“Does Satan really exist?” That is the topic for the third Nightline Face-Off. Dan Harris moderated the debate which airs March 26, 2009 on ABC.
On one side of the debate is Deepak Chopra, famous philosopher and author of “Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment” and Bishop Carlton Pearson, author of “The Gospel of Inclusion.” They will argue that Satan does not exist … On the other side will be Pastor Mark Driscoll of the Mars Hill Church and Annie Lobert, founder of the international Christian ministry “Hookers for Jesus,” who will argue that the devil does exist, and has made a personal impact on their lives.
One hundred million children under the age of 15 live in the Arab world and at least half of them have access to satellite television. SAT-7 KIDS provides Christian programming for children in the Arab world 24 hours a day.
SAT-7 KIDS is the first and only Arabic Christian channel exclusively for children. This channel aims to make the Gospel of Christ available to an entire generation of young Arabs in a way meaningful to them. The channel airs original dramas, talk shows, educational material, cartoons, music programs and other shows that capture the attention of young viewers.
Attention all Monk fans! A special, all-new holiday episode of Monk premieres this Friday night on USA. This will be the only new episode of Monk until January 2009 when the second half of season seven begins.
Detective Adrian Monk believes in such things as hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray and color-coordinated jelly beans. But does Mr. Monk believe in miracles? Find out as a special episode of Monk arrives just in time for the holidays. Catch the premiere of “Mr. Monk and The Miracle” Friday, November 28 at 9/8C only on USA Network.
“We want to build to a spectacular conclusion for this wonderful show,” USA Network’s executive vice president of original programming, Jeff Wachtel, said in making the announcement. ” By many measures, Monk is the most successful series in the history of basic cable…. Our fans have been extremely dedicated, and Season 8 should prove to be a very satisfying reward.”
This is a great show, and I will be sorry to see it end, but I am glad they are at least planning for it, so that they can work towards bringing the story arc to a satisfying conclusion.
WEA General Assembly. The World Evangleical Alliance closed its first general assembly in six years last week with a renewed commitment to world evangelism and six major resolutions setting out an evangelical response to religious liberty, HIV and Aids, poverty, peacemaking, creation care and the global financial crisis.
Orcs Are Back! British film makers are hoping to recreate the magic of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in a low budget movie inspired by JRR Tolkien’s books. Born of Hope is a prequel to the fantasy novels and tells the story of the Dúnedain, the Rangers of the North, before the return of the King.
Brain-Computer Interface. People who are completely paralyzed due to illness or trauma are getting help communicating with a new technology that connects their brains to a computer.
TV and Sex. Research suggests that pregnancy rates are higher among teens who watch a lot of TV with sexual dialogue and behavior. Teens who watched shows with sexual content were twice as likely to become pregnant over the next three years as those who watched few such programs.
The 3(D) Guide allows you to teach your students how to move from being “mindless consumers” of media, to an approach of “mindful critique” as they learn how to filter all media through the lens of a Christian worldview. Because teenagers are at a developmental stage where intellectual and cognitive abilities are taking shape, the 3(D) Guide is a tool that allows adults to walk alongside students as they begin to develop the ability to think for themselves.
The 3(D) Guide teaches students 3 Media Evaluation Steps:
Discover:
Discover the message and worldview communicated in the piece of media.
Discern:
Evaluate attitudes, values, behaviors, beliefs and worldview elements in light of God’s Word.
Decide:
Make God-honoring decisions regarding their media use, consumption, and habits.
This looks like great material for youth groups, small groups or youth retreats. The cost is $15 for a pack of 10. You can download a free leaders guide here. You can also download a free media survey to get a handle on how your teens utilize media in their lives.
Why so serious? If your kids are too young to go see The Dark Knight, sit down and watch Little Batman with them instead. These are just too cute. Of course, you know your kids are going to want a little Batmobile of their own.
THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF LITTLE BATMAN
This fan film is based on the 1966 Batman TV series where a very young Bruce Wayne takes on the famous, pint-sized villains of Gotham City. Directed, shot and edited by Joe Valenti of Valenti Vision Films and produced by Jordan Wachtell.
In Part 1, the Dynamic duo discover Gotham’s latest jailbreak!
(Video length: 9:48)
In Part 2, the Dynamic duo discover the criminals’ secret hideout!
(Video length: 7:16)
In Part 3, the Dynamic duo are about to be finished off!
(Video length: 8:46)
Here’s the thing. Unless I’m wrong, which, you know, I’m not, Monk is the best show on television right now. Monk is a fresh mixture of comedy, drama and good old-fashioned “who-done-it,” but always with a twist. Tony Shalhoub, the actor who plays obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk, is amazing. There’s no doubt about it. He’s the guy.
Here’s what happened. My wife and I watched a few episodes and got hooked. It’s a gift — and a curse. The new Seventh Season episodes start Friday, July 18 at 9/8C. Watch it. Or pick up the DVDs and start from the beginning. Don’t worry, you’ll thank me later.
Note for parents:Monk contains some instances of strong language. We use a language filter on our TV at home, but you may want to check out the series first before you sit down to watch with your kids.
One of our all-time favorite television shows is the Andy Griffith show. Just the other day we were wondering who did the whistling for the theme song at the beginning of the show. That would be Earl Hagen, who passed away earlier this week. Hagen composed original music for more than 3,000 episodes, pilots and TV movies, including the theme songs for “The Andy Griffith Show,” “I Spy,” “The Mod Squad” “That Girl,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” The Andy Griffith song also had lyrics called “The Fishing Hole,” written by actor Everett Sloane (who played Mr. Bernstein in Citizen Kane).
Click to play “whistling” theme song.
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Click to hear Andy Griffith sing “The Fishing Hole.”
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“The Fishing Hole”
Music by Earle Hagen & Herbert W. Spencer
Words by Everett Sloane
Well, now, take down your fishin’ pole
And meet me at The Fishin’ Hole,
We may not get a bite all day,
But don’t you rush away.
What a great place to rest your bones
And mighty fine for skippin’ stones,
You’ll feel fresh as a lemonade,
A-settin’ in the shade.
Whether it’s hot, whether it’s cool,
Oh what a spot for whistlin’ like a fool.
What a fine day to take a stroll
And wander by The Fishin’ Hole,
I can’t think of a better way
To pass the time o’ day.
We’ll have no need to call the roll
When we get to The Fishin’ Hole,
There’ll be you, me, and Old Dog Trey,
To doodle time away.
If we don’t hook a perch or bass,
We’ll cool our toes in dewy grass,
Or else pull up a weed to chaw,
And maybe set and jaw.
Hangin’ around, takin’ our ease,
Watchin’ that hound a-scratchin’ at his fleas.
Come on, take down your fishin’ pole
And meet me at The Fishin’ Hole,
I can’t think of a better way
To pass the time o’ day.
Can you imagine what it might be like if the American Idol judges weighed in after your pastor’s next sermon?
Randy: Look, dude, check it out. Ya know, that really worked for me, man. That sermon was outstanding. It was da bomb!
Paula: I’m so proud of you because you’re really being yourself with us. Plus, you look great today. I just love you and can’t say anything bad about you because I never say anything bad about anybody, except Simon.
Simon: I’ve got to be honest with you, pastor. I came to hear the word of God today. But what I got was more like the baby talk of demons. You just didn’t do your homework this week. Frankly, your sermon was a nightmare! If I were you, I’d pack my bags.
I don’t think I want Simon on my board of deacons. Have you ever played “judge the preacher” during Sunday lunch after church? (Be honest now!)
Note: The videos of both performances are at the end of the post.
Last week on American Idol, the eight finalists joined together at the end of the show to sing the popular praise and worship song, “Shout to the Lord.” The next night, they opened the program with the same song. This created quite a stir for a number of reasons:
The first night they sang it, they substituted the words “My Shepherd” for the original lyrics, which are “My Jesus.”
The second night, they sang the original lyrics, putting the words “My Jesus” back in.
People were surprised that a show like American Idol would feature such an overtly Christian song, twice, especially sung by all the contestants together.
There was a lot of buzz about this around the blogosphere during the week. Here are three articles in particular that I thought covered the story well and provided some good food for thought.
Josh Harris posted some interesting inside information relating to the whole incident. This comment from a woman who works at Fox TV is especially worth reading:
I work on one of the “sister shows” of American Idol … so picture an office, with all of the producers, crew, etc. gathered in watching the live feed at our CBS offices, then this song comes on … an office filled with a few Christians … atheists and agnostic Jews. You could hear a pin drop … it was awesome … the power that came through … nothing had to be said … no debates … just people being touched more than they realized … producers, writers … crew that had never darkened a church door in their lives, or their only experience with Christians was a negative one. You don’t always see the workings of us Christians that are behind the scenes … you don’t know how much prayer went into getting a song with that message on a, let us not forget, a SECULAR show. So, from someone behind the scenes, the best thing you can do is write to the producer of Am. Idol and simply state how much you appreciate the diversity they showed in having an very inspirational song in their program. Period. No criticizing. This will go farther than you realize. Also, pray, pray, pray for us Christians that have chosen Hollywood as our vocation, career and our mission field.
And finally, here are the videos of the two performances so you can check them out for yourself.
First performance (Video length: 2:56)
Second performance (Video length: 3:08)
So, did you see either of these performances last week? What are your thoughts?
Although television can be a valuable source for news, information and entertainment, it can also bring a number of negatives into your home. The two main issues with television are time and content. I will address the time issue tomorrow (along with video games), but today I want to talk about content. How do you protect your children from inappropriate content on TV? Here are some of the things we do.
Watch on DVD: One way we control content is by doing much of our TV watching on DVD. We collect movies and old favorites on DVD so that we can watch what we want when it is convenient and avoid commercials at the same time.
Use a DVR: We use a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) to record current programs we would like to watch without being tied to the TV at a certain time of day. As an added plus, the DVR also lets us fast-forward through the commercials. (This is a great time-saver, especially when watching sporting events.)
Keep it public: Our kids do not have TV’s in their bedrooms. When you are trying to control content in the home, it makes sense to limit the number of TV’s available and to keep them in the public areas of the home.
Set appropriate boundaries: We set boundaries with our kids for both time and content on TV. (Again, more on the time issue tomorrow!) We direct them to good content, and we let them know when a certain movie or show is not acceptable. If something comes on that is inappropriate while watching together, we set the example by switching the channel or turning it off. It is important to know what movies or shows your kids are watching and to make sure they are appropriate for your children.
Talk: We try to talk with our kids about what we watch. We want to teach them how to discern the various messages found in TV shows or movies. For example, we like Star Trek as a family. It has some great story lines and admirable characters. However, I don’t always agree with the worldview that is presented. So we talk about it and help our kids become active viewers of media rather than passive receptacles.
Block: We use the settings on our DVD player and cable box to block certain programs or channels with inappropriate content. We have it set up so that anything with a PG-13 rating or higher requires a password for access.
And here are two additional gadgets we have found helpful. These have allowed us to watch a lot of great movies together as a family that we would have otherwise passed by, either because of the language or due to certain scenes we felt were inappropriate.
TVGuardian:TVGuardian filters out inappropriate language from TV shows and movies. There are various settings depending on what you want to filter. You can purchase TVGuardian built-in on some DVD players or as a separate device. We have used it in our home for years, and it does a great job of filtering out curse words and religious exclamations we would rather not have in our home.
ClearPlay:ClearPlay DVD Players filter out both language and visual elements from regular DVD movies. ClearPlay is customizable, and you can turn off or on fourteen different filter settings relating to inappropriate language, violent content or sexual content. ClearPlay has an extensive library of available filters, and they are always adding more. They offer several price options, including a monthly membership which gives you full access to all filters at all times.
So, what things have you done to help tame the television in your home? Feel free to share in the comments below.
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