Why must they always have sex...

On Monday night, I watched Stranger Than Fiction with my family. The storyline is witty and emotionally fulfilling. The characters are well-written and masterfully portrayed by some of my favourite actors. I loved it (just as I did when I first saw it in theatres).

BUT!

I came away asking the same question that I so often find myself asking after movies... Why did they have to have sex?

Do not misunderstand me, there is nothing wrong with sex. God made it, and he made us to enjoy it. I hope that I may one day marry and experience it for myself. There is a wonderful passage in The Screwtape Letters that says of God (through the tongue of a demon):

He’s a hedonist at heart…. He makes no secret of it; at His right hand are pleasures forever more…. He’s vulgar, Wormwood. He has a bourgeois mind. There are things for humans to do all day long…sleeping, walking, eating, drinking, making love, playing, praying, and working. Everything has to be twisted before it is of any use to us.

So I say again, there is nothing wrong with sex. But it can be (and has been) twisted.
What perversion am I ranting about tonight? Sex outside of marriage.

I'm hate the seemingly arbitrary Christian answers for no sex before marriage. I believe that the Christian stance is right, and I believe that the bible supports it (albeit implicitly), but this has no meaning for a world that doesn't care what the bible says. What does interest me though is an apparent lack of happiness among those living the promiscuous lifestyle. Not only is it risky and notoriously unhealthy, but it also lacks any of the comfort, fulfillment, and passion of the marriages with which I am surrounded. That is my argument for sex only within marriage.

But yet, most Hollywood movies seem to think that love can be boiled down to a quick romantic moment followed by a breathy disrobing and a quick cut to the apparently contented couple lying naked in bed. A one night stand, or a series of one night stands (it may be the same person, but I cannot bring myself to label their romantic association as anything close to a healthy relationship). This isn't right.

Will Farrell's character brings a box of specialty flours (baking flours) to the lady whose interest he is seeking. That is awesome, I want to be that creatively romantic. He then professes his feelings for her (a disarmingly humble and timid "I want you"), makes some tax jokes, and then plays a guitar and sings an appropriately romantic version of Whole Wide World. Overall, that is some top notch romancing. And the way that she looks at him when he's singing the song... be still, my beating heart!

But then they had sex.

Why did they have to have sex?

They didn't have to have sex!



I don't think that movies are simply mindless entertainment; I simply cannot do that. I laugh, I cry, I memorize... these movie mean something to me and clearly embed themselves in my mind. I'm not alone in this, I doubt that there is anyone out there who is not affected by what they watch (despite whatever they might say).

Did Stranger Than Fiction convince someone to seek sex before marriage? I seriously doubt it. But what is the overall effect of watching similarly themed comedies, dramas, and 'chick flicks' from the age of your first PG movie through till the age when the opportunity for sex appears. How are people supposed to make a positive decision when the 'normal' behaviour which they have seen, throughout all their socially conscious lives, has been negative.

I don't want to stop watching movies like this, I loved 99% of it. But it drives me nuts that writers are too lazy to write an end to a romantic evening that doesn't involve sex. It is possible!

To all of the theatrical/cinematic writers in my life... get to it. Make me proud. Don't be lazy and give in to the status quo.

I don't have much commentary to add to this video. Stumbled across it on YouTube and was really not sure how to take it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEB0SvMzKzg

My mother has kids in her classes who talk openly about how "the rivers will flow red with the blood of the jews". How are we supposed to approach this?

What am I?

What am I doing?
What do I want to do?
What do I think I need to do?
What do I actually need to do?

Do I exist apart from a purpose. Back in highschool, in my theological toddler years (though I've not progressed much since), I used to think that we, as humans, were created by God around a particular goal, a purpose, a reason. I would tell you that we exist to do something. It may be big or small in the eyes of those around us, but it is ultimately valuable on the eternal timeline. I've encountered alot of depressed and suicidal people in my life, more than most I expect; This "purpose" rhetoric was my primary encouragement to them for many years (my appropriately educated friends may tell me that this was wrong approach, but it seemed to work at the time).

Do not misunderstand me, I have not stopped believing this. I am simply finding that, like most elements of the Christian faith, believing something is nowhere near as challenging as actually acting on that belief. I have always longed for the theophanic experiences of many of the bible stories, simply because I've always felt that His purpose for my life would be clearer and, more importantly, harder to ignore if it were not a comfortable task.

Elijah the Tishbite (no, I didn't have to type "Tishbite", I just like how it sounds) seemed to get pretty clear instructions about what he was supposed to say and do. Were his instructions clearer than mine, or was he simply listening better? What side am I on here? Would Elijah pat me on the back, or rebuke me and call down a drought?