Should Christians Avoid Fantasy Like The Witcher & Harry Potter?

Should Christians avoid fantasy books like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites. You can actually watch Adriel live in the studio right now on our YouTube channel, and you can message us through YouTube as well.

And you can always email us a question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Scott calling in from Forney, Texas. Scott, what's your question for Adriel? Everything that you do, Bill and Adriel, you have been a massive inspiration to me and my family, so thank you for all the great work that you all do. Hey, thanks, man. Appreciate that.

What's your question? So my question pertains to UFOs and UFO sightings. I just feel like recently there's been a lot of news, random news clips and social media posts with like airline pilots, for instance, now that we have a little bit better technology, they'll send in photos of what appears to be UFOs. And my question is, does the Bible mention anything about extraterrestrial beings or these UFOs? And part two of the question is, if there were hypothetically contact made with other life forms, would that pose any sort of threat to the Christian faith?

Yeah, I think I've seen some of these same news stories out there and it does seem like, especially in recent days, there have been more and more of these. And there are some people who will go to various passages in the Bible, I think that this is referring to a UFO. I've seen the people point to the wheels in the book of Ezekiel, for example, is maybe what Ezekiel saw there was a UFO, something that God was showing him.

I think that's not the best interpretation. I don't think that the Bible, you have this kind of thing in Scripture specifically. Typically what I fall back on is what Scripture does say clearly, and it's this, everything that exists in the universe was created by the God of the Bible. In fact, John, in the Gospel of John, the very beginning, he says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

He's emphatic here. Everything was made through Jesus, and apart from Jesus there isn't one thing in existence that exists today. So anything that's out there, everything was created by the God of the Bible.

I think that's key. The other thing that we know is that there's a whole unseen world or realm, if you will. We think of the angelic hosts.

We know that God created the heavens and the earth, and wrapped up there in the heavens are the heavenly beings. I've seen some people suggest, well, maybe this is a spiritual phenomenon. We just don't know. I think it's not really helpful to speculate. I think we fall back on, we know that God made all things, and we know that there is this unseen world out there, this unseen realm, the angelic hosts.

Could it be that there's something spiritual taking place? Again, we don't know. We want to be confident in what God has clearly revealed in his Word, and I don't think anything that we discover is going to contradict what God has revealed in his Word. Rather than getting worked up about these things, it's fair to think about these things and read these articles. It's sort of interesting, but ultimately resting in what God has revealed in his Word. I don't think that we have anything to worry about as far as that's concerned.

Beyond that, I don't think that the scripture speaks very clearly to extraterrestrial beings, aliens out there. Appreciate your question and also your encouragement, Scott. May you have a blessed Christmas for you and your family. Thanks for calling.

Hey, Scott. Thanks so much for being a regular CORE Christianity listener. We really do appreciate it. Well, this is CORE Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and every day on this program we receive calls from people who are wrestling with very tough questions. In fact, some people call up concerned that they maybe have done something that has caused them to lose their salvation. Here at the CORE, our mission is to help answer those tough questions, but you know, we can't do it without your support.

Yeah. We are so grateful for the support that you've given us already. I mean, really through your prayers above all else, we want to see people's hearts opened to the truth of God's Word, to the gospel. So please pray for us and pray for all those who listen to this broadcast here at CORE Christianity. We want to help you grow in your faith, and that's one of the reasons why we have this excellent resource. It's a Bible study through the book of Philippians, one of my favorite books in the New Testament to help you grow in your understanding of the Christian faith and also answer some of the questions that we get frequently here on this broadcast. So as we come to the end of the year, would you consider giving a gift to this ministry for the advancement of the gospel in response? We want to send you this copy of our Philippians Bible study, yours for a donation of $20 or more, but really we would love to partner with you and encourage you in your walk with the Lord.

So get a hold of this resource. We really do want to send this off to you, and with your gift of $20 or more, which will help support this ministry in the coming year, we'll send you this brand new Philippians Bible study. To pick up a copy, just head over to corechristianity.com forward slash new study. That's corechristianity.com forward slash new study. Well, we do receive voicemails here at Core Christianity. In fact, if you call us outside of the time the program airs, we'll listen to your voicemail and hopefully use it on the air.

Here's one that came in from a listener named Shelby. I was just wondering what the scriptures say or what is the correct point of view towards books that are about fantasy and science fiction, books that are similar to Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, things that involve magic and mystical beings. I've just been struggling with knowing if that is all right to indulge in reading those types of books and watching those types of movies and TV shows. Thank you. Hey, thank you for that question, sister.

Very practical question, Shelby. I think one thing I want to say just at the outset is there isn't a sort of one-size-fits-all answer to this. We really have to be discerning as Christians and think about how the things that we read or watch on TV affect us, how they impact us. Certainly, media and the things that we read can have a significant influence on us for better or for worse.

You have to use discernment. I think that there are some fantasy books that are great, that are really encouraging, that can bring out good things, virtuous things. There are other things that you might read or watch that actually don't edify at all that would be detrimental, spiritually speaking. A couple of passages of scripture to consider, one, Paul's exhortation or encouragement in Philippians 4, verse 8. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Focus on these things, Paul says. Be encouraged by these things.

Meditate upon these things. Another exhortation that he gives in another book, in the book of Ephesians, in Ephesians 5, in particular in verses 8 and following, listen to what the apostle Paul said to the church at Ephesus. He said, For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them, for it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. I think that this is, one, a convicting exhortation, but a really helpful reminder. Oftentimes, I think, with media, with the things that we watch, we can celebrate the very things that grieve God's heart, if you will, the sins that people commit that lead them apart from, lead them away from the grace of God, away from the law of God.

I think that too often, those are the very things that we find celebrated in broader culture and in media and even in the things that people read. I think we just have to be really careful here to ask ourselves the question, How is this affecting me? Whatever it is that I'm reading, am I able to read it with a clear conscience or to watch it with a clear conscience, to honor the Lord, to continue to, quote unquote, walk in the light, as Paul says there in Ephesians 5, or is this something that's drawing me away from God and Christ? Am I convicted by this? This is where you have to be discerning and where you have to be prayerful, and I would just encourage you to take those two passages of Scripture in Philippians 4 and Ephesians 5 into account as you consider for yourself, is what I'm looking at or reading helping me to honor the Lord or is it making it more difficult? God bless.

Great counsel. I was thinking about some of my friends at Focus on the Family who look at media, and they often talk about the fact that it's garbage in, garbage out. Whatever we're putting into our mind is going to affect us in some way, shape, or form, even though we may deny it. In reality, it does have an impact, doesn't it? Yeah, absolutely, and I think that there are a number of studies that are demonstrating that that's also the case with social media, right? I mean, especially the case with social media is we're sort of scrolling through all of these images and whatnot, that it really can have a negative effect on us, especially on younger generations, teenagers, you think, who are spending a lot of time on social media.

So we have to be wise and discerning and careful. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, doctrine, theology, or how your Christian walk intersects with today's culture, we'd love to hear from you. Our phone lines will be open for the next 15 minutes or so. Here's the number to call. It's 1-833-843-2673.

That's 833-THECORE if you want to spell it out. Let's go to Rachel calling in from Arkansas. Rachel, what's your question for Adriel? Hello, Pastor Sanchez.

Hello. I was wondering about the passage in the Bible that tells about the 40 days that Christ was on earth after he arose from the grave, and was Revelation written while Christ was still on earth? So with regard to the second part of your question, was Revelation written while Jesus was still on earth?

I don't think so. It was written after Christ had already ascended into heaven. And then with regard to the scriptures that talk about his time on earth, there's not a ton of detail. You do have what we find in 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 3, where Paul said, I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. So he is on earth after his resurrection for a period of time, and he's appearing to a number of people, up to 500 people, Paul says there in 1 Corinthians 15.

And the interesting thing there is he says some of those people are still around. You can go talk to them if he's writing to the Corinthians. Go have a conversation with these people who saw him, who were eyewitnesses of his resurrection. And then with regard to that period of time being 40 days, Rachel, what we read in Acts chapter 1 verse 2 says, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, he presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And so what he's doing is he's instructing them further related to God's kingdom, and then he ascended into heaven after that period of time. And that's what we read about in the beginning of Acts, in the beginning of the book of Acts in Acts chapter 1.

And so there's your answer, Acts chapter 1 verse 3, 40 days. God bless. Rachel, thanks so much for your call. Thanks for digging into God's Word. We always appreciate it when our listeners are tackling difficult questions or, you know, trying to explore the scriptures closely. So thank you for doing that. This is Core Christianity. And if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, we would love to hear from you.

Now, one of the ways you can do that is leave us a voicemail. And we received this voicemail from Marilyn. So I heard one person say that widows and orphans in Hebrew actually meant the same terminology. Like it almost seemed like it was a single mom and a child, like it was a person who was like abandoned. And it wasn't like two different words. It was like one word. They almost explained it like a widow with the orphan because the dad left or died. And so I wonder why they always explain it as an orphan and a widow when, from what I have heard, it's kind of like an abandoned child with an abandoned mom. So can you explain that a little bit more? Thank you. Yeah.

Hey, Marilyn. Well, I certainly think so. Throughout the Old Testament, you have this continual call. I mean, it's a part of God's law to care for the widow, the orphan, the stranger, the alien, really those who are in vulnerable situations, those who are prone to be taken advantage of, those who don't have any power.

Oftentimes, it's those very people that are mistreated in society because they don't have anyone to care for them, to advocate for them. And so, especially at that time, the widow, the orphan, the sojourner, those people were especially vulnerable. And God said, hey, remember that at one time, you too, my people were vulnerable. You were strangers in the land of Egypt. And I was there with you, for you, delivering you. And that's how you should be, caring for those who are in need.

Exodus 22, beginning in verse 21, says, you shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. Now, that could be very easily a single mother, someone who has been abandoned by her husband or whose husband died, and so she's alone with her child. In one sense, the child being orphaned, considered an orphan.

So that fits. It doesn't have to be. That doesn't necessarily mean that every time you see this, it's referring to a single mother, but it very well could be because there's another instance of someone who's in a vulnerable situation. I know that.

I mean, I was raised by a single mother. And so God's people are called to care for and protect and guard those who are in vulnerable situations. What's really interesting, and there have been a number of people who have noted this, is in the ancient world, oftentimes it was these very people, the weak, the vulnerable, who were considered cursed by the, quote, unquote, gods. They weren't in positions of power. They weren't in positions of authority. You were blessed by God if you were in that kind of position, if you had power, and if you weren't, well, that must mean that the gods don't like you very much.

Well, in Scripture, God actually sort of turned that upside down. He says, look, I am the defender of widows and orphans. I'm the one who cares for them. I'm the one who's there for them. I am their advocate. I think of what the psalmist said.

This is actually so, so beautiful. In Psalm chapter 68, I'm going to begin in verse four. It says, sing to God. Sing praises to his name. Lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts. His name is the Lord. Exalt before him. Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God is at home.

You know who he is? He's the father of the fatherless, and he is the protector of widows. So I think what we learn from the law of God and from God himself as he reveals himself to us is that God cares for the vulnerable, and God calls us to care for them as well, for single mothers, for the orphans.

In fact, this is what James says. It's one thing to talk about religion. It's another thing to have that religion that scripture talks about. James chapter one in verse 27, we read, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. That's what it looks like to love our neighbors, to care for those who are in vulnerable situations. And why does God bring this up so often in the scriptures, in the Old Testament and in the New Testament? Well, again, it's because in society, it's those very people who are in the most danger of being taken advantage of. They don't have anyone to stand up for them, to protect them, and God says, I stand up for them.

I protect them, and my people ought to as well. That's what the scripture teaches, and I pray that you're encouraged around this time of the year. May the Lord be with you and bless you, and thank you for that question. I'm thinking that's a great call for the men in the church, especially older married guys who maybe could take some of these kids, these single mom's children under their wing, and really act as mentors, especially to the boys that don't have a father figure in their life.

There are many guys who maybe have the disposable time, an incoming, especially retired guys that could be a surrogate grandparent to some of these boys and girls in these single parent homes. Bill, if you say that, I hope that there's someone listening right now who feels a sense of conviction about that, like, boy, there are people in my church who maybe need a little extra care and love, and maybe individuals also who don't have that father figure, and boy, I'd love to help out and encourage families in need around me. This is one of the beautiful things about the church. Healthy churches, I think, operate like families where we're caring for one another. You certainly see this in the Book of Acts, so that when there are needs, and there are significant needs in society and in the church today, we come together to meet those needs and to encourage one another in the body of Christ, and so important. We need the family of God, and it's one of the things you see throughout the scriptures.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. And just a reminder, as we come up to the end of the year, if you're considering making a year-end gift to a charity or ministry, we would ask you to preferably consider Core Christianity if you believe in what we do, if you find this program helpful. And in fact, this week, if you make a gift of $20 or more, we'd love to send you the copy of our brand-new Bible study on Philippians. To learn more about that, just go to corechristianity.com forward slash new study.

Well, we do receive emails here, and here's one from Bob. He says, When reading the Old Testament, how can you tell which parts are descriptive and which parts are prescriptive? A really important question with regard to Bible interpretation. Oftentimes, we get this question with regard to the book of Acts. You see so many things happening in the New Testament church in the book of Acts. How do we know whether those things are supposed to be happening today in the church? They're prescriptive for the way in which the church is supposed to look today, and how do we know what was just a description of what was happening then but isn't necessarily going to happen today? In other words, we're not bound to that exactly. And so I think that the question fits also when we're looking at the Old Testament. It's important that we understand where we are in redemptive history. So you think of the Old Testament, the covenants that God established with his people, the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, and it's very clear that the Mosaic covenant, for example, was prescriptive for the people of God during a period of time.

You think of all the laws, the civil laws that related to Israel as a political body, the ceremonial laws that related to their worship under the Mosaic covenant with the temple and the tabernacle and the sacrifices and so on and so forth. Well, those things aren't prescriptive for us anymore today because they've been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And so that's one of the ways that we know, okay, we're not supposed to do animal sacrifices anymore.

Why? Well, because the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world once and for all has appeared. And so those things were prescriptive for a time, but now we just treat them as descriptions that we can learn from, that we can glean from, and that help to illuminate the person and work of Christ for us. You think also of so many of the redemptive events that took place in the Old Testament. Think about the Exodus, for example, the parting of the Red Sea. You think about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, so on and so forth, the different judgments that God brought.

Those were specific events in redemptive history that were descriptive. It's not like God is telling us, hey, in your life you need to have the ability to split the waters, that kind of a thing. They're written for our example, and that's precisely what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 1. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Then Paul adds this. Now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were.

As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. In other words, look, just because these events took place, and they're not necessarily prescriptive for us, we're not reliving them, if you will, they're descriptions of what God was doing in redemptive history, that doesn't mean that they don't relate to us in some way. Paul says they were written for our example, so that we might receive instruction from them, so that we might be guided in our own lives to live lives of devotion to the Lord, lives of purity, lives of faithfulness to him. So we have to determine where are we in redemptive history, and we're under the new covenant. Okay, so what laws apply to us?

It's the law of Christ, it's the law of God, which ultimately Jesus fulfilled for us, so that in him we might grow in grace and knowledge and follow him. And so I appreciate your question, and may the Lord bless you. God bless. God bless.