Do I play the clip?

Here is the transcript of a very short talk I gave at my church about Pulp Fiction yesterday:

The big question is this? Am I going to show a clip of this film in this church now? The film contains foul language, and fairly extreme violence, including some of a sexual nature. Would it be right to show any part of this film – even if I could find a thirty second clip that didn’t contain any of the above things? Some would, I’m sure, be shocked and offended that we’re even discussing such a film. Some loved the film and wish churches would do more of this kind of thing. So what is the Christian thing for me to do? Show the clip or not show the clip?

Last week (when we looked at The Break-up) we heard that Jesus isn’t interested a list of do’s and don’ts. He’s not interested in calling people to become Christians to live by a series of rules. There are no rules, as such. It’s all about the relationship – and wanting to do things that please Jesus.

And the Bible isn’t a rule book. But it still helps us, teaching us how Christians can live together harmoniously, respecting each other’s differing boundaries and sensibilities. We're all different:

Some of us watched Pulp Fiction and loved it. We enjoyed the unreal pastiche quality and realistic dialogue and that bit about the Royale with cheese. We’re immune not offended by bad language because people at work use it all the time, although We wouldn’t use those words ourselves. If that’s you, fair enough.
Some of us watched Pulp Fiction because we’re film buffs. So we saw a groundbreaking movie which broke new ground in storytelling, giving us a bizarre sequence of scenes as the story is told in the wrong order. Fair enough.
Some of us watched it because it’s what all the guys at work were watching, and we wanted to engage with the culture and have conversations that might enable to give some hope in a film which offers no hope. It’s worth noting that all the characters in the film are bad guys. There are no good guys in Pulp Fiction. And when we thought about James Bond, we considered how much we want a saviour to come and sort out the mess and make everything better. And of course that’s exactly what Jesus done. Fair enough.
Some of us haven’t seen Pulp Fiction because it is a film without hope, filled with bad people doing bad things, swearing and killing. Fair enough.
Some of us have seen it and wish we hadn’t for the same reason. Fair enough.
Some of us haven’t seen it because we think it will just encourage us to use bad language and possibly cause us to mimic the violence. Fair enough.
Some of us just haven’t got round to watching it or have never even heard of it. Lucky you.

So what now? If I play the clip, some of us will be offended at it and my moral laxity. If I don’t play the clip some will be shaking our heads at the scruples of others. Well, as promised, the Bible can help us. Here’s a verse from Paul’s letter to the Romans. He says this:
“Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling-block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” Romans 14:13

The apostle Paul is telling us not to judge each other because you have get offended at different things. Don’t call this bunch unholy because they like Pulp Fiction. They’re not offended by it – and they’re trying to engage with the culture. But you, film buffs, don’t show stuff in public that’s going to upset people or cause them to sin.

I hope it’s clear why, then, I’m not going to play the clip.