SCARING THE HELL OUT OF US!

(Photos from "THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE")
When I came to Christ 21 years ago, I was one of those people who had drunk so deep of the well of pop culture and sin that just about anything within these realms was considered anathema. I either burned or threw away all of my albums and tapes, I quit going to movies and I made an effort to separate from the world, the flesh and the devil. At that time in my life, most of what I did was probably necessary and healthy for me as I went through a sort of purification from my former way of life.

One of the things I regularly did during my B.C. days was watch horror movies. I went to the theatre and saw the first Halloween, Friday the 13th and many other movies in that particular genre. When Jesus Christ invaded my world, I knew that my horror movie days were over as I made an effort to think Philippians 4:8 thoughts and not open any door for Satan's influence in my life.

In recent years, some of my views about pop culture, the arts and music and movies in particular have "evolved." I have come to value the need for believers to engage the culture and not withdraw into our "Christian Ghettos" while waiting for Jesus to come back and rescue us from the big bad world and the antichrist!

I no longer just listen to "Christian music", watch "Christian movies" and wear "Christian t-shirts." I now believe in both "Christian artists", and "artists who are Christians." God made us to be creative and has put within us the ability to tell a good story and illustrate truth without mentioning Jesus in every other sentence. By the way, have you ever been perplexed at the idea that the Biblical Book of Esther, never mentions God one time? Anyway, I digress.

Recently, a movie called "THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE" has caused quite a stir inside of both the church world and pop culture. The director of this movie is a solid and sold out Christian who has used the horror genre to contrast the difference between good and evil and get us asking questions about the reality of the devil and of God. I don't agree with everything he says in this article in WORLD MAGAZINE, and I have not seen the film yet, but I do appreciate his desire to engage the culture and be a witness for Christ with his art form. I have already heard an example of this movie's impact on a young man from our congregation who had a dramatic encounter with God while watching it. Who knows, maybe God can use a horror movie to SCARE THE HELL OUT OF US for a change!