Why Are Christian Women Watching 'Fifty Shades Darker'?

The unavoidable truth is that many are becoming desensitized. When the Holy Spirit no longer fills hearts and minds with a passion for purity and holiness, there is a general lack of conviction.

Compromise in this area can be well-illustrated through a story I heard years ago.

Eskimos in the barren North often kill wolves by taking a razor-sharp knife and dipping it in blood. They allow the blood to freeze to the blade. Then they bury the handle of the knife in the snow with the blade exposed. As the wolf begins to lick the blade, his tongue becomes numb and desensitized due to the cold. As he continues, his tongue begins to bleed, and he licks even faster—unaware that he is consuming his own blood and slowly killing himself.

Within time, the Eskimos return and bring the dead animal home. In the same way, the enemy numbs us through compromise. Within time, we, like the wolves, don't realize that we are dying—dying spiritually. The enemy desensitizes us until we are numb to the things of God.

Simply because they are not Christian.

For the sake of argument, assume they are and that Calvinism is just a wise man's theology. Then this applies (pay particular attention to the use of the words "defile" and "destroy." Note there is a difference between the man (or woman) whose works are wood, hay, or stubble and the man (or woman) who defiles the temple of God, just as there is a difference in suffering loss and being destroyed.

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

First Corinthians, Catholic chapter three, Protestant verses ten to eighteen,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James

This pastor mentions the Lord’s warning about the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches making Christians unfruitful.

He also mentions the words from John instructing us not to love this world, or the things of this world, for if we do, the love of the Father is not in us.

These are passages from God’s Word that have largely been regarded as gibberish in the church of our time and place.
Overall this church tends to ignore them and other passages like them, such as that if we have the Lord, then we should be content to have just the bare essentials of food and clothing, in order to satisfy “itching ears.”

So many churches and organizations are turning into businesses. Many are big businesses. When the “gay marriage” ruling came from the Supreme Court, I checked the Twitter responses of some “major” pastors. Rick Warren just conveniently happened to be across the world, in the Philippines, I believe, and never responded to it as far as I could see. Charles Stanley’s account tweeted something about an “opportunity” to go along on a cruise with him.

The church and Christian organizations in our country are so much about being businesses, and providing the trappings of upper middle class lives to the people working in them. And the worldly values of “success,” education and intellectual arrogance have already taken root there too. An example of that is Andy Stanley saying now that it’s ridiculous, intellectually-speaking, to defend the whole Bible.

The modern world is at odds with Christianity in so many ways that Christians are always under that much pressure to make peace with Satan, even though there is no peace with him. The modern economy is dominated by corporations where people have to think and believe alike, and children are sent to government schools so they’ll fit into this world.

But despite some protestations, the church here seems to largely go along with the world’s coercion. That may partly be in order to get along, but perhaps also because the church likes what the world has to offer. The church is to be God’s ambassador, like a foreigner coming to a land that’s not his home, but isn’t to take up the life of the natives, even in order to “relate.”

Paul wrote about becoming like others in order to win some souls to Christ, but it’s clear he didn’t mean to disregard other things that he and the other apostles wrote in order to do so.

The Bible’s answer on what we’re to do is to die to ourselves. Wherever our hearts are set on anything of this world, we’re to allow God to change our hearts. When we do this, we come to see that what we thought was so wonderful was really destructive sin and death, and truly unsatisfying to our souls.

In the case of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” it has so much appeal, even to some avowed Christian women, because the world’s way of looking at things, the “self-evident,” “natural” way which has taken God’s revealed truth out of the picture, is how even the church looks at things. It’s what even the church here takes as reality.

So the church has come to believe, as the world preaches, that life is about doing your work, which is a dirty word, so you can be your own Santa Claus to yourself as an adult. So you can ask yourself, “what pleasure can a I do for myself next?”

So even Christians run around looking to schedule their next enjoyment, whether it’s something on Netflix, or where to eat, where to go on vacation, or the next cultural event, hobby, or sports event. The point of “leisure time” is to spend it on oneself, lavishing something on oneself, and being unproductive. Getting a “break” from God even seems to be a part of it. One Christian woman I knew years ago, a woman very involved in the church and who believed orthodox doctrines such as that the Bible is God’s inspired, inerrant Word and that gay marriage was wrong, said that watching “Desperate Housewives” was just a “guilty pleasure.”

By the pursuit of “happiness,” though, according to the world’s beliefs and directions, instead of submitting to God’s will, people, including so many Christians, find unhappiness. They find emptiness and pain and agony in their souls, and then they try as a “remedy” to double-down on living for themselves.

But there is no real happiness where there is no remembrance of God and His will. If Christians spiritually feed on the world’s rebellion, then they are what they eat. Christians can certainly watch or listen to just about anything, and there might be reason to, just like police have to see and hear a lot of horrendous things they wouldn’t want to if given the choice, if it’s for the sake of serving God’s kingdom and they don’t set their hearts on those things. That means standing on God’s truth. Something is evil if it rejects God, no matter how much “good” it might have in it, or seems to have in it. It’s merely borrowing and exploiting some goodness that’s come from God in order to ensnare people and destroy them.

Instead of being in what the world seeks, “escapes,” real happiness is found in allowing God to put us through painful changes, including taking away from us worldly things we happen to have our hearts set on, and “working” for the Lord. That’s our purpose, and when we get away from it, we feel without purpose and empty.

This isn’t about a false “works” salvation or “legalism,” but is truly all about us and real happiness! It’s about God our personal Creator knowing best what will truly fulfill us and make us happy, if we will let Him, walking by faith and not by sight. The thought of always working for His kingdom apparently seems oppressive to much of the church here these days, but again that’s because of the world’s rebellion against the Lord. When there is something that means a great deal to us, we are willing either to do a great deal of “work,” even painful work, and endure punishment, to get it, or the very work itself might be a pleasure to us (perhaps a sport we play or a hobby we have).

So why should we think that being subject to God’s will at all times is oppressive, or “legalism,” and we can’t be happy if we are. Heaven itself is God’s kingdom, and we can believe that there we along with everyone and everything else will be subject to Him at all times and in all places, yet we will have perfect happiness.

http://forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2257

You can't make this stuff up. History repeats itself in a never ending spiral.

Best analogy is the Roman Church superceding the Roman empire. The Russian Orthodx Church is running the board in Russia now. They are a monopoly and don't want competition. They view the western european protestant revolution as a heretical aberration of history. Average americans can't conceive of this type of culture. We are ingrained with the mantra of "religious freedom for all" and we are taught to equivocate Protestant and Catholics and Mormon and Church of Christ as all the same. Scientology gets to be a non taxed church as designated by the US IRS - not because it is a Christian denomination.

Look back 500 or so years to the Cathars and how long it took to cut them out root, stem and branch. The Spanish and Italian and German Inquisitions were not all about Islam as much as the Cathar Waldensian heresies that spread like wildfire.

Just a fyi heads up. We are in for more interesting times - and since our american laws and culture now celebreate diversity and pluralism we can't kick out the Russian/Greek Orthodx for religious reasons. Visualize the KGB reborn as the Orthodox Church - that is the nightmare we are facing.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.