Early in 2015, I didn’t know very much about “Game of Thrones” (abbreviated “GoT”
below), but it makes the news regularly so I knew enough to be aware that it
was filthy and entirely inappropriate for someone naming the name of Christ.
Because of a recent grievous church situation, I’ve done more
research – without watching it, of course – and here is a summary of what is in
the show. Warning: this is rather graphic.
Perhaps the longest content review can be found at the
IMDB.com review
here. It is very frank, and I’ve
only read less than one-third of it. Just skimming random parts of it (which was more than enough), here is
how I’d summarize it:
Game of Thrones has brutal, graphic,
and grotesque violence, and is also sexually explicit, including full complete
nudity (front and back, male and female), depictions of fornication, rape, rape
and incest in the same act, and homosexual sex scenes. These are not rare events in the show – on
the contrary, they are infamously commonplace.
To describe it with just two words, I’d simply call it “violent porn”.
Common Sense Media described it, in part, with this
(emphasis added by me):
Parents
need to know that Game of Thrones... frequently depicts brutal battles and graphic, detailed acts of violence (including
those against children and women), as well as lots of nudity and no-holds-barred sexuality. The latter is
portrayed in an especially iffy manner, with explicit discussion and depiction
of incest, adultery, and rape. Strong language, including "f--k,"
is frequent.
If that doesn’t
confirm for you that GoT has no place in the Christian’s viewing habits (because the Bible says so!), then I
fear for your soul.
This is distasteful and shouldn’t be necessary, but I think
a few definitions are in order. The
wording is mine, and you can argue if you wish.
The definitions use the female example, which is most common, but it
certainly applies to male as well.
1.
Soft-porn: very skimpy or barely-clad women, can include
topless if the arm or hand or some other object is covering the breasts, a hint
or partial see-through, sheer, but not naked;
includes things like Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, Victoria’s
Secret shows, many movies, etc
2.
Porn: topless, breasts visible, nakedness, can
include view of genitals, scenes of fornication or adultery, but stopping short
of #3 below; includes things like
Playboy, Game of Thrones, Orange is the New Black (and other TV shows, especially on HBO & Showtime), quite a few R-rated movies (and a
few PG-13 as well)
3.
Hard-core
porn: sexual contact showing actual
(not feigned) sexual activity, and who-knows-what other manner of vile and
gross immorality
Using those definitions, Game of Thrones is pornography.
Yes, porn. Not soft, not hard,
just plain old porn-porn. One Hollywood
director called it “soft porn”, though his standards are way lower than the
Bible’s. Numerous articles by
unregenerate commentators have called it porn and said how the show goes too
far in gratuitous sex scenes, and even some feminists are critical of it as
objectifying women (and they’re right, in this case). Even if you want to argue semantics and call
it “soft porn” – fine – it is still porn, and it is blatantly and obviously
sinful to watch it.
You have to get this, too:
the non-porn parts of GoT don’t make the pornographic parts
non-porn. No one is saying ALL of GoT is
porn – but some parts of it most certainly are – and the artsy/theatrical parts
don’t negate or un-do the pornographic parts.
John Piper jumped into the mix a year ago, and gave a pretty
good list of 12
reasons to not watch it. I think he
left some things out, but what he wrote is certainly worth reading.
The bottom line, my friend, is if YOU watch Game of Thrones or other shows
or movies like it, then I urge you – repent. Turn away from such wickedness. Call it what it is, namely, sin. Flee from it!
Run in the other direction! Make
no provision for it. Unsubscribe from
HBO and Showtime. Chop the cable in half
if needed. And then flee to Christ. Confess your foolishness, your hardness of
heart, your sin, and ask Jesus to forgive and to help you turn away from
evil. Ask the Lord to cleanse you and
set you on the straight and narrow. See
Titus 2:11-12, Colossians 3:1-4, 1 John 1:9, as well as this list
of relevant passages. And GET and USE some of these resources.
Posts
