The Christian and Horror Movies

Teresa, why do you think God needs any help with people? Psychology and psychiatry are, for the most part, entirely human-centered and give human solutions based on human understanding. That's a triple threat to people!

Anyone who knows the Bible and is a born again Christian has everything needed to be a friend to someone who is hurting. The wisdom from God outshines the wisdom of men any day.

As an aside, you might be interested in knowing that a number of years ago, at an international psychiatric conference in Arizona, there was a panel on schizophrenia. Five of the most prominent psychiatrists dealing with this were on this panel for the question and answer session. As it turned out, three of the five did not even think schizophrenia actually existed.

The following may be of help.

http://www.jayforrest.org/counseling.htm

One of the most encouraging trends in contemporary evangelicalism is the emergence of Biblical counseling (as opposed to so-called 'Christian' psychology). Several excellent books have been recently been written to expose the deficiencies of the psychological approach to Christian counseling. Jay Adams first warned of these dangers more than twenty years ago. No one has written more clearly or spoken with more insight on this issue. The entire church owes Jay a tremendous debt of gratitude for the work he has done to uphold Godliness and spiritual wisdom against the onslaught of secular theory and worldly wisdom. If you're seeking to understand how to counsel more effectively, I commend this seminar to you.

John MacArthur


Here is a relevant link:
http://www.nouthetic.org/adams.htm

http://www.gty.org.uk/articles/rediscoveringbc1.htm

And please note the following, from this page:
http://www.watke.org/resources/BiblicalCounselingSeminar.html

Conventional psychiatrists believe that ministers are a problem. They hold to the idea that ministers produce a feeling of guilt and an overly-sensitive conscience in people; therefore, they accuse ministers of being the culprits in the problems that many experience.

Institutional psychology and psychiatry and methodology grew out of the following view (or their basic belief) regarding ministers. Their approach consists of five major tenets:

1. They believe that ministers can do little for a person in a mental institution.

2. All the minister can do is support the patient's right to feel injured by others.

3. The pastor must understand that those admitted, who feel guilt, are no longer to be subjected to those from the outside. The pressure is to be removed so they might quietly lose their guilt and get well.

4. Pastors must consider those in mental institutions as violators of their conscience, but not victims of their conscience.

5. When the erratic behavior of the counselee is examined, it seems to be sin, but it isn't. The patient is not really responsible for his actions. He can't help what he is doing, he is sick. He blames himself for things he cannot help.

 

Helen,
The fact is that brotherly and sisterly love aren't always enough. Let me speak from personal experience: I was raised in a very abusive home, and was abusived in any way concievable, and I tried to get help from my brothers and sisters in Christ, but they couldn't help me! There is a lot of training that goes into psychology, they are there to help you, not blame you(Christian psychologists) and they don't tell you what to do, but instead they ask you what you think you could/should do...

Psychologists do alot of listening and are problem-solvers. What tiggeytoddy(however you spell it) said that he would only need Christ for his problems, and I was refuting that. I will take another example...Say that you're shot, not once, but several times, and you survive, now, do you expect to go on life living the same with no reprocussions, no, in fact more times than not flashbacks occur, and confiding in a brother or sister is not going to fix the problem! However, going to a psychiatrist, you are giving yourself the chance to be taken care of...And the difference between the two? Psychiatrist pretty much just give out medication and are ready for the next patient, and a psychologist is someone who listens to the patient, helps them in any way, and then follows up on them...While a person may visit a psychiatrist once, you have several appointments with your psychologist until the problem is resolved.

They are doctors who help the sick, mentally sick in this case, and to say that they are not needed is to say that medical doctors are not needed either.

~Teresa~

 

I'm sure you have had some bad experiences but I don't think it is fair to make a general statement about all psychiastrists this way.

 

I'm sure you have had some bad experiences but I don't think it is fair to make a general statement about all psychiastrists this way.</font>[/QUOTE]Actually, I have never had to go to a psychiatrist, but sit through psychology 101 and they will quickly tell you, in a nutshell the difference, and what I have posted is the difference...

~Teresa~

 

Ransom....we have already given you several scriptures to consider, but I perceive that it would not matter if God Himself telegrammed you...you're determined to find justification.

Maybe you ought to consider right now the stumbling block you are creating for those of us that are offended by Horror genre. Would you forsake it for our benefit?

 

Carly33 said:

Ransom....we have already given you several scriptures to consider,

Of the six Scriptures that have been posted against horror films:

</font>

• two of them require a subjective judgment on the part of the watcher (Phil. 4:8, Col. 3:15-17)</font>
• two were divorced from their context (1 John 2:15, 2 Tim. 1:7);</font>
• one is being applied selectively (Psa. 101:3)</font>
• one is irrelevant (Gal. 5:17-21)</font>

but I perceive that it would not matter if God Himself telegrammed you...you're determined to find justification.
I have no need to "justify" what no one has yet shown from Scripture and plain reason to be unjustifiable.

Maybe you ought to consider right now the stumbling block you are creating for those of us that are offended by Horror genre.

When the Bible says not to "offend" the weaker brother, it means not to cause him to sin by flaunting your liberty so that he goes against his own conscience. Am I persuading you to watch horror movies against your conscience? If not, then I'm not causing you to stumble.

 

I hardly think comparing God's Word and some film made to make money is fair. Do all these horror films also inform you of who God is, what He has done for us, and how to live for Him? I do understand that there is a good vs. evil theme horror films, at least some of them. Maybe I just have the wrong idea of horror film, I think of Friday the 13th and Halloween and such. Even if some of the old movies were fairly clean, I don't see any justification for newer ones unless they ultimately glorify God. And by the way, I am at the point to totally give up secular movies, there is too much trash in them. Since I am a Christian, I should not have to "put up" with taking God's name in vain, cussing, sex, and etc. to just watch a film to try to find something good in it. I personally do not think that it is edifying to me.

Neal