Give me a real vampire!
Everywhere you look it seems there are Vampires. The latest phenomenon is the Twilight sequel film, NEW MOON. The HBO TV series “True Blood” is advertised everywhere, as is its teen-targeted CW TV counterpart, Vampire Diaries. New books are coming out about them every month, from hopeful authors hoping to follow in the footsteps of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series which now includes four best-sellers. What IS new is the fad of making vampires friendly and noble and trustworthy. In the past vampires were to be feared and fought and destroyed. They were evil beings that lived forever, made slaves out of their prey, seduced the weak and stole the souls of the faithless. It's not hard to see the obvious similarities between a vampire and a demon or evil spirit. You think that's a stretch? What are the most common traditional defenses against vampires? 1) A cross. 2) Holy Water. 3) Light. Seems that demons would have issues with those things too. (Do demons like garlic?) There's a great scene in the 1985 vampire movie FRIGHT NIGHT. A terrifying vampire approaches his victim. The youth brandishes a crucifix and shouts: “Back, spawn of Satan!” The Vampire chuckles, grabs the cross, crushes it and says, “You have to have faith for this to work on me!” This generation's vampires don't seem to have any issues with light (some turn sparkly and beautiful) or with crosses or with faith. They're just like you and me... only they're different and it's tough being different. Poor vampires. Now they're to be pitied and admired. Now THIS is scary. Why? The devil seduces by making sin sexy. By making it seem cool. By making it seem like it's a good thing. Why should anyone be frightened of a creature with no soul who feasts on human flesh and promises immortality? Wow. The answer seems pretty obvious. Unfortunately it's not anymore. - Written by Andre van Heerden
And do you want to know what I find the most scary about all of this? The vampires aren't scary. The fascination with vampires isn't new. There have been literally thousands of movies made about them. According to Wikipedia, Dracula has “been the subject of more films than any other fictional character". The first film was a silent one in 1909 called “Vampire of the Coast”.
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I understand the spirit in which this blog was written. I get it – we live in the age of access. We are the Terminal Generation in which anything and everything is acceptable. But why is it that some Christians always jump on a bandwagon and attack something when it’s popular? I say “some” because not all Christians engage in this behavior. It’s basically legalistic Christians who do it. They attempt to add to God’s Word (like Eve did when Satan Tempted her). Here’s a news flash – God doesn’t “need” our help (He “requires” our submission and obediance). The Word of God is not filled with a bunch of “Don’t Do’s” (Especially for the Church living under the dispensation of Grace). It’s the Holy spirit’s job to convict us of sin (Real Sin. Not whether or not we enjoy some occassional vampire fiction). It never fails – Every once in awhile, something will come along and you guys (legalistic Christians) will rear your head. They come out in force every Halloween and say we shouldn’t let our kids “trick-or-treat” because thousands of years ago it started out as a pagan ritual. The same exact thing happen when the Harry Potter phenomenom hit. Legalistic Christians had people believing that J.K. Rowling’s was attempting to turn our youth into Devil worshipping wizards, warlocks and witches. And tha sad part is most of those who attacked it never even bothered to read or to later watch the movies based on the books. Hypocrites!! Isn’t that what we as Christians ask of the unsaved when we witness to them? Give God a try? I quess my point is – there is nothing wrong with the Vampire genre and to correct your quote – “It’s not hard to see the obvious similarities between a vampire and a demon or evil spirit.” There is NOTHING similar between a fictional creature like a vampire and a real creature like a fallen Angel/demon/evil spirit. That’s like trying to compare the Glorious Appearing to the Rapture. Apples and Oranges my man. Has the vampire’s role changed? Of course it has, but so has most things in this post 9/11 world we live in. The underlining theme I take away from the Twilight Series is one of Redemption and choice. Again, one need only to actually read the books or actually watch the movies and the “EVIL” Vampires that you so long for are right there in the mix also. I myself as a Christian (A Born Again Bible believing one at that) enjoy reading and watching vampire fiction and there’s nothing wrong with that if you leave it in its place and accept it for what it is.
A Facebook friend emailed me a response to the above Blog. He said that I could share it with the group as I think there are some interesting points for a discussion:
Garrick wrote:
“I understand the spirit in which this blog was written. I get it – we live in the age of access. We are the Terminal Generation in which anything and everything is acceptable. But why is it that some Christians always jump on a bandwagon and attack something when it’s popular? I say “some” because not all Christians engage in this behavior. It’s basically legalistic Christians who do it. They attempt to add to God’s Word (like Eve did when Satan Tempted her). Here’s a news flash – God doesn’t “need” our help (He “requires” our submission and obediance). The Word of God is not filled with a bunch of “Don’t Do’s” (Especially for the Church living under the dispensation of Grace). It’s the Holy spirit’s job to convict us of sin (Real Sin. Not whether or not we enjoy some occassional vampire fiction). It never fails – Every once in awhile, something will come along and you guys (legalistic Christians) will rear your head. They come out in force every Halloween and say we shouldn’t let our kids “trick-or-treat” because thousands of years ago it started out as a pagan ritual. The same exact thing happen when the Harry Potter phenomenom hit. Legalistic Christians had people believing that J.K. Rowling’s was attempting to turn our youth into Devil worshipping wizards, warlocks and witches. And tha sad part is most of those who attacked it never even bothered to read or to later watch the movies based on the books. Hypocrites!! Isn’t that what we as Christians ask of the unsaved when we witness to them? Give God a try? I quess my point is – there is nothing wrong with the Vampire genre and to correct your quote – “It’s not hard to see the obvious similarities between a vampire and a demon or evil spirit.” There is NOTHING similar between a fictional creature like a vampire and a real creature like a fallen Angel/demon/evil spirit. That’s like trying to compare the Glorious Appearing to the Rapture. Apples and Oranges my man. Has the vampire’s role changed? Of course it has, but so has most things in this post 9/11 world we live in. The underlining theme I take away from the Twilight Series is one of Redemption and choice. Again, one need only to actually read the books or actually watch the movies and the “EVIL” Vampires that you so long for are right there in the mix also. I myself as a Christian (A Born Again Bible believing one at that) enjoy reading and watching vampire fiction and there’s nothing wrong with that if you leave it in its place and accept it for what it is.”
My response to follow.
Some interesting points here. Thanks Garrick.
I agree that things shouldn’t be attacked just because they’re popular. I loved the LORD OF THE RINGS films and one of my favorite authors is Terry Brooks who writes fantasy novels. I like NFL football and World Cup Soccer. Although it’s not cool to say it in artsy filmmaking circles, I enjoyed TITANIC. I also agree that no one should add to God’s Holy Word.
However the Bible does in fact contain a number of “don’t dos”. The Ten Commandments come to mind. So too do the words from Paul’s letter to the Galatians 5:19-21 “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” We are absolutely saved by God’s grace but we are also convicted by His law.
Is it a sin to enjoy Vampire fiction? If you realize it’s fiction and it doesn’t cause you to stumble in your walk with God then I don’t think so. When I was at Carleton University I did a documentary on the effects of video games on children. There is a LOT of evidence that playing violent video games can affect some people and make them violent too. The same can be said for watching too many violent movies. It desensitizes us to what is right and what is wrong. Will playing violent video games make everyone violent? No. Will it affect some? Yes. The same can be said about the Harry Potter books. Most of us will read Harry Potter for what it is: fiction, make-believe. However, there are some that take it seriously and believe in wizardry and witchcraft. The Bible clearly warns about that. I’ve had some Christians tell me that they’re a witch but it’s okay because they’re a “White Witch”. That’s where the seduction of sin comes in. That’s where making vampires cool and sexy can be dangerous – again, for some people. Others may have problems with pornography or gambling or lying. Each of us needs to guard our hearts – not test them. James 1:14-15 says “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
And therefore I don’t agree with the idea that Christians should try something that could tempt them – or that could be sinful – just so they can say they’ve tried it. Asking someone to read the Bible because it can lead them to eternal life is different than asking someone to read a book about sorcery because they may like it. In the prayer that Jesus taught us we’re told to pray: “lead us not into temptation.”
You write that there’s no similarity between vampires and demons because one is fictional and the other is real. I agree entirely that Vampires are fictional and Demons are real but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t similarities between them. Unicorns aren’t real but they’re very similar to horses. My point is that by making something that is imaginary yet demon-like attractive, you make demons themselves more palatable.
That’s great that you’re able to find a good theme within the Twighlight series and obviously know how to “leave it in its place”. For some though – especially those who don’t the truth of the Gospel – they won’t be able to do the same. It’d be great if the devil and sin was always scary so we’d all know to stay away.
Andre-
Thanks for the feedback. And again this is friendly Christian debate. When I wrote that the Word of God wasn’ filled with a bunch of “don’t do’s”, I was referring to man made and man added “don’t do’s”. Obviously the Bible is full of Christian obligatory Life lessons and the proper way for us to live when we let Christ into our hearts. I was introduced to the things of God through the legalistic belief system, so I know what I’m talking about. I’m not just “Whistling Dixie” here. I was not allowed to listen to ANY secular music and the excuse I was given was that all secular music (R&B, Rap, Soul, Rock, Jazz, Symphonic, Country, etc) had subliminal demonic messages embedded in the code of the music track because obviously all secular artists were unsaved and because they were unsaved they were also demon worhiping and submitting human sacrifices to Satan so their records would sell. I lie to you not. That was actually preached in the church I grew up in. But it was ok to listen to a “Christian” artist even if said artist was a habitual drug user and wife beater. And that’s just one example. I could go on for days. It’s real easy to fall into the sinful trap of “making sins” of things you don’t personally agree with or like. Bending the Word of God to attempt to prove one’s point is wrong and is also a sin (a grevious one). In Gen 3:1-3, Eve did just that. 1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, “YE SHALL NOT EAT OF IT, NEITHER SHALL YE TOUCH IT, LEST YE DIE”.
God said in Deuteronomy 4:2 – 2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
God said in Deuteronomy 12:32 – 32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
God said in Proverbs 30:5,6 – 5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
I’m not suggesting that Christians try something that could possibly tempt them. What I’m simply saying is that one should have all their facts straight before laying down a blanket judgment on anything. In this case – The Twilight vampire Fiction. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t say on one hand – “that’s evil. Stay away from it.” and in the same breath say “well I haven’t actually read it myself for fear of being tempted by it, but it looks evil and it shares some simularities with some things I’ve read that are evil so it must be evil”. If we follow your rule of thought then you should’nt be watching and enjoying The Lord of the Rings movies because the actor that portrayed Gandalf (Sir Ean Mckellen) is a professed Homosexual. Right? I’m saying by attempting to make vampires fit into your “simular to a demon” category and therefore is evil by association is dangerous because anything can be applied to that if looked at loosely enough. What you are doing is in essence “adding to” God’s word. Yes ther are some people who believe in and practice witchcraft. There is even a Vampire sub culture of people who actually believe they are vampires. But Harry potter and twilight aren’t responsible for that. I know some guys that actually believe they are true jedi masters, and theres a monestary in CA that teaches the force. I lie to you not. Now is George Lucas and Star Wars the blame for that? Absolutely not. Witchcraft and things of the occult have existed well before harry potter and vampire fiction. More to the point – Twilight. The notion that these two works will somehow lead one to want to practice real witchcraft and is secretly a recruiting tool for the occult is just wrong Brother. Everything we do should be done in moderation. The ABnormal USE (or ABUSE) of anything is dangerous. The fact that Twilights attempts to make certain vampires (and not all vampires. The truly evil ones are there too. Which was my initial point. Your post made it sound like all vampires in Twilight are like the Cullens and thats simply not true. If you or anyone is going to make that judgment, then at least have the wherewithall to have actually read or watched what you’re talking about) cool and sexy is just another sign of the times we live in. It doesn’t just blindly say “vampires are cool and sexy now”. It shows you the consequences of going against a said or proposed belief system. I’m sorry but I see a deeper theme there than secretly recruiting demon worshipers when a group of flesh eaters (your words) decide that they will no longer feast on human flesh and instead will only hunt (we humans have been doing that for a while too. Can’t lay that at the vampire’s feet) animals. that sounds alot like when a sinner decides that he/she will no longer follow the status quo of human society and decides to follow Jesus instead (a choice that will put them at odds with the rest of their society). That’s cool. The sexy aspect is played for women. And if you want to be real technical about it – The original Vampire; Dracula; was cool and sexy also. That notion isn’t new. Let me ask you something. This is completely hypothetical and off topic. For the sake of this argument, if vampires really existed and you had an opportunity to talk to one, how would you witness to him/her? What would you tell them they would need to do to gain access to God’s favor and enter heaven?
The Ten Commandments (The Law) that you pointed out; was brought forth to show us the sin in our life and the need for a Saviour; not be kept, for no man can keep the Ten Commandments. Christ was the only person to ever keep the Ten Commandments (because He was the Fullfillment of the Law). 1 Timothy 1:8-11 says – 8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And Romans 6:14 says – 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Satan has been dressing up sin since he took ownership of the earth. Thats nothing new either. I’m sorry but I just don’t agree with your asessment that Twilight is trying to dupe people into some false sense that evil is cool. We can’t put that one on Twilight or Harry Potter for that matter. If we do, then we have to put it on everything that wasn’t spiritually inspired. Can some things be used for evil purposes? Absolutely. Look at religion. it’s used in the most evilest of ways. there are more false religions in the world right now than ever before, and they are more responsible for sending people to hell than cool and sexy vapire fiction. god Bless you.
Your Brother In Christ-
Garrick
Great insight! I recall the quote from Usual Suspects: “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
Verbal (Kevin Spacey)
- Rodrick Goins (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)
If satan can’t deceive you he can’t defeat you…. Be a Holy Spirit Warrior and don the full armor of God! Then you can withstand all the wiles of the devil and his cohorts.
- Jeanne Sorrell (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)
I hate vampire movies .. the very concept is so evil ..
It is forbidden to eat blood …
When the sacrifices were made the life blood was offered to God…whether sprinkled or poured out on the ground..
to do any other was punishable by cutting off from the people of God..
- Teresa Hauber (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)
Its definitely evil.. and there’s no immortality without Christ. That’s blasphemy.
- Charlene Dallo (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)
When I was a pre-teen, I used to set my alarm clock to wake me up when the vampire movies came on…2am. I was brainwashed…in a since I was mesmerized…but I couldn’t wait til the killing of the vampires and would stay awake to see them die. It was like I had two personalities when I was watching these movies. Demons brainwashing me with the … See Moreluring of it all in a dark fanciful realm and then there was this feeling of hating what was bad and wanting to destroy it. God was right there with me, tugging at my heart for years before I even knew Him. I can look back now and see how Satan tried to entice me. We need to pray for our young ones…for God to intervene in their lives as He did for me…PRAY HARD for the HOLY SPIRIT to pull them away from the obscenity of Satan! I was ALMOST one of those/these girls tricked into that sick wonderworld…PRAY
- Teresa Whiteside Hicks (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)
Deception always starts with a lie. People are being seduced into entertaiment that portrays evil as good..and good as evil. The world and a big part of the church is happy to be entertained by the very things that Christ died for. The serpent in the garden telling the same lie..taste it, just one bite, it won’t hurt you…
- Peggy Pillow (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)
Good point Peggy that is so true…and we as the church should see that time is short and we need to prepare for the coming of the Lord…Say goodbye to DECEPTION and get ready for the RECEPTION!!!! HE IS COMING SOONER THAN WE THINK!!!
- June Skinner (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)
So true June—I believe that the return of the Lord is sooner then most christians think. I have been battling health issues due to Hepatitis B vaccine adverse reactions, and the Lord has shown me that so many are into this “”Health,Wealth and prosperity gospel”" it is like if your sick there must be sin in your life.Plus, even brothers & sisters … See Morein Christ sadly do not take notice,you go to a church and if your not involved with this activity and that activity then it is almost like you are non-existant.We have noticed that at so many churches that we have attended.One dear friend from our church who is so mch like us in how she discerns the times in which we live said she feels that this is our last christmas and she is keeping her ears open daily for the Trump.I too feel just like her.TIME IS SHORT!!!!!
- Ruth Nikiforovs (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)
Well, I am obviously in the minority here, but, I have enjoyed quite a view vampire movies. I can see them for what they are – stories. And, I have made the same spiritual connection to vampires being a symbol of sin and evil that needs to be defeated.
Regarding Twilight, my daughter is a fan, so I tried to glean something good from it as a learning lesson for her. It’s not hard to find the relation in the books or movies between vampirism and sex. Edward fights his blood “lust” just as every man or boy should fight sexual temptation. That is a positive message that I was able to bring to the forefront with my daughter. He resists his lust BECAUSE he loves her. He doesn’t force the issue with “If you loved me, you would give in to my lust.”
I also used the negative aspects of the movies and books to teach her. True eternal LIFE can only be found in Christ. There is no earthly relationship that can fill that void. … See More
And I would disagree with whom ever stated that there is no immortality without salvation. There is immortality either way, it’s just a matter of where you prefer to make your reservation for.
- Jason Pearson (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)
yes its a simple painting of something that was considered as evil (vampires) to be ‘good vampires’ which is a major deception and lure’s people into that fantasy world that just doesnt compare to real life.
- Kate Macale (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)
Another example of evil being glorified, and so many “believers” being deceived, and if we say it’s ok, we pretty much throw our testimonies out the window.
- Jennifer Macneil Post (re-posted from http://www.facebook.com/cloudtenpictures)