Twilight: Is it Safe for Teens to Read?

Many parents freak out when their kids want to read a book that contains something of the supernatural. They have demanded that books like Harry Potter be banned from school libraries without ever really reading it to see what the book is all about. Seriously, they should be more worried about Steven King. The relatively new Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer has been banned if a few schools across the country. I am a Christian and I am a parent and a teacher. I have also read the Twilight series and I feel as though it is perfectly safe for our teens to read.

The plot of the Twilight series is very Romeo and Juliet with two characters who aren't suppose to be together in the vampire, Edward Cullen, and the very human, Bella. It takes everything in Edward to fight against his instincts to kill Bella every time he is near her in the first book, Twilight. After he thinks Bella has died in the second book, New Moon, he quickly gets over that instinct because he realizes that the pain of losing her is much stronger than any desire to kill her. Bella very much wants to join Edward as a vampire, but he does not want to change her.

As the Twilight series progresses, I can see many themes of morality throughout the plot. One is the Cullen family's desire to overcome their thirst for human blood . The do not want to kill humans and therefore are overcoming a sinful nature of sorts. Their desire to protect human life, which is a struggle for them every day, is very similar to our very human struggle against our own sinful nature.

While the Twilight series does not talk about Christianity per say (It does mention that Edward's "father," Carlisle, was the son of an English minister), it does talk about the human soul. One of the main reasons that Edward does not want to change Bella is that he fears for her immortal soul. Bella, not being raised in the church, does not really care if she loses her soul or not. Edward, who was, thinks that being turned into a vampire causes one to lose their soul. Carlisle does not agree with Edward. Most of the traditional vampire myths are not true in this book, such as a vampire cannot be in the sun or that crosses kill them, are not true, so, hopefully, Carlisle is right.

One element in the Twilight series that parents will rejoice over is that Edward refused to have sex with Bella until they were married. He felt very strongly about this even though Bella tempted him in every way that she could. He felt as though his virtue was the one thing he still had and he wanted to keep them both pure in that aspect. He kept his word and they did not make love until they were married in the fourth book.

The Twilight books really are a fabulous series. I will admit that I am fully addicted. Teen parents should have nothing to fear if their daughters cannot put the books down. There are so many worse things that they could be getting addicted to. If you are really concerned, read them yourself. You just might find yourself more addicted than your teen.