I shook my head when the book came out. I cringed when I saw a girl in my eleventh grade English class reading it. And I reached for my poor, weak heart when I saw a trailer advertising the movie. If I had had a Life Alert button, I would’ve reached for it with what little strength I had left.
Disclaimer: I have not read the books, and I never will. My opinions are based on what I have heard and seen about the series, which is more than I care to know. If you have read it, I am not judging you or condemning you.
This story is degrading to women. A young woman essentially signs a contract agreeing to be abused. And when she breaks up with Mr. Grey, Ana admits that the break up hurts worse than being hurt physically by him. Sounds like Stockholm Syndrome to me. This isn’t empowering women at all. So why do so many ladies rave about it?
This story mangles God’s vision for sex. The Bible describes sex as being between one man and one woman in the context of marriage. It’s supposed to be beautiful and sacred: a parallel to the unity between Christ and the church. I suppose Christian’s last name, Grey, could even be a representation of our society’s ‘greying’ of traditional rules. Things aren’t black and white anymore. Perversions, particularly sadism and masochism, are celebrated in this story. In today’s culture, that may seem normal, as we spend our days watching people capitalizing on and besmirching a special gift from God. But that doesn’t make it alright.
This story is pornographic. Even the people who read this stuff aren’t lying to themselves! They call it “Mommy Porn”. It doesn’t put wholesome thoughts in our heads. It doesn’t bring us closer to Christ. Does it hold any value at all besides the selfish? Paul warns us of stuff like this in Corinthians 6:18-20:
“18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
I will most definitely not be pouring my money down the drain to see this pile of outrage on Valentine’s day, and I would advise you not to as well. Spend Valentine’s Day reveling in real love. We should be more aware of what we are listening to, reading, thinking about, and counting on; is it helping us seek the Kingdom?
H.D. Cannon 