I have read Christian websites which search in vain for something to “baptize” in these books

I have read Christian websites which search in vain for something to “baptize” in these books. Some have noted the positive portrayal of chastity. Ok, Edward and Bella are (kind of) chaste until marriage. Great! Well, um, except that Edward is a VAMPIRE! It is an accepted fact throughout the book that he is damned. At the end of the third book she also becomes a vampire knowing that it means her damnation as well. Does anyone really need more of a sniff test than this? I can understand why non-Christians and Mormons who don’t believe in Hell could find this acceptable, but Christians? There are other elements of the book that should alarm any parent, Christian and non-Christian alike, who is concerned about his/her daughter’s life right here on Earth.

　　Bella often returns home with bruises (Edward is supernaturally strong, you see.) Bella doesn’t tell her parents when she is going out with her vampire lover because if he can’t control his bloodsucking urges and kills her, she doesn’t want him to get in trouble. The fans definitely pick up on this theme too. One enthusiastic fan explained, “”It’s not so much forbidden love as the whole danger aspect. Any moment, he could kill her.” (Oct. 05, Chicago Tribune) Wow, that’s healthy. Not exactly the idea of love you want your daughter to have in mind when she is starting to date. Fans of the book will hasten to remind you that vampires aren’t real. They are right, vampires aren’t real. But abusive boyfriends are, and they can be pretty romantic and charming. Women die daily from domestic violence. Relationships which can endanger life or eternal life are not romantic. C.S. Lewis observed, “even if drinking arsenic should become fashionable, it would still kill us to do so.” Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series has sold 17 million copies thus far. The books and movies appear to be a fashionable arsenic beverage that it is best for women and girls to abstain from.

　　Another big occult star in the firmament of our culture is “World of Warcraft.” At last count there are over 11 million young people involved in this MMORPG (massively multiplayer online roll playing game.) Clinical psychologist Dr. Maressa Hecht Orzack estimates 40% of that number are addicted to the game! Marriages have ended over World of Warcraft. Teens have sacrificed high academic performance and young people their jobs to a computer game! This past month, the Chinese government presumably uneasy over the effect World of Warcraft was having on the population there, began strictly regulating playing it and other MMORPGs no more than three hours a day. It is worth noting, this is not censorship of the material itself, but of the time spent playing it. Obviously, the government has become aware of how powerful the hold of this game is. To be sure, I have heard many concerns over how addictive WoW is, but I am a bit amazed at the lack of controversy surrounding its content