JOLLYBLOGGER

Hollywood is About to Ruin Another Classic

This is why we distrust Hollywood - they take classics, turn them into movies and completely butcher the story line.  They did it with Tolkien, Lewis, but now this takes the cake . . .

Horton Hears a Who as Theology

Who knew that "Horton Hears a Who" is a great theological treatise?  Jerry Dodson that's who, here's a snippet of Jerry's, from me to you on hearing who's (yeah, yeah, Dr. Seuss is under no threat from me).

One of the main reasons that we don’t hear Jesus or recognize him, as god or as risen, is that our worldview won’t let us see or hear him. We have ruled out belief in things that we can’t see, hear or touch—like Jesus. This is precisely the belief of the Kangaroo in Horton Hears a Who, the Dr. Seuss book and movie. HHAW is a story about Horton the elephant who discovers that there is an entire world of mites that live on a spec, a spec which is on a flower that he carries. On occasion, when the mites are very loud and Horton is very quiet, he can hear the mayor of the mites. Horton is opposed by the Kangaroo who is the king of the jungle. She says that it is impossible for there to be a world of mites on the spec because she can’t hear them, see them, or touch them. Kangaroo assumes that her senses provide her with all the information she needs in order to make sense of her world.

But she has a problem. Her individual experience and knowledge can not account for everything in the entire jungle.

A Trip to Narnia

Narnia is coming to a museum near you (well, depending on how you define the word "near"), courtesy of the Becker, Group, Walt Disney Motion Pictures and Walden Media. An exhibit called "The Chronicles of Narnia: International Museum Exhibition" will start touring in June of 2008 and will hit at least 10 cities around the world in 5 years. Here's a description:

The 10,000-square-foot educational exhibit will appear at internationally renowned museums and learning institutions in a minimum of 10 cities around the world over a five-year span, escorting guests of all ages on a tour of myth, magic and adventure that so embodied Lewis's fantasy world. Incorporating the movies' original props with newly created interactive elements, "The Chronicles of Narnia: International Museum Exhibition" will allow visitors to enter three-dimensional settings of both fantasy and reality, including a recreation of Lewis's personal study. Visitors will also be immersed in environments such as the famous attic and wardrobe that serve as the portal into the Narnia adventures. Once inside, guests will be transported into a wintry Narnia world complete with falling snow and cold wind, as seen in the series' first film, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." The tour then continues through other spectacles from the series including the White Witch's ice palace, Cair Paravel, an actual trebuchet that was used as a catapulting weapon in medieval days, and additional sets and environments from the upcoming film, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

Should We Listen to "Secular" Movie Critics

The hits just keep coming from my friends over at Christ and Pop Culture.  Alan Noble has a post today called Reviewing the Critics: Can We Trust Secular Film Critics? in which he says . . . awww, you need to read the post for yourself to see what he says. 

As much as I love Alan's stuff I feel the need to highlight a comment on the post from Jeffrey Overstreet that makes all kinds of sense and that we ought to think seriously about:

The American audience is famous for choosing cheap, trashy stuff. In food. In merchandise. And yes, in entertainment and art.

If we look to the box office and say, “Well, this is what people WANT,” and let that guide us, we’re only going to perpetuate a decline in artistic appreciation and understanding.

In the same way, if we point to McDonalds’ “a bazillion people served,” and let that be our guiding fact, we’re just going to ensure that Americans continue to eat garbage and become obese and unhealthy.

It’s our job to coax people toward what is better. And what is better is not necessarily what is *easy*, or what is “family-friendly,” or what the majority prefers. Even amongst Christians, what is popular is often mediocre, simplistic, and telling us what we *want* to hear rather than what we *need* to hear.

I prefer to learn from those who study hundreds of movies every year, and grow in my appreciation of artistic excellence and artful storytelling. Let truth and beauty, not the box office, lead. And truth and beauty are messy subjects, often troubling, and sometimes, yes… R-rated.

Read the rest of Jeffrey's comment here.

Should We Be Watching More Movies?

I've struck up a friendship with the folks over at Christ and Pop Culture (and recommend you do the same) and have been talking art and film.  Here's a quote I bet they would be interested in interacting with and I think it is one that the Christian community ought to consider.  This is from Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere (HT - Kottke) who suggests that there are usually 20-25 movies that are somewhere between excellent and good enough to watch and that will make us think later:

Movies are not supposed to be pills that you take to feel better. They're not travelling carnivals with elephants and jugglers. They're supposed to be aesthetic journeys and emotional hikes that get us in touch with things that too many of us tend to push away (or anesthetize ourselves from) in our day to day. They're supposed to be compressions and condensations that create indelible moments, insights and excavations into our collective soul. We're only here for 80 or 90 years, we need to figure some stuff out before we pass on, and good movies are part of the learning-and-realizing process.

That portion of the Christian subculture in which I grew up spiritually would take umbrage at such a thought.  For them, the Christian response to movies was suspicion at best, avoidance in most cases, resistance often, and resentment always at how movies were corrupting our morals. 

I grew up (spiritually) with a pretty narrow view of film, and I can see some of my own biography in some parts of the Christian subculture today. Movies were mostly about amusement/entertainment and thus to be indulged in rarely as they were basically used for escapism.  They were also morally black and white - either good or bad, but mostly bad.  Thus, there weren't a lot of movies that were acceptable, and even the acceptable ones should only be indulged in rarely. 

Of course that was the party line which few people followed.  Pretty much all Christians watched pretty much all of the popular movies and just didn't mention it around the more spiritual people. 

I'm happy to have found a broader Christian community that takes a more nuanced view of film, but even in this broader community I can't think of anyone I know who would say we should watch 20-25 of the kinds of movies that Wells suggests.  Many would say, yeah they may create indelible moments, but that's the problem - they are indelible in a bad way - nothing good can come out of Nazareth or Hollywood.  But I think (considering the discussion on this post) we ought to consider how we might positively engage with film.   On that post Ben Bartlett summarizes Leland Ryken who says:

As he tells it, a piece of art (even a movie) is pointing to a particular "snapshot" of truth... not all truth, just a picture of one aspect of it.

So why not use movies as part of our own "learning-and-realizing process?"

Philippians 4:8 and Evaluating Art

Philippians 4:8 says this:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. (NETBible).

This is a verse which can and should guide us in the evaluation of art - literature, film, visual - and all of life for that matter.

Alan Noble has an interesting post up over at Christ and Pop Culture wherein he suggests that some of our well-known Christian film critics lift one element of that verse out and make it the litmus test for films, while ignoring others.  He says that these folks tend to be very conscious to evaluate film on the basis of purity, but in regards to truth, respect, just-ness, loveliness and commendability - well, not so much.

I'll just come right out and say that I think he is spot on, but I want to point out one particular point he makes that challenges my own thinking.  I think he makes the point well, but I don't know if I'm 100% sold yet and would love it if we could get some discussion going on this.

I have come to evaluate movies in terms of their redemptive value - good movies have redemptive themes and I look for those themes.  He also mentions the common Christian view that good should triumph over evil - if a movie portrays this then it is better. 

But Alan doesn't think this is required for film to be considered good or for it to conform to Biblical principles. 

But this raises the questions, in what way is the theme of redemption the only judge of aesthetic excellence and should we try to convince filmmakers that these kinds of films ought to be made because they are profitable?

To answer the first question we should look to the Old Testament. Even a cursory reading of Psalms, Job, Proverbs, or Ecclesiastes makes evident a common truth in the Old Testament: the world is unjust. The unrighteous rule, gain wealth, and go unpunished, while the righteous are abused and go unavenged. The Bible gives us no hope for true justice in this life. To demand that all films show good triumphing over evil, or justice over injustice is to go beyond the Bible and lie about the fundamental nature of the world. When Baehr argues that a movie is only good if it properly contains these themes, he either shows an ignorance of the Old Testament, or he is advocating art as pure escapism. While watching a hero win out against incredible odds is uplifting, to claim that any other plot structure is unbiblical and unworthy of praise is nonsense. It is precisely a world where the unjust currently go unpunished that Christ came to save: a fallen world.

The Dangers of Film

Here's some follow on thoughts to yesterday's post where I picked a fight with Neil Postman.  Postman championed the superiority of writing based cultures to image based cultures.  While I used to be whole-heartedly Postmanian on this, as I mentioned yesterday, I think some of his arguments break down and now I'm not so sure.

Still, by this I don't mean to say that the visual is superior to the graphic and I came across a good post today at Christ and Pop Culture on the dangers of film.  Rich Clark offers the following dangers of film:

• Film can use sentimentalism to mislead.
• Film can discourage critical thinking
• Film offers no opportunities for discussion
• Film can tempt us to sin without warning
• Film often leaves us trapped in a giant waste of time.

Rich is not against film, prior to this  wrote a post called "In Praise of Film."  So, the post I referenced here is him giving both sides of the story and I post these things to give equal time to some concerns I think Postman would share.

While we are on the subject of movies, Tim Challies reviews Brian Godawa's book "Hollywood Worldviews" and I guess you could say he gives it one and half thumbs up. Here's my own review of the book. I would probably give it one and three quarters thumbs up - I'm a little more liberal than Tim on the sex, violence and profanity issue, but I still think the issues Tim raises in this regard are on point and are a struggle for me.  Still, I found Godawa's take on the issues very helpful.  Even if you disagree with Godawa on that matter I consider Hollywood Worldviews to be pretty much essential reading for anyone interested in movies.
 

Gregg Easterbrook from ESPN Takes Down the Golden Compass

I love reading a good sports columnist and I have enjoyed reading Gregg Easterbrook from ESPN a number of times.  I guess I'm just going to have to make sure I faithfully read all of his columns now as he seems to segue from sports to philosophy to religion to cinema and so on.  Who knew that Immanuel Kant was interested in football, and "claimed the analytic-synthetic distinction obviates a priori reasoning on the blitz."  I didn't but Gregg sure did. 

Not only that, but you have to check out the way he takes on Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, along with Phillip Pullman, Hollywood and the Golden Compass book/movie franchise in this column. 

HT- Further Up & Further In.

I've included an excerpt after the jump.

Around the Jollysphere 12-13-07

I'm going to try to dust off an old thing I used to do - a link list called "Around the Jollysphere."  I used to do this and then let it fall by the wayside.  I have accumulated quite a lot of links in my del.ici.ous folders and saved rss feeds so I think I can make a go of this.  As I do this I'll try to separate it into categories and share with you some of the best things I have read.  I'm not going to have set categories, but you can expect that each time I do this I'll have some theology/biblical/Christian living links, cultural stuff, and a bit of sports stuff (especially during football season).  I also will share some stuff on diet and fitness as this something I have been very consumed with over the last few months and have quite a bit of material on.  So, without further ado (or is it adieu?) . . .

Theological Goodness

John Barlow has a good quote from Samuel Johnson.  It wasn't written in a theological context but is too good not to mention here:

"Hume and other skeptical innovators are vain men and will gratify themselves at any expense. Truth will not afford sufficient food to their vanity, so they have betaken themselves to error: Truth, Sir, is a cow which will yield such people no more milk, and so they are gone to milk the bull."

Glenn Lucke gets caught quoting the Bible on the the gospel and the kingdom.  Some of the brethren are troubled that some of the brethren seem to be defining the gospel in terms of the Kingdom of God.  So, Glenn does the unthinkable and searches the Scriptures on the matter.  Be sure and read the post and then look at a few other comments that Glenn made in response to me.  I understand the fear - some have used the "gospel of the kingdom" as an excuse to abandon the historical (biblical) teachings on justification.  But an errant understanding of the relationship of gospel and kingdom does not mean we abandon that which the Scripture plainly teaches - the gospel is the gospel of the kingdom

And of course, if we were still allowed to quote Tim Keller, we might find some wisdom.  But since we can't do that I'll quote Tony Stiff who quotes you-know-who as follows: 

“In general, I don’t think we’ve done a good job at developing ways of communicating the gospel that include both salvation from wrath by propitiation and the restoration of all things. Today, writing accessible presentations of the gospel should not be the work of marketers but the work of our best theologians.” Tim Keller, The Gospel and the Supremacy of Christ in a Postmoderd World (pg. 111)

 

This is what gets to me - Christians just love to fight over things that shouldn't be fought over.  The "gospel is the kingdom" guys want to deny or downplay propitiation in favor of the redemption of all things.  The propitiation guys are afraid that the restoration guys are going to lose propitiation so they don't want to talk about it.  The gospel is both - let's run with it.

And here's a good quote from Michael Bird that sets a correct trajectory for discussing the gospel:

"When Christians speak of salvation, they telll a story. It is a story that stretches from even before the creation of the world to its final redemption, when the plan of salvation conceived by God from eternity is to come to fulfillment. While God's dealings of old with God's chosen people, Israel, play an important role in this story, ultimately it revolves around Jesus Christ and his death on the cross."

David Brondos, Fortress Introduction to Salvation and the Cross (Philadelphia: Fortress, 2007), p.1.

Al Mohler Nails it on "The Golden Compass"

I've thought about writing some on "The Golden Compass" (book here, movie here) by Phillip Pullman.  Fortunately, Al Mohler has saved me the trouble. 

I can't think of a better short introduction to the issues surrounding this than Mohler's December 4 commentary - The Golden Compass -- A Briefing for Concerned Christians.  Mohler clearly lays out Pullman's anti-God agenda and the dangers it poses.  Yet, he praises Pullman for his writing and the makers of the movie for their production values. He made one comment to the effect that the production values were better than Lord of the Rings.

What is good is that he doesn't encourage Christians to boycott the movie, but to be informed and respond appropriately, and I would even say winsomely.  This is good - I'm already hearing calls to boycott the movie and I think that is a mistake. In fact, I joined a Facebook group called "What if we didn't boycott The Golden Compass."  I realize that there are children who shouldn't see the movie, but my take is that if a children's story can rock the faith of an older teenager or adult, you didn't have much of a faith to begin with.  Not saying you should go see the movie, but as I mentioned in my C. S. Lewis post a few days ago - we ought to have a faith that is confident and not threatened by false religions, or anti-religion - the Christian faith ought to be able to stand in the face of that kind of stuff.

Network Television R.I.P.

Most everyone knows about the writer's strike in Hollywood.  Marc Andreessen has a couple of posts up about the writer's strike and potential effects here and here (HT - Richard Florida).

It's all pretty interesting.  I know a number of folks who think television is the spawn of Satan and will probably rejoice in these misfortunes that are befalling the denizens of the city of iniquity, i.e. Hollywood.

Personally I'm only a little bit interested in the strike itself, as I only have a few programs I really follow, but if those programs go off the air it should take me about 20 minutes to deal with it and move on with my life.  I'm a bit bummed that 24 might not make it back in January and I really enjoy the new show Chuck, so I'll miss that if it goes away.  Oh yeah, I'll probably lose lot's of sleep wondering what happens to the castaways on Lost if that doesn't make it back. 

Other than that, for me the highest purpose of a television is show college football games so as long as the writer's strike doesn't affect Bowl season and next year's football season I should be fine.

But, all that silliness aside, Andreessen has an analysis worth paying attention to.  He says this:

The writers' strike, and the studios' response to the strike, may radically accelerate a structural shift in the media industry -- a shift of power from studios and conglomerates towards creators and talent.

Phillip Pullman on the Power of Story

For all of you who wonder why I will be quoting Phillip Pullman, he of "I want to kill God" fame (well, that's not exactly the way he would put it - it's a little more nuanced than that) and the "His Dark Materials" series, let me assure you that I haven't switched teams. 

The December issue of The Atlantic has an article by Hanna Rosin called "How Hollywood Saved God," which is a review/discussion of the new movie "The Golden Compass" which is based on Pullman's book of the same title.  It's an interesting article showing how the atheistic sentiments of Pullman's work are too much even for Hollywood, leading Hollywood to tame down some of the atheism in the movie, at least for this first one in the series.

But there is a great quote from Pullman in the article that I find spot on.  Pullman is a committed atheist who still looks back wistfully (in some ways) at his Sunday School days and he appreciates the power of story. Pullman says:

“‘Thou shalt not’ might reach the head, but it takes ‘Once upon a time’ to reach the heart.”

That's a great line and I don't mind quoting Pullman on this. 

This blog is not dead yet

Hello to all my friends who are wondering where I've been.  I haven't posted lately due to busy-ness and a missing muse (if you have my muse, please return her to me!), but just wanted to let you know that I'll be back.  I'm not dead yet, in fact, I'm getting better, I feel fine, I think I'll go for a walk, I feel happy.  In the meantime, how about a little Monty Python to amuse you until I return.

"A Severe Mercy" to be made into a movie

When I was in college one of the hot books going around was "A Severe Mercy" by Sheldon Vanauken.  It's a great tragedy/love story, the story of Sheldon and his wife Davy.  It speaks of their romance, their journey to faith under the tutelage of C. S. Lewis and their attempts to cope with Davy's final and fatal illness. It truly is a wonderful story and that's why I am excited to share the good news that is being made into a movie. No word yet on when it will be out but filming starts in the spring of 2008.

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Tags: Books, film, movies, religion, Christian, Christianity, Sheldon Vanauken, C. S. Lewis, A Severe Mercy

Two Ways of Seeing Jason Bourne

Two of my favorite things about Monday are that Joe Carter at the Evangelical Outpost publishes his weekly Thirty Three Things Column, and I also get my weekly update from Mike Metzger at the Clapham Institute. This week both had a reference to one of my all-time favorite movie franchises - the Bourne series. 

Joe has a link to an article that says that Jason Bourne is a Rambo for liberals, in which the author, Brendan O’Neill, says:

In The Bourne Ultimatum, as in the first two instalments, the only bad guys are CIA operatives. They think little of bugging phones, using spycams to track troublesome elements, shooting uppity journalists, and blowing up CIA men gone wrong in the teeming streets of foreign cities. As Cosmo Landesman says in The Sunday Times, Bourne is ‘the perfect liberal hero’. He allows ‘liberals to enjoy all the forbidden pleasures of the espionage blockbuster: they can see him kick a**, break necks, smash faces and shoot fellow human beings, and not complain about civil liberties because the victims work for the CIA’. Bourne is, says Landesman, ‘the John Rambo of the liberal intelligentsia’

On the other hand, Mike Metzger says that the Bourne franchise is a good representation of the four chapter Christian story:

The Bourne Identity asks the existential question ("Who am I?") according to film critic Manohla Dargis (formerly at the Los Angeles Times). He says the second film, The Bourne Supremacy was moral – "What did I do wrong?" The third installment, The Bourne Ultimatum, is redemptive according to David Denby of The New Yorker. It addresses "How can I escape what I am?" These three questions are addressed and answered in the first three chapters of the "four-chapter" gospel.

For thousands of years, the gospel was a "four-chapter" story enshrined in such early documents as the Nicene Creed (325AD), the Athanasian Creed (4th century) and the Apostle's Creed (8th century revision of the Old Roman Creed of the 3rd century). It was the story behind every story – captured in four chapters: (1) Creation – addressing the existential question "Who am I?" and how life ought to be, (2) the Fall – addressing "What did I do wrong?" to make the world the way it is today, (3) Redemption – addressing "How can I escape what I am?" and make things better and (4) the Restoration – "Where will I end up?" (For those of us who have seen Bourne Ultimatum, we were left wondering, "Where will Jason Bourne end up?")

 

Jason Bourne may seem larger than life, but his story actually reflects an even bigger story. "The Bible tells a story that is the story, the story of which our human life is a part," wrote Lesslie Newbigin. "It is not that stories are part of human life, but that human life is part of a story." When we see these patterns in cinema reflected in Scripture, the seeming gap between "the world" and the Word of God shrinks.

While I think Mr. O'Neill is insightful in his observations I think Metzger offers a more fruitful way of analyzing things.  The O'Neill article views life through a politicized lens, whereas the Metzger article views life through a gospel/redemptive lens.  Metzger doesn't claim that Bourne is a Christian hero, just that the franchise itself asks the inescapable questions which are only answered fully in the Christian story.

The reason that Metzger's take is more fruitful is that it escapes the pitfalls of the political illusion.  As Chuck Colson says:

Have we finally succumbed to what Jacques Ellul, the eccentric French Reformed thinker, prophesied in the 1960s—the politicization of all aspects of life? Ellul foresaw the Information Age and the media's need for a steady flow of information to feed the populace. Media would therefore gravitate to covering centers of power. Politicians would be willing accomplices, because they'd gain fame and clout. All of this has happened, creating what Ellul's prophetic book, The Political Illusion, predicted: the idea that every problem has a political solution.

Princess Bride is the Top Romantic Fairy Tale Movie Ever

I sort of liked Princess Bride when it first came out.  Then I went into youth ministry and we developed this odd tradition of watching it every year on the bus on the way to our annual ski trip.  It was during that time that the movie became a legend and I saw it so many times I could repeat a lot of the dialogue.  Well, good news to fans of Princess Bride - Empress Eve at "Geeks of Doom" (I love the title fo the blog and their header) has named it the number one Top Romantic Fairy Tale Movie Ever.  Cheers to Westley, Buttercup, Inigo, and Fezzik (may he rest in peace) and all their fans! LadyHawke is #3 - I remember that being a standard for 80's era date movies. But Princess Bride takes the prize.  OK, I've done this before, but how about another round of favorite Princess Bride quotes. I'll start: "You seem a decent fellow, I hate to kill you."

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Tags: Movies, fun, chick flicks, romantic movies, fairy tale, fairy tales, fairy tale movies, Princess Bride

Prince Caspian Video Game Trailer

C. S. Lewis fans like myself are probably aware of and interested in the next movie in the Chronicles of Narnia series - Prince Caspian.  I don't know when it is coming out and as far as I can tell there are no movie trailers out.  But, the gaming industry is on top of this and there is a trailer out for the Prince Caspian video game that will come out and is apparently to be based on the movie. So, as a teaser, to tide us over till some info on the movie comes out, here's the video game trailer, care of INFUZE.

Pollyanna Christianity

I just found Barbara Nicolosi's review of the movie "Facing the Giants" (HT - Phil Cooke)   To say that Barbara didn't like the movie would be a gross understatement.   She's a bit over the top in her condemnation of it. My mom saw the movie and liked it so I've got to go easy here. I don't want this to be just a rant, but I do want to say that I think that, in her over the top way, Barbara makes a good point here.

Facing the Giants from any serious perspective is a fantasy film. Its message is very dangerous for Christians, and scandalous for pagans. Adult Evangelical Christians watching Facing the Giants is like sex addicts watching the Spice Channel. (Nope.  Not going to take it back.) . . . . .

The film tells the story of a poverty-stricken, generally disdained, losing football coach who drives a broken down truck and goes home at night to a devastatedly infertile wife. Incited by no particular plot point, the coach reads the Bible one day and then kneels down in a field (Why the hell is it always a field? Is that like in Zecharaiah somewhere?) and gives his life to Jesus. In short order after he utters the Evangelical commitment formula aloud, he wins back the esteem of his fellow townspeople, he turns around his terrible team so that they win the championship, somebody gives him a brand new shiny red truck, AND his infertile wife becomes pregnant!

WOW!  Give me some of THAT Jesus-stuff!

Absolute fantasy stuff. The kind of thing that makes Christians puff out their chests proud to be on the winning team! This film fumbles deep, deep in the prosperity Gospel end zone. It is icky to tell people that they should be Christian because of the career and health benefits. We have the problem on the team of that embarrassingly unsuccessful crucified coach of ours.

Sex is Good

Update 6-9-06:  I don't like to toot my own horn but I just couldn't pass this up.  This post has been awarded the coveted Golden Aardvark from Aardvark Alley, a leading Lutheran blog (well, I don't know if it really is a "leading" Lutheran blog, but if someone is going to give me a golden aardvark I'm going to say all the nice things I can about them).  Waddda ya know, Lutheran must like sex after all, who would have thought.  You learn something new every day.  So, thanks to my new friends at Aardvark Alley.

I'm currently preaching a series of sermons on issues raised by the Da Vinci Code book and movie.  This week I am going to deal with the common belief that Christianity is anti-sex.  This issue is certainly raised by the Da Vinci Code, but this is just the latest incarnation of an ages long belief that Christianity is oppressive and regressive in it's morality.

I contend that, on the contrary, Christianity is pro-sex.  Of course I am not the only one who is saying this, but I want to share some of my own thoughts on how it is that Christianity can be considered pro-sex.

In preparation for this I read an article called Sex, Sin and Salvation: What Augustine Really Said, by Dr. David G. Hunter.  Augustine is considered by many to be, if not the originator, the most articulate spokesman for Christianity's alleged repressive ideas about sex.  Dr. Hunter seeks to rehabilitate Augustine in this regard and, given Augustine's historical context, Dr. Hunter does make it appear that Augustine was far more positive toward sex than his contemporaries.

My unscholarly summary of what I read in Hunter's article is that it appears that many of Augustine's contemporaries treated sex as an evil, per se.  Augustine, on the other hand, said that sex could be redeemed in marriage and through procreation.  There are some fine details that I'll leave it to you to read about in Hunter's paper, but it seems that Augustine was generally had a positive view of sex in comparison to others. 

However, it seems to me that Augustine and his contemporaries began with the assumption that sexual desire begins as an evil.  For Augustine, it could later be turned into some kind of a good.

I have two comments on this.  The first is that these early church fathers were dead wrong, biblically.  The second is that, unfortunately, many Christians throughout the ages have accepted this view (maybe even unconsciously) and thus have failed to treat sex as the positive and good thing it is.  Thus, we have been unable to launch an effective apologetic against the world's charges that we are anti-sex.  When it comes to discussions about sex, we know how to say "no," but we don't know how to say "yes" to sex in a robust and joyful way.

Family Films not Doing Well at the Box Office

I just got this week's Hollywood Jesus and the lead story is that family films are not doing well at the box office.

FAMILY FILMS are not doing well

… JUST MY LUCK opened under 6 million at the box office, making it Lindsay Lohan’s poorest showing. — ( Review by MARK STOKES ) 

… Disney’s Family animation THE WILD pulled a mere $9,684,809 on its opening weekend?

… HOOT from Walden Media sink at the box office with $3,368,197 on its opening weekend? Walden Media is the family-friendly group behind the Narnia mega success. Are the faithful not supporting “the right kind of things” at the box office? Are they abandoning Walden Media? 

Interestingly, the ICE AGE 2: The Meltdown has done extremely well with a gross of $183,435,937 as of

May 7, 2006

. I say interesting, because this CG toon supports the idea of Global Warming and Evolution. –which are not “conservative” and “fundamentalist Christian” friendly issues.

Bottom line: It is not necessarily true that families support family entertainment. Nor is it true that the public is hungry for so-called family-friendly entertainment! Does Dr. James Dobson, Ted Baher and the Dove Foundation know about this?

I'm not sure what to make of this.  I am not sure of the point this "Bottom Line" is making and what we are supposed to do about it or learn from it.   It seems like way too small of a sampling of movies to make sweeping generalizations about anything and the timeframe is too short to declare this to be a trend.  It could be that we are just enduring a run of bad "family-friendly" movies or that this is just a temporary slump at the box office for "family-friendly" movies.

The Norman Rockwell Code

Another conspiracy - but this one's for real.  It's "The Norman Rockwell Code."

Here's the Trailer.

HT - Pearcey Report

Related Tags: Film, Current Affairs, Religion, Humor, Parody, Da Vinci Code, Da Vinci Code Parody, The Norman Rockwell Code

Barbara Nicolosi Talks to the Devil

This is way too funny - it seems the devil has Barbara Nicolosi's e-mail address.  Here are some of my favorite lines.  And please note that the devil speaks in italics while Barbara and other humans speaks in parentheses. 

I am not afraid of challenging myself and my beliefs, and keeping an open mind.

[NOTE FROM CHESTERTON: Those with open minds tend to leave their brains poured out all over the side-walk....NOTE FROM BARB: When exactly should a mind close on a subject? Ever? How many times does your wife need to tell you she loves you before you close your mind on the subject and believe her?...And honestly, judging from your writing style and arguments here, you should be - if not afraid - a little more careful about the conclusions of your unaided intellect.]

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During Jesus' ministry, he did exactly that as well. He upset the status quo. He tried to change the prevailing attitudes, especially the dangers of a politicized Church hierarchy.

[NOTE FROM HEAD-SCRATCHING HISTORIAN: Um, there was no "Church" around for Jesus to try and change. He IS the Church always. He certainly took on the Jewish establishment, but He did it as an observant Jew... NOTE FROM FRANK SHEED: So you are just like Jesus? Well, would you mind making a rabbit, just for confidence sake?]

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Dan Brown wrote a great NOVEL.

[NOTE FROM ANYBODY WHO LIKES GOOD LITERATURE: (Sigh.) Do not pass the fifth grade. Do not collect a high school diploma. Go directly to literature jail.]

Related Tags: Books, Current Affairs, Film, Religion, Theology, Christian, Christianity, Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown

Whose fault is it that the Da Vinci Code is popular?

One of the things I have heard a few times in the last few months is that it is the fault of the church that the Da Vinci Code is so popular.  The refrain goes something like this - "it is a shame that the church has failed to tell the real story of Jesus in a compelling way, so that the fiction of the Da Vinci Code seems like a more compelling story."   

I disagree with this.  The Biblical story is in large part the story of the rejection of the Biblical story.  Jesus promised us that, if we are faithful in telling His story, the world will hate us, the world will not find His story compelling.

Matthew 10:22
All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
The Holy Bible  : New International Version. 1996, c1984 . Zondervan: Grand Rapids

Matthew 24:9
Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
The Holy Bible  : New International Version. 1996, c1984 . Zondervan: Grand Rapids

Luke 6:22
Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
The Holy Bible  : New International Version. 1996, c1984 . Zondervan: Grand Rapids

John 7:7
The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.
The Holy Bible  : New International Version. 1996, c1984 . Zondervan: Grand Rapids

John 15:18-25:
¹⁸ If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.  ²⁰ Remember the words I spoke to you: No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.  ²¹ They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.  ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.  ²³ He who hates me hates my Father as well.  ²⁴ If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.  ²⁵ But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: They hated me without reason.
The Holy Bible  : New International Version. 1996, c1984 . Zondervan: Grand Rapids

Could it be that the church has been faithfully telling the story all along and the world doesn't find it compelling because they hate Jesus?  Of course we've butchered the story many times, but this whole idea that the world finds DVC compelling because we have failed to make the true story compelling is patently false.  The true story of Jesus tells us that if we tell the story truly, the world will not find it compelling, rather they will reject it.  Thus, it is far more likely that the world finds DVC more compelling simply because it tells the story of a Jesus who is more to its liking. 

So this statement, that it is the church's fault that the DVC story of Jesus is popular, seems to me to miss the point of the true story of Jesus.  This statement seems to imply that if the church tells a compelling story of Jesus, the world will like it.  In truth, we can't forget that the true Christian story will never be popular and alternative stories always will.

Related Tags: Books, Film, Movies, Current Affairs, Da Vinci Code, Christian, Christianity, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Faith, Religion, Theology

Judas, DaVinci and other Assorted Stuff

Tis the season to dis the gospels.  As if the DaVinci Code wasn't enough to cool your hearts toward Jesus and the gospel accounts, we have a new entry in the historical-fiction-that-is-treated-as-fact genre, with the Gospel of Judas. 

Mark Roberts was going to let "The Gospel of Judas" slide, thinking it to be a tempest in a teapot, but it has gotten way too much press to let it go, especially during Holy Week.  So, he has put up an extensive FAQ on the Gospel of Judas with which he hopes to inject some fact into all of the ficiton flying around.

Also, this FAQ on the Gospel of Judas is part of Mark's larger series called The DaVinci Opportunity.  Mark is the man, I wish I was half as smart as him.  Maybe I can be his caddy someday.

Lecture on the Imaginative World of C. S. Lewis

For all of you who live in the Baltimore and Washington DC area i want to invite you to an event at our church this Thursday night featuring author and C. S. Lewis Scholar Art Lindsley.   Here's the announcement from the church:

C. S. Lewis has found a new generation of fans with the overwhelming success of the movie adaptation of his book “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

You are invited to a lecture and a dessert discussing C. S. Lewis and the importance of the imagination in his life and writings.

Date:    Thursday, March 30, 2006

Time:    7:00—9:00pm

Location:   Glen Burnie Evangelical Presbyterian Church

    710 Aquahart Rd, Glen Burnie, MD

For more info:  410-766-5363 or office@gbepc.org

Our Speaker

Arthur W. Lindsley, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow—C. S. Lewis Institute

Art Lindsley has served at the C.S. Lewis Institute since 1987. Formerly, he was Director of Educational Ministries at the Ligonier Valley Study Center, and Staff Specialist with the Coalition for Christian Outreach. He is the author of the books True Truth and C. S. Lewis’s Case for Christ and is the co-author of the book Classical Apologetics along with R.C. Sproul and John Gerstner. He has written numerous articles on theology, apologetics, C.S. Lewis, and the lives and works of many other authors and teachers. Art earned his M.Div. from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Pittsburgh.

I hope you can come - I'd be delighted to meet some of my blogging friends at this event.

Related Tags: Religion, Books, Film, C. S. Lewis, Narnia, Chronicles of Narnia, Christian, Christianity, Art Lindsley

Brian McLaren at His Best

Readers of Jollyblogger know that I am not exactly the world's biggest Brian McLaren fan.  However, as I was preparing to go out of town and looking for some things to post ahead I came across some words from him that I quoted back in March of 2004 that are very wise and insightful.  I also think they are still relevant today.

To set the stage for this you need to remember that during the spring of 2004 we were all getting hyped about the coming of the movie the Passion of the Christ.  Some were saying that this was offering the greatest evangelistic opportunity in 2000 years. I would quibble wit