so, when you were reading “twilight,” were you struck by the strong christian messages of the book? were you suddenly seized by a passion to use the story of bella and edward as a powerful evangelical tool?
if so, yr name must be beth felker jones, author of “touched by a vampire” which just won the FYA WTF award! congrats beth!!!
no seriously. this is a real book.
according to the website: “Touched by a Vampire is the first book to investigate the themes of the Twilight Saga from a Biblical perspective.”
y’all, i grew up in the church, and i have nothing against the idea of faith, far from it! but this? WHAT IS THIS?
let’s go back to the website:
“With 48 million copies in print and a succession of upcoming blockbuster films, now is the time to ask the important question: Can vampires teach us about God’s plan for love?”
is that REALLY the important question here? cos i was thinking it was more along the lines of “WHY DOES THIS BOOK EXIST?”
i realize that a lot of churches nowadays are trying to be relevant, and while i appreciate attempts to meet the changing needs of communities, there are things that should never, ever be used to spread a religious message. like, burning bushes? sure! cheesy christian pop bands? awesome! a letter nailed to a door? why not! sparkly vampires? I DON’T THINK SO.
i know jesus didn’t have a problem with prostitutes and tax collectors, which is totally cool, but i have the distinct feeling he would never attend a dinner party with stephenie meyer. just sayin’.
i double dare someone to get this book and read it and post about it on FYA.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s not fair. You know I can’t resist dares like that.
I own both a philosophy book and a physics book that center around Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so I sort of feel like I can’t say much against this. Except! That Buffy is awesome and Twilight sucks.
I always found the moral message in Twilight slightly disturbing. The idea that premarital sex will send your soul (if you have one) to hell… but tearing apart newly created vampires (who were human yesterday) with your bare hands is just fine and dandy. Is that Biblical? I guess it depends on how you interpret the Bible…
You know, sometimes I wish Stephenie Meyer had written the series as Christian (or even Mormon) books. Then some of the ideas (like the one mentioned above) would have made more sense. I always wondered why the Cullens were such utter prudes; had Meyer actually made them practicing Christians, it would have made a lot more sense (and it could have provided some real entertainment if their congregation had discovered their secret). As it was, I was left scratching my head and wondering why Edward — stuck eternally in puberty — never even thought about sex.
wowzers! dude, i TOTALLY picked up the mormon vibe from these books, though. dunno about mainstream christian, but there were loads of yay-early-marriage-screw-college-have-lotsa-babies messages, especially in the last book.
la coccinelle, i never really thought about it that way but YOU ARE EXACTLY RIGHT. if meyer had written the cullens as a christian vampire family, things would have made a *lot* more sense.
which is hilarious. cos a christian vampire family makes no sense at all.
Okay. Wow. First, I, too, have read some things about theology and Buffy, but Erin, it’s because the ‘demons’ Buffy fights represent real issues we all have to deal with, (and if you’re a person who actually believes demons walk the earth, maybe you could learn some good demon-fighting tips….)
Anyway, so, okay, I haven’t read this book, obvs, but it sounds so terrible it might just be awesome, in that it could bring bouts of hysterical laughter. Or it could make me very angry.
But I will say this: if vampires could teach us about religion, I’d kind of be stoked. (I’d also like to see the Sunday-School teacher with little felt-board vampires….)
jenny DOUBLE TRUE ON THE FELT BOARD. omg. now i kind of want to do an internet search for felt board vampires. and then i could do little plays with them! in my apartment! just… by myself!
Well, having actually read the “Touched…” book, I think you’ve making huge assumptions based on the publisher’s promo soundbites. The book is solid, interesting, and not “using” Twilight to promote Christianity. Neither is it a hit piece on Bella, Edward and Stephanie Meyer.
Erin alluded to the academic works related to the Buffyverse, and the author of “Touched…” is a professor — her other book is a dense academic work. This book is a lot more readable–but then again, she’s writing for a wider audience and not academia.
Anyway. . . I think you’d be surprised if you actually read the book.
hey TG, thanks for the comment! it’s good to hear from someone who has actually read the book versus the publisher’s website. and i like hearing different perspectives, so i appreciate yr opinion. you know that’s how we keep it real here on FYA.
This smacks of the Catholicism! WOW! campaign.