Game of Thrones

[ElDiego]

Hi

a Christian friend of mine has been following the HBO series Game of Thrones. So much so that he has bought Game of Thrones Collectors card online and is swapping them with other friends. He is so obsessed! I went round to his house the other day and he was playing the Game of Thrones themed Monopoly set with his younger brother.

I am very concerned for his soul. Leaving aside the glorification of violence and the nudity in the show, I feel like it promotes paganism with its many gods and evil characters. This is, for me a very unchristian show but he doesn't seem to see it as a problem.

Am I worrying too much? Should I just leave him to his entertainment or should I keep trying to convince him? He is 22 years old and his brother (who doesn't watch the show) is 18. Neither of his parents are aware that he watches the show. Should I tell them?

 

[Demi777]

I watch the show too. Guess what we all have a nekkid body. We all look the same nakid. It has some war in it and death yeah but theres much worse out there. I wish people would stop being do fanatic about everything. Let him watch his show for heavens sake. Dont we have worse issues than GOT hey we are in the end times.

 

[HS]

I have watched one episode that was enough. Sex and gods plus other things. We don't need to put rubbish like this in our brains. Our bodies are scared temples of God not to be flouted.
But I would say that he and his brother are old to think for themselves. You have told them it is bad. Don't watch it yourself but continue to be friends. If your conscience is telling you to let the parents know then perhaps you should. That will ruin your relationship perhaps. So weigh the pros and cons and do what feels right.

 

[PeterJens]

I read the first book to get an impression of the idea.
It is about belonging and fighting for a cause with heroic certainty.

I think those who want to have this idealisation, get sucked in.
And it can become a replacement for being in the Kingdom, and following Jesus,
like anything else in life.

It is largely why it does not work on me, because I do not see any reality in
the constructs or emotionally get drawn in to the characters.

Like Harry Potter, the idea of a fight, honour, loyalty, play well in the world,
and are missing for a lot of people, even though we have many causes and
friends and family for which these goals also apply.

 

[BruceWayne]

I'm not going to be positive or negative about the show, as I've never seen it, but I don't get why you would tell his parents lol. He's 22. Surely he's allowed to watch what he likes. We can't expect every little thing that bothers us to bother someone else. If you want to express your concerns to him, that's fine, but I wouldn't continuously bother him about it.

 

[Desdichado]

This is definitely one of those stronger brother/weaker brother things. With GOT I err on the side of caution.

We can definitely find better uses of our time. Particularly when the writer appears intent on not completing the series or giving it a disappointing ending.

 

[melita916]

i used to watch GoT. to me, it was a great story line! i watched the first 4 seasons, but towards the end of season 4, i was starting to feel not ok with it. after watching the first episode of season 5, i decided to stop watching it. nobody told me to do it. i felt Holy Spirit was telling me, and so it wasn't a burden for me to stop.

 

[Magenta]

The spiritual edge of GOT is something people seem to miss. Know why the show is so dark, so full of violence, murder, betrayal, infidelity, lewdness, lust, and lasciviousness? Winter is coming. It is the perfect picture for the world we live in as we continue this quick progression of events that really does look like the end is coming, from the perspective of someone who sees everything that was considered evil becoming mainstream in one lifetime. Winter is coming. Evil is rising. Mere mortal men are powerless against this kind of evil. A True King is needed. Many lay claim to the throne, but only one will reign.

 

[Fenner]

I've never watched Game of Thrones. I did watch The Tudors series, that could get questionable, but no one ever told my Mom.
At the age of 22 he's old enough to watch GOT if he was 12 I'd be concerned but at 22 he should be able to discern fiction from reality.

 

[Yahweh_is_gracious]

I can't speak about GoT. I've never watched it. I do think it's silly to be making a hoo-doo about someone of the age of 22 doing something perfectly legal. If a person can die for their country at 18, I would think seeing a little side boob or hearing a naughty word occasionally wouldn't make the world stop spinning.

 

[Desdichado]

So it took JRR Tolkien 12 years to write Lord of the Rings.

It's year 25 and Martin still has not completed his saga which, truth be told, would take way less effort to write.

That's my major qualm with A Song Of Ice and Fire. A pity too. I loved the first three books.

 

[Magenta]

So it took JRR Tolkien 12 years to write Lord of the Rings.

It's year 25 and Martin still has not completed his saga which, truth be told, would take way less effort to write.

That's my major qualm with A Song Of Ice and Fire. A pity too. I loved the first three books.

I have watched LoTR trilogy many times. I tried reading the books when I was younger but could not. Still, they are fairly easy to comprehend in terms of characters and plot. The same cannot be said for GOT. There are so many characters and plot lines going that the first time I watched the show I could hardly follow it. I would have been completely lost about who was whom and what their connection to the story was and why they were doing what they were doing if it were not for my daughter telling me. She had a better idea of what was going on because she had read the books. I did eventually read the books up to where we were in the show at that time, and it immeasurably helped me to get a better grasp of the characters and plot lines, which are incredibly complex.

 

[Desdichado]

I have watched LoTR trilogy many times. I tried reading the books when I was younger but could not. Still, they are fairly easy to comprehend in terms of characters and plot. The same cannot be said for GOT. There are so many characters and plot lines going that the first time I watched the show I could hardly follow it. I would have been completely lost about who was whom and what their connection to the story was and why they were doing what they were doing if it were not for my daughter telling me. She had a better idea of what was going on because she had read the books. I did eventually read the books up to where we were in the show at that time, and it immeasurably helped me to get a better grasp of the characters and plot lines, which are incredibly complex.

The key with ASOIAF is to compartmentalize them according to geography/characters.

You have the wall/north of the wall (Snow/Stark), Westeros (Stark, Tyrell, Lannister, Baratheon, Martel), Essos (Dothraki, Targaryan)

Tolkien wanted to write an English myth. Martin wanted to turn the genre on its head and write a realpolitik saga with hints of legend.

I'll read the rest of what Martin puts forward because it's a good ride, but the atmospheric power of LOTR cannot be beaten. Martin is a man of our age. Tolkien is a man for the ages.

 

[Desdichado]

Also, I think a great alternative to GOT is Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth and World Without End.

Same kind of harebrained political maneuvers and romance. Better writing. That and it takes place in our world, so you may actually learn something of value to impress your friends.

Better yet, pick up anything about the War of the Roses or the Plantagenet family.

 

[Magenta]

Also, I think a great alternative to GOT is Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth and World Without End.

Same kind of harebrained political maneuvers and romance. Better writing. That and it takes place in our world, so you may actually learn something of value to impress your friends.

Better yet, pick up anything about the War of the Roses or the Plantagenet family.

I absolutely adored Ken Follet's PoTE and WWE I first watched the miniseries with my daughter, then a year or two later read the book. My daughter could not understand how I could enjoy the book so much having seen the show, which was done really true to form (Follett had a hand in that ). However, enough time had passed that it really was like discovering it for the first time. Plus he is such a masterful author. I did read and watch his two centuries later follow-up, which I agree, was also very well executed, though not as good as Pillars of the Earth. The thing I liked most about the stories is that they deal in a very big way with the abuses of religion and the Catholic Church. It was a classic tale of good versus evil with the antagonist being a powerful religious figure who was vain, deceitful, cunning, ambitious, and vindictive. Nobody does that as well as Ian McShane haha. Eddie Redmayne was really very good in his role, also And yes, the historical element is a boon The second book was starting the lag at the halfway point until the plague came along to liven things up

 

[Desdichado]

I absolutely adored Ken Follet's PoTE and WWE I first watched the miniseries with my daughter, then a year or two later read the book. My daughter could not understand how I could enjoy the book so much having seen the show, which was done really true to form (Follett had a hand in that ). However, enough time had passed that it really was like discovering it for the first time. Plus he is such a masterful author. I did read and watch his two centuries later follow-up, which I agree, was also very well executed, though not as good as Pillars of the Earth. The thing I liked most about the stories is that they deal in a very big way with the abuses of religion and the Catholic Church. It was a classic tale of good versus evil with the antagonist being a powerful religious figure who was vain, deceitful, cunning, ambitious, and vindictive. Nobody does that as well as Ian McShane haha. Eddie Redmayne was really very good in his role, also And yes, the historical element is a boon The second book was starting the lag at the halfway point until the plague came along to liven things up

I'm glad there is another admirer on here! I also happen to agree that PoTE was the better book. WWE had its charm, but could never quite escape PoTE's shadow.

That's all I needed though. I don't know about you, but it seems we agree

 

[Magenta]

I'm glad there is another admirer on here! I also happen to agree that PoTE was the better book. WWE had its charm, but could never quite escape PoTE's shadow.

That's all I needed though. I don't know about you, but it seems we agree

I watched both series again a couple of years ago, and the World Without End does grow on you after a while, though for sure, it is Pillars of the Earth that is the true masterpiece He really is an amazing writer. I have read and seen others of his work, but those two outshine the others

 

[LaurenTM]

I dunno

the guy is 22...tell his parents?

does he live by himself

something seems a bit off IMO

didn't know they made a GOT monopoly package...personally, I would buy the one with the dogs

so sorry the wolves keep getting killed off

 

[Desdichado]

I dunno

the guy is 22...tell his parents?

does he live by himself

something seems a bit off IMO

didn't know they made a GOT monopoly package...personally, I would buy the one with the dogs

so sorry the wolves keep getting killed off

<3 The Hound.

 

[Consumed]

This thread wasn't nearly as interesting as I'd hoped it would be...oh well.

As someone else stated. The Holy Spirit works the way the Holy Spirit works. Just because he's ok with it now doesn't mean he always will be.