On Sunday, February 24, the film of Mexican origin Rome won several Oscars. The film is inspired by elements of the life of acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón. Among the awards, Cuarón won his second Oscar for best director.
I was surprised to see mature believers on social media celebrating the film’s triumph. This is because the film has pornographic content. It shows an extensive scene where a man practices martial arts naked. Later he ends up in bed with his partner, hinting that they will have sex. Even though I didn’t see the movie, I don’t have to see it to know that it contains lewd content. There are web pages that describe the content of the movies for the reader to determine if it is a movie they want to watch.
an important question
When we talk about our Christian freedoms, we must be careful not to exercise them in a way that might cause believers to be influenced back into a life of sin.
I understand that celebrating Cuarón’s triumph is an aspect of conscience. The problem, it seems to me, is celebrating it publicly, as this could lead people of weak conscience to watch movies with a high sexual content. Someone with a weak conscience (1 Cor. 8-10) can say: “If this mature brother saw Romethen i can see ”.
This should lead us to a more important question: Can a Christian watch nude movies?
nudity on the screen
There are issues where some Christians may disagree. Paul, in Romans 14, encourages us to allow believers to practice different behaviors than we do. In Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10 we see that the aspect of food and drink sacrificed to idols represented a problem for Christians at that time. Based on this principle, believers can have differences of opinion and practice, and Romans 14 tells us not to judge each other:
“Therefore, let us no longer judge one another, but rather decide this: do not put an obstacle or a stumbling block to your brother”, Romans 14:13.
The Bible is clear: nudity should only occur within the union of marriage.
However, from what I find in the Bible, nudity in a movie is not simply an aspect of conscience. The Bible is clear: nudity should only occur within the union of marriage. Our nakedness is only shared within the protection of the marriage covenant. Before the Fall, Adam and Eve were naked and felt no shame. God sacrificed an animal to cover his nakedness and cover his shame due to the presence of sin. Within the marriage pact, there is no reason to feel ashamed when we are naked before our spouse. In fact, Paul uses the sexual organs to illustrate the unity of the body of Christ:
“And the parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we dress them with more honor. So the parts that we consider most intimate, receive a more honorable treatment “, 1 Corinthians 12:23.
The point of the illustration is that intimate or embarrassing parts must be covered in order to receive honor.
In Ephesians 5, Paul says that sexual immorality is not even to be named among the saints:
“But let immorality, and all uncleanness or covetousness, not even be mentioned among you, as befits the saints” Ephesians 5:3.
As imitators of our Father, affirming what He affirms, and respecting the privacy of nudity is very important to God.
This call is to be imitators of God as beloved children, since Christ gave himself for us (vv. 1-2). Since Christ died for our sins, we are now children of God, and that prompts us to be imitators of our Father. As imitators of our Father, affirming what He affirms, and respecting the privacy of nudity is very important to God. Public nudity denigrates the image of God and dishonors his name (Gen. 9:22-23; Ex. 20:26; 28:42). Therefore, a believer should not watch any scene that features nudity of sexual content. It is not an aspect of consciousness; it is a command from God.
Exposing ourselves to sexual scenes is a moral act where we sin sexual immorality with our mind. And that path never satisfies, since sexuality on the screen (the one that God reserves for the intimacy of marriage) can lead us to pornography, which is a sin that demands more and more of those who fall prey to it. This is why we must not allow immorality to affect our lives.
You might reply: “Don’t be exaggerating, the scene of Rome It’s not pornography.” My conviction is that we think this way because our consciences are darkened by the amount of exposure we have to sexual immorality in the media. Who determines if something is immorality (porneia, in Greek) is God, not us. The word immorality in Ephesians 5 is porneawhere does the word come from pornography. God’s children should not see any kind of sensual nudity.
Nudity showing the reality of sin
Now, it is true that some nudes are not to show sensuality, but to show the reality of sin. For example, the nude scenes in shindler’s list They show naked Jewish prisoners in Nazi concentration camps. The purpose of these nudes is not sensual, but rather to show the reality of human depravity that leads to the point of denigrating other human beings. But this is not the nudity that Hollywood commonly shows. Rather, it seeks sexual pleasure and gratification, incites the senses, and does not teach about the fallen condition of our world.
What about watching movies with nudity and moving forward the scenes of sexual content? I think this falls under the awareness aspect. You have to be careful with this practice, since the curiosity to see a famous artist naked can win us over, and why should we put ourselves in that position?
What is our wish?
Many times we want to know God’s will, and there are situations in which it is not so clear. The reality is that God is clear about the danger in our eyes when it comes to immorality. Jesus said:
“But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman to covet her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; for it is better for you that one of your members perish than that your whole body be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:28-29).
The Bible warns us about sexuality outside of marriage. Paul wrote:
“For this is the will of God: your sanctification; that is, that they abstain from sexual immorality,” 1 Thessalonians 4:3.
God wants us to be pure, and the content of what we see to be pure. So let’s take care of what we see. Many times we give more priority to entertainment and to be relevant in society than to obey God’s will. God has called us to be like Him:
“For God has not called us to impurity, but to sanctification. Therefore, whoever rejects this does not reject a man, but God who gives you the Holy Spirit from him ”, 1 Thessalonians 4: 7-8.
By exposing ourselves to sexual content, we are rejecting the purity of God. He called us through the gospel, and he did not call us to live for our passions. He called us to holiness.
I read the description of the scene on the website.
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