"The Hunger Games": Being brave enough to state the obvious

I'm going to preface this monologue by admitting a few things about myself:

• All the way through high school and up to now, I read a few dumpsters full of books, and some of them legitimately belonged in the garbage. I'm a sinner, and I know how easy it is to keep reading when my conscience tells me a book should be discarded.
• I don't want to be a hater, I'm just concerned and want to deal with this influential book series biblically and examine if it's an edifying read.
• I understand Christian liberty as explained in Romans, but Romans also contains this exhortation, "Be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil."
• I've skimmed all three of the Hunger Games books, and found them to be gripping, well-written novels, but also frightening and concerning. I understand why they're popular, and that frightens me. This is my attempt to explain why I'm not a fan of them, but it is also an exhortation to use the conversations you have about them to proclaim the gospel of Jesus.

The first time I heard about the Hunger Games was last summer, when I was a camp counselor. Two of my fifth grade campers were arguing about Peeta vs. Gale. I only vaguely knew what they were talking about, and was about to tune out when they started talking about graphic deaths in the novel. Their conversation was broken up by an activity, but I was disturbed. I forgot about it until recently, then remembered because I've been hearing so much about the Hunger Games book trilogy, especially with the release of the first movie.


In discussions about the book, someone always defends the contents of the books, and someone else  usually states the obvious: "Little kids kill each other. That's really grotesque." 


Response: "Well, yeah...but it's a political novel. I enjoy the political aspect. And it's fiction, just a story." 


That's true. I looked for politics in the  novel- I looked really hard. As an adult, I found some politics. Even two years ago, I probably would have been more caught up with the shocking violent parts, the love triangle, and the overall out-there flavor of the books, with the political tones as an afterthought.


In the first book I found nakedness discussed pretty often (but it was non-sexual, so that's ok- or is it?), a decent amount of kissing, and what most readers interpreted as  premarital sex in Mockingjay, the last book. Is that good for elementary and middle schoolers? Is it good for high school students? College? Adults? When is sexual immorality (or even a hint of it) ok? I'm not on a high horse standing on a soapbox- I read "Atlas Shrugged" which contains even more sexual immorality- it had a negative effect on me. Sexual immorality is rebellion against God, and it's not good to put inside of our minds. It will have an effect on us, there's no getting around that. Let's be careful what we read, and what we recommend, to younger readers especially.


As for the violence, I found spears sticking out of children, poison, dogs whose eyes were those of the dead tributes (nauseating), and death as a casual affair that doesn't break you, but somehow makes you stronger. Is that what death does to us, or does it hurt us deeply, beyond repair save for redemption in Christ?


Excellent? Or Evil?


Politics: there are some. The depravity of humanity is shown in the Capitol. The lavish lifestyle, the enjoyment of gore is reflective of the real-life gladiatorial games. 


We don't have to ask the question on this one: that's evil.
All this being said, I don't feel as if I can endorse the series: it's not excellent.
But I'm not an isolationist, physically or culturally, and Paul quoted current plays in his sermons to help people understand the gospel. Like almost any book or film, "The Hunger Games" can be used as a conversation starter that can lead to sharing/discussing the gospel of Jesus Christ.


Here's some talking points for your "Hunger Games" conversations. Be bold in sharing the truth. People are hungry, and He is not lacking in good things:

• The hunger the characters experience is actually experienced by real, live people in modern-day North Korea. Check out the book "Escape from Camp 14" to read about the horrors of North Korean concentration camps and the hunger people face there. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/books/escape-from-camp-14-by-blaine-harden.html?pagewanted=all

Bring that up, and pray with your friends. If they're people who don't know Jesus, talk about how He isn't ok with that kind of oppression, and is coming back to end it. Talk about the North Korean church and how they cling to Jesus in their distress:http://www.persecutionblog.com/2011/02/powerful-testimony-of-a-north-korean-christian.html 

• Talk about the death in the books- not the violence, the aching pain of death. Talk about the emotional effects death has on us as people. Talk about how death isn't a 'natural process' but a result of our sin. Talk about

Ecclesiastes 7:2
"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living [should] take it to heart."


Then share the gospel of Jesus and how He has defeated death and robbed it of its sting. 


Make the most of every opportunity- even conversations about "The Hunger Games".