Church's stance on Fiction

[ntisawesome]

I was wondering what the Church generally teaches about “spiritual fiction” when presented as such. More specifically, is it OK for a Christian to watch ( in the case of movies ), read ( in the case of books ), or play ( in the case of games ) them, so long as it’s not presented as truth and is done in moderation?

Examples of Movies/TV Shows:

Constantine
The DaVinci Code
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Kevin Smith’s “Dogma”

Examples of Games:

Dungeon’s and Dragons
World of Warcraft

As for books, I’m basically talking about any Medieval Fantasy books that take place in fictional poly-theist worlds, involving magic, violence, etc.

Obviously there are many more not mentioned, but I am hoping you get the idea.

 

[Joe_5859]

There’s nothing really specific in this regard. The general principles of discernment apply.

I have collected links to many Church documents on the relationship of media to the Church that might be helpful:

catechesisofthepopes.wikispaces.com/Media+and+the+Church

For the most part, you really have to look at how the entertainment in question affects you. Does it rouse in you lustful thoughts? Does it make you want to do sinful things? We want to avoid both being too lax on the one hand and being hyper-scrupulous on the other hand. Some things might be okay for some people to watch, but not others. Some things (like pornography) are always wrong to watch.

 

[edwest2]

Kevin Smith’s Dogma was protested by Catholics. I watched it and it was extremely offensive to the Church. The Jay and Silent Bob characters were gross and demeaning in their behavior.

Dungeons and Dragons got a certain amount of heat since some, mistakenly, thought it contained ‘real’ spells. This is not the case. However, it may - may - incline some to look for books related to actual witchcraft. That would not be a good direction to go in.

I haven’t played World of Warcraft but it’s hugely popular. My only suggestions are: don’t let it get in the way of interacting with real human beings, and try not to spend too many hours in front of the computer.

Finally, Pope John Paul II made statements about art and the role of artists. Popular media, including comic books, has been tending toward the dark, and twisted. Heroes have turned into the Dark Knight, people who cross the line in getting the bad guys.

Fiction should portray the good and the bad but the bad must never be portrayed as somehow attractive. Fiction, good fiction, should be uplifting. The same with all entertainment. All of us should ask ourselves: is this actually fun and interesting or is it too aggressive? Or does it contain sexual overtones?

In my view, working in the media, too much has become gross and vulgar and over the top. I reject most of it. All creative people should look at their work as being in service to God.

Peace,
Ed

 

[James924]

In the context of your knowledge of the nature of God, how does it make you feel? Does it disturb your spiritual peace? Listening to poccahantes sing about the colors of the wind and rocks having spirits and a plethora of pantheistic whatnot gives me a gagging feeling in the back of my throat because I know it isnt the nature of reality and I know that it has had the effect of a subconscious tea spoon of pantheism in the children of my age who grew up watching it.

The next question is, if it is something that is incorrect, that proposes pantheism or moral relativism, and it has a hollywood agenda behind it, or a visibly effect on the people of our culture…do you want to take pleasure from it, or associate with it in any way? This topic can easily be tied in with being attached to the world… Does doing these things keep you from feeding yourself spiritually? Do make an effort to find Christian alternatives?

Its all circumstantial, of course. There is a big difference between a child watching a host of disney cartoons that depict animals as having rational personalities and humans as careless badguys which can have subconscious effects on a child’s worldview when they grow up and, on the other hand, something as obviously unimposing as a book or video game about humans versus orcs in which references may or may not be made to magical deities. I try to stay away from all of it, but there are degrees, of course. The key is to remain vigilant, keep your guard up against false ideas or assumptive reasoning. Dont waste too many feelings on falling in love with fictional characters (not that theres anything wrong with enjoying a good book) if it takes away from your love for Christ.

Final note: Once you have a family, it is paramount that you become 10 times as vigilant and picky with issues like pocahantes and her spiritual rocks or ferngully and the evil humans destroying the fairy community. When youre a bachelor its one thing…but when you’re married and have children, the battle between Christianity and the World begins in earnest. You have little ones’ spirituality on your hands… Getting them to Jesus is, until they are adults, your responsibility.

Also, beware of people telling you to put these concerns aside with phrases like “you’re being too scrupulous” or “its just entertainment.” There is no such thing as being TOO detached from the world, too focused on the God of the universe and on his truth.

Final Note number 2:
Just food for thought, The fantasy worlds of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (Lord of the Rings, midle earth, narnia, etc) are good and take nothing away from the faith (in fact they are full of Christian analogy). So obviously “all” fantastical fiction isn’t bad. Just be vigilant.

 

[ntisawesome]

This is a good point:

Final note: Once you have a family, it is paramount that you become 10 times as vigilant and picky with issues like pocahantes and her spiritual rocks or ferngully and the evil humans destroying the fairy community. When youre a bachelor its one thing…but when you’re married and have children, the battle between Christianity and the World begins in earnest. You have little ones’ spirituality on your hands… Getting them to Jesus is, until they are adults, your responsibility.

My dad was explaining something similar to me when I was 15. He didn’t approve of my little brother ( who was just under 4 at the time ) watching Pinky and the Brain because it had an subtle but bad overtone of Mice continuously trying to take over the world.

I argued that it is simply harmless because it’s just a cartoon and is completely for humour’s sake. He then won me over by pointing out that I was of course right, assuming the viewer was old enough to distinguish from reality and cartoons.

He did a really good job of protecting the little ones from watching things before they were mature enough to make their own proper judgement about what they saw.

Anyways, a bit of a tangent, but thanks for the very helpful reply.

 

[tabsie3210]

I read a lot of manga and watch a lot of anime, and a lot of anime-inspired cartoons (the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for example).

I also read a lot of fantasy novels which include magic and occasional polytheism.

Growing up, my mother made me watch everything with her, or share what I read with her, and then we talked about it afterward. Daddy would watch cartoons with me and tell me, “Now you know this is just silly make-believe, right?”

Currently, I read these stories and watch these shows to watch how the characters develop, but I can see where their worldviews fall apart without Christianity.

I stopped reading many of the series I used to like because of their polytheism and the fact that a lot of them were homosexual-positive stories. I moved away from Mercedes Lackey and David Eddings and moved toward C.S. Lewis and Dean Koontz.

There are always alternatives to the stuff that’s way out there, though not as many as I would like. As for television shows, constant reminder that it’s pure fiction and couldn’t really happen is good, but also a firm knowledge of how the worldview is affected by the lack of Christ’s Presence (or how it could be improved by adding Christ to the story) is a good way to keep a sort of distance from the stuff.

I can play “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” in spite of the frequent references to the “gods,” because I don’t feel affected by the references (it’s obviously fake), but other games I have to stay away from (like the computer game “Black and White”) because they take it too far and I no longer feel comfortable with the story as presented - “Black and White” is a game where you play a deity, and you can either be good or evil. You spend a lot of time learning the ropes of how to be a god, and that all disturbes me.

So, look at what you enjoy and watch how it affects you. Always pay attention and distance yourself from anything that you feel is starting to affect you negatively. There are always fun alternatives to everything you’re interested in. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. There need to be more alternatives, but they are there.