My Latest Rant

First of all, let me state that I am a FIRM believer that everyone has a right to their own opinion and it certainly does not need to be the same as mine.

Having said that...

This all started last night when a very dear friend of mine from high school posted the following as his facebook status:

Far be it for me to criticize the latest teenage-vampire-sex drama soon to appear at the local cinema, but even more ridiculous than this craze is the real life actions of the actors that star in the movie. It's bad enough they are all pot-smokers and goofy emo-types( parents, yall ok with that?) but everytime I see the guy that plays the main character, eddie or whatever you call it, I can't help but crack up.

The new "sexiest man in the world" always seems to have a pasty white complection, bed hair and pillow wrinkles, and always looks at a camera like he just cleaned out a bug-zapper.

This guy knows he is just an actor, not a REAL vampire, right? I think he's getting too carried away with his fame.

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Now you know I love me some Twilight. But again, he is perfectly entitled to feel this way. What irritates me is that all of this information is based on a stereotype that he's seen somewhere. His status indicates that he has not read the book (doesn't even know the characters names) WHICH IS FINE, but as a trained writer, it bothers me when people make statements without the facts or research to back them up. There is no knowledge of Robert Pattison or Kristen Stewart (including interviews) that seems to be a resource in this statement. Also, there is no sex in Twilight or New Moon, he can't prove the actors are pot heads, and RPat is pasty because he's from Britain.

Oh well. I suggested that he look into it a little more and he might have a different opinion. If he doesn't, that's great...at least he'll be informed. I was fine. Completely fine. Until someone else posted this:

I love it when i talk bad about it in restaurants and 13 year olds turn around and give me dirty looks. And where in the world are the christian Harry Potter Haters of the world. Why arent they raising up mobs in the streets over this series. I guess i missed the part in revelation about vampires being in the new world. or should i say...new moon.

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Really??? REALLY???

IT IS FICTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fiction. Fiction about mythical creatures. So is Harry Potter. So is The Chronicles of Narnia (that Christians revere). FICTION....you know...as in NOT REAL.

Now I'll be the first to admit that people have gotten carried away with Twilight. But still, why in the world would Christians raise up mobs over Harry Potter or Twilight? It isn't real and 90% of the people that read it know that.

The only biblical problem I can see would come in where someone is replacing Twilight (or Harry Potter) for their Christianity, daily quiet time, etc.

No, Vampires are not in Revelation. Neither are wizards. Or centaurs or any other mythical creatures. Guess what??? Hannah Montana, Facebook, and computers aren't biblical either!!!!! Does that mean we shouldn't use them?

I think no.

As Christians, we are called to be in the world, not of it. If we blatantly attack something when we have no knowledge of it, it is no different than being the soapbox preacher who stands on the corner screaming at people that they are going to burn in hell. That doesn't often lead people to Jesus. Will Twilight? Probably not.

But you know what, Harry Potter actually has some really deep things in it dealing with God, spirituality, and eternity if you know where to look. One of the best books I've read is Looking For God in Harry Potter.

And you know what else? Twilight has NOTHING to do with Jesus. Except for the fact that Jesus has everything to do with me, and I've read Twilight, and all the accompanying books. It leaves a lot of room for open debate about the afterlife. With the position that I'm in, I'm constantly around teenage girls (and some moms) who are obsessed with Twilight. On more than once occasion I've found myself having a conversation with someone about Edward Cullen and it lead to discussing eternity and what I know to be true. Was that me? No. It was God. Did God use Twilight to bring glory to Him? YES.

So, again, I don't see what the problem is.

And then, late last night I saw this. Idiot. Not because of her opinion, but because she says she doesn't believe in "it." Well the it she's referring to are the books and movie serious and she can believe in them or not but that doesn't stop them from existing. I'm sure she actually meant that she doesn't believe in vampires. Neither do I. IT IS FICTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Geez.

In another article , she calls Twilight fans a cult. I guess from a celebrity point-of-view I can totally see that, but the Twilight following of CRAZY fans is no different than the following of her CRAZY Hannah Montana fans. Does she not believe in that either? She doesn't want anything to do with Twilight (even though one of her besties, Taylor Swift, is dating Taylor Lautner), because it isn't bringing her attention? Or maybe she really does have something against it. But then again, she states she hasn't read it or seen the movies so how does she know anything about it??? Especially if she won't even let her friends talk about it. Her fans are just as CRAZY but she doesn't have a problem with that because that "cult" brings her millions of dollars. Grrr....

Go ahead Miley, nod your head like yeah....you know I'm making a valid point.

I guess it all just boils down to the fact that it irritates me when people take a stand against something that they don't know anything about. That's like a lawyer trying to prosecute someone without having ANY of the details of the case. Stupid. At least look into it before forming your opinion.

Y'all may not remember this, but the whole reason I started reading the books was because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. You can find my original opinion here.

Amazing...I looked into it, and THEN formed an opinion. You should do the same. If you aren't willing to, keep your mouth shut.