Is it a sin to watch the movies that contain premarital sex scenes

dumbseeker · #1 Dec 7, '08, 8:20 am

Is it a sin to watch the movies that contain premarital sex scenes? Nowadays many movies have that kind of scenes: a man and a women having sex together without getting married. Is it a sin to watch them?

Sam Maloney · #2 Dec 7, '08, 8:51 am

Depends on the effect it has on you. Some poeple can watch without sinning, others will be very badly tempted.

If you are deliberately seeking out films with sex scenes, then I'd say that's definetly a problem.

TLM08 · #3 Dec 7, '08, 1:47 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by dumbseeker

Is it a sin to watch the movies that contain premarital sex scenes? Nowadays many movies have that kind of scenes: a man and a women having sex together without getting married. Is it a sin to watch them?

It's probably not a sin, but I try to avoid movies that are centered around this stuff. Good luck trying to find anything these days that doesn't have it!

Smber2c · #4 Dec 7, '08, 7:46 pm

I'd say that this is more dangerous ground than the previous post suggests.

Many popular shows and movies today have either nudity or minute long seens with characters in their underwear rubbing and kissing all over one another. Such scenes will be sinful for many, if not most, people. At the very least they are an occasion to sin and something we should try and avoid. Of course - this all has nothing to do with the characters or the actors being married.

I don't think that the characters or actors being married or unmarried will really affect your personal comission of sin. I suppose by buying a ticket for a movie in which a man and woman really do have sex (as in the actors, but the characters) with each other and aren't married - then you could be supporting evil...but really Catholics shouldn't be seeing movies with graphic sex in them in the first place so that shouldn't really come into play.

coco2 · #5 Dec 7, '08, 8:20 pm

Many times when you go to a movie, you don't really know what you will be seeing. If it is rated R, then there will be something in it, violence or sex. I have walked out of movies before. Two because of the horrid violence and a few because of the sex. I won't watch a movie that is based on casual sex. PG rated movies seem to have more teen sex than R rated movies do. Which brings me to this question: Is it a sin to watch movies that contain violence, killing etc?

I have seen many very good movies that have had sex between unmarried people and violence. Schindler's List for one. Schindler committing adultery, but also risks his life to save Jews during the holocaust.

Many movies have unmarried people living together. Unfortunately, you don't have to look very far to see this happening in the world, your neighbors, your neighbors kids, your son or daughter, brother or sister, cousin or friend. Sad.

That one guy · #6 Dec 7, '08, 9:32 pm

I agree with the responses that say if it gives you occasion to sin,...then ,...yeah.It's a sin.We don't even watch TV at my house.We pick our movies and we pick our music.But, we are also Jesus nerds,...

Antrim · #7 Dec 8, '08, 7:52 pm

Back when NYPD Blue was on TV. Our Pastor told us that we were forbidden to watch it because of the Nudeity in it. So since that was a sin it is definitley a sin to watch a movie with Sex scenes in it. That is really pornography and it is forbidden by the Church.

Antrim

Smber2c · #8 Dec 8, '08, 11:16 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by coco2

Many times when you go to a movie, you don't really know what you will be seeing. If it is rated R, then there will be something in it, violence or sex. I have walked out of movies before.

One thing that can be a real blessing for the web-savy (and since you're posting here I'm sure you are) is to use rating sites.

http://www.usccb.org/movies/

Is the site of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Film and Broadcasting website. They rate tons of movies fairly quickly and use this scale:

A-I – GENERAL PATRONAGE.
A-II – ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS.
A-III – ADULTS
L – LIMITED ADULT AUDIENCE, FILMS WHOSE PROBLEMATIC CONTENT MANY ADULTS WOULD FIND TROUBLING
O – MORALLY OFFENSIVE.

Their reviews are no more than 5 sentences long, giving the type of movie, a couple of the leads, occasionally an idea of how entertaining it as, and always a sentence or two outlining the films moral (or amoral) contents.

oh, and clicking on the movies title will bring up a much more detailed review giving more info on the entertainment aspect of wathing a particular movie.

Also, I just went to see what the USCCB says on "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" and of course it's rated O, but they do have an actual review - which means a reviewer went to watch this movie to review it.

Can one go to an obviously porno focused movie for the purpose of reviewing it (even on a Catholic site) and not sin or inappropriately put oneself in the near ocassion to sin?

**Holly3278** · #9 Dec 13, '08, 1:58 am

I kind of doubt that it is a sin but it is something I certainly would not recommend. Why let your dollars go towards the production of immoral movies?

Lujack · #10 Dec 13, '08, 6:19 am

Wouldn't it depend on the nature of the scene? For example, the movie Kingdom of Heaven has what clearly is a sex scene, but it is fairly short, and nothing is shown except a bare back. From that point on, its a historical movie.

Even in terms of nudity, some movies can still skate by. The Zeffarelli version of Romeo and Juliet, which is the best filmed version, has a brief scene of Juliet topless. Doesn't the artistic merit of the film (that, unlike the other Romeo and Juliet movies, which are adaptations, it is Romeo and Juliet, using the original script) outweigh that brief scene?

cmcampbell1 · #11 Dec 13, '08, 8:59 am

We just coeverd this in RCIA with my friend that is converting. One good quote from a member was "Garbage in, Garbage out." If we put bad things in our eyes, ears, mouth, we tend to output those same things or al least become complacent with them. If you have a very strong faith, it is easier to get by scenes and images in movies and books. If you are struggling in your faith, they tend to confuse you even more. That is why reading scripture and lives of saints ( and some of those can be racy at times) give us better infromation to process and live by. They give us examples to aspire to instead of examples of things to avoid.

firmfoundation · #12 Dec 13, '08, 9:27 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smber2c

One thing that can be a real blessing for the web-savy (and since you're posting here I'm sure you are) is to use rating sites.

http://www.usccb.org/movies/

Is the site of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Film and Broadcasting website. They rate tons of movies fairly quickly and use this scale:

A-I – GENERAL PATRONAGE.
A-II – ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS.
A-III – ADULTS
L – LIMITED ADULT AUDIENCE, FILMS WHOSE PROBLEMATIC CONTENT MANY ADULTS WOULD FIND TROUBLING
O – MORALLY OFFENSIVE.

Their reviews are no more than 5 sentences long, giving the type of movie, a couple of the leads, occasionally an idea of how entertaining it as, and always a sentence or two outlining the films moral (or amoral) contents.

oh, and clicking on the movies title will bring up a much more detailed review giving more info on the entertainment aspect of wathing a particular movie.

Also, I just went to see what the USCCB says on "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" and of course it's rated O, but they do have an actual review - which means a reviewer went to watch this movie to review it.

Can one go to an obviously porno focused movie for the purpose of reviewing it (even on a Catholic site) and not sin or inappropriately put oneself in the near ocassion to sin?

I think it depends on what the individual can handle, and whether they it causes them to sin. Also, what is their motive. Paul says that, regarding things that are not specifically listed in Scripture, "whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (I Corinthians, speaking about eating meat sacrificed to idols.)

jfhh · #13 Dec 13, '08, 2:11 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by dumbseeker

Is it a sin to watch the movies that contain premarital sex scenes? Nowadays many movies have that kind of scenes: a man and a women having sex together without getting married. Is it a sin to watch them?

IMO no, even though the Catechism may classify the movie as "pornography" (it defines it as any sex scene even "simulated").

I think the important thing to realize is that premarital sex even if wrong due to its context (i.e. due to it being outside of marriage or before marriage), is in itself a good thing. It's not like homosexual sex which is in itself a bad thing that is wrong no matter the context. Loving heterosexual sex is in itself a good thing that is right or wrong depending on the context (marriage, etc.). So for premarital sex, it's wrong due to it not being the right time and place (and maybe also dangerous). So there's nothing wrong IMHO with appreciating the beauty of a premarital love affair depicted in a film. Keep in mind that such an affair can be depicted even without explicit sexual scenes. It is depicted in very old movies as well. In G and PG movies. Creation is imperfect and an imperfection in an act or in a scene or in a movie should not prevent us from enjoying or appreciating it as a whole or in those aspects which aspire more closely to perfection. God loves us despite our imperfection. We can also love movies despite their imperfection. God's love extends to all of creation.

Layman · #14 Dec 13, '08, 3:03 pm

"So there's nothing wrong IMHO with appreciating the beauty of a premarital love affair depicted in a film."

Incorrect. Such programs are propaganda for sinful acts which in real life lead to misery. They are rotten fantasies.

Popular culture has always been vicious, in the old-fashioned sense of that word. A hundred years ago being an actress was near-synonymous with being a prostitute. It's not too different today; acting is a seedy profession. Hence all the scandals surrounding 'celebrities'.

TV and films thrive on scandal. It's a race to the bottom at the moment. They need to shock and titillate you as they can't write a decent script with rounded characters. It's a very cynical and calculated business. You can see the hand of the Archfiend in it quite distinctly.

And notice all these children nowadays desperate to be a pop or movie star.

Why let yourself be used by watching it? The human brain store everything. Why fill it with trash?

I just laugh whenever I see such cynical soft-porn, if I'm not quick enough to change the channel. I do enjoy making some smart, ironic or jarring remark if there are others present, thus spoiling the 'moment'.

jfhh · #15 Dec 13, '08, 4:47 pm

Layman, a premarital affair depicted in film can consist of more than a sex scene and may not include a sex scene at all. In older films sex scenes are depicted just in their foreplay (kissing and hugging) and then the screen fades before any clothes are taken off.

Regardless, FWIW, the Vatican's list of recommended films includes films with nudity and even with sex scenes.

http://www.usccb.org/fb/vaticanfilms.htm

Not surprisingly, even though given the thumbs up by the Vatican and only a PG rating from the MPAA, the USCCB has given it an A-III rating. Sex in films is not nearly as potentially morally corrosive as violence is. For example, take the very entertaining and worthwhile film Wanted. IMO, the most morally problematic aspect is not in any sex scene, nor in any gore (there's really not much of either), but in a potentially ambiguous message it might send to vulnerable children who haven't yet been properly formed in their ethical education.

Anyway, in the Vatican's list, it includes The Mission which includes a fairly graphic (read: intense) sex scene (even though the movie is rated PG ... probably today it'd be re-rated PG-13 due to more stringent standards when it comes to sex and nudity).

If you are really concerned about these kinds of issues, use this website:

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/

It is very detailed and also unlike almost every other service (it's free) mentions whether God's name is taken in vain. For ex. for Punisher: War Zone, it says in the Language section:

"3 religious profanities, 3 religious exclamations."

At first they didn't include such information but I guess from patron feedback, they decided to include it.