Confused and needing help

Romans 16
17I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

Ask yourself if reading a childrens story book is evil. IMHO it is not.

But if I'm not doing it, is it bad to listen to it? My mind is telling me yes, but I don't know.

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If your thinking that, then go for it, because it might not be you thinking it, it might be God telling you that.
Ask yourself this question,
"If God were coming to my house would I watch this show, or would I read this book with him?"
Hope this helps!
Hugs,
Kristin

My advice would be, if your in serious doubt about it, then you shouldn't read or watch it. If it causes a question in your mind, then I would just avoid it. In my church, we don't believe in reading Harry Potter or watching any TV shows like "Charmed", it is just something that we don't do. But everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I would never begrudge someone if they want to watch it. I only have the authority in my own home to turn off the TV or put the book down.

I would go by what the young lady said in the post previous to mine, if Jesus were to come over your house, would you have that on your TV or radio to entertain Him?
I hope this helps
God Bless You,
Jewel

Most ministers do not talk to their congregations about spiritual warfare because they don't want to scare people.In fact some ministers teach that God controls everything that occurs in the world.That's slander if I've ever heard it.No wonder some people get so angry at God and turn against Him.God does not kill children in Iraq.He does not cause people to get into drunk driving traffic accidents.He does not force doctors to literally suck the brains out of babies and then throw their bodies in trash cans.The bible states that Satan controls the world and causes horrendous events to occur.Because Americans for the past 100 years have been influential in spreading Christianity throughout the world,this country has become a prime target for satan's attacks.And he has succeeded extremely well,turning what used to be a moral nation into a perverted and decadant satanic cesspool.In fact no nation in the entire history of the world has exhibited such moral sickness and rebellion against God as this nation does.Have you wondered why the name of God can not be publically mentioned in our public schools?The biblical city of Sodam was overtaken by homosexuality but it did not have "gay pride" parades with naked perverts lying on floats,homosexual acts transmitted into nearly every household by television and computer,and a presidential candidate who has legalized homosexual "marriages" in his state.God have mercy on us!
So in deciding what to read,listen to or watch,it's important to realize that there's a good chance that it is morally sick.By mentally consuming this filth,you are training your brain to accept and tolerate sinful behavior,thus making it quite likely that you will engage in it yourself in the future.As far as "scary" books go,they can actually create possession by demons if they have satanic story lines.And that's exactly what is wrong with the Harry Potter books.The magical success of the Potter books in fact is a result of Satan's most powerful work in the world in the past decade.Contrary to the popular misconception that "none of it is real" - it' is very real.The Potter books teach kids how to practice withcraft; which is the worship of Satan.And since we are now very close to Jesus' return,the power and success of Satan will only increase.That's why this biblical teaching is so important to apply to our lives -HE WHO LOVES THE WORLD IS AN ENEMY OF GOD

4given29 said:

I've been a Christian for about 11 months now. And I listen to Christian music, but I mostly listen to country music. And I don't watch hardly any TV or movies, but when I do, they aren't very glorifying to God. I spend most of my time reading. Now, I try to read only Christian novels by Christian authors, but are other books like I used to read bad? Like scary books, mystery, thrillers, etc.? And I've read all 6 of the Harry Potter books, are they bad? ... My mind is telling me yes, but I don't know. And if it is bad, where does it say this in the Bible? I'm trying to give my all to Christ, and to do this I want to weed out all the things in my life that are hindering me from having a closer walk with Him. Just confused and trying to find some answers. God Bless, thanks.

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Hello sister! If your conscience is telling you they're bad, you should listen to it! Some non-Christian books can be good, but others are full of garbage, like you say.

The Christian journey is one of becoming slowly more perfect, and to do this you should watch and read things that bring you closer to God. Paul says:

Colossians 3:1-17 said:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

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And there are great Christian books around, like The Lord of the Rings.


-- Radagast

*mod hat on*

please don't turn this into a harry potter debate thread. You can go over to the christian books and reviews forum to do that. Thanks.

*mod hat off*

actually, not everything by non-christians is bad. It just means that they don't acknowledge God in their books, and that they might write things in ways that God would not approve of. If we put ourselves in the mindset that everything not done by a christian is not worthy to take note of, then we're making a big mistake of shutting christianity to the world.

if you found it uncomfortable reading certain genres of books or listening to certain types of music, and that this feeling might very well be a stumbling block to you, then don't do it. The degree of flexibility varies between different people. It's kind of like the issue of eating pork.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things." Phillipians 4:8

I think this is the best guideline the Bible can give us for anything. If you think something you're doing is wrong, it is quite possible that the Holy Spirit is talking to you. Examine your motives. Are you doing it to glorify God, yourself or something else. Examine the outcome. Is it ultimately bringing you closer to God, or setting your eyes on something other than Him? Examine God's word. Study the Bible prayerfully and see what God has to say. Lastly pray and ask God to open your eyes to His will. You can ask a hundred people and get differant answers, ask God and get THE answer. God Bless you in your search to commit your life fully to Him!!

Ooh, I am so tempted to rebut one little remark about Mr. Potter, but I won't.

It's irrelevant anyway, because you have answered your own question. If you feel that ANYTHING is bad, or simply bad FOR you, you should stay away from it. I think blackeyed peas are bad so I don't touch the things.

I have read all of the HP series, however.

Romans 14 :2 - "For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
3 : Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him."

On some things, the Lord let's us decide what we believe is right and wrong. If you believe that reading certain books and hearing certain music isn't profane to the Lord and don't hinder your relationship with Him, then go ahead and enjoy them. If you are having doubts and feeling guilt though, it's for a reason and you should heed it.

Recognize these feelings you have but don't become fixated on them. Ask God to diminish your interest in materials which are inappropriate and follow his lead. I've found God usually honors such requests as that is how I got out of inappropriate content.

I've also read all of the Harry Potter books, i think they are pretty good myself. I've been in love with Christ for a lil over a year. I've had my ups and downs, we all do. I've thought about this also. I play alot of video games, like counter-strike (and if anyone knows what that is, it can be bad), bf1942 and a game called Ultima Online. All based around killing an opponent. Some would say that killing is bad in any way in any format, even in a game. To some degree i would have to agree. It can bring you down in you walk, but it can also lift it up. I think, and I've been told, that if the things you watch, the things you read, or the people you hang around bring you down, and make your walk with Christ...basically suck, well then yes, you should stop them. I read alot of those verses ppl posted and its so true. If it makes your heart impure then you must stop. I also play on Christian servers, so for the most part you are with Christian people, but every once in a while a wise guy comes in and says "how can you play cs and be christain? It's a game about killing people." And its just that, a game, or just that, a book. But once, again, if it starts to bring you down then its more than that.

Theres my 2 cents. And i probably made no sense whatsoever, but atleast i tried. I also realize that im a measly 17 year old and dont know everything, just dont flame me

If anyone wants to talk my aim is OriginalPrank214; i would be happy to talk to my fellow Christians =)

as for me personally, most unchristian stuff is a waste of time.
im not trying to be rash, but it really is.
i have a purpose on my life and i go through battles everyday and i dont really have the time to concern myself with things that truely very rarely any benefit to my spirit and Christian life in anyway at all.

not everything is BAD...
though if you ask me things like harry potter are very wrong, period, for any and all christians. i know it may be a nice book, but as for me, God condemns witchcraft and i dont want anything to do with it, no matter how nice and friendly it is.

im not trying to start a debate, but thats my belief.

i would say to stay far away from books like harry potter, simply becuase of the withcraft, really being done or not. God cant stand that stuff.

but somebody has already taken the words right out of my mouth and quoted the verse i was going to hehe... and praise God for her doing that.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things." Phillipians 4:8

this isnt legalism, its not agaisnt the law of God not to do this, but the Lord would softly encourage you to set yourself unto better things than secularism and all this other stuff that may not even be bad, but it is just dry and has no life in it, it has no spirit of God in it. and is not profiting you one bit. and it may not be hurting you, but one day, you may regret wasting your time on it.

God would encourage to become and more focused on heavonly things, over time i do believe you should be becoming more and more involved with Godly things and less involved with worldly secular and vain things.

some people say its dangerous to become so heavonly minded that your no earthly good. so i guess they say you need some world to keep you focused, no thats not true.
it is impossible to be so heavonly minded that your no earthly good, the more you set your eyes on him, the more you are changed and the more you are changed the more you can benefit this world for God.
paul said we are changed from glory unto glory, as we behold him.
we need to set our eyes on him and behold him much more than we do.
you need not fear being to focused on God, being in the word will keep you focused on people, becuase people is what its all about. being focused on God will keep you focused on people, becuase people are what God is all about. you need never fear becoming to heavonly or Godly minded.

now some people have become spiritualy disilusioned and are just...strange and dont do anyone any good, but it wasnt being to God and scriptural minded that did that. the word will keep you in wisdom if you feed on it.

it isnt legalism, but all this other stuff, just really gets you distracted and wastes your time and energy, and today its getting harder and harder to find anything thats not full of junk that we cant let in our bodies and minds anyway.

so i just say again...

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things." Phillipians 4:8

but truthfully, we people are so far from God... we dont know him like we should, lets not kid ourselves... miracles shock us and our lives dont even begin to mirror his, we dont really know God...

we dont have the time, to be relaxing and finding comfort. we need to be pressing forward at all times in prayer and scripture and fasting.

the bible says a good soldier, will not concern himself with pointless things, so that he can please his master.
and thats supposed to be us.

if we are able to endure the sacrifice, of seperating ourselves from pointless things...after a season, we will find much much more joy.
God always saves the best for last...

i remember what a prophetess once said.
"there will come a day, when there is not enough time left to fast and pray enough so that you can be who you need to be"
and i believe that.
we must take hold of today.
we must fast and pray and meditate for hours today...becuase a day will come when we dont have hours left.
and becuase the purpose of God is bigger than us, it will go on without us.

William's right.

Don't let other people make rules for you. If you have misgivings, ask why - is it because of what other Christians have told you? Do you think something might be wrong but can't really see why? In which case, it is probably not the prompting of the Holy Spirit, but simply spiritual paranoia brought on by the legalistic pronouncements of others.

HP is fine. If it teaches witchcraft, then witchcraft must mean pointing at broken vases and shouting "reparo". No, I don't think so...

4given29 said:

I've been a Christian for about 11 months now. And I listen to Christian music, but I mostly listen to country music. And I don't watch hardly any TV or movies, but when I do, they aren't very glorifying to God.

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I guess it depends on the TV or movies, but it also depends on how you choose to interpret them.

I spend most of my time reading. Now, I try to read only Christian novels by Christian authors, but are other books like I used to read bad?

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Not in and of themselves.

Like scary books, mystery, thrillers, etc.? And I've read all 6 of the Harry Potter books, are they bad?

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Given that I only know of five of them in print right now, I can't comment on the sixth one.

I don't see these things as "bad".

I know that there is a lot of controversy over this, but if I'm not practicing witchcraft and it's just a make believe story is it okay to read?

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Probably.

However, that's really not the right answer. Neither "yes" nor "no" is the right answer on this. The right answer may vary from one person to another; this is the concept of Christian liberty. There are things which, while not "inherently sinful", may have bad effects on some people. If you think something is bad for you, you should probably avoid it.

I think it's just a good story, but I know that none of it is real. But I feel like if I do read them, I'm putting a ton of garbage in my mind.

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That might be an indicator that, at least at this point in your walk, you should avoid them.

My friend and I have been questioning this for a while. While some country music, TV shows, and books are not exactly bad, others promote things that I know I wouldn't do like drinking, sex, cussing, drugs, etc. But if I'm not doing it, is it bad to listen to it? My mind is telling me yes, but I don't know.

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It depends, I guess. What's "promoting"? One of my favorite pieces of music is a song called sin by Nine Inch Nails. It's about sin, but I wouldn't say it's promoting sin. On the other hand, some people might find it very disturbing.

And if it is bad, where does it say this in the Bible? I'm trying to give my all to Christ, and to do this I want to weed out all the things in my life that are hindering me from having a closer walk with Him. Just confused and trying to find some answers. God Bless, thanks.

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What you probably want to do is read the stuff in Romans on liberty. If you're not sure, it's not such a bad thing to be a little cautious about things.

You don't want to live your life fragile and terrified; that's as much bondage to sin as anything else is. But don't feel pressured to "leave the nest" before you're ready. There is no shame in avoiding things that bother you.

I don't have a solid answer for you here, because I don't think there IS a single universal answer. But I do have some advice.

Cutting right to the chase, I really, deeply believe that the divide between "secular" and "Christian" is false. I believe it is a division made by people and not by God. And the definition of a Christian author or band is vague anyway; just because something comes from a Christian record label or publisher does not mean it is high quality, doctrinally sound or of value, and just because it doesn't doesn't mean it's not. Make sense?

I became a Christian about when you did, and something I deeply wish I'd taken hold of early on is a healthy, accurate view of God. God is bigger than any human idea of big, and His work is not found only in churches and Christian bookstores. God's fingerprints are all over this world for those who look. There is more to hearing God's voice in the world than looking only to things that have a "Christian" stamp on them.

Am I saying "watch/read/listen to anything you want"? No. Give this some serious prayer and don't do anything that'd cause you to stumble into sin. But also consider what that means; no one is responsible for what you do and who you allow yourself to become but you. Hearing profanity will not automatically make you swear. Seeing violence will not automatically make you violent. Jesus said what goes in does not corrupt a person, but what comes out. But you SHOULD avoid anything that pushes your buttons and makes you WANT to sin. Sadly there are no hard and fast rules (or few), as this is different for everyone. It's a matter of seeking God and searching your own heart.

In any case, you WILL NOT go to Hell for watching the wrong movie, hearing the wrong song or reading the wrong book.

What I would suggest is this:

1) Study your scripture, and spend some time in prayer. Talk to God. Listen for Him. The primary task of a new believer is to get to know God and to flesh out what loving and following Him means. Rest assured, He WILL surprise you, whatever He does. I can also recommend some good books, since you, like me, seem to be a bookworm.

2) Consider the things you're struggling with (Harry Potter, etc.). If reading/listening/etc. worries you, consider why. Is it because your conscience is being pricked, and God is nudging you away from the thing in question, or because you're afraid of what some other Christian person might think? If it's the first one, put whatever it is down, period.

3) Try to learn to really SEE what you're reading/watching/listening to. Look at it. Like I said, God's fingerprints are everywhere. When sin, or virtue is portrayed, look at HOW. A thing can, for example, be violent and be speaking AGAINST violence at the same time. Try to figure out what's being said by looking deeper. Look for where Christian ideas, like love for others, sacrifice for others' sake, forgiveness and love for enemies, redemption, and acceptance of those the World hates, appear. Look at how they're shown. The places I see God show up never ceases to surprise me.

4) Cultivate an accurate idea of what "Worldly" means. The idea that Worldy means "enjoying anything non Christians like or produce" is simply not scriptural, or (IMO) healthy. The Pharasees set themselves apart from the "world" more than anyone in Jesus' day, and they were arguably the most Worldly people He ran into. A Christian kid who only listens to hymns but looks down their nose at and shunns the kid in the Slipknot shirt is, in a way, being Worldly. Because Worldliness is all about your attitude toward others, and God.

5) Realize this is a process. You are NOT going to be perfect overnight. Or Ever. And God doesn't expect you to be. If people could be perfect of their own power, Jesus came and died for nothing (as Galatians says). You are in a growing process. It is a process that will take the rest of your life. Remember that any righteousness we have comes from Christ, and that He's not the kind of tempermental god who's sitting in Heaven waiting for you to mess up. He's nuts about you. He wants what's best. And he's not going to give up on you. He's your Father.... not your Employer.

Okay, this has run REALLY long so I'll end by saying this; a LOT of people settle for a shallow faith built on what certain Christians say they're supposed to do. Your fellow believers can be and often WILL be a source of great encouragment, strength, wisdom and grace. Just beware those who have an unhealthy fondness for rulemongering.
If I've been in any way unclear, you have any questions or just want to discuss this more one on one, by all means, PM me, please. I may've just talked your virtual ear off but I promise I'm also fully capable of listening

seebs said:

It depends, I guess. What's "promoting"? One of my favorite pieces of music is a song called sin by Nine Inch Nails. It's about sin, but I wouldn't say it's promoting sin. On the other hand, some people might find it very disturbing.

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I was having a similar thought, regarding a song I really like called "Melt" by Front 242.... not a Christian band (and they have at times been critical of Christianity), but when the song talks about living in paranoia and chants "pretending to guide me you led me astray... I will never sway" I just wanna pump my fist in the air and sing along. Or scream along. It's sort of become my personal rallying cry against the World.

You don't want to live your life fragile and terrified; that's as much bondage to sin as anything else is. But don't feel pressured to "leave the nest" before you're ready. There is no shame in avoiding things that bother you.

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Excellently put Seebs.

drdeancrosby said:

As far as "scary" books go,they can actually create possession by demons if they have satanic story lines.

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I would like to point out that these sorts of "formulae for possession" have no biblical basis whatsoever.

The Potter books teach kids how to practice withcraft;

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As this is not a HP debate thread I'll not comment except to say that regardless of the morality of the HP books, this is simply not true. My further opinions are well documented on other threads.

Nothing stops people from loving, enjoying and experiencing God like a crippling fear of Satan.

4given29 said:

One of the things that really stuck with me was if Jesus was there would you do it. And from now on, I'll try to remember that.

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Somebody once asked the writer G.K. Chesterton what he would do if Jesus were standing next to him. He replied simply "He is".

Jesus IS there. Applying that principle (and it's a good one) correctly depends on knowing who He is.