Are there jobs Christians should not do?

So, after my posting on dance, I am sure some of you took a look at the costumes and the erotic nature of some of the dances, and thought, hmmmm, I dunno about all that! I have a very good friend who would walk past the TV when some of those dance shows were on, mutter something about skimpy clothing and erotic routines and walk away in disapproval. And although I love the shows, I am not sure that even if I had the talent and the body for it, that I would either dress like that, or dance like that, just because it would make me intensely uncomfortable!

So, while there are activities that we happily watch and are entertained by, are there jobs that are off limits to Christians? And are we hypocrites if we watch, but do not participate?

There are three main jobs that I am particularly wondering about:

a) Models
Do you remember Ms. California and her comment on marriage being between a man and a woman at the Miss America contest? If so, you will recall that she soon found herself in the center of a maelstrom, as less than “sanctified” pictures of her in varied states of undress suddenly surfaced. She was labeled a hypocrite for her topless pictures, to which she responded:

"I am a Christian and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos," Prejean said in a statement. "The photos of me taken as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid website that openly mocks me for me for my Christian faith. I am not perfect and I will never claim to be perfect."

Here is video that summarizes the entire saga.



So are Christianity and lingerie modeling mutually exclusive? Can you be a worship leader on Sunday, and a Victoria secret Angel on Monday?


b) actors/actresses
I am a real fan of the African movie phenomenon (that is another topic entirely!), so I have been out of the loop with Hollywood for a while. Therefore, a few months ago, I decided to try to catch up. So, I went and borrowed a whole bunch of movies and had a movie marathon all by myself. One of the movies I started to watch was “Shakespeare in Love” – thus described:

Shakespeare in Love won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (for Gwyneth Paltrow) and Best Supporting Actress (for Judi Dench). It was the first comedy to win the Best Picture award since Annie Hall (1977).

Source

I was astonished to find that the movie was basically soft porn – lots of full frontal nudity by Gwyneth Paltrow, and plenty of inappropriate sexual references. As open minded and liberal as I consider myself to be, I could not watch it to the end. It has almost become a job requirement nowadays that if you consider yourself a serious thespian,you must be able to do some kind of love scene, which requires different stages of undress. Many of the recent best actor/actress awards at the academy awards have often involved nudity and/or sex scenes on the part of the actors involved . Most notable are Halle Berry in Monster’s ball (2001) and Kate Winslet in The Reader (2008).

And its not just a Hollywood thing. African movies have stepped up their game with regards to sex scenes as well. The love scenes in the following:

“the Perfect picture”,



and

“30 days”



among several others are pretty wild by African standards. They are some of my very favorite movies, but I was surprised by the intensity of some of the love scenes.

For "The Perfect picture" love scene, I had to hit the ff button. I was like – dannnnnnngggggggg!!

c) Dancers

Then there are dancers: Much as I love the Latin American dances, I am not sure that I want anybody I am not romantically involved with touching me like that. And as for the professionals, no part of their body is sacred. For instance, watch this Mia Micheal’s routine:

Note: the dance starts around the 2:25 mark.



While she is a fabulously talented choreographer, I am not sure that it is appropriate to have someone's hands all over your butt like that. I don't care what the context is - it just feels wrong. But if you are a dancer, you cannot tell your choreographer that you don't like the butt dance. You do as you are told - period!


We could also talk about some types of entertainers and the pressures they face to sell sex (Beyonce, Britney, Christina, etc), some athletes (female beach volleyball anyone?) and so on.

I have given this issue some thought, and I have concluded that there are certain professions where you have to think of your body as the tool of your trade. Writers have words, painters have brushes and canvas, musicians have their instruments, models, actors, dancers and entertainers have their body. They use it in whatever way they feel is needed to pass their message across – whether the message is to sell lingerie, or to communicate desire. You cannot excel in some of these professions if you have inhibitions about your body, or think of some areas as untouchable. I understand that.

Here is the question though: Does this lack of body inhibition requirement contravene the bible? Is inhibition a christian attribute?

And this verse;

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Does it imply that we need to be inhibited?


This is how Kirk Cameron interpreted this injunction as an actor in the movie Fireproof. His approach generated a great deal of interest in the secular press:

In Kirk Cameron’s new movie, “Fireproof,” he has to kiss the actress playing his wife. That was a problem. Cameron will not kiss any woman who is not his wife.“I have a commitment not to kiss any other woman,” the former child star of “Growing Pains” told Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford Monday on TODAY in New York. o get around the conflict, the filmmakers employed a bit of movie magic, Cameron explained. They dressed his wife, actress Chelsea Noble, like the movie’s female lead and shot the scene in silhouette. “So when I’m kissing my wife, we’re actually husband and wife honoring marriage behind the scenes,” Cameron said as Gifford and Kotb melted from the romanticism of the moment.

Source

Video here:

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So, is that the way it is supposed to be? Have we gotten used to sin in the guise of entertainment? And if we say – I would never, ever do that, or I would strongly disapprove if my child wanted to be in any of these professions, are we hypocrites if we watch?

Please weigh in.

Ciao!