Religion Religion and Horror Movies

[Hilander]

I'm fine with horror films being based on religion. I think it makes them more scary if you have read the bible at all and don't see them as offensive, its just a movie. Satan and his minions can be a frightening bunch so what better subject could you have for a good horror story.

 

[MenInTights]

To me it's not offensive at all. As Christians we believe Satan and demons exist and are capable of possessing humans, there are several incidents in the New Testament of Jesus exercising demons and was tempted by Satan. So to me, that is what is scary, of the possibility of that occurring.

Take The Conjuring for example. The Warrens insisted that happened and the movie allegedly portrayed what happened close to their account and the famy substantiates it. To me is it possible? Yes, because if I discount it as possible aren't I discounting some events in Jesus' life?

It doesn't scare me though because Christians cannot be possessed a least that's my understanding. I've read about the Warrens and she was playing around with some occult stuff that she shouldn't have been messing with. Of course being around a demon possessed person is frightening.

But, my understand about Christians and possessions is limited. The Catholic Church takes it a lot more serious (as it should be) than the non-denominational and Baptist churches that I've been in.
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I also read about the guys that made the Conjuring. Those guys are devout Christians and made the movie to show the reality of demon possession.

 

[Sim]

I'm religious, but my religion teaches that there is no independent force of evil, but that evil is just the absence of God's goodness, just like darkness is the absence of light. So I don't believe there literally is Satan or demons, but think they're symbols. For example, I think possession in the Bible is an old description for certain mental illnesses, and I do believe Jesus cured them.

As for movies? I don't mind when the content is somehow immoral. But probably I wouldn't show it to my kids until they've reached an age old enough to understand how just because the cool hero in a movie does something immoral, that's no reason to take him as role model, but to see that even generally good people will often sin.

We all, including religious people, just enjoy being scared or irritated by movies sometimes, just like many of us like rollercoasters. When a movie has a weird message according to my moral and ethical feelings, yet is still a damn fun watch, I will not take it so seriously. It's just a movie, right? And we all sometimes need to be able to laugh about our own opinions and attitudes too, because none of us is perfect, right?

 

[Daemonic]

There are a couple movies I had heard a christian friend or family member say is so scary and when I saw it just didn't get it. If you believe I can see how it would be more scary as I can remember when I was a kid and believed in Christianity I was easily scared by that stuff. Now though when I watch those kind of movies some of the stuff is so ridiculous from my perception that I find myself laughing at times.

 

[The_Chameleon]

An interesting thing to note.. While I understand the idea of using religious themes to emphasis the idea of good and evil, in modern times I would expect to find religions other than Christianity represented. Mind you, having a demonic entity or supernatural killer going about igniting bibles and crosses, destroying churches, and killing priests and nuns is socially acceptable, but if a movie came out where the evil presence went around igniting Qurans, killing Imams and destroying Mosques, well there'd be rioting in the streets and theaters being burned to the ground. What about Buddhist or Hindu religious figures? Why should they be off the table? I mean, evil doesn't discriminate, so for authenticity sake neither should movies about "evil". My idea of a truly evil character would kick puppies, push old ladies & baby carriages into traffic, give poison candy to children on Halloween, and massacre people of every faith and religion. Nobody would be spared. Then after making this movie I would watch the ensuing chaos and destruction as great hordes of religious hypocrites tore up city after city in protest. Muahahahahah!



- Cham