Podcaster triggers debate over whether Christians should watch horror movies
Many Christian families are watching horror movies in the days leading up to Halloween on October 31. As always, whether it is appropriate for them to participate in these types of activities is a matter of debate.
Allie Beth Stuckey, a conservative Christian commentator, believes Christians should stay away from horror movies.
“I just don’t think it is at all an option for Christians to not only participate in Halloween in all of its darkness and scariness, but I also just don’t think that Christians should be a fan of horror in general,” she said on a recent podcast, according to “Crosswalk Headlines.” “I don’t think you should be reading books that make you scared. I don’t think that you should be listening to true-crime podcast that make you scared. I don’t think you should be listening or watching movies that make you scared.”
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She pointed to the Bible as evidence for why Christians shouldn’t be horror fans.
“How many, how many times do we read throughout scripture from Jesus and in the Old Testament, ‘Do not fear?”” she said. ““And yet, we purposely consume content that is meant to make us scared.”
Stuckey’s comments prompted a heated debate with a variety of opinions. One person agreed with Stuckey, calling the horror genre demonic and adding that it “never invites the spirit.” Another person who also believes Christians should avoid horror said, “this shouldn’t even be a debate.”
However, many defended horror films and Christians watching them. Some even said that many classic horror films and books have many overt Christian elements in them.
“I’d actually argue that horror is the most Christian genre of film.” Matt Walsh, a conservative political commentator with “The Daily Wire,” posted on social media. “Obviously that’s not true of the torture porn stuff — films in `The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ tradition — but supernatural horror is often subtly Christian and sometimes explicitly Christian.”
Another supporter responded that this implies that Christians should avoid anything else they find scary, such as trying out for the church choir or sharing their faith with others. “In fact,” this person said, “Romans 8:15 talks about us not being slaves to fear, a mindset that would lead to us avoiding things that would inspire anxiety.”
–Lee Hartman | Metro Voice
PHOTO: A-Quiet-Place-Movie
