I visited a different ward last Sunday while on vacation. The elders quorum lesson was on the law of chastity. The discussion quickly turned to the portrayal of chastity (or the lack of it ) in popular media, specifically movies. Three points that were brought up that I felt needed addressing were as follows:<\/p>\n
1. The implication that morality = sexual purity
\n2. The virtues of CleanFlicks
\n3. The importance of avoiding R-rated movies<\/p>\n
I addressed each of them as follows.<\/p>\n
1. Morality is not synonymous with sexual purity.<\/em> Likewise immorality is not synonymous with sexual impurity. Morality by definition is a system of right and wrong. Morality encompasses not only sexual purity, but also modesty, honesty, humility, charity, and an entire spectrum of virtues.<\/p>\n 2. CleanFlicks is hypocrisy.<\/em> First, someone has to watch the videos to edit them. Is it better for us to let some stranger to view objectionable material for us? Secondly, and more importantly, buying CleanFlicks videos supports Hollywood. In order for you to purchase the edited DVD, someone has to purchase an original, thus providing economic incentive for Hollywood film creators to continue producing the sort of content the buyers find objectionable. <\/p>\n 3. The rating system is flawed.<\/em> Not to mention the fact that every country has a different rating system. What may be R in the US, may be a PG in Canada. Each rating is assigned by a third-party panel. Their decision is based on the organisations standards at best and their own biases at worst. It is far better for us to take responsibility for what we watch. We live in a time when all information on a film is available to us beforehand to make the decision whether we find material in a movie objectionable. I find it plain lazy when people blindly choose their film watching activities based on a secular body instead of making an informed decision on their own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"