I usually avoid controversial topics, ya’ll. In real life and online I’m not a controversial person. Most of the time I’ll bite my tongue and think in my head of all the things I could say. But once my buttons are well and thoroughly pushed…I don’t back down either.

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What actually happens in the movie is hardly noticeable and wouldn’t be noticeable to someone who hadn’t read all the negative press.
I have never, ever “trusted Disney with my kids.”
I saw a blog post that was apparently pretty popular in which the blogger was explaining how this decision on the part of Disney to include this “exclusively gay moment” had caused her family to cancel their upcoming Disney trip so that they weren’t supporting this organization. Really?
The Bible tells us over and over and over again that we are strangers, aliens, in the culture in which we live. Why are we surprised when a lost culture acts…lost? There are much wiser, more astute people than me who have written articles along these lines, but I’ll say that I don’t think that mainline media sets the tone for or determines how people will act. Instead art- of all forms- reflects the culture.
Disney didn’t throw in homosexual overtones in Beauty and the Beast to turn your children into homosexuals. They added these elements into the movie because art reflects culture, and culturally that lifestyle is becoming more and more accepted and normal. It’s the same reason that in television shows and movies, you can rarely find intact, two parent- one mom, one dad- families. The media producers aren’t trying to brainwash parents into divorcing or abusing their children or having affairs. They’re showing this in the programs they create because it reflects the current culture around us.
One of the recent article titles I’ve seen was “Do You Trust Disney with Your Kids?” (The article, by the way, is from Desiring God and is really well done!) This title made me really think. The answer to that question for Christian parents should be, “Absolutely not!” But that should have been our answer ALL ALONG, not just after this movie came along. We shouldn’t trust Disney or any other media company with our kids. We shouldn’t even trust a Christian media company with our kids. Because it’s our job as the parents to evaluate what our kids are going to see and hear.
It’s not our job to hide them away from all media- in my opinion. Media reflects the culture around us, and we can’t hide our children from all of the culture. Instead, it’s our job to evaluate and to decide when and how they need to learn about the worldview they’re going to face in our current culture.

If you are boycotting this movie because of a gay moment, have you boycotted other movies for other sins?
I’m going to state my position clearly. I believe the Bible is God’s infallible Word. I believe that it gives guidelines that those who claim to be believers should follow in order to live a Christlike life. I believe that there are absolutes in the Bible and that some things are absolutely wrong- sin. I believe that living life in the homosexual lifestyle is a sin. But…I believe that there are many, many, many other things that are absolute sins. I do them every day. And I believe that a sin is a sin is a sin.
There are people who argue this point. “But homosexuality is called an abomination.” Yes. It is. But do you know some of the other things God calls an abomination? Lying, murder, sowing discord among fellow believers (Prov. 6:16-19), arrogance (Prov.16:5), vain offerings (pretending to worship God with no real heart) (Isaiah 1:13), being devious (Prov. 21:27), a proud heart (Prov. 16:5), justifying yourself before God (Luke 16:15)- these are just a few things called an abomination in the Bible. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been guilty of some of these. Do you watch movies and television shows that feature any of these sins?
The only verse I could find in the Bible that separates sexual sin from other sin is 1 Corinthians 6:18-
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. And this verse refers to sexual sins in general- not homosexuality in particular. It also doesn’t call those sins worse. It just says those sins are different than others because sexual sins are committed against the body- affecting the body- as opposed to outside of the body.
Perhaps one reason that an unbelieving world pegs Christians as harsh, legalistic, and intolerant is because of the way we act toward each other.
So many times Christians are labeled unkind, intolerant, harsh, unloving. Yet we know that’s not what Christ wants the world to know us for. John 13:35 says By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. I’m pretty sure that some of the comments, posts, articles that I’ve seen recently don’t do a good job of making Christians known for loving one another.
I’m not talking about living out a conviction in your own life and family. If you are convicted not to see a certain movie or go to a certain place or read a certain book, by all means follow that conviction. If you aren’t taking your family to Beauty and the Beast because you have a genuine conviction that it isn’t the right decision, then listen to God’s leading and don’t go.
But, at the same time, be aware of how your posts and comments affect unbelievers. If you have blasted the movie with harsh words about homosexuality but you don’t avoid movies with other sins are you coming across as hypocritical? If you blast other Christians who are saying it’s okay to watch the movie are you coming across as judgmental? Whatever decisions we make about that line that we won’t cross, those things we won’t watch, we need to make sure that our conduct toward other believers and toward unbelievers reflects Christ.
I’m not sure that Jesus would have loudly and vehemently boycotted a movie. He was well known for angering the “righteous” people by hanging out with those who had a bad reputation, going to the places where they were, talking to them. His harsh words were usually saved for the hypocritical, self-righteous people around Him.
So there you go. I’ve seen the movie. I’ve read other reviews and many, many, many posts. And these things keep sticking with me, keep coming to mind. When it’s all said and done, don’t make your decision about the movie because you’re jumping on a social media bandwagon. Instead, prayerfully consider what God’s leading you to do. And show love and compassion for unbelievers and other believers alike in the way that you carry out God’s leading.
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