The Twilight Series from a Christian Perspective, Part 2

Read Part 1.
The biblical concept of purity is derived from the holy character of God. As a result, God’s standard of purity is often more rigorous than our own, since we tend to define our concept of purity in response to the culture. The challenge of being in the world but not of it is to resist the corruption of our concepts by keeping them grounded in the immutable character of God.

Just because the Twilight series lacks overt sexual content does not mean it is necessarily pure according to biblical standards. The series absolutely drips with sensuality, both in the couple’s expressed desires for each other and in their almost constant physical contact when alone. The reason they abstain from sexual contact is not because either thinks it is wrong, but because Edward is afraid that he could accidentally kill Bella with his supernatural strength in the frenzy of passion. It is clear that they both want to have sex but can’t, so they engage in every other non-sexual act of sensuality they can conceive. Here is where this series, especially the first book, is most graphic. Descriptions of breathlessly clutching each other, smelling, and even tasting each other are explicit and extensive. They are the epitome of sensuality. While sensuality has become commonplace in our culture, the New Testament condemns it ten times in strong language. This aspect of the series should be a major stumbling block for a Christian reader who is attuned to biblical portrayals of holiness and purity.

In addition, the descriptions of Edward’s beauty strike me as positively Luciferian (Ezek. 28:12-13; the cover’s Edenic image of an apple being offered to the reader reinforces this idea). Edward is perfect in every way—from his teeth to his muscular chest and his butterscotch eyes. Meyer places heavy emphasis on his appearance throughout the series, further reinforcing stereotypes of “the perfect man.” While Bella escapes the stereotype of the perfect female beauty found in many popular teen offerings, the only males attractive to Bella are incredibly handsome boys (her friend Jacob becomes impossibly huge and muscular once he becomes a werewolf). Western culture’s obsession with external beauty is antithetical to a biblical valuation of desirability. Proverbs 31:30 states that “charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (NIV). A teenage girl’s eyes ought to be directed first toward the godliness of a young man, not to his physical appearance. To pander to girls’ baser desires by exalting man’s physical beauty is to attune their hearts to what is fleeting and deceptive.

For those women who think themselves beyond the temptation of such a positive portrayal of unbiblical attitudes and values, let me appeal to your memory. While you may now be able to read literature like Twilight without delving into unrealistic fantasy, were you always so correctly oriented in your thoughts and desires? As the father of two teen girls, to whom I have consistently shown attention and affection since birth, I regularly witness their struggle to resist the siren call of our society’s stereotypes, the affection of boys their age, the desire to be the center of attention, and the urge to be worshipped and admired by those young men. Why would I want them to read something that would undoubtedly encourage the idea that the kind of obsessive “love” existing between Edward and Bella is good? Why would I want them to consider a self-centered fantasy to be more interesting than the real world, the world where a sovereign God created them for a purpose? This God has saved them and given them a reason for living (of which romance and marriage are but a part).

Lest anyone thinks I am overstating my case, read the blog postings by obsessive teen girls anytime someone even suggests that Twilight may be inappropriate for Christian readers. I hear the same desperate defensiveness about Twilight that Bella expresses whenever anyone raises concerns to her about Edward. “How dare anyone suggest that this story should not be read by Christians or anyone else! How dare you try to take away my Edward Cullen!” This is not the healthy defense of a good, beautiful, and true cultural expression by means of a sound application of scriptural principles. It is more like Eve’s reasoning when Satan offered her the forbidden fruit. She saw that the tree was “good” for food (it appeared wholesome), that it was a delight to the eyes (it was enjoyable and satisfying), and that the tree was desired to make one wise (it influenced the way she saw the world). It is no coincidence that the Twilight series has spawned T-shirts proclaiming that “Forbidden Fruit Tastes Best.”

One review I read called Twilight pornographic. Before your knee jerks upward, consider the context. The kind of pornography that appeals to men creates a fantasy world in which women are made objects because of their beauty. The allure is the fantasy that the women in the pictures are so attracted to the male viewer that they are willing to do whatever he desires. Pornography then is primarily fantasy—the idolizing of what is forbidden and the imagining that one is receiving submissive worship from the desired person. It is common knowledge that the fantasy men and women desire is symptomatically different (images for men, words for women) but essentially the same. There is no fundamental difference between a man who fantasizes about sex outside the bonds of marriage while viewing Internet porn and a woman who fantasizes about romance outside the bonds of reality while reading a romance novel. Both are pornographic. In either case, Scripture commands us to let our minds dwell on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8). While Twilight’s appeal may not be pornographic for every woman, I daresay that for many it evokes fantasies for someone who worships them and is unrealistically perfect in every way. In addition, pornography creates and feeds growing desires the recipient must intensify to continue bringing the same level of satisfaction. Those who read Twilight may be tempted to take a small jump to more hardcore vampire stories like those by Anne Rice or more objectionable romance novels. Seemingly innocent cultural expressions often serve as gateways to harder, more seductive expressions. Once a person’s sensitivities have been slightly dulled by an apparently benign book or movie, accepting something more extreme becomes easier. By that time desires have been cultivated that make the seductive expressions more attractive.

I’m not saying that Twilight is satanic. What I am saying is that just as Eve was deceived by the subtlety of the serpent’s temptation, Christians can easily be deceived by the subtlety of cultural expressions that appear to have redeeming value and Christian themes. Just because a novel portrays someone who exercises self-control in spite of bodily desires, that depiction does not make the story a picture of Christian temperance. Twilight, like many popular expressions, portrays positive values, but in a distorted, humanistic fashion. While the first book does not mention God much at all, the second, New Moon, contains a brief exchange between Bella and Edward’s “father,” Carlisle. Before Carlisle became a vampire, he grew up in a clergyman’s home. He rejected his father’s “rather harsh view of the world,” but he still believed that God existed “in some form or the other.” Bella’s life is “fairly devoid of belief,” and she can’t imagine anyone, including deity, who wouldn’t be impressed by Carlisle’s good works. Even though Carlisle believes that vampires are damned to hell, Bella is unwilling to believe this. The only kind of heaven she can appreciate is one that includes Edward. The point of this conversation is clear. For Bella, God is unnecessary. Only Edward is necessary. In her mind God is only an acceptable thought if He (in whatever form He exists) accepts Edward. The roles are switched—Edward is supreme and necessary; God is subordinate and contingent.

Will Bella’s example make Christian teen girls abandon their faith? Perhaps not. But if they are as emotionally caught up in the Twilight phenomenon as many are, they will need to be deprogrammed someday. They will need to be turned away from wanting a heaven or God only if what they love supremely is in heaven and only if God is what they want Him to be. This book is easily just one more voice in our postmodern world that calls readers to pick and choose the beliefs that please them most.

In conclusion, I cannot recommend Twilight to Christian readers who take seriously the picture of the human heart as “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9 KJV). Twilight is written for impressionable teens who are easily manipulated by their feelings. It is too well written and too skillfully devised for the average teen to read without becoming drawn to its charms. When Twilight is compared to the biblical picture of love and romance, worship and calling, it falls short of a commendable example of virtuous writing. While it demonstrates a perceptive understanding of a woman’s heart and a teenager’s mind, it is ultimately destined to lead its audience toward forbidden fruit instead of away from it.

Mark Farnham is Assistant Professor of Theology and New Testament at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary (Lansdale, PA). He and his wife, Adrienne, grew up in Connecticut and were married after graduating from Maranatha Baptist Bible College (Watertown, WI). They have two teen daughters and a 10-year-old son. Mark served as director of youth ministries at Positive Action for Christ (Rocky Mount, NC) right out of seminary and pastored for seven years in New London, Connecticut. He holds an M.Div. from Calvary and a Th.M. in New Testament from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (South Hamilton, MA). He is presently a doctoral student at Westminster Theological Seminary (Glenside, PA) in the field of Apologetics.