Why “Anora” and “The White Lotus” are making headlines

USA Today is by reputation one of the more “moderate” or “centrist” news outlets. I was therefore dismayed to see its recent headline, “From ‘Anora’ to ‘Wicked,’ 15 movies you need to stream right now.”

The article obviously endorses Anora, a movie with graphic nudity that normalizes prostitution. That is bad enough. But as I read further, I found that the outlet is endorsing a movie about a woman with a “parasitic demon,” a film about a man who tortures two Mormon missionaries, a film about a gay couple who rents a house that turns out to be possessed, and a movie about a one-night stand between characters called “The Lady” and “The Demon.”

Each is a film that USA Today insists we “need to stream” today.

As another glimpse into contemporary culture, note this Time headline: “Let’s Talk About the Incest on The White Lotus, With Help From Some Experts.”

A disclaimer: I have never seen The White Lotus and never will, due to its graphic sexual content. But the Time article describes scenes that I will not describe here, as they are beyond the bounds of even what our broken culture typically accepts. At no point, however, does the article condemn or even criticize the immorality it describes beyond wondering if such acts are harmful to those who engage in them.

“Stupid dog” or “stupid human”?

Contrary to what you might expect, my purpose in this response is not to criticize those who made the films and shows that concern me so gravely today. As my wife often reminds us, lost people act like lost people.

A culture that has jettisoned any concept of “north” on its compass should be expected to wander in any direction it wishes. People who make money through media can likewise be expected to do whatever makes money.

Movies and shows that contain sexual immorality, graphic violence, and even demonic themes obviously appeal to enough viewers to make money for those who make them. Reporters who cover such movies and films obviously attract readers and make money for the outlets that employ them.

When I am surprised by such content, I shouldn’t be.

On my morning walk, I typically pass a house where a dog in the backyard rushes to the fence, barking furiously at me. This has been going on for two years now. I would have thought the dog would have determined that I’m not a threat to the people he (or she) thinks he’s guarding. But alas, the same happened again this morning.

My first reaction was to mutter “stupid dog” to myself. But then I realized that the dog is just doing what is in its nature to do. So I changed my response to look more at my own reaction and uttered “stupid human” instead.

Making a covenant with the Canaanites

When I encounter unbiblical immorality in our broken culture, my first response should not be to condemn those who produce it but to pray for them. The actors and actresses who appear nude are misusing sexuality intended for their wives and husbands (Genesis 2:24–25). Those who commercialize and commodify their bodies are using them as a means to their ends.

So it is with those who enact extreme violence, demonic themes, and other immorality. Whether they know it or not, they are being used by the one who “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). I need to pray for God to work by his Spirit and people to bring them to repentance and new life in Christ.

But I also need to be sure not to go where they want to take me.

The Lord warned the people of Israel before they entered the promised land, “Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst” (Exodus 34:12). God was adamant: “You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lᴏʀᴅ, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)” (vv. 13–14).

Otherwise, the people would “make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods” (vv. 15–16).

It was because the Israelites rejected this warning and adopted the pagan religions and sexual immorality of the Canaanites that their nation eventually fell into judgment and exile.

This narrative is in Scripture because it is still relevant today. The Israelites did not need to be warned about Canaanite immorality until they entered Canaanite lands. Now that they were about to do so, they needed to decide emphatically not to do what the Canaanites did.

So with us.

There was a day in American culture when the immorality I have discussed today would have been unthinkable in movies and TV shows. But that day is long gone. We now live in the “land of the Canaanites.” And we must refuse to “make a covenant” with it, lest we become infected by its sins.

Why many nations began the year today

The consequences of today’s discussion are enormous, both for our souls and for our society.

Jesus called his followers “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). If we hide our light under a basket, the world is plunged into spiritual darkness. Conversely, if we live by God’s word and will, others “may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (v. 16).

In other words, if we make a “covenant” with our broken culture, we forfeit God’s abundant life personally and our society loses the only light that can illumine its darkness.

I am writing this article on the day known to liturgical tradition as the “Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.” On this day, Christians around the world remember Gabriel’s visit to Mary, announcing that she would become the mother of the Messiah (Luke 1:26–38).

Since church tradition identified December 25 as the day of Jesus’ birth, it identified March 25 (nine months earlier) as the day of his conception. In fact, for many centuries, many European countries began the year on this day because this was the day God entered humanity by taking upon himself an earthly body in the body of his earthly mother.

Here’s my point: The Lord could select Mary to be the mother of Jesus because she was still a virgin (Luke 1:34). In a culture where young women often sold themselves sexually to merchants and soldiers passing by, her personal purity and godliness (cf. vv. 46–55) positioned her to be used by God to change the world.

So it is with us. When we refuse to be like the Canaanites of our culture, we earn the right to lead them to Christ. When we reject the sins of our culture, we can be the change we wish to see.

But only then.