As a Christian, it is not okay to watch horror movies because instead of glorifying God, they glorify demonic powers, drinking human blood, cannibalism, bloodletting, murder, obscene language, sexual immorality, and violence.
The Bible says, ‘Whatever you do, let it be done to the glory of God‘ (1 Corinthians 10:31). When you watch horror movies that promote all the aforementioned practices, you are simply disobeying the Scriptures. In addition, by watching such movies, you are actually financing those who make them to advance their evil agenda.
In Psalm 101:3, we find these instructive words:
“I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.”
Another significant thing about horror movies is that they focus on selling you FEAR. If the director succeeds in instilling fear in you during and after watching the movie, they have achieved their mission.
The Bible teaches against fear and in fact, one of the most commonly used phrases by Christ Jesus was ‘FEAR NOT.’
In 2 Timothy 1:7, we read:
“For GOD HAS NOT GIVEN US A SPIRIT OF FEAR, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
So what do you think? When you settle down to watch a movie whose agenda is to SELL YOU FEAR, aren’t you placing yourself on a collision course with the word of God?
It is also worth mentioning that NOT ALL HORROR movies are evil. There are some that are not extreme and whose theme is to show how trusting in God can triumph against the powers of evil. I believe it is okay for a Christian to watch such movies.
In the coming section, we will look at the Biblical reasons why a Christian should not watch horror movies, which:
- glorify use of demonic powers
- glorify drinking of human blood or eating human flesh
- glorify violent killings
- promote sexual immorality
- promote use of obscene language
Why a Christian should not watch horror movies that glorify use of demonic powers
Most horror movies depict the use of demonic powers as cool. The characters in these movies are shown to make use of amulets, bracelets, charms, and the like to summon powers of darkness to do their bidding.
In such movies, the use of magic, sorcery, and witchcraft is depicted as harmless, when in reality these practices are extremely dangerous. The characters in these movies will be shown consulting mediums, sorcerers, or witches in order to accomplish their missions. This misleads the audience into believing that it is okay to consult magicians, sorcerers, witches, and their ilk.
The Bible teaches against consulting astrologers, magicians, mediums, soothsayers, sorcerers, stargazers, witches, and the like. Let us sample some of the scriptures that teach against these vices.
Isaiah 47:12-14
“Stand now with your enchantments and the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth—perhaps you will be able to profit, perhaps you will prevail. You are wearied by the multitude of your counsels; let now the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you from what shall come upon you. Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame; it shall not be a coal to be warmed by, nor a fire to sit before!”
Leviticus 19:31
“Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them to be defiled by them; I am the LORD your God.”
Leviticus 20:6
“And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.”
Deuteronomy 18:9-11
“When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations, the LORD your God drives them out from before you.”
Why a Christian should not watch horror movies that glorify drinking of human blood or eating human flesh
Most scenes from the majority of horror movies depict the characters as blood-sucking vampires. After killing their victims, you see them sucking blood from the dead bodies. This is evil, if not demonic.
This action of sucking a victim’s blood goes against what the scriptures teach, and we can quote several verses to prove this fact. Genesis 9:4 says
“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”
Leviticus 17:10
“And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.”
Deuteronomy 12:23
“Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat.”
So, how do you think the Holy Spirit feels when you sit down to watch a movie in which blood-sucking is being promoted? Without doubt, He is grieving!
Horror movies that depict scenes in which actors feed on the flesh and blood of victims they have killed are very misleading and satanic, to say the least.
Eating human flesh is prohibited in the Bible because, in the first place, God says man is created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). So, you cannot kill and feed on the flesh and blood of a fellow human being.
Cannibalism is a satanic practice that has no place not only in Christianity but also in most modern societies.
Some horror movies tend to pass the message that by feeding on the flesh of a fellow human being and drinking their blood, you get endowed with supernatural powers to accomplish anything. Unfortunately, many innocent people, including Christians, have found themselves involved in these practices in their search for ‘power’.
The Bible is very clear on who actually wields TRUE power—that is, God alone. All the other centers of ‘power’ are just subordinates to the Creator. This is what we read in Psalm 62:11
“God has spoken once; twice I have heard this: THAT POWER BELONGS TO God.”
So, when you watch a horror movie with scenes involving cannibalism, you will be planting seeds of this evil practice in your precious heart. When these seeds germinate and mature, you may end up practicing exactly what you learned in the movies. That is how dangerous it is!
Why a Christian should not watch horror movies that glorify violent killings
Most horror movies are full of carnage and bloodletting scenes that may easily disturb the serene mind of a Christian believer. By enacting such scenes, the directors of these movies end up belittling the sanctity of human life as sanctioned by God Himself. Such scenes make killing someone look like a very simple affair, when it is not.
Another issue is how the killings are accomplished. The idea is to do it in the most gory and grotesque way possible, using tools or weapons that will result in the spilling of as much blood as possible. In this regard, a gun may be used to pump as many bullets as possible into the victim’s body. Explosives may be used to blow up victims into minute pieces. Axes, knives, machetes, swords, and such like weapons may be employed to hack, slash, and stab the victim to death. In short, the director’s aim is to have as much blood as possible splashed on the screen in order to shock and awe the audience.
This is violence at its best, directly fed into your heart and mind. The more you watch such movies, the more you become accustomed to their bloody sights. Sooner or later, you become insensitive and eventually numb to horrific sights.
When the seeds of bloodletting are continually planted in your heart and mind, it may not be long before you start acting out what you watch. This is because your actions are always the result of what you allow to be deposited in your heart. At the end of it all, you may find yourself reacting to a situation in a manner that you regret for the rest of your life.
The Bible teaches that murder is a sin punishable by death. Genesis 9:6 says:
“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.”
Thus, by watching and getting entertained by horror movies that glorify violent killings, you are actually going against the scriptures.
It is therefore wise to guard your heart by not watching such movies, as we are instructed in Proverbs 4:23, which says
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
Why a Christian should not watch horror movies that promote sexual immorality
A good number of horror movies depict scenes involving immoral sexual behavior such as adultery, bestiality, fornication, homosexuality, incest, rape, or sex orgies. As a Christian, by watching horror movies that promote such behavior, you are actually sanctioning these vices, and by extension, the money you pay to watch such movies helps the movie makers advance their evil agenda.
Let us see what the Bible has to say about sexual immorality as recorded in Leviticus 18:6-23.
“None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness; I am the LORD. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, you shall not uncover. The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness, you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near kin to your father. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near kin to your mother. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near kin to her. It is wickedness. Nor shall you take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.
Also, you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as long as she is in her customary impurity. Moreover, you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her. And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. Nor shall you mate with any animal to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.”
Thus, by watching horror movies with scenes that promote sexual immorality, you are planting seeds of the same behavior in your heart and mind. If you ignore the warning of the Holy Spirit to stop watching such content, sooner rather than later, you will find yourself engaging in these vices, because they won’t look like a big deal, but surely they are.
Why a Christian should not watch horror movies that promote obscene language
Quite a number of horror movies have scenes in which actors use vulgar language that is unpleasant to the ear. Words correctly used help build up people, while words wrongly used are destructive.
The Bible teaches that our speech should be seasoned with salt in order to impart grace to the hearers. We read this in Colossians 4:6, which says
“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
If you continually watch horror movies in which the scenes are characterized by lots of vulgar speech, that is what will get deposited in your heart and mind. With time, you will find yourself speaking in the same manner.
In Matthew 12:34, Jesus said
“Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”
From this passage, we learn that it is important to deposit the right material into your heart, for you will bring forth the same thing.
Conclusion
We have established that a Christian should exercise a lot of caution when deciding which horror movie to settle down and watch. This is because the majority of horror movies on the market today promote ungodly practices such as drinking human blood, cannibalism, carnage, obscene language, sexual immorality, and violence. We have also said that by watching such movies, you are actually financing their makers to make more of them, thus furthering their evil agenda. The Bible instructs us to guard our hearts against material that would defile us. By so doing, we will be able to draw only good material from the good treasures deposited in our hearts. However, there are a number of horror movies that, despite being scary, are not extremely bad. I believe these are the movies a Christian can comfortably settle down and watch. When all is said and done, always allow the conviction of the Holy Spirit to guide you into making the right choice regarding the kind of horror movie to watch.
I hope the information was helpful. Thank you.
Related Post: According to the Bible is it a sin to drink alcohol
Related Post: Is watching a movie as a Christian a sin
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Shalom.
Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/
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