Can't buy anymore movies, books, shows, anything?

[Momo-P]

The next time I hear somebody say "I wish I was a deep thinker" I think I'll turn around and smack them. Being a deep thinker may be good in some cases, but ever since I was fourteen I've thought of weird stuff...like, REALLY weird stuff you normally don't give a slight thought to. And now it's causing me to feel like I can't even have any fun anymore.

Today's problem? Well...all of us are here because we like anime, correct? Well, with the exception of like...one person who comes to mind (the creator of Trigun), most anime creators either don't bring religion up at all, or, if they do, are obviously an atheist or a buddhist or just rely on silly things for help (fortunes and whatnot). Now normally I didn't agree with this, but unless their show was outright blasphemous or something, I didn't mind watching it. I mean, the only other reason I wouldn't watch a show is if the creator pulled a "Golden Compass" and came right out and said "the whole purpose of this story is to make people rebel against God".

Most people however don't even BRING the reason up for their story though, or, if they do, it all boils down to "it was for fun/entertainment". But now...I feel so worried.

Nobody knows the human heart besides God. I could buy shows by an atheist OR a Christian and have no certainty that the money is going to a good place. They may say they're one thing, but maybe deep down they believe something else. Also, they could be a non-believer, but...so what? That doesn't mean all their money goes to porn and witchcraft and, on the opposite end, nor does it mean all Christians use their money in good ways either.

Now it's left me feeling sick and scared. With the exception of food, clothes, etc. I feel like I can't buy anymore movies, tv shows, music, etc. because "I don't know where the money is going". I've asked my parents about it and got really no help except "you don't know, so why worry?!" but...this is what I fear.

I fear dying, standing before God and hearing "You KNEW you were taking a risk by buying this. You KNEW your money could support something evil, and yet you still did it anyways. Just to enjoy a stupid tv show or read a book." And I...can't do that. Like I said, if the show does stuff I find offensive or the author outright says "this is how I feel" then I won't have anything to do with it. But in 99% of the cases? YOU DON'T KNOW! And its so depressing...it's like besides what I've already bought, I can't go to the movies anymore, I can't buy any video games, anything, anything at all...

I know this is probably insane sounding, but I don't know what to do. My parents got mad at me when I asked earlier and it felt like they were too busy to help me. I've been asking God over and over for help, but I'm not getting an answer from them, so can anybody help me here? I mean...if God said "don't do it" I'd give up the world! But in this case? I just feel like my life will be nothing but "work, get food and clothes, read Bible, that's it". I mean...if I can't buy anything for entertainment or fun or collecting...then there isn't much else in life, is there?

[LadyRushia]

Corinthians says "All this are permissible, but not all things are beneficial." The best you can do is take what is good from whatever entertainment and hold to that. Whatever the authors/artists do with the money they get is between them and God. God gave them that money, so I don't think He'd punish those who supported them without knowing where the money was going. When money is made unjustly, however, is another issue that I think we as Christians should be concerned about (for example, buying fair trade coffee means that those companies aren't completely ripping off the countries where the coffee beans are grown). What you seem to be concerned about, though, is the entertainment industry.

Really, your convictions are between you and God. I have found God shining through various anime, manga, and video games even though the creators probably didn't intend for those things to be in there at all. What I'm saying is that God is in absolutely everything, including entertainment, and He doesn't care whether the creators of those things believe in Him or not.

The most ready example I have is Colette from Tales of Symphonia. The game itself has an invented/pretty much no religion, yet I still see God shine through in Colette's character. Her selflessness and readiness to forgive is admirable, and that just stands out to me. Again, it's all about hanging onto what's good. I think if you ask for this, you will find yourself remembering characters and events that reflect God. But don't take this as trying to force a Christian interpretation on everything. In my experience of seeing God in these things, it's been on more of a personal level and not on one where I think what I see is definitely grounded in Christianity.

If you find that in the end you can't watch anime or have any sort of entertainment, then that's fine. That's your conviction and no one can stop you from that (unless God changes it for you). You just need to keep praying and thinking about these things so that you'll be shown where your convictions are.

[Peanut]

Rushia is correct. You are in no way responsible for what an artist/company/individual does with any money you give them unless they tell you up front that they are going to do something immoral with it. Still, if you feel convicted not to watch something, then don't watch it. God isn't going to punish you avoiding the entertainment buisness.

The most ready example I have is Colette from Tales of Symphonia. The game itself has an invented/pretty much no religion, yet I still see God shine through in Colette's character. Her selflessness and readiness to forgive is admirable, and that just stands out to me.

Tales of Symphonia in my opinion is a secular video game with a Christian message, not just because of Colette but because...well...if I say anymore it will be spoiling the plot. I point mostly because I love the game but at the same time it is a good illustration that sometimes secular media can produce something which Christians can use to either start conversations with non-believers or refelct on points in their own lives.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Ditto on what Lady Rushia and Peanut have said.

My 2 cents:

Truly, the only way you could be certain your money wasn't being used for evil would be if there's no evil in the world.

I would think, that there are Christians working in publishing, translating anime into English, etc... A lot of people want a paycheck to make rent and feed their families.

It is something to consider from time to time- like, if FUNimation also ran the Church of Satan, I probably wouldn't buy from them. What people do while claiming Christ or not, with their money, is between them and God.

I do think you're worrying about something that can't be avoided as long as we live in this world.

[LadyRushia]

Tales of Symphonia in my opinion is a secular video game with a Christian message, not just because of Colette but because...well...if I say anymore it will be spoiling the plot. I point mostly because I love the game but at the same time it is a good illustration that sometimes secular media can produce something which Christians can use to either start conversations with non-believers or refelct on points in their own lives.

Not to veer this thread off topic, but what specifically are you talking about (I've beaten the game before, so don't worry about spoilers).

This is a good point, too. It's good to pay attention for these sorts of things because they can be used it conversation later.

[ShiroiHikari]

Are you supporting evil when you go get a burger at McDonald's? It's the same thing, I think.

[Momo-P]

Thanks for the advice guys, I do feel much better now. I also thought back to the Old Testament, where David and Solomon and them were extremely rich. Although some nations outright gave gifts, I do believe they also traded with many nations who definitely didn't follow God. Even still though, they didn't say "we can't trade with you, you may use your gold to build idols or offer your spices or something to your fake gods" they just traded what they needed and I don't remember God telling them to stop.

So thanks a lot, I do feel better...though when it comes to being benefitical, I'm pretty sure that doesn't just apply to "building you up", right? Thanks to Christ, I've seen many shows and characters in different angles (which in turn made me think differently about people who may truely act like that), but in some cases...eh. Usually people just watch/read/play/whatever for fun and entertainment. Comedies in particular usually don't teach diddly squat (and in order for proper humor to exist, the characters are usually flawed in rather bad ways), but I obviously watch them just to feel better. I mean, wouldn't something making you feel happy also be considered benefitical? It's not building you up in the normal way you'd think, but...eh. Adam and Eve probably weren't learning much while sitting in a garden all day. I'd imagine it just made them happy as well. ^^; XD

[Fantasy Dreamer]

Are you supporting evil when you go get a burger at McDonald's? It's the same thing, I think.

If you take this view, yes. Whenever you do buy food, shop at a grocery store, or any kind of store, if you think "what will they do with my money after I buy this movie?" then it would apply to buy groceries, because, in essence, you're paying (at least a fraction) of the employees salary, and most likely the employee that money goes to is not a christian.

However, you must remember, God works all things out to His Glory and to the good of His people... even the evil stuff. Nothing is out of His control. It may look like the evil is prevailing, but in the end God will crush Satan's head.

As for the content of things, what others have said is good. And if you can see the morality (or lack thereof depending) in a character and it not have a negative effect on you, it probably wouldn't hurt to watch it. There are certain animes with a certain amount of fanservice in it that I will never buy because of that very issue. But, that's my decision.

[Sparx00]

I don't really think that it matters. Say if you buy a movie from a place that you didn't know where the money was going, even if it was supporting something bad like gay marriage, God wouldn't hold you accountable for it. Now it's understandable that you'd feel bad about the idea of buying something from a place that supports bad things, but there's not really much we can do about that. You just have to remember that the whole thing is in God's hands and that it's okay. We're not supposed to live in fear of things like that. With things like this, It's really best to just keep going with your life and pray for the people who control where the money goes. I'll pray that God will comfort you with these issues you're having if it's okay.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

The way I see it is, you're not necessarily supporting their "evil" if you're buying products you enjoy. The people that produce them are human beings too. They have families, lives, etc, and that money helps keep them living. For every manga, you're not just looking at the manga-ka, you're looking at the publishers, printers, and addditionally the translators, other prtinters that bring it over to America. You're providing funding to one willfully evil individual, you're providing food to several of your fellow human beings.

Now, if you don't genuinely support a product's message, then yeah don't buy it! There is a lot to be said about the free market and how we're supposed to be indicating what products we like with our purchased (of course it seems the petroleum market is immune to this). The same can be said for a whole company whose practices you disagree with. Think of the stink over certain tuna providers because of their accidentally including [SIZE="1"]tasty tasty[/SIZE] dolphin meat. People will protest that company because they don't want to support that careless practice.

[Fantasy Dreamer]

The way I see it is, you're not necessarily supporting their "evil" if you're buying products you enjoy. The people that produce them are human beings too. They have families, lives, etc, and that money helps keep them living. For every manga, you're not just looking at the manga-ka, you're looking at the publishers, printers, and addditionally the translators, other prtinters that bring it over to America. You're providing funding to one willfully evil individual, you're providing food to several of your fellow human beings.

Now, if you don't genuinely support a product's message, then yeah don't buy it! There is a lot to be said about the free market and how we're supposed to be indicating what products we like with our purchased (of course it seems the petroleum market is immune to this). The same can be said for a whole company whose practices you disagree with. Think of the stink over certain tuna providers because of their accidentally including [SIZE="1"]tasty tasty[/SIZE] dolphin meat. People will protest that company because they don't want to support that careless practice.

Well said.