Beauty and the Beast...and Sin and the Christian

So there has been a lot of buzz going around about the new Beauty and the Beast. On the one side, there are those who have started a Disney boycott and are blowing the whistle loudly on anyone and everyone who condones it.

On the other side, we find the defense who praise its merits to high heaven to the point of denying any problems.

So I went and watched it.

And I liked it.

It had merit and all the charm of the.beloved cartoon But the problems were also real, if a little over-stated by some people. So here are the problems (we all like to get the bad news first any ways):

1. Low collars on the ladies. I guess camisoles weren't invented yet.

2. The prince was a good child, then corrupted. Small, I know, but it is still worth noting (especially if you are talking it over with a child) that, contrary to its assertion, people are born sinful. We do not need to be corrupted to do evil.

3. Warped portrayals of marriage. First, there is the obvious. Gaston, who epitomizes the classic chauvinist, wants a little wife to bear his children and massage his feet. There is some implication that literacy is considered dangerous for girls in his opinion (and a few other characters). Codsworth is revealed to have a wife who, after he is restored, embraces him, saying how lonely she has been. He replies by expressing his desire to be a clock again (to escape his wife). Lumiere and Plumette are presumably unmarried and markedly passionate in their romance.

4. Lefou. Yes, I know, you were wondering when I would get down to that. To be honest, if you were to watch this without hearing all the rumors, you may very well not pick up on anything there. But, we've all heard it, so I could not help seeing it. He is somewhat effeminate and one can definitely see the looks he casts Gaston's way. But it remains by no means a gay movie. He does once sort of wrap Gaston's arms around himself in the middle of his famous song about Gaston, which act, Gaston informs him, is "too much". Gaston is clearly oblivious to Lefou's feelings, and, as far as I can tell, Lefou is more confused than anything else (hence the name). And, very briefly, he can be seen dancing with a man in the ball at the end.

Now for some good news. Let's hear what they did right.

1. Belle and her father's relationship. As far as parent-child relationships are concerned, this is one of the best I have seen in film for a long time. The love they both bear each other is tangible and heart-warming as, over and over again, they sacrifice themselves and their wishes for each other's sake.

2. Belle and the Beast's relationship. This is more fleshed-out than in the original, showing how their love grows over a passion for reading. One notable emphasis in this is that people can change far more than they may think. Change is part of real love--changing and surrendering your own desires and plans to sacrificially serve and help the beloved. There have been a number of popular romance movies that came out relatively recently which portray as desirable being loved just the way you are with the desire for you not to change. It was refreshing to see a love portrayed which necessitated some of the changing on both sides that a real relationship requires.

3. Gaston. Gaston is evil. You hate him for all the traits that you should hate--pride, selfishness, uncontrolled temper, cruelty, cunning. While some of these traits are rather exaggerated beyond anything you are likely to encounter, it is always good when you see something you despise to stop and take a double check in the mirror and be sure that you do not harbor a few of those sins yourself.

4. Mr. and Mrs. Potts and Chip. Okay, I have little so say here except that they are a truly adorable family.

Over all, my verdict was favorable. I would watch it again. I think I could recommend it too. And this is why:

We are in this world. If you expect the world to turn out Christian material, you are going to be sadly disappointed. I am only surprised that it has taken Disney this long to get on board. I cannot, off the top of my head, think of a single prominent film company that has not yet put a gay character in at least one of their movies. And, my dear Christian friends, if this offends you, stop and consider what else should offend you. We watch films and TV shows every day where unmarried couples are living together and we don't bat an eye so long as they don't "show anything".

What a change it would make if Christians today could look for ten seconds through the eyes of God and see sin for what it is! But that is not how we function. We have classified sin. We have the okay sins and the not okay sins. While it is true that, in this world, we have to walk about with a tolerance for unbelievers' sins, as, if we did not, we would be too overwhelmed to step outside our own homes, I fear we have drawn our lines in strange places. Sin does have categories. Sexual sin is a unique category (1 Corinthians 6:18). But that category covers everything from looking at a woman with lust to sodomy. If the Christian blanches at the sight of a man dancing with a man, then shrugs off straight sexual innuendos in other films, we have a problem.

This is why Christians fear to share the gospel with homosexuals. This is why Christians struggling with homosexual desire think they need to keep it secret. We have put that one sin in a class of its own.

So you are probably asking if I am about to tell you to never watch another movie unless it is Christian. That is not my recommendation. Nor, I believe, is it the demand of Scripture. Setting no unclean thing before your eyes is not a command to walk around blindfolded. On the contrary, we need to walk with our eyes a little wider open. Be aware. Know what is right and what is wrong and recognize and address it as is needed. If you see sin in a film (and you will if you watch any movies at all), know it as such. Don't shrug it off or petition for the movie being good despite it. Acknowledge it and be honest with yourself and God as to whether you can watch a movie like that or safely recommend it to others.

So now you are saying that, as long as I know what is and isn't sin, I can watch whatever? No! Emphatically no! Here are some simple criteria:

1. If sin is exalted, do not watch it. Sin portrayed as a fact of life is one thing. Sin portrayed as good and commendable is another thing entirely. (Isaiah 5:20)

2. If it tempts you or others to sin, do not watch it. The most obvious example is sex and nudity. But excessive language can also have this effect. God does not let us tamper with sin. We are to flee it. (2 Timothy 2:22)

3. If it is part of the movie's supposed appeal, do not watch it. Gratuitous violence and sex/nudity scenes are the most common of this sort in modern films. If that is what people watch the movie for, Christians have no business there. You may as well go to a nightclub and say you are there because you like the lights. (Even if that is the truth, you are still taking part in what is going on there) (Ephesians 5:11-13)

Lastly, I would ask you to all ask yourselves what the things you are viewing do to the glory of God. The answer may honestly be "Absolutely nothing". But, often as not there are some things which bring God glory and some which do the opposite. Beware of those that mock God. The Bible has grave warnings against them. You should fear to be a partaker in that. Do not imagine that you can watch and enjoy a portrayal of sin without being a partaker in it. And that sin is the same stuff that nailed Christ to that bloody cross. Hate sin, Christian. But hate it most within yourself.