The Saga

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers, against the authorities,

 against the powers of this dark world and 

against the spiritual forces of evil 

in the heavenly realms."

(Ephesians 6:12)

I could not help but think about this verse as I glanced back and forth at the television the other evening while making dinner. If you haven't heard ... The Twilight Saga: Eclipse hits theaters today - Wednesday, June 30. According to the LA Times, Twilight fans were already camping out at the Nokia Plaza last week for a chance to see their favorite Eclipse stars at the Los Angeles Film Festival movie premier.

So not having watched or read the Twilight Saga series, I have found it interesting how many recent conversations among women my age have turned to these books and movies. More than anything, it has been the tone of these conversations that has fostered a check in my spirit. I have personally heard conflicting comments such as these out of the mouths of other Christian women:

"I was uncomfortable watching it as a grown woman because of the sensuality."

And then there's the other extreme ...

"Twilight makes the idea of sex so appealing."

And ...

"Twilight has made me fall more in love with my husband."

Needless to say, comments such as these peaked my interest ...

As far as I can tell, the Twilight series is laced with vampires, sexual tension, lust, boyfriend worship, and teenage romance. As Christians, we have justified the downfalls of the story-line with our own wishful thinking. We make it a point to state that the books are written by a Mormon, and because of that, they are a fairly clean read. We also hammer incessantly upon the fact that there is no actual act of sex in the Twilight series and therefore deem the story-line honorable and wholesome.

[Do we stop to think that if watching a movie makes the idea of sex appealing to us as 20 and 30-somethings, then it is most likely having the same exact effect on influential teenagers?]

Now, I know what some of you may be thinking ... It's JUST a movie. But let's just give this some thought. [It's fine if you think I'm crazy and slightly extreme. I just feel led to lay out the facts.]

1. The Author: About Stephanie Meyer


"A housewife named Stephenie Meyer “received” the story of Twilight in a dream on June 2, 2003. The vision she had of a vampire and mortal as lovers compelled her to start writing the story immediately. She says she couldn’t resist the drive to write down her dream (a similar scenario to J.K Rowlings, author of Harry Potter). Meyer gives a summary of that first dream: “I woke up (on that June 2nd) from a very vivid dream. In my dream, two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the facts that A) they were falling in love with each other while B) the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately.” Within three months, she had the entire novel written. Within six-months, it had been dreamed, written, and readied for publishing.

Scaringly, Meyer's fictional character Edward took on the "terrifying" form of "real" spirit when it leapt from the pages of her saga and communicated with her in a dream. She says she had an additional dream after Twilight was finished when her vampire character Edward came to visit and speak to her. The Edward who visited her in the night told her she'd got it all wrong because he DID drink human blood, and could not "live" on ONLY animal blood as she wrote in the story. She said, “We had this conversation and he was terrifying" (Caryl Matrisciana and Paul Villanueva, The Twilight Phenomena, December 2008).

2. The Religious Undertones: About Mormonism


"Conversation with spirits (saying they need human blood to suck!) and frightening dream visitations by spirits are part of occult communication. Meyer’s spiritual experiences could well be influenced by her Mormon faith which allows for communication with the so-called "the dead"; indeed "the dead" of former generations are baptized into Mormonism in Mormon Temple ritual. Mormon founder Joseph Smith was "visited" by a communicating "angel" called Moroni, whose statue stands atop all Mormon Temples. This fallen angel of Mormonism gave Smith messages on which he formed his Mormon doctrine about prior civilizations, none of which have been discovered despite endless archeological digs to substantiate Mormons claims. Others Mormon teachings conflict with biblical Christianity such as Mormonism's claim that Jesus (Yeshua) of the Bible is the half-brother of Satan. Mormons additionally believe numerous teachings about the spirits that oppose Bible truths and could help embellish Meyer's Twilight series" (Caryl Matrisciana and Paul Villanueva, The Twilight Phenomena, December 2008).

3. The Problems: About the darkness

Isaiah 5:20 says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." 

According to some research, vampires are placed in the same category as evil spirits and demons. Neil T. Anderson says that "even believers are vulnerable to being lured away from the knowledge and power of God by our enemy, who exaggerates our sense of independence and importance apart from God" (The Bondage Breaker, 133-134).

God will never intentionally use a demonic undertone to bring forth peace and happiness into our lives. He will not - for example - make us fall more in love with our husbands by watching a love saga between a vampire and a mortal. We are fooling ourselves if we believe that. We are - as the Scripture above notes - calling evil good, darkness light, and bitter sweet. Anderson also states, "Peace can only be found in the Prince of Peace, not in the prince of darkness" (The Bondage Breaker, 133).

In Deuteronomy, the Lord warns against any participation or tolerance of idol worship:



"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God.  The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so" (Deuteronomy 18:9-14).

But instead, we are encouraged to participate in this type of worship:

"Finally, [sisters], 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." (Philippians 4:8)

Will we, for the sake of entertainment,

imitate the ways of this world?

Will we, for the sake of entertainment,

subject ourselves to the darkness?

Is it really worth it?

"This is the message we have heard

from Him and declare to you:

God is light; In Him there is no darkness at all."

(1 John 1:5)