Parallels with the Bible?

[JinaRicci]

I have something to share with all of you my sisters in Christ. First, I thank each of you for the ministry that exists here on Christian fellowship- you all have been such a blessing to me.

What I have to share-I have to be honest- I have avoided for over 3 weeks now. I worried about how it would be received and so on, but you know this is not about me or my feelings. God keeps saying that He hasn’t given me a spirit of fear and I can’t continue to ignore the Holy Spirit. Please pray for me.

This is about the parallels between the Bible and the entire Twilight series. *okay, please pause* I really thought that this was just another book about vampires until Zanna’s post about the origin of Twilight. Our discussions got me to look into this for my own understanding. I did not read the books.

The author said that her research was done using google searches- so that’s what I did which brought up pages from history & reference books, her website, fansites and wikipages. This is kinda long so I will post it in pieces.

Now this is not directed at anyone who read the books or meant to offend- please know I just have to share what I learned and I am doing this in love. I hope this encourages each of you to look this up too- I am sure that you can find more parallels. My prayer was simply that God would direct me and make this plain for me to understand. I prayed that He will do the same for you.

Disclaimer: This post, subsequent entries in this thread and their entire contents are not intended to denounce the makers of the Twilight series, the books, movies or any associated material. These posts should not be used or reproduced in any form as factual information or any form of evidence for or against the character(s) or intent(s) of the author, the makers or any individuals with legal rights and/or interests in Twilight, the series. These are personal observations from a Christian perspective and are to be used for this discussion only as it pertains to comparisons with Biblical teachings, Biblical/Christian beliefs and personal choices that affect one’s faith and walk with our Lord & Savior Christ Jesus.

 

[JinaRicci]

Book 1: The origin of Twilight was a dream the author had which became Chapter 13 (Confessions) of the book. She saw two people having an intense conversation in the meadows. One was ‘just your average girl’ and the other was ‘fantastically beautiful, sparkly and a vampire.’ The conversation: they were falling in love and the vampire was ‘particularly attracted to the scent of her blood and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately.’

She (Meyer) started writing this down the next day- ‘their voices in her head just would not shut up.’ She wrote day & night and finished this book- 500 pages in 3 months.

The characters- Bella & Edward are in love, virgins, waiting for marriage. Who is Bella? A shy, caring girl – a detailed description is purposely not given in the books so that the ‘reader could more easily step into her shoes.’

On the other hand Edward is described as ‘impossibly and inhumanly beautiful.’ His scent and voice are so seductive to Bella that he often sends her into a daze. He collects cars, is musically gifted and has superhuman strength- saving Bella’s life on many occasions.

This book has been debated that it does not hold true to commonly known things about vampires – e.g. fear of garlic or the crucifix. In the movie, Edward supposedly has a cross in his house. The author’s defense is that she didn’t research vampires for this first book. However, Edward & his family are made distinct as ‘good vampires.’

This first book has redefined vampires- previously all known as evil, harmful creatures to suggest that some can be good, can work together with humans for good- saving their lives from evil (evil vampires) instead of causing harm, even falling in love with humans. It is so admirable that this vampire (& his entire family) has made a choice to resist the temptation to harm humans that the fact that he still drinks blood- animal blood is almost glazed over. It is redefined as ‘vegetarianism.’ More on that later.

The apple on the cover of the Twilight book according to the author represents the forbidden fruit. Genesis 2:17 is quoted at the beginning of the book.

Genesis 2:17 (KJV)
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

According to Meyer, the forbidden fruit from Genesis is Edward and represents Bella’s knowledge of good and evil and the choice she has in partaking of this forbidden love. The quote & comparison to Genesis plus the description of the dream is actually what made me begin to look at other parallels with the Bible.

If the forbidden fruit is Edward, then is Bella Eve? She is tempted by this forbidden fruit. Who is doing the tempting?

The description of Edward especially in the dream reminds me of Lucifer- sparkly, inhumanly beautiful, seductive voice, musically gifted. Note though that the vampire is not purposely tempting her- in fact he is warning her against being with him because she could die. In contrast, God was the one who warned Adam & Eve about dying (note same Genesis 2:17).

We know that the serpent tempted the woman by saying that she wouldn’t die (Genesis 3:4). Here there is no ‘evil serpent’ tempting Bella in this story. That’s not surprising since the vampire is ‘good.’

Eve’s choice was between good and evil, life and death- she ate the forbidden fruit thinking she could have both- the fruit and life. Bella decides that she wants to be like him- become a vampire (‘eternal life’). Note: Edward refuses. There is no ‘tempting’ but her choice is still the same as Eve’s- to eat the forbidden fruit and live- still avoid death. The story of Eve being tempted is redefined.

So is Bella really Eve? If so, why is Bella a virgin? Eve was already married when she was tempted. And why are they both virgins?

At this point I’m not sure yet. But let’s move on to Book 2.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

I haven't read these books so I can't offer much, but I have a question. Are you saying the books "are" comprable to the Bible or are you refuting other people's claims that the the books are parallel with the Bible?

 

[JinaRicci]

I haven't read these books so I can't offer much, but I have a question. Are you saying the books "are" comprable to the Bible or are you refuting other people's claims that the the books are parallel with the Bible?

Oh my goodness- no!

There are concepts in the books that are eerily similar to the Bible-that's what I want to point out. Except it's been twisted- everything has-which makes it very dangerous. Also, some people claim that some of the things in the book (e.g. the couple waiting to have sex until they're married...) are consistent with Christian principles or morally good but from what I've found -I don't think so.

Sorry- guess my title was confusing?

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Oh my goodness- no!

There are concepts in the books that are eerily similar to the Bible-that's what I want to point out. Except it's been twisted- everything has-which makes it very dangerous. Also, some people claim that some of the things in the book (e.g. the couple waiting to have sex until they're married...) are consistent with Christian principles or morally good but from what I've found -I don't think so.

Sorry- guess my title was confusing?

ohhhhh, I gotcha.

In that case then, thanks for this thread. The devil is tricky. That's how he set Eve up. Had her questioning what she already knew to be the truth and then boooom! there she was.

 

[JinaRicci]

You're welcome SuperNova!

Book 2: New Moon is supposedly about losing true love. The title is said to represent the darkest time of Bella’s life- a time without Edward.

Bella got a paper cut and the scent of her blood attracted one of Edward’s brothers (Jasper) to want to kill her, prompting Edward & his family to move away to protect her. In the meantime she becomes close to Jacob- a werewolf, who along with other werewolves protects her from the evil vampires.

She also discovers dangerous thrill-seeking activities that allow her to ‘hear Edward’s voice in her head.’ Because of one of her activities, Edward comes to believe that she has committed suicide so he travels to Volterra, Italy to provoke the Volturi, vampire royalty capable of killing him.

This book has such a short synopsis that I almost missed the significance of it all. Volterra is a real city in Italy, an Etruscan city where a lot of their art e.g. tombs are still preserved. I learned that the Etruscans were a pre-Roman culture obsessed with the afterlife, preparing the tombs with lots of items much like the Egyptians and also concentrating most of their art here.

The afterlife is always depicted in their drawings as a banquet and it is an underworld city guarded by demons. Demons escort, transport and protect the dead from menacing monsters & demons on their way to the city. They also appear to hold the ‘keys’ to the underworld city. They are part of the afterlife.

The living could also ensure that the dead escape the dangers on the way to the underworld (e.g. ‘evil demons’), have an eternal afterlife and even come back if they choose by pouring blood sacrifices of certain animals over the tombs. Certain animals like the wolf... Note the Etruscans have also redefined evil. In fact, they are noted as reversing or reinventing some of the Greek mythology on which some of their religion is based.

In this book, Edward comes to believe what his father already did- that there is an afterlife- a heaven for good vampires. At one point he thought he was dead and had ended up in heaven with Bella.

Critics of this book argue that vampires are soulless- there is no afterlife for them. Also how could he end up in the same place as a human? These critics have missed the point of this tale.

Let’s review: Edward was a human but was dying at 17 of the 1918 flu pandemic in the U.S. and was ‘saved’ by a vampire- a physician who became his father. All of the family members appear to be ‘adopted’ that way. He died first as a human at 17, seems to have eternal life as a vampire but wants to die a second death to be with Bella.

The only people who can kill him are the Volturi- evil (human-killing) vampires, led by 3 individuals- Aro, Caius & Marcus. At this point, I didn’t want to know anymore- seriously.

But it is just coming together so I'll be back.