s the image of what you are saying makes a vampire respectable and able to redeem itself that I’m not really agreeing with. As a Christian, the need to redeem one’s self is unnecessary, and frankly impossible if you believe Christ died to save you. Obviously I’m only speaking in general terms because what one considers to be Christianity has many different interpretations these days. However for the most part, Christianity is more of a faith based belief system with the need to redeem one’s self being pointless because as imperfect beings, Christ was sent to be the redeemer because our actions aren’t enough. I guess I tend to lean more along the lines of the “by grace are we saved through faith” and “not by works” sort of ideas (Eph 2). I tend to see Twilight as more of a loose interpretation of Mormonism. I personally saw a lot more connections with that belief system than Christianity. Here is a website a found that connects Twilight to some Mormonism practices, it’s pretty interesting stuff. It’s not some scholarly site, but it’s someone like you exploring the connections they saw. I love looking into the meaning behind stories and it’s always interesting to see what someone else thinks. Thanks for the awesome discussion topic!
http://writetools.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/twilight-preaches-mormon...
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Permalink Reply by EmmettYellsGoGators!! on -
First, I think I understand the main idea of the questions you're asking and I think this is a good topic for discussion. It's late and I'm kind of tired, so bear with me as I type. :)
I am a believer in the shed blood of Jesus Christ for the atoning payment of my personal sins (and for those of the rest of the world). I would say I am a 'Christian' really, but as someone said in an above post, the term 'Christian' unfortunately means lots of differing things to differing people. That being said, there is a sense of 'being let off the hook' for reading Twilight, for me, largely due to it's mostly squeaky clean writing. The main "spiritual" theme that I saw in the book is the picture of the dueling natures we have within ourselves, for those of who are followers of Christ. We have the old, fleshly, sinful nature we are born into(and need to be saved from), but we also have the new nature we are given when we accepted Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. The two are constantly at war.
Edward's struggles against being a "Monster", the vampire nature he was "new-born" into, the need and desire for blood, versus his other will to not be a monster and to have compassion and live his life free of human murder.
Then there are the things in the book like Edward making Bella marry him before ever having sex with her. He seemed intent on looking after her virtue. That certainly is not a scenario you see very often in lots of secular literature. There is a lot of selflessness and restraint and discipline embedded in the story, all themes that can also be found, (or should be) in the Christian life philosophy too.
Twilight, was not written for a Christian audience, there's no doubt, but there are characteristics about the way the story is written that to me does make it an easy read on the mind of Christians, even by the loosest of definitions. ;)
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Permalink Reply by Daidalos Falvius on
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Oh please, who are you to judge me? Or any other of the bretheren. As the Apostle Paul himself stated God is my judge. And I am secure in my faith in him and his mercy. Tell us all, were you there when the stars were hung in the heavens? Where you there when God laid the foundations of the earth? Was it you on the cross spilling your blood for the repudiation of mankinds sins against God?
No, then you have no right to judge the faith or testimony of anyone else you judgemental viper sent to sow strife among the bretheren....yes I am one of those "christians" who will call evil evil. Ut oh now run away servant of the fallen one as youre kind always does when confronted by those secure in Gods hand and his word.
As for "taking the scriptures" to the extreme. No I take God at his word as written within the scripture a testimony in and of itself which speaks volumes more than your so called weak faith.
Perhaps you should try it sometime, Oh now there's a novel idea....Christians who actually accept the scripture as written for what it says, rather than placing their own interpretations upon it. Christians who actually serve God rather than their own itching ears. And yes this is a very novel idea ladies and gentlemen. In my nearly three thousand years of existence, I"ve only known a few who actually did..
Of course this is why those same scriptures tell us the way is narrow and there are few who find it..
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Permalink Reply by Daidalos Falvius on
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Jessica wife of Emmett said:I’m a bit confused. Does being interested in other vampires make you betray faith? Vampires like werewolves, mummies, gremlins, etc are all fictional representations of “evil”. Just because you read about something like that doesn’t constitute a betrayal of faith and I wouldn’t dare base the term evil on a creature’s ingestion of blood. Vampires have been used to represent evil, but I don’t think that means a Christian shouldn’t read about them or be entertained by stories with Vampires. Vampires also were used as a tool for propaganda against foreigners way back when, but ignoring the literature doesn’t help bring awareness to the problems with that sort of writing. If anything reading about it and exploring the meaning behind such “evil” creatures and the popularity behind them can only help expand your knowledge and in turn strengthen your faith. I guess I can understand your connection with the desire for redemption being similar to Christian values, however it’s the image of what you are saying makes a vampire respectable and able to redeem itself that I’m not really agreeing with. As a Christian, the need to redeem one’s self is unnecessary, and frankly impossible if you believe Christ died to save you. Obviously I’m only speaking in general terms because what one considers to be Christianity has many different interpretations these days. However for the most part, Christianity is more of a faith based belief system with the need to redeem one’s self being pointless because as imperfect beings, Christ was sent to be the redeemer because our actions aren’t enough. I guess I tend to lean more along the lines of the “by grace are we saved through faith” and “not by works” sort of ideas (Eph 2). I tend to see Twilight as more of a loose interpretation of Mormonism. I personally saw a lot more connections with that belief system than Christianity. Here is a website a found that connects Twilight to some Mormonism practices, it’s pretty interesting stuff. It’s not some scholarly site, but it’s someone like you exploring the connections they saw. I love looking into the meaning behind stories and it’s always interesting to see what someone else thinks. Thanks for the awesome discussion topic!
http://writetools.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/twilight-preaches-mormon...
The bible itself tells us about evil, and evil beings. Guess we should throw that book away too while we are at it ridding ourselves of everything which mentions evil right TwilightGodfatherTrinity . :lol:
Seriously I am always amused by mormons, especially those mormons who with their precious false teaching known as the "book of mormon" violate the utmost commandment of God, that being not to add to, or take away from his word, who then presume to preach to me about God. Take heed ladies and gents this is what the Lord warned us about when he mentioned the "blind leading the blind".
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