A Believers considerations about Anime/Manga
Q: I've been wondering. Is liking video games/animes/mangas idolatry? ive been getting signs from God to turn away from my idols. And i really have no idea what idol it is. Is there a thing i can do?
A: Idolatry is when you put anything,or anyone and even self centeredness in place of God. Replacing God and truth with something else. Exchanging God & truth for something else. Even worldviews and beliefs. Our hobbies should still focus on "what is good, pure, lovely" etc as Scripture verse says...
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
...so that our minds are focused on God and Christianminded thoughts.
Living life your way, according to your own will, and not by God's will and Word as revealed in Scripture. Below has a study on this topic a little bit.
I would say anime has sexualized and fetishized women and girls [and there is lgbt themes too] so there could be an additional sexual sins issue to slay in your thoughts and heart if you gravitate to those. If you ever gravitated to this type of material because you thought sexually then you need to throw it all away and turn from it, as it sexually tempts you and can be used to lure and lead you into multitudes of sin.
I have enjoyed some clean anime and manga but there is "very few" of that in that genre/industry/entertainment. It is run by unsaved people in the world, who "think and live in sin" [full of self righteousness, boasting, pride, rudeness, evil, anger, vengence, torture, violence, demons, gods, sexual stuff, trans species, psychic, witches, magic etc] ....so "much" caution is needed.
While we have Christian liberty remember it is not a license to sin or live in sin. And, this genre is not the best place for any new, young, or growing believer to spend their time "in it". We get enough of the sinfulness in the world before our eyes and ears just walking through this world when we are not in our home, that we shouldnt be inviting or embracing those kinds of things in our home or mind.
Matthew 22:36-38 AMP
[36] “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” [37] And Jesus replied to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment.
James 1:13-16 AMP
[13] Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God” [for temptation does not originate from God, but from our own sinful desires]; for God cannot be tempted by [what is] evil, and He Himself tempts no one.
[14] But each one is tempted when he is dragged away, enticed and baited [to commit sin] by his own [worldly] desire (lust, passion).
[15] Then when the sinful desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin has run its course, it gives birth to death. [16] Do not be misled, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Jeremiah 17:5-8 AMP
[5] Thus says the Lord, “Cursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind, Making [weak, faulty human] flesh his strength, And whose mind and heart turn away from the Lord. [6] For he will be like a shrub in the [parched] desert; And shall not see prosperity when it comes, But shall live in the rocky places of the wilderness, In an uninhabited salt land.
Idolatry
http://longertweets.blogspot.com/2024/03/studying-10-commandments.html
Sexual sins
https://snsanswers.blogspot.com/2023/08/q-sexual-issues.html?m=1
Christian liberty
https://snsanswers.blogspot.com/2022/12/christian-liberty.html?m=1
These below examples of clean-er anime and Manga, are still written and produced by non Christians so they do have a lot of the things above noted in them just not as overtly as others. Not encouraging you in this genre but listed some I've seen. If you never had having sexual thoughts and do not watch the ones where girls and women are sexualized or even have overblown anatomy characters and are not tempted towards that, you will still find there are very few to even dabble in it, so best to skip this entire genre of entertainment. Put it in your past, and just focus on the Bible and growing in faith 🙂.
Manga/Anime:
A place further than the universe
Restauraunt to another world
Isekai Izakaya Nobu
Isekai Shokudou
Amaama to Inazuma
Sweetness & Lightning
My Neighbor Totoro
Polar Bear Cafe
Speed Racer
* there are about 30 cooking shows and some I have seen.
Manga/Manhwa books:
Uncomfortably Happily, by Yeon-sik Hong
* I could def pick all these apart and pursuade you not not even entertain your time with any of these too. Pluggedin.com reviews probably does, and I have seen Christian reviews of anime online too.
For those wondering why I would even look at this genre of entertainment, I had looked into making clean life type comics in 2016 and had learned about crunchyroll and went there to selectively research a bit, [and found out about mangas at some point], pretty sure it was before webtoon app was a thing in US. I highly caution against 99% of manga/webtoons as well as theyre just as bad if not worse than anime you mightve known about.
Fun fact: Manga and Anime came from USA believe it or not. A American military soldier had befriended a Japanese man long ago and shared American superhero comics with him and he started drawing and created the first Japanese comic. Then Koreans began Manhwa's. The rest is history, and shows how fast something can become depraved in cultures without Christian heritage or foundations.
Romans 12
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Rom. 13: you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. ...The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime...put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
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