Are People the Final Arbiter of Spiritual Truth?
While some critics have focused on Bella’s reckless behavior in pursuit of Edward (more on that below) hardly any have hit on the film’s spiritual solipsism – the idea that the individual is all that exists and is, therefore, the ultimate arbiter of truth. When phrased in that way, most people can immediately see the dangers inherent in such belief. Bella, in the book (not the movie) describes her own theological training at the hands of her father and mother: “My own life was fairly devoid of belief. Charlie considered himself a Lutheran, because that’s what his parents had been, but Sundays he worshipped by the river with a fishing pole in his hand. Renee tried out a church now and then, but, much like her brief affairs with tennis, pottery, yoga, and French classes, she moved on by the time I was aware of her newest fad.” (New Moon , p. 36). To set things up for the uninitiated, Edward wants Bella, and Bella wants Edward. But Edward firmly believes that if Bella becomes a vampire, s
