CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

some of my friends arent allowed to watch almost any movies. While I on the other hand see many PG's and PG-13's. Is one of us wrong about what we entertain ourselves with. Is it a sin to watch PG-13's? I know this may sound stupid but im really wanting to know!!!!!

I believe this quite clearly falls under an issue of personal values, and there is obviously no specific teaching on the topic.

To answer your question directly: no, watching PG-13 movies is not a sin. It is a neutral event, it could be beneficial or sinful. If you disobey your parents to see the movie, it is a sin. Many things within movies could also cause you to sin in a variety of ways. The movie itself is not sin.

One thing I must say before I tackle this topic - Knives, your title is absolutely evil.

Anyways, I agree with UC. If watching PG-13 movies may lead you astray, then by all means stay away from them, but if you feel that they have no negative impact on you, then there's nothing wrong with watching them. ^^

uc pseudonym wrote:I believe this quite clearly falls under an issue of personal values, and there is obviously no specific teaching on the topic.

To answer your question directly: no, watching PG-13 movies is not a sin. It is a neutral event, it could be beneficial or sinful. If you disobey your parents to see the movie, it is a sin. Many things within movies could also cause you to sin in a variety of ways. The movie itself is not sin.

Kokoro Daisuke wrote:One thing I must say before I tackle this topic - Knives, your title is absolutely evil.

Anyways, I agree with UC. If watching PG-13 movies may lead you astray, then by all means stay away from them, but if you feel that they have no negative impact on you, then there's nothing wrong with watching them. ^^

Thanks Guys. The replies helped me feel better.

well utimately its really what the creator intends to bring to his audience when he was creating the media he wanted.

simply if you don't feel at peace viewing his product, of course there is a choice not to go any further into it.

Hiya Knives,

Concerning standards, allow me to share my own with you so that you have an idea what it is I'm for or against.

I personally watch movies up to R. When it comes to PG-13 and R movies, there are three primary factors that influence whether or not I will watch them:

1. Sexual content: Does the movie center around immoral sexual themes or situations? Is sex the center of the movie's humor or storyline? Does it glorify immoral sexual behavior? Sometimes there are PG-13 movies that I will not watch, precisely because of those reasons. Some PG-13 movies, in my opinion, are worse than R movies in this issue.

2. Language: Is the use of coarse, bad language excessive, liberally sprinkled throughout the movie? Is it done for shock value? I know I'm not one who wants to hear variations of cuss words repeated all the time. Even if they're not dropping "f-bombs", if cussing is very prominent for the reasons I shared, I won't watch it.

3. Violence: Is the violence gratuitous, glorifying it, or is it used in such a way as to emphasize the story? For instance, I'll watch The Passion of the Christ and The Last Samurai, and I understand the violence in those movies makes a point about the story. On the other hand, I won't watch stuff that makes the violence into something appealing, even fun. What that means to you, you've got to determine.

Ultimately, allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and to form your convictions about what is permissible for you. At the same time, if you're allowed more freedom in this area than others, don't use your freedom in such a way as to cause your brethren to stumble.

Knives,

Paul actually lays out some good guidelines to the topic of, making discerning choices with respects to your brothers in Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:23-33
The Believer's Freedom

23"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. 24Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
25Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."[3]
27If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake[4] -- 29the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? 30If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God-- 33even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

Basically there are things that are going to make you stumble in your walk with Christ, which will not affect another believer. Similarly, you may have convictions regarding a certain subject, where another brother may not.

Assuming you are a mature Christian, you should be able to make those decisions for your self. However you need to be sure your decision does not effect a “weaker brother.â€

Like UC said, it all comes down to personal standards. It's like teh ratings for video games, sometimes, the stuff just ain't accurate...

It's not what the movie is rated, it's what's in the movie that counts. There are many PG-13 movies I watch (Lord of the Wings, for example) and there are even more PG-13 movies that I don't walk. In the end, you must weigh the movie against Biblical standards.