The wife an I vacationed in WA state last week and the signs and stuff around there were the first I had heard of this.
I am a little disturbed by the fact it’s getting good reviews for apparently some religious application, but I have to say, otherwise, I don’t have a problem with it.
Fantasy isn’t evil, and I grew up reading a series of fiction books on magic etc. Didn’t make me a witch, but at the same time, I would be rather disturbed if churches thought they would be good ways to teach Christ!
First, have you read the books?
Romance novels, no matter who the characters are, should not be read by tweens and teens.
They distort “love”.
Love is not huge explosions and tingling. Love is waking up to morning breath and dirty socks. Love is working with your spouse towards a common goal.
I won’t even let my girls read “Christian” love stories.
You could say the same about “Lord of the Rings” or “Beowulf”. Should we ban those as well?
Twilight is the Lord of the Rings for girls and young women and I still don’t see why they are so fascinated by it.
mark for later study
My daughter rented Twilight a few weeks ago. I saw about 45 minutes of it. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING.
Missing Bela Lugosi. Now THERE was someone who knew how to play a vampire.
1. I am a serious Christian.
2. I am not worried about books like this or Harry Potter or whatever, assuming one’s child is aware of the difference between fantasy and reality and a generally well-balanced person.
3. Fantasy stories (including science fiction) are useful for allegorical purposes. C.S. Lewis’s Narnia stories -— now classic Christian allegories -— are filled with witches, magic, and even a nasty vampire or two at the end. Obviously, like any secular tool, this can be used to a bad end (the Golden Compass, for example, which pushes atheism).
That’s why parents should read the books.
4. These books are generally moral, much like the Harry Potter books. Good vs. evil. That’s a good thing.
5. The one issue I have is that consorting with evil spirits is a real thing, and not to be toyed with. To the extent a child is silly or stupid and decides from reading Twilight books that it is “OK” to go piddle around with “real” witchcraft or paganism, that’s a bad thing. Again, this falls under the category of parents knowing their children. If a child is that stupid, it’s not the book’s fault, it’s the parent’s fault.
I was adamantly against my 13-year old daughter reading this series and seeing this movie. After many of her Christian friends read the books and saw the movie, I spoke to their parents about it. I was told that I was being ridiculous about it because the girl in the book waits until she’s married to have sex and because there is some discussion in the book about whether or not these vampires have a soul. The book leads you to believe that by drinking only the blood of animals rather than humans that these vampires are “good” vampires and have a soul.
I caved and let her read the books. I regret not going with my gut. The Spirit was telling me no. I let other Christian parents convince me that I was being stupid.
If anyone else out there has second thoughts about letting their children read it, I recommend that you follow your first instinct and avoid the books and movie. If you have already caved, at least sit down and have a long discussion with your teen about the issues of sex before marriage, risking one’s soul to gain the earthly love of another, and the concept of “living forever” in a state separate from God.
You’ll thank me for it.
I don’t understand the phenomenon, probably because I’m older than 18. That said, reading the books hasn’t harmed my kids’ faith at all. They can tell the difference between fantasy fiction and reality. And they thought the movie was pretty lame.
I strongly object to sparkling vampires.
Spiritually, I don’t know. From the point of view of male/female relationships, creepy. The author thinks stalking and obsession is romantic. If I had a daughter I would make sure to properly ridicule the novel. Another thing, Bella(the female protagonist) is only interested in Edward(vampire) because of his handsome face and hot body.
From a reviewer who said it better than me on amazon.com: “And that’s what bothers me the most about this book and the message that it sends to all of its rabid readers: the importance of beauty. Not inner beauty, either. Edward and his wonderful vampire family (all of whom are good because they don’t feed on humans) are described over and over again in all of their wonderful physical qualities. They’re cardboard characters for us to admire. Bella, of course, doesn’t think of herself as beautiful, but the fact that she has four other boys in addition to the vampire falling all over themselves to please her begs to differ. I was willing to forgive the beauty of the vampires as a trait they acquire when they’re turned, but a few others turn up later that are described as “nondescript” and ordinary-looking. And of course, they turn out to be the bad guys. Really, Stephanie Meyer?”
Most people miss the real point of all this. It is not that vampire stories are horrible in of themselves - it is that the modern ones now make the vampires, who were always damned satanic creatures, into sympathetic characters. The modern interpretation of the vampire myth turns evil into good. Not only is that an extremely misleading thing to do, but it really takes the power out of the stories. They used to be epic battles of good against evil, and now they’re all teen-angsty soap-opera BS.
I made a point of reading it before my daughter did because of a concern expressed by one of the women at church. She was concerned that it might be a bit “too old” for my 11 year old, although she enjoyed it and had no problem with giving a copy to her 13yo granddaughter. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am patiently waiting my name to come up on the waiting list at the library for the next installment!!!!
Unlike the Harry Potter series, the Twilight series has only appealed to the female youth at our church. HP appealed to all of the youth....well I should clarify that, they only appeal to the youth that actually read and at level above See Spot Run..........
It’s fiction, fairly well written, it causes them to think, and if it has them reading instead of playing video games or sitting in front of the boob tube -— I say YEAH!!!!!
I don’t see the need to dissect reading material in some attempt to twist it into something it is or isn’t.
Vampires were originally a personification of the fear of disease and infection.
I still haven’t figured how they became romantic, undead demigods. Even Dracula was pretty repulsive if you read the actual book.
Fables. In a work of fiction.
Shocking.
One of my high school students asked me to read the books, so I did. I think they simply feed into teenage fantasies about love. Here’s a brief summary (SPOILER ALERT! Stop reading here if you don’t want to know!):
Bella falls in love with unattainable vampire Edward. They just can’t help their feelings for each other despite personal danger. Both of them are gorgeous. They struggle to stay apart but can’t live without each other. In the end, Bella gives up everything to become a vampire so that she can be with Edward for eternity. They are very happy. It’s nicely written but rather sophomoric.
My biggest concern with it is that Bella gives up her humanity so easily and doesn’t spend much time worrying about what it will do to her parents. She is not very connected to either of them, despite loving them. I think part of the popularity of this book series is that lots of children of divorce relate to Bella.
I read all 4 Twilight books and have seen the movie. Enjoyed them all very much. The storylines are great and the characters are interesting. I was also a big fan of the Buffy and Angel shows on tv. I am a devout christian (divorced, 50+ woman!) and fight spiritual battles all the time. Although there is some occultic symbolism (shapeshifting from human to wolf)this series is pretty much fantasy stuff. What makes it such a powerful draw, I think, is the love story. Edward is the perfect man - devoted, caring, self-sacrificing, giving, etc. What girl wouldn’t want that? And there’s a lot of humor in the books that is missing in the movie. What gripes me the most about all of this is that there is very little if any equivalent that could and should be written or made into a movie about christian characters and the spiritual warfare that is being waged and fought and so many people INCLUDING christians have no idea its going on or how to fight and win the battles. That’s my two cents worth.
I thought it was boring. Ann Rice is better.