"Redeeming Love," a movie by renowned film director D.J. Caruso that was shown in theaters since last week, is said to be a "stumbling block" for young women according to theologian and Christian author Phylicia Masonheimer because it has "soft pornographic content."
ChurchLeaders reported that Masonheimer warned Christians to "exercise caution" in watching the movie and reading the same-titled book it was based from for it might only hamper healing for those struggling with pornography. Masonheimer's warning come from Episode 68 of her podcast, "Verity," that was entitled, "Should Christian Women Watch Redeeming Love?"
In the 50-minute podcast, Masonheimer discussed the movie and its contents with three theologians who similarly cautioned Christians to watch the movie and read the book. Masonheimer, who agrees that God has a redeeming love, disclosed that one of her advocacies is to help women overcome sexual addictions being liberated from the sin herself at the age of 20.
Masonheimer recounted that her addiction was actually sparked by "erotica" or women's novels with sexual content. She then revealed testimonials of young women whose sexual addiction were sparked by "Redeeming Love." This is why, she said, she was saddened that Christian women are recommending others to read "Redeeming Love" since she said the novel is very far from the story of Hosea and its content has violence and pornography.
"I was sadly very alarmed that there are Christian women who are recommending the book to young Christian women with no caveats. I really believe that there are some people who've been genuinely touched and healed in some ways by this book. I don't doubt at all that that has happened and that's why I want to be gentle and careful in how I talk about this," she said.
"However, when we recommend material like this with no caveat or context, we are potentially setting an enormous stumbling block in front of young women who are struggling with pornography, which is what erotica is. In 'Redeeming Love,' there is soft pornographic content,"
As previously reported, "Redeeming Love" is a decades-old highly acclaimed novel of international best selling author Francine Rivers, who, as per ChurchLeaders, wrote erotic historical fiction before becoming a Christian.
Rivers, inspired by the book of Hosea in the Bible, wrote "Redeeming Love" as an 1850s "harrowing tale of life, love, and Gospel redemption" during the California Gold Rush. The book intends to let readers know of God's love for them based on Rivers' own faith journey.
"I want people to see that no matter what's been done to us or the sins we commit, God loves us and offers us new life through Jesus. We all have to make a choice. Surrendering to Jesus is the one decision that changes us from the inside out and sets us free to love as God loves us. I wanted viewers to see the difference between what the world says love is and what real love looks like," Rivers told The Christian Post.
Caruso read the book and made it into a movie, which is said to be one of the Christian Films to watch out for 2021 but release was delayed for a year due to the pandemic. The movie, which similarly aims to convey God's love to the world, intends to help victims of sex trafficking through the Redeeming Love Sanctuary Foundation so that it will "have a purpose" of giving hope besides entertainment and evangelizing.
Besides soft porn, "Redeeming Love" have violent scenes that may trigger certain viewers. The female lead, Angel, had a violent childhood due to her physically and sexually abusive father and due to her mother who turns to prostitution for their survival. Angel repeats history by being involved with a sexually and physically abusive man before she meets the Godly man, Michael Hosea.
Masonheimer and her guests also came out with seven questions Christians should ask "before recommending it to others." She particularly cited Romans 14 as a basis of deciding what to recommend to others for it may become a "stumbling block" to their spiritual journey.
