Vatican Not a Fan of Vampires and Werewolves, Calls Twilight a “Moral Vacuum”
"New Moon" Movie Poster (credit: Summit Entertainment)
Stuff Christians Like is one of my favorite websites and I genuinely appreciate the humorous look it takes at church culture.
Because if you can’t laugh at yourself sometimes, then I think you’re in trouble.
Today’s post on the site had to do with the Twilight Saga phenomenon and the temptation that Christians might be facing to co-opt the current vampire craze:
Across the country pastors are tempted to do Twilight sermon series. Around the world, Christian authors are thinking about the parallels of the everlasting life of a vampire and the true everlasting life of a Christian. Christian film producers are feeling the siren’s call of Final Cut screenplay software. “Just write a Christian version of Twilight, just write a Christian version of Twilight.”
That made me laugh.
And then I stumbled across these comments from the Vatican’s culture council leader, Monsignor Franco Perazzolo:
The theme of vampires in Twilight combines a mixture of excesses that as ever is aimed at young people and gives a heavy esoteric element. It is once again that age-old trick or ideal formula of using extremes to make an impact at the box office. This film is nothing more than a moral vacuum with a deviant message and as such should be of concern.
I guess we won’t be seeing the Pope in a “Team Edward” t-shirt anytime soon.
I have read and re-read Perazzolo’s comments, and I’m not quite sure what it is exactly the church is speaking out against from the popular series of books by Stephanie Meyer or the movie versions that they have thus far spawned, Twilight and New Moon:
Probably not the abstinence theme that runs throughout the series, both in regards to pre-marital sex and the consumption of human blood (these are some seriously disciplined vampires). Or the werewolves’ devotion to protecting others at personal cost. Or the questions raised over whether or not vampires are by their very nature beyond redemption and eternal salvation.
Because in my mind, these are all valid discussion points, particularly for young Christians. And I think it’s a stretch to flat-out decry anything that displays what most would call traditional Christian values as “a moral vacuum with a deviant message,” even if the message is wrapped up in a tale of vampires and werewolves.
Maybe the Vatican doesn’t think it’s worth digging deeper to get to the positives in the story. Or maybe it thinks that viewers/readers are unable or unwilling to look beyond the brooding teen romance, chiseled abs and sparkles.
Or maybe the Pope is just not a big fan of mediocre writing and amateur acting and production values.
Adam Bodendieck, 31, is a lifetime resident of St. Louis currently working in human services. He holds a BA in English from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and resides happily in Eureka with his wife, 3 boys and 7 dogs and cats. He and his wife are founders of and contributers to echad, a blog that examines what Christianity looks like in contemporary culture. They also work closely with proVISION India, a charitable organization dedicated to empowering poor and disadvantaged people throughout South Asia. 
I gave my daughter the set of books for Christmas. She loves the books, read all of them over her Christmas break, and has a lot of movie things on her Christmas list. I loved the underlying themes of this series (as discussed above)…when every other movie out there aimed at kids has un-married sex portrayed, it was refreshing to read a story that wasn’t dominated by teenaged sex. While I can understand the Vatican’s concerns about the vampire themes…it’s worth it to dig deeper IMHO.
I also disagreed with the Vatican about the Harry Potter series. The underlying themes of friendship and loyalty, good v. evil outweigh the doing spells aspect. I don’t see my daughter running around with a wand saying the cruciata curse, but she does admire the relationship between the 3 main characters, that they are there for each other no matter what…
Adam,
thanks for the link to Stuff Christians Like - looks like a site I’ll be visiting regularly. As for “Twilight”, full disclosure: I’m a rabid “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fan, so I have my own weakness for vampires. And I’m a sucker for finding spiritual themes in popular culture. I’ve read books like _What Would Buffy Do_ & _The Gospel of the Living Dead_. Also, my teenage daughter is crazy about “Twilight” (Team Jacob, thank you very much). But “Twilight” does nothing for me - and, no, it’s not my age. I have a number of grown-up women friends who are under the spell. Personally, I find it tedious but more than that, the relationship between Edward and Bella seems unhealthy and obsessive. Hardly a first in fiction, but this one is held up as the perfect relationship by many fans. To hear a grown, married woman waxing on about how she wishes she could have found her soul mate like Bella - the one person in the world that you are chemically and spiritually destined to be with - words fail me here. Or for teenage girls to find the moody, sulking guy who watches you without your knowledge romantic? Yuck. Bella is a blank, defined almost entirely by her love for Edward. Today I saw Twilight rubber bracelets at Walgreens. I was eyeing the “Wolf Girl” ones for my daughter’s stocking, then saw the Team Edward set which included one quoting Bella - “I’d rather die than be without you.” Again, yuck. After watching the first movie with my daughter I asked her to try to imagine Edward and Bella having fun together, being friends, the sort of things that make a marriage work. It’s nearly impossible. There’s a reason the camera cut away every time they seemed ready for a moment of normalcy.
Having said all that, I agree with you that the Vatican’s statement seems overblown & I’m interested in what they mean by deviant message. I don’t have a problem with my daughter reading/seeing Twilight, as long as we keep talking about what real, healthy human relationships are actually like.
Thanks,
Sharon
Mom and Sharon - excellent comments, thank you both!
Sharon - I agree that there are aspects of the story that should be discussed with children and young adults, expecially those that you cite regarding what a healthy relationship should look like.
Vampires aren’t real.
Is Mr. Bodendieck himself a melodramatic teen at heart by describing Twilight “morals” as “what most would call traditional Christian values”? Perhaps there is some myopia in not seeing the forest from the trees in not recognizing the larger cultural context under change. Here is one of the more insightful commentaries describing this destructive literary fad: http://www.wordonfire.org/Written-Word/articles-commentaries/November-2009/Why-Is-Everyone-Crazy-About-Vampires.aspx.
DJB - nope, not a melodramatic teen at heart.
And I don’t think I insinuated that all of the themes at play were reflective of Christian values (as Sharon also pointed out in her comments), but the ones I outlined in my original post certainly are. Hence my belief that it’s not not productive to denounce the whole ball of wax as a “moral vacuum with a deviant message.”
I’ll be sure to take a look at the article, thanks!
I refuse to give anything with such occult messages the day of time because that is what scripture advise. I also teach my young child the same. In fact we spoke about it many times. One day a commercial about was on about Twilight and I had to admit that wow, that looked like a great movie and my young son, yea, doesn’t it mom.
I remind my son whenever subjects like this come up that Satan wrap up very bad things to appear very intriguing and even feel so right and very good otherwise he could not trick as many people as he does.
If fact I have a cousin who got off into the Goth scene and it began very innocent and my uncle had these same talks that many are speaking about hear with him. Well, he almost allowed himself to become destroyed in that scene and today he has one heck of a testimony of Christ’s saving grace.
I see these things just as I see drugs, not everyone who tries them or become interested in them become addicted or destroyed but look at all the addiction and people who have been destroyed by drugs in our world. It is like Satan is in those drugs for some people. How do you know that you will not get zapped when dabbling with such? We have been warned in scripture and we see examples of people getting caught up in stuff all around us daily.
I think it as scripture instructs us; do not even dare show interest at all in such things because we know from what spirit they are of. I was a child from the world and not raised up in the church and lived a long time with the believe live to the fullest and let live and the only thing that I can say today is thank God for His protection through it all and my ignorance.
Whenever I see anyone in any awful state, I just think, it could have been me. I am finding that Christians do not take these things serious enough and I believe it is why we see so many Christians struggling with things that they should not be.
Those Christians who know what God’s Word says concerning things such as this should not count on not being corrected/punished when disobeying His Word concerning issues such as this.
This is rich: the Vatican talking about making an impact at the box office with extremes. Isn’t that what the Vatican has done itself, figuratively, for centuries? It’s backed the stories of a man swallowed and regurgitated by a fish, a virgin birth, and a flaming bush that talked, most likely in Esperanto. And then it seals its ridiculousness by speaking about a `moral vacuum’ created by this film — all the while ignoring the moral vacuum it’s left behind by disregarding for years the sexual abuse of children by priests. I think what the Vatican needs to keep in mind is that it’s criticizing fiction, fantasy. But what it has chosen to ignore is its own reality.
Another rebuke of restriction via an endorsement of liberties.
Lovely.
Who is more guilty?
Or shall be held more accountable?
D. Walker said: “I refuse to give anything with such occult messages the day of time because that is what scripture advise.”
What ‘occult messages’ are found in Twilight?
D. Walker said: “I remind my son whenever subjects like this come up that Satan wrap up very bad things to appear very intriguing and even feel so right and very good otherwise he could not trick as many people as he does.”
I suppose an admitted fictional story about Vampires that is meant to entertain is actually a great devil’s work in disguise trying to corrupt youth… but Bible stories about murder, human sacrifice, slavery, genocide, baby killing, etc is perfectly okay with you?
D. Walker said: “I see these things just as I see drugs, not everyone who tries them or become interested in them become addicted or destroyed but look at all the addiction and people who have been destroyed by drugs in our world.”
You are comparing drug addition to being a fan of a fictional book? What about your addiction to a book?
D. Walker said: “It is like Satan is in those drugs for some people. How do you know that you will not get zapped when dabbling with such? We have been warned in scripture and we see examples of people getting caught up in stuff all around us daily.”
Fear is a tool used by dictators, manipulators, salesman, etc. Notice that you are in a state of constant fear. You look for the “devil” in everything and it clouds your mind.
I have this mental image right now… “Foosball is for the DEVIL!”
D. Walker said: “I think it as scripture instructs us; do not even dare show interest at all in such things because we know from what spirit they are of.”
A nice tactic to keep your world in a box. You’re being made into a robot.
D. Walker said: “I was a child from the world and not raised up in the church and lived a long time with the believe live to the fullest and let live and the only thing that I can say today is thank God for His protection through it all and my ignorance.”
OR… you made it through your life during those periods because the world-while dangerous-isn’t a place full of devils reaching out to grab you. It’s just the world.
D. Walker said: “Whenever I see anyone in any awful state, I just think, it could have been me.”
In this situation I think, “That’s terrible. What lesson can I learn from this to avoid having it happen to me or those I love? Is there anything I can do to help this person?” and I don’t need a 2000 year old book of goatherder tales to tell me to feel that way.
D. Walker said: “I am finding that Christians do not take these things serious enough and I believe it is why we see so many Christians struggling with things that they should not be.
You find that Christians don’t take stuff like fictional stories seriously enough? REALLY?! That is perhaps because most Christians are focused on REAL issues and not imaginary ones, such as ABORTION, POVERTY, CRIME, PRE-MARITAL SEX, NATIONAL SECURITY, etc. I’m sorry, but getting worked up and terrified over a book that is found in a FICTIONAL section of a library that makes no claims of being anything but a story for entertainment is hardly a subject to take seriously.
D. Walker said: “Those Christians who know what God’s Word says concerning things such as this should not count on not being corrected/punished when disobeying His Word concerning issues such as this.”
Your religion of FEAR. Tell me, what does GOD say about Twilight? How do you know it is GOD? What punishment will GOD render upon you if you dare to enjoy a make believe story meant purely for entertainment? Do you think GOD approves of you spreading fear?
Speaking of obeying ‘God’s Word’… have you killed anyone who dared to work on the Sabbath yet? God’s Word commands you to do so. Also, if your son is a drunkard and disrespects you, have you taken him before the town and stones him to death? Have you traveled to non-christian cities and killed all within yet? Why aren’t you obeying ‘God’s Word’? In the Bible He instructs you to do this.
Twilight is a fictional romance book about love. Kind of reminds me of a book you hold dear… except yours places human sacrifice, baby-killing, genocide etc up there with what God approves of. I don’t think Edward approves of such things.