How should we handle a brother/sister in Christ that likes something we hate?
There's a very common problem that I've noticed in the church. I've noticed that people in the body of Christ like to argue among themselves over things like Pokemon, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, World of Warcraft, Harry Potter, and so on and so forth. Entertainment is a very controversial topic. More specifically, entertainment that contains any sort of magic.
Now, I grew up with Pokemon ever since I was a very little kid. We rented VHS tapes of the original Pokemon game and I played the video games up until after diamond and pearl. But I still love Pokemon to this day and it's very nostalgic to me. And I'm not the only Christian that likes Pokemon. Lots of other Christians love it too and it's nostalgic to them. But there is also another group of Christians on the opposite side that say Pokemon is satanic. Their claims is that Pokemon promotes witchcraft and evolution. And that Pokemon are evil because they are monsters called pocket monsters. Because of how monsters are considered evil according to the bible and tradition.
To be fair, the psychic type pokemon and ghost type pokemon are questionable. And I heard fairy types were recently added but I don't know much about them. But anything else is not something I'd consider witchcraft. More like superpowers like superman would have. And Evolution in Pokemon doesn't seem to be any different than a kitten simply growing up to become a full grown cat. I'd consider it growth. not Evolution like Darwin taught. And as for the monster thing, I think that just because they're CALLED monsters doesn't automatically mean they're malevolent creatures. A lot of them are just like normal animals. Acting and behaving like them.
I probably have all the people on the 'Pokemon is satanic" side raising their torches and pitchforks at me right now. Let me explain something. I'm not trying to change your mind. Nor will I force you to. If you hate Pokemon, it doesn't change my relationship with you as a brother in Christ. If your conscience tells you to stay away from Pokemon, all power to you. Just as long as you condemn only the object and not the people who like said object.
People who believe Pokemon is satanic also use most of the same arguments against other fantasy entertainment. Such as Dungeons & Dragons and Magic The Gathering like I said before. A year ago when I made this ministry, I did a video on Magic The Gathering. I condemned Magic The Gathering for being a game about witchcraft and summoning monsters and demons. But I was trying to do so out of care and concern for my fellow Christians, even when I came off as off putting.
But then I realized something. I'm a hypocrite. If it's true that Pokemon is satanic, then I'm no better than the Christians that like Magic The Gathering. But it doesn't stop there, oh no. Wanna know what else I like? Star Wars. Lots of Christians love Star Wars. Myself included. But then in Star Wars you have "The Force", which comes from eastern mysticism. Oh, but that's still not all. There's one more thing I enjoy that's not even magical, but still has questionable things in it. The Jurassic Park movies. I'm not afraid to say that Jurassic World is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's my guilty pleasure movie. But what the Jurassic Park films contain is the teaching of Evolution. So the fact that I enjoy things with witchcraft and evolution doesn't make me any better than the Christians that enjoy Magic The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft, Harry Potter, and so on.
What I'm trying to get at here is, every Christian has a guilty pleasure. We're always going to end up enjoying something that doesn't match the morals of the Bible. If you're strong in your faith, it's easy to separate yourself from the bad stuff of a certain thing and just enjoy the good stuff. But weaker believers are bound to stumble and fall. the fact of the matter is that danger lies in enjoying things with witchcraft and evolution. But then we still enjoy them anyway.
The moral of the story is, don't condemn your brethren hypocritically. Jesus said not to take the speck out of your brother's eye if you have a log in your own. If your brother likes something that you consider to be evil, only condemn the object and not the person that enjoys the object. Just tell them your opinion out of love, care, and concern. Whether or not they will listen is up to them. If they still want to enjoy the things they like that you're not fond of, that's between them and God. And then also remember that you are just as guilty as them if you like questionable objects yourself. We're all sinners. None of us are perfect and blameless. It's part of our sin nature to condemn our brethren over things they enjoy, and because of our sin nature we're also always bound to enjoy something that's questionable.
I love each and every one of my brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of what opinion you have. I just think there needs to be a balance between the side that thinks everyone is okay and the other side that things everything is bad. It's very dangerous to think that absolutely anything and everything is okay because then you get caught up too much in them. But also, if you want to isolate yourself and stay away from absolutely everything, all power to you. That's your choice and opinion. But I believe in a middle ground. Always do your best to use discernment to figure out what's good and bad, even if you'll inevitably get caught up in something questionable. Curiosity often gets the better of us and the desire to be entertained, which is how we get caught up in a lot of things.
That's all I've got to say on this topic. Thanks for bearing with me and reading this blog all the way through. This is Ethan the Agapesaur, This was Godly Dragon Reviews and Apologetics, and you have a blessed day!
Now, I grew up with Pokemon ever since I was a very little kid. We rented VHS tapes of the original Pokemon game and I played the video games up until after diamond and pearl. But I still love Pokemon to this day and it's very nostalgic to me. And I'm not the only Christian that likes Pokemon. Lots of other Christians love it too and it's nostalgic to them. But there is also another group of Christians on the opposite side that say Pokemon is satanic. Their claims is that Pokemon promotes witchcraft and evolution. And that Pokemon are evil because they are monsters called pocket monsters. Because of how monsters are considered evil according to the bible and tradition.
To be fair, the psychic type pokemon and ghost type pokemon are questionable. And I heard fairy types were recently added but I don't know much about them. But anything else is not something I'd consider witchcraft. More like superpowers like superman would have. And Evolution in Pokemon doesn't seem to be any different than a kitten simply growing up to become a full grown cat. I'd consider it growth. not Evolution like Darwin taught. And as for the monster thing, I think that just because they're CALLED monsters doesn't automatically mean they're malevolent creatures. A lot of them are just like normal animals. Acting and behaving like them.
I probably have all the people on the 'Pokemon is satanic" side raising their torches and pitchforks at me right now. Let me explain something. I'm not trying to change your mind. Nor will I force you to. If you hate Pokemon, it doesn't change my relationship with you as a brother in Christ. If your conscience tells you to stay away from Pokemon, all power to you. Just as long as you condemn only the object and not the people who like said object.
People who believe Pokemon is satanic also use most of the same arguments against other fantasy entertainment. Such as Dungeons & Dragons and Magic The Gathering like I said before. A year ago when I made this ministry, I did a video on Magic The Gathering. I condemned Magic The Gathering for being a game about witchcraft and summoning monsters and demons. But I was trying to do so out of care and concern for my fellow Christians, even when I came off as off putting.
But then I realized something. I'm a hypocrite. If it's true that Pokemon is satanic, then I'm no better than the Christians that like Magic The Gathering. But it doesn't stop there, oh no. Wanna know what else I like? Star Wars. Lots of Christians love Star Wars. Myself included. But then in Star Wars you have "The Force", which comes from eastern mysticism. Oh, but that's still not all. There's one more thing I enjoy that's not even magical, but still has questionable things in it. The Jurassic Park movies. I'm not afraid to say that Jurassic World is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's my guilty pleasure movie. But what the Jurassic Park films contain is the teaching of Evolution. So the fact that I enjoy things with witchcraft and evolution doesn't make me any better than the Christians that enjoy Magic The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft, Harry Potter, and so on.
What I'm trying to get at here is, every Christian has a guilty pleasure. We're always going to end up enjoying something that doesn't match the morals of the Bible. If you're strong in your faith, it's easy to separate yourself from the bad stuff of a certain thing and just enjoy the good stuff. But weaker believers are bound to stumble and fall. the fact of the matter is that danger lies in enjoying things with witchcraft and evolution. But then we still enjoy them anyway.
The moral of the story is, don't condemn your brethren hypocritically. Jesus said not to take the speck out of your brother's eye if you have a log in your own. If your brother likes something that you consider to be evil, only condemn the object and not the person that enjoys the object. Just tell them your opinion out of love, care, and concern. Whether or not they will listen is up to them. If they still want to enjoy the things they like that you're not fond of, that's between them and God. And then also remember that you are just as guilty as them if you like questionable objects yourself. We're all sinners. None of us are perfect and blameless. It's part of our sin nature to condemn our brethren over things they enjoy, and because of our sin nature we're also always bound to enjoy something that's questionable.
I love each and every one of my brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of what opinion you have. I just think there needs to be a balance between the side that thinks everyone is okay and the other side that things everything is bad. It's very dangerous to think that absolutely anything and everything is okay because then you get caught up too much in them. But also, if you want to isolate yourself and stay away from absolutely everything, all power to you. That's your choice and opinion. But I believe in a middle ground. Always do your best to use discernment to figure out what's good and bad, even if you'll inevitably get caught up in something questionable. Curiosity often gets the better of us and the desire to be entertained, which is how we get caught up in a lot of things.
That's all I've got to say on this topic. Thanks for bearing with me and reading this blog all the way through. This is Ethan the Agapesaur, This was Godly Dragon Reviews and Apologetics, and you have a blessed day!
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