Lily Girls Magazine

By Kerri Porter

I wasn’t going to jump on the bandwagon. I refused. I had decided in my mind that while everyone was ranting and raving about Twilight, I would stand my ground and not give in. One chapter into the book however, and I was hooked. I stayed up late and missed school assignments just so I could hang on to every word in the story. I gave my friends a hard time about reading it but then found myself sucked in even more than them. Why you may ask? Well, if you aren’t as crazed a fan as most teens, just take a look at the words below to find out why.

“Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars – points of light and reason…And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn’t see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason for anything.”

Let’s be honest. What girl wouldn’t be sucked in if a tall, dark and handsome guy whispered those words to you? It’s no wonder that the Twilight saga has captured the hearts of women across the country, especially teens and young adults.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner I thought it would be fitting to look at one of the most popular love stories of this past year: the Twilight series. However, when I got to thinking about the incredible love within this story, it occurred to me that we have yet another love story that has been around for much longer. This love story is the Bible. And while many of us do not necessary think of the Bible as the greatest love story of all time, before you are finished reading this article I pray that you will see just a glimpse of why this is true.

When comparing Twilight and the Bible, I had to dig deeper into the characters and feelings that each of these books brought to the table. In order to do this, I read a book entitled Escaping the Vampire by Kimberly Powers. In this exceptionally written story, Powers compares the two stories and explains just why the Twilight saga has taken over teens and young adults, primarily females. In order to best put my thoughts together and reveal my heart to you on this matter, I am going to highlight some similarities between the two (or three) stories. These are mostly based upon my review of the Escaping the Vampire book.

We are in search of a hero
If I’m honest with myself; I want someone to fight for me. I want to be the princess that is swept off her feet. I want to be desired by someone else. I want to be Bella in Twilight. And yet…

“They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you’ declares the LORD” (Jer. 1:19)

…somehow we just need to realize that we DO have a hero. By believing and having a relationship with Christ, we have the ULTIMATE hero. (Escaping the Vampire pg.9).

We don’t believe we’re good enough
Let’s take a look at Bella. Bella is just an average, clumsy girl who if I may add does not have a great sense of style. She even says herself that she can’t believe Edward would be interested in her. “‘I’m absolutely ordinary…and look at you.’ I waved my hand toward him and all his bewildering perfection.” (Twilight pg.210). I wonder how many of us feel that way when looking up to God. He is perfection. Everything about Him is perfect, and yet, he loves us unconditionally. He loves us even though we may feel stained, torn, beaten down, lonely, unlovable. Bella doesn’t believe that her perfect Edward could possibly be interested in her. And truthfully, I think as Christians we have a hard time wondering how God could possibly care for us and send his son to wipe our sins away.

There are many other similarities I could point out, but mainly I wanted to set up a glimpse of what I discovered when reading Escaping the Vampire. Kimberly Powers does an amazing job revealing how the “Vampire” in our life – who is Satan – feeds us lies that look great, but leave us feeling empty and lost. Even “good” vampires still want to suck your blood. Powers describes how many women want an Edward but do not realize that it is a false sense of reality. No one is perfect, except Christ. When we have a personal relationship with the Perfector, He is able to help us through our other relationships despite mistakes and imperfections.

I would definitely recommend picking up a copy of Escaping the Vampire because I really think the main reason for the Twilight phenomenon is that we are “desperate for the immortal hero” which Powers talks about.

I am not bashing Twilight nor am I telling you to go home and burn the books, I just think we need to have the right mindset when reading them. I think that each person has to be careful in understanding that it’s not reality. There is not going to be an Edward out there. But there is a perfect Savior who seeks out a relationship with you, who wants to sweep you off your feet and rescue you. He is the Ultimate hero.

Please take a moment and read the articles I found below. They each give incredible insight on the Twilight saga from a Christian perspective.

http://www.elyonscircle.com/blogs/SapphiraAdi/?p=968 http://www.gospelandculture.org/2008/11/vampires-and-young-female-desire/http://beautygirlblog.com/relationships/read-twilight-series/