The Christian Anime Fan

I've read a lot of articles online that have discussed this controversial topic. I know Christians who are anime fans, and I myself watch a good bit of anime and enjoy it. But I have gotten looks and words from other Christians who feel this isn't in line with the scriptures. So I wanted to write about this confusing topic. Should a Christian watch anime?

Now a lot of anime is not appropriate and does not glorify God. But there are a lot of good quality ones that have important moral messages and are just plain fun. If you're a parent, then it really is just what you feel comfortable letting your child watch. There are websites such as http://www.christiananime.net/ that can help you understand the content in an anime before watching it.

TWWK at Beneath the Tangles writes:

"Many people probably wonder how I can hold these two things, Christian faith and anime, together with any integrity. And I have to admit: it’s not always easy. Then again, nothing is easy when you’re dealing with stories, no matter where they come from or who tells them: my faith teaches that we’re fallen, after all. And stories form the way we look at the world, and the ones we identify with closest become part of our very identities. We have to know whose story is guiding our lives." 

If you are having doubts about whether you are doing what is right, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Is What I Am Watching Glorifying God?
2. How Am I Benefiting From Watching This?
3. What Kind of Impact is this Having on My Life?

1. Is What I Am Watching Glorifying God?
I realize that there are a lot of different opinions when it comes to what glorifies God and what does not. But it comes down to this: If you feel guilty about it, or feel that Jesus wouldn't approve of what you are watching, don't watch it.

2. How Am I Benefiting From Watching This?
There can be a lot of benefits from watching anime. However, this also comes with a negative side. For example, while Ouran High School Host Club may have a lot of good morals about friendship and being yourself, the inappropriate situations/language/themes pretty much overshadow that. I'm not saying that anime should be always educational and never have any negative themes, but it there should be a significantly more amount of positive, upright themes than the negative.

3. What Kind of Impact is this Having on My Life?
Sometimes we get pretty obsessed with stuff. For me, this is a constant struggle, and I have to constantly remind myself of what is most important. If you can't think about anything else, you should stop. (I mean, this applies to everything) When what you are watching starts to take over everything about you, it's unhealthy. As TWWK said, we have to know whose story is guiding our lives. As Christians, we are to follow God - we must keep this is mind in everything we do/watch.

Well I hope this was helpful. Please realize that these are all my personal opinions and I apologize if it hurt anyone's feelings.

Life Hurts

Today I received some news about a family situation that could possibly change me and my sisters life completely. Honestly, I don't know what to do anymore. There is such a high level of stress on me right now that I'm frankly surprised I'm not sick. I already have two jobs, college prep and finances, and a class to worry about and now with this family problem added I'm not sure what's going to happen. I don't understand what God is doing and I'm just so very tired of life and all this pressure I'm under. It keeps building and building like a tidal wave and I know its going to crash soon. I know adulthood comes with responsibility, but I'm under more pressure than an average 40 year old adult.

I'm tired of being told I'm too wound up. People should stop and think about why I would seem that way instead of accusing me of being paranoid and defensive. They have no idea what I'm going through or what I've already went through - I just don't want to hear it anymore. Yes I know I'm no fun...deal with it - I've suffered through mental and emotional abuse for all of my childhood I'm not just going to pretend everything is fine. I don't like living disorganized and unplanned and I'm tired of being made to feel guilty for being that way. Like, excuse me for acting like a mature adult.

And stop making me feel stupid because I don't get your oh-so-funny jokes. I happen to be working and thinking about important things, so I apologize I don't understand your humor or see hilarity in my everyday life. I think about things in a more realistic and serious light - that does not mean I'm stupid or slow.

So what, I didn't go to the beach with my family this year. Sure, I understand your concern, but that was my decision, and you have no idea what my financial situation is like. Don't you think it was already hard enough for me to make that decision? Double questioning me about it makes me feel depressed and wonder if I made the right choice. Thanks, but I feel bad enough about it already.

No, I don't know what I'm going to do with my piano degree. I don't need to know what I'm going to be doing in June of 2018 while its still August of 2014. I have four years to decide that. Thanks again, random concerned person, for wondering about my life goals, but frankly it's none of your business. After all, it's my life and my tuition bill. And no, I'm not commuting, yes I know it's cheaper - but that is also none of your business.

Please stop complaining about your parents. I don't want to hear how your dad wouldn't take you to a movie on the night you wanted or your mom forgot to pick you up the food you wanted at the grocery store. At least you have a dad who isn't a complete jerk, and how about helping your mother out once and a while instead of complaining about her? I understand that everyone has their own parent problems, but those kind of things aren't even issues. It's rude to talk about your parents that way.

Ok, I'm done. I just wanted to write that out somewhere.

I Meet People

As I mentioned in the last post, meeting people is not one of my favorite things. I don't socialize very well and try to avoid socializing situations because I will replay moments where I believe I've done something embarrassing forever and ever in my head afterwards. Kind of a self-torture in a way. As I look on this now, a lot of those moments probably didn't matter to anyone else anyway and honestly, I was being kind of stupid. 

Anyway, I also said in the last post that working at Giant has helped grow my socializing skills. I wanted to expand on this, hence this post. I used to be very afraid to even say hello to strangers, make eye contact, or even smile. Now as a cashier, this is sort of required, and I quickly realized within the first 5 minutes of my first shift that I was going to have to get used to talking to people. I thought this would take me a while to get over, but in fact, it only took a couple of months. 

Now, putting aside the fact that every time I go into Giant I feel this adrenaline and a strong urge to smile and say hi to every stranger I see, I am now not afraid to talk to people anymore. I still haven't gotten over my fear of guys...That one has always been harder, and hopefully it will change at college. But I've changed, and my personality has changed a little for the better. (I think)