At the Movies

Jack E. Jett hosts The Queer Edge television show with Sandra Bernhard; you can see it here. Last fall, Jett interviewed Mike Jones, the gay man who had sexual trysts with Rev. Ted Haggard. Jones' statements forced the megachurch pastor to resign from his church and the chair of the National Association of Evangelicals. Earlier this month, JewsOnFirst.org published Jett's interview with punk rocker/preacher Jay Bakker here.

If you haven't seen the documentary Jesus Camp yet, you should because it is certain to become the next late night cult classic like Rocky Horror Picture Show or Plane Nine from Outer Space.

I predict that people will be saying lines in advance and throwing spitwads at the cut out of George W. Bush. The film is about a children's Christian camp that teaches children to be "warriors for Jesus" through a combination of boot camp tactics combined with vacation bible school. The leader of this group is Becky Fisher. She started the camp and she runs the joint. She looks like a fag hag straight out of central casting. My buddies and I feel in love with her.

I wanted her to be my fag hag. She is perfect for the role. A little heavy, very jovial, always smiling and a great sense of humor, yet with a bit of the patience of Job. So I sent Becky Fisher a fan letter. I also sent one to Gwen Stefani but have yet to hear back. I can just sense that Becky is a better cook than Gwen anyway. Continue.

Jesus Camp documentary gives a frightening view across the cultural divide

The scariest movie release of the autumn season is, in fact, a documentary. "Jesus Camp" takes viewers to the heart of America's culture divide as it profiles three children being groomed to become foot soldiers in "God's army" at a summer camp for charismatic evangelical Christians. Even before its October 2006 opening, the film became controversial. Click here, please.

Jesus Camp (the camp) shuts down. We are continuing to update our report on Jesus Camp with reviews and news reports. The page also contains the directors' slide show. Please click here.

Oscar® Nominee “Jesus Camp” Debuts on DVD Today from Magnolia Home Entertainment

Critically Acclaimed, Riveting, Compelling and Eye-Opening Documentary Examines Christianity Today

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nominated for an Academy Award® this morning for Best Documentary, Jesus Camp arrives on DVD today from Magnolia Home Entertainment. Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, two brilliant award-winning filmmakers who masterfully capture the current state of progressive Christianity in today’s society. A growing number of evangelical Christians believe there is a revival underway in America that requires Christian youth to assume leadership roles in advocating the causes of their religious movement. The fascinating and engaging documentary Jesus Camp gives a powerful look at the growing religious movement dedicated to molding children into Christian soldiers in “God’s Army.” “It’s a message that secular liberals and born-again Christians both have to listen to with open ears” (Evan Fisk, GO Magazine). Continue.

'Jesus Camp' Oscar Nod Gets Mixed Reax

CBNNews.com -- BISMARCK, N.D. - The Rev. Becky Fischer says an Oscar-nominated film about her summer camp for children has brought hate mail as well as praise, and she has no plans to attend the Academy Awards.

"Maybe we shouldn't have prayed so hard for the movie to be a success," Fischer said Tuesday after learning about the Oscar nomination for her film, Jesus Camp, in the documentary category.

"I'm not interested in going to the Academy Awards," she said. "I'm happy for the filmmakers but I don't know how to feel about it, honestly." Continue.

Movie Review: Constantine's Sword (2007)

When Love of Religion Leads to Hatred of Others

By Stephen Holden, New York Times, April 18, 2008. NYT Critics' Pick: This movie has been designated a Critic's Pick by the film reviewers of The Times.

At the heart of Oren Jacoby’s screen adaptation of James Carroll’s book “Constantine’s Sword” lies a question to which each person of faith must his find own answer. When your core beliefs conflict with church doctrine, how far should your loyalty to the church extend? The same could be asked of loyalty to a government or a political party.

Mr. Carroll, a former Roman Catholic priest and an acclaimed author whose memoir, “An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War That Came Between Us” won a 1996 National Book Award, vehemently disagrees with the church on many issues but still embraces Catholicism. A former anti-Vietnam War activist, now in his mid-60s, he is an eloquent screen presence who conveys the same searching moral gravity that characterized other Catholic war resisters during the Vietnam era.

At once enthralling and troubling, the film, whose title has been simplified from the book’s “Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History,” does about as good a job as you could hope of distilling a 750-page historical examination of religious zealotry and power into 95 swift minutes. Continue.

Film on Catholic anti-Semitism coincides with pope's U.S. visit

NEW YORK (JTA) -- If the producers of "Constantine's Sword" were looking to send a message about the implications of their film for Catholic-Jewish relations, they scarcely could have chosen a more appropriate theatrical release date.

On Friday, April 18, within hours of the film's first New York screening, Pope Benedict XVI will make a historic visit to an American synagogue -- a gesture of goodwill observers say is intended to smooth over feelings unsettled by the pope's recent revival of a prayer for Jewish conversion. Continue.

'Constantine's Sword' Cuts Into Anti-Semitism

A New Documentary Draws the Ire of Catholic Groups for Its Take on Anti-Semitism

Call it coincidence or providence. A new documentary about Christian anti-Semitism that has drawn the ire of some Catholic groups premiered Friday in New York -- the same day Pope Benedict XVI visited a synagogue on the city's Upper East Side.

The film, "Constantine's Sword," in which former Roman Catholic priest and author James Carroll traces the violent history of the Christian faith, takes Pope Benedict XVI to task for not fully acknowledging the Catholic Church's and Christianity's role in the rise of Nazism and the Holocaust.

"It wasn't planned," the film's Oscar-nominated director Oren Jacoby says of the film's opening during the papal visit. "But it gives us an opportunity to present the story of Jim, the remarkable story of an American Catholic whose faith was fractured by people hijacking religion." Continue.

Constantine's Sword

Back in the early fourth century AD, the Roman Empire was riven by strife between dueling factions and threatened by northern barbarian hordes. One of the striving emperors, Constantine the Great, had a vision or dream featuring a cross that read, "In this sign you will be the victor." As any right-thinking military leader would, he then decided Christianity was the way, emblazoned that symbol on his soldiers' shields and led them to victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The stage was then set for Christianity to become the state religion of the Roman Empire. This story has often been played up by Christian historians as miraculous forward step in the legitimacy of a religion that until then had been decentralized and underground.Continue.

Constantine's Sword

Analyzing the church's part in the persecution of Jews proves revelatory on many levels, particularly from the vantage point of ex-priest Carroll, whose religious convictions led him to leave the church. Early in the docu, a Jewish scholar tells Carroll that if he wants to understand anti-Semitism, he shouldn't ask Jews. So Carroll travels to where all roads lead, Rome, tracing militant Catholicism back to the third century A.D. and the Emperor Constantine's vision that transformed the cross into a sword, conquered Rome and converted it to Christianity. Continue.

Resentment Over Darwin Evolves Into a Documentary

One of the sleaziest documentaries to arrive in a very long time, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” is a conspiracy-theory rant masquerading as investigative inquiry.

Positing the theory of intelligent design as a valid scientific hypothesis, the film frames the refusal of “big science” to agree as nothing less than an assault on free speech. Interviewees, including the scientist Richard Sternberg, claim that questioning Darwinism led to their expulsion from the scientific fold (the film relies extensively on the post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy — after this, therefore because of this), while our genial audience surrogate, the actor and multihyphenate Ben Stein, nods sympathetically. (Mr. Stein is also a freelance columnist who writes Everybody’s Business for The New York Times.)

Prominent evolutionary biologists, like the author and Oxford professor Richard Dawkins — accurately identified on screen as an “atheist” — are provided solely to construct, in cleverly edited slices, an inevitable connection between Darwinism and godlessness. Continue.

Ben Stein’s anti-evolution film raises hackles

Called “one of the sleaziest documentaries to arrive in a very long time” by the New York Times, the film, which debuted last week to dismal modest box office response, proposes a direct correlation between evolutionary science, Social Darwinism, “godlessness,” and Nazism.

Stein’s assertions about the evil intentions of evolutionary biologists have some in the scientific community crying foul.

“Unfortunately,” John Rennie wrote recently in Scientific American, “Expelled is a movie not quite harmless enough to be ignored. Shrugging off most of the film’s attacks—all recycled from previous pro-[Intelligent Design] works—would be easy, but its heavy-handed linkage of modern biology to the Holocaust demands a response for the sake of simple human decency.” Continue.

No Admission for Evolutionary Biologist at Creationist Film

Two evolutionary biologists — P. Z. Myers of the University of Minnesota, Morris, and Richard Dawkins of Oxford — tried to go to the movies at the Mall of America in Minneapolis Thursday evening. Dr. Dawkins got in. Dr. Myers did not.

The movie the two scientists wanted to see was “Expelled,” whose online trailer asserts that people in academia who see evidence of supernatural intelligence in biological processes — an idea called “intelligent design” — have unfairly lost their jobs, been denied tenure or suffered other penalties as part of a scientific conspiracy to keep God out of the nation’s laboratories and classrooms. Continue.

Intelligent Design Movie Is Not for Heathens

Russell Blackford, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, March 22, 2008

For all I know, Ben Stein may be Apollo’s gift to the professions of acting and gameshow hosting, and to some of the other odd activities that have come his way from time to time in a long career that’s more varied than the Galapagos finches.

Until very recently, Stein wasn’t even on my radar, any more than I’m on his, but he’s now involved as the starring talent in a project to popularise the idea of Intelligent Design, or ID. For anyone born just this morning, Intelligent Design is the claim that life, in its diversity, cannot be the outcome of biological evolution by natural selection (and other mechanisms that are taken seriously by legitimate working biologists). To publicise his case, Stein has become a leading perpetrator of Expelled, a documentary-style movie in defence of ID (calling Expelled “a documentary” may give the wrong impression of what’s involved).

From all accounts, the movie alleges that the ... ahem ... bold conjecture of Intelligent Design has been kept out of academia by what is apparently spun as some kind of anti-Christian conspiracy. Individuals who have advocated ID are portrayed as victims of prejudice and injustice. Their academic freedom has been suppressed, or so we’re meant to believe. Continue.

Dawkins Crashes 'Expelled' Party

Noted Darwinist shows up at screening of Intelligent Design documentary.

Expelled, a new documentary that argues the case for Intelligent Design from a Judeo-Christian perspective, has been in the headlines lately, prior to its April 18 theatrical release.

The film, hosted and narrated by Ben Stein, has been screened to invitation-only audiences at churches and for various Christian groups. But several critics have worked their way in to some of the screenings, most notably Roger Moore of The Orlando Sentinel, who recently trashed the movie in his blog.

A critic of another kind "crashed" a screening in Minnesota on Thursday night--Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and arguably the most outspoken critic of Intelligent Design and Creationism. Dawkins himself appears in the documentary--but claims he was duped into believing it was going to be an objective account of Darwinism vs. ID. Continue.

Disinvited to a Screening, a Critic Ends Up in a Faith-Based Crossfire

Shortly before he was to attend a screening in January of the documentary “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” which is about alternatives to the theory of evolution, Roger Moore, a film critic for The Orlando Sentinel, learned that his invitation had been revoked by the film’s marketers.

“Well, you already invited me,” he recalled thinking at the time. “I’m going to go.”

So Mr. Moore traveled to a local megachurch and planted himself among a large group of pastors to watch the movie. In it, Ben Stein, the actor and economist (and regular contributor to The New York Times) interviews scientists and teachers who say that Darwinism gets too much emphasis in the classroom and that proponents of the theory of intelligent design are treated unfairly.

There were nondisclosure agreements to sign that day, but Mr. Moore did not, and proceeded to write perhaps the harshest review “Expelled” has received thus far. Continue.

Actor Ben Stein stumps for evolution bills

The Florida Family Policy Council brought out star power to tout its support for legislation that proponents say would protect public school teachers who criticize or question Darwinism and critics say would lead to religious lessons on creationism at the expense of science.

Wearing a black suit and tan sneakers, actor Ben Stein strode to a podium in the House office building during a news conference Wednesday and likened the situation for teachers and scientists who challenge Darwinism to the struggle of African Americans' during segregation.

"Let us all debate. Let us think. Let us be open to new ideas and new thoughts. We don't see that happening now unfortunately in many parts of the academic world," Stein said. "The Darwinists, and the neo-Darwinists in particular, have become more Darwinist than Darwin in the sense that they will not permit any question of Darwin." Continue.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

The documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is hosted by Ben Stein, whose professional career spans everything from being a speechwriter and lawyer for U.S. presidents Nixon and Ford to starring as a droll school teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and anchoring a game show titled Win Ben Stein's Money. Expelled's role is to essentially dive-bomb the culturally established idea that Darwinian evolution has already won the scientific debate regarding the origins of man. And it boils over at the notion that the debate itself is now out of bounds.

"I have always assumed that scientists were free to ask any question, to pursue any line of inquiry, without fear of reprisal," Stein tells moviegoers. "But recently I have been alarmed to discover that this is not the case." He asks, "Darwin challenged the consensus view, and that's how we got Darwinism. If Darwin wanted to challenge the consensus today, how would he do it?" Continue.

'Expelled' sets off fireworks

Fort Worth, Texas--As Ben Stein's documentary "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" enters its second week in theaters, I would like to comment on its first week of fireworks.

Elie Wiesel once remarked that the opposite of love is not aggression but indifference. If he's right, Expelled is unrivaled in its lavish spreading of love. Indeed, it shows that there is yet hope for our society. The lukewarmness that the risen Lord so despised in the Laodicean church is nowhere evident in the reviews of this film.

Expelled documents assaults by a secular elite on the academic freedom of Intelligent Design supporters. Not surprisingly, the secular elite are displeased to have their dirty deeds exposed. Continue.

A piece of Hollywood is converted into a call to Christianity

It started as a box-office bust, a true-to-the-Gospel account of the life of Jesus Christ that earned just $4 million when it was distributed by Warner Bros. under the title ``Jesus" in 1979 -- less than the film's $6 million cost.

But "The Jesus Film" has enjoyed unparalleled success in the years since. Propelled by missionaries who have made it a central part of their conversion efforts, the film has become the most-watched movie of all time, shown in 235 countries, translated into nearly 950 languages, and viewed by a worldwide audience of perhaps 3 billion. "Jesus" has motivated about 200 million conversions to Christianity, according to the Jesus Film Project, the $34 million-a-year division of Campus Crusade for Christ that's dedicated to spreading the film's reach. The claim, which can't be independently verified, reflects the seeming ubiquitousness of the film among Christian missionaries. Continue.

Golden Compass challenges absolutist dogma

by Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, JewsOnFirst.org, December 10, 2007

Dr. Albert Mohler, the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is a leading intellectual of the religious right and a prolific blogger. In a recent post Mohler criticizes the just-released film The Golden Compass, as a "directly subversive" attack on "biblical" (that is, Mohler's brand of fundamentalist) Christianity.

The film is adapted from Philip Pullman's eponymous book, the first volume of his "Dark Materials" trilogy. Mohler declares the movie, to be "a new challenge for Christians -- especially parents" because it is very well written, cast and produced. These qualities, he says, are likely to make the film a blockbuster and a Christian boycott futile.

Nevertheless, Mohler bitterly attacks Pullman's treatment of the Fall and original sin. Continue.

Purim film debuts in top 10 in US

"'Christian money makes Jewish film' - that's the headline I'd like to see above your article," Matthew Crouch, producer of One Night with the King, suggested in an interview.

The film, based on the Book of Esther from the Purim holiday, "brims with adventure, intrigue, romance and wonder," said Crouch, the son of mega-televangelists Paul and Jan Crouch. "Its vision is to inspire a generation to embrace the destiny God has for them." Continue.

Filmmaker Hopes Passion for Esther Puts Jews and Christians in the Seats

“Touch your neighbor’s hand and say ‘destiny,’” Matthew Crouch implored the crowd, a microphone pressed to his lips. “We’re all Christians here,” he proclaimed, with the rousing cadence of a megachurch preacher.

On a recent Friday afternoon some 200 churchgoers, seated in a movie theatre at the AMC Empire 25 multiplex in Times Square, did as they were told and reached across to the person next to them. “Destiny is locked up inside one another,” Crouch continued, before taking a beat. A gripped audience, largely made up of African-Americans, held hands and uttered the word in a unified voice.

Destiny. It’s a common theme in Christian dogma, and one that’s often invoked by end-time theologians. Only Crouch’s ersatz sermon was no riff on religious doctrine. It was, rather, a nod to the financial fate of his soon-to-be-released $18 million film epic, based on a novel by a best-selling Christian author that retells the Purim story from the biblical Book of Esther. The event was one of some 20 nationwide pre-release marketing screenings for pastors in 16 cities, this one held in midtown Manhattan. Click here

Film on "Radical Islam" Tied to Pro-Israel Groups

Reporter Khody Akhavi writes that when the film Obsession was released in 2006, "news pundits and anchors on FOX and CNN praised the independent film for its candid look at Islamic militancy. FOX incorporated footage from the film into a one-hour special, which aired seven times in November 2006. CNN's right-wing pundit Glen Beck called it 'one of the most important films of our time.' Sean Hannity of FOX News described it as 'shocking beyond belief.'

"While such enthusiasm from right-wing talk show personalities comes as no surprise, mainstream cable news programmes also appeared to accept, without question, the premise of the film, which explicitly compares the threat posed by radical Islam to that of Nazi Germany in the 1930s." Click here.

Call Me Infidel: An Ex-Muslim Speaks Out

Pat Robertson's 700 Club interviews Nonie Darwish, featured in the propaganda movie Obsession. Click here.for the introduction and a link to the video.

The Movie Obsession: Connecting the Dots

Whether it’s in Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia or the West Bank, wars, conflicts, and unstable governments are at the center of the news. They may be separated by geography, but one common element connects all these dots. They’re areas where a radical Islamic agenda is at work.

Obsession is a new documentary that exposes this radical Islamic agenda. Recently, CBN News interviewed Raphael Shore, the producer of this “ground-breaking” film. Continue.

The Movie Obsession: Connecting the Dots (Part 2)

Today, here’s the rest of our interview with Raphael Shore, the producer of Obsession. Obsession is a ground-breaking documentary exposing the dangers of radical Islam to the West and the world. We asked Shore about the historical parallels between our world today and recent history; why they interviewed certain people for ‘Obsession’ and the threat of Iran to the world. Continue.

Prophets or profits?

What motive drives film industry’s new passion?

One of the most widely watched films in the world has no megastars, narrative twists or special effects. It bombed at the box office in 1979, earning a scant $4 million in U.S. theaters -- less than its $6 million budget. Yet the film went on to be translated into 950 languages, screened in 235 countries and has supposedly been seen some 6 billion times, reaching wider audiences than blockbusters such as ET, Star Wars and Titanic.

You’ve probably never heard of Jesus, a docudrama of the life of Christ created by Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, and John Heyman, a British filmmaker and financier. But directors of the Jesus Project, an Orlando, Fla.-based nonprofit foundation created to promote the film, say it has led to 200 million conversions.

And if the makers of Jesus were shopping their script in Hollywood today, they would likely be banking on commercial as well as spiritual gains. Continue.

When Ms. Pelosi talked to Mr. Haggard

Nancy's daughter, Alexandra, is a documentarian who recently set her lens on evangelicals for her new HBO special, Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi. In an exclusive Q&A the new mom tells The Advocate what she unearthed—and what Ted Haggard is really like.

Interview by Christopher Lisotta, an Advocate.com exclusive posted January 24, 2007

In 2002 TV news producer Alexandra Pelosi’s private video diary on George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign trail became HBO’s documentary Journeys With George, which would win an Emmy. In 2004 she followed up with Diary of a Political Tourist, which profiled the Democratic presidential candidates' campaign trails. On January 25 HBO will premiere her most recent documentary, Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi . This time around Pelosi, a blue-state Democrat (and the daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi), spent more than a year traveling across the country interviewing evangelicals from TV minister Joel Osteen to creationist educators to former National Association of Evangelicals president Ted Haggard. Just days after Pelosi completed Friends of God, Haggard stepped down from his position over allegations of crystal meth use and sexual trysts with a male prostitute. The Advocate talked to Pelosi earlier in January about making Friends With God, her relationship with Haggard, and what she learned about evangelicals. Continue.

Soldiers of the Cross; 'Friends of God' Captures Movement's Zeal

"Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi," a new HBO documentary about America's army of impassioned evangelicals, doesn't address the question "Why are we in Iraq?" -- but the film's parade of believers has a fervent certainty that echoes President Bush's unwavering belief in the war.

The ranks of the Bush administration include more born-again Christians "than any other administration" in American history, one of the evangelical leaders says, and Bush is heard enthusiastically addressing an antiabortion rally via telephone hookup.

Bush has used evangelicals as a power base, and is not one to shy away from a quest. Meantime, the Christians we see in this film are unyielding in the rightness of their ideas (i.e., evolution and abortion are wrong, "Jesus is the only way" and America is a Christian nation), and if someone challenges them, they simply say God has told them the truth.

Can H'wood make friends with evangelicals?

Sarah Paulson's 'Studio 60' character puts a sympathetic face on Christianity.

ALEXANDRA PELOSI'S latest HBO documentary, "Friends of God," will doubtless garner some attention for her fortuitously timed interview with Pastor Ted Haggard, the disgraced head of the National Assn. of Evangelicals. Interviewed prior to allegations that he purchased illicit drugs and had sex with a male prostitute, Haggard boasts about evangelicals' rollicking sex lives and ironically contemplates the harm done when their leaders experience moral lapses.

Yet another theme threaded throughout this hourlong production, which premieres Jan. 25, is of greater import to the entertainment industry -- namely, whether Hollywood can befriend the sprawling evangelical movement or must accept it as a lost cause. Continue.

God, Mom and Country: A Filmmaker’s Odyssey

You are a young documentary filmmaker with a reputation for capturing politicians’ antics. In a deliberate departure from politics, your latest film is a road trip into the world of evangelical Christians that includes a drive-through church, a Christian wrestling federation, a stand-up Christian comic, an evangelical Elvis and a biblical miniature golf course complete with the empty tomb of Jesus.

It just so happens, though, that your designated tour guide in that world is the Rev. Ted Haggard, then president of the National Association of Evangelicals who, after your film is finished, is accused of buying illegal drugs from a male prostitute and paying him for sex. And your mother, it turns out, makes history, becoming the first female speaker of the House just weeks before your film is broadcast. Continue.

Documentary Gives an Unflattering View of Evangelicals

Experts say Rep. Nancy Pelosi's daughter simply doesn't understand Christians.

Friends of God, a documentary by Alexandra Pelosi, has Christians riled. Pelosi traveled the country conducting interviews with evangelicals, but the finished product left many feeling belittled.

Pelosi -- daughter of the speaker of the House -- appeared to be looking for the most bizarre examples she could find -- including Christian professional wrestlers, Elvis impersonators and pastors of drive-thru churches. All are shot from odd angles that distort their features and make them appear a bit crazed.

Pelosi told Family News in Focus she meant no offense, in fact, she found it to be an eye-opening experience. Continue.

Evangelical Christian Film Is Inappropriate For Public School, Americans United Tells Alabama Educators

"Facing The Giants" Movie Is Aimed At Evangelism, Says AU's Lynn

News release, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, January 15, 2008

A church-produced evangelical Christian movie is aimed at evangelism and is inappropriate for public schools, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told Alabama educators.

After receiving complaints, Americans United has urged officials at Tuscaloosa City Schools to stop showing the film “Facing the Giants.”

“This movie is not educational; it’s evangelistic,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Parents and taxpayers expect our public schools to teach, not preach.”

In a Jan. 15 letter, Americans United attorneys note that the film was shown repeatedly in classrooms last semester at Paul W. Bryant High School and that the school’s principal plans to continue airing it in the future. Continue.

Group rebuts ‘Giants’ critics

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s religious legal rights group, Foundation For Moral Law, has published a letter in support of Paul W. Bryant High School’s use of the movie “Facing the Giants” in the classroom.

“Facing the Giants” is a church-produced film about a football team finding success through Christian faith and prayer. A national church-state separation group sent a letter Jan. 15 asking that the school not show the film again after hearing complaints about it.

The group, Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church And State, urged in its letter to school system leaders that the film not be shown again because its only purpose appeared to be religious conversion, thus violating the First Amendment’s prohibition of state establishment of religion. Continue.

Judge Roy Moore and Foundation for Moral Law Applaud Paul W. Bryant High School for Showing Christian Movie Which Americans United for Separation of Church and State Wants Censored

MEDIA ADVISORY, Jan. 18 /Christian Newswire/ -- Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy S. Moore and the Foundation for Moral Law sent a letter today to the Tuscaloosa Public Schools applauding Superintendent Dr. Joyce Levey and Principal Amanda H. Cassity for showing the movie, Facing the Giants at Paul W. Bryant High School (PWBHS). The Foundation also urged school officials to ignore the absurd demand by Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AUSCS) to ban the movie from all district schools. In a letter dated January 15, 2008, AUSCS claimed that showing Christian movies in a public school violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

The Foundation's letter, on the other hand, explained that the Establishment Clause prohibits only a "law respecting an establishment of religion" and said AUSCS's "thinly-veiled threats rely on shrill demands and general confusion about this area of the law in an attempt to cow the Tuscaloosa school district into quiet capitulation." Continue.

'Facing the Giants' tops $10 million at box office ahead of DVD release

In Hollywood, $10 million is mere change. In Albany, Ga., it's a sign of God's blessing.

"Facing the Giants," the inspirational movie made by the staff and members of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., on a shoestring budget, passed the $10 million gross mark the week before Christmas. Not bad for a movie that cost only $100,000 to make.

It is still showing in a handful of theaters nationwide and is set to be released on DVD Jan. 30. Churches, though, can go ahead and purchase the DVD, along with the required license, to show it to their congregation. More than 900 churches have done so thus far. (Information is available at www.facingthegiants.com.) Continue

Giants Poised to Score: Faith-Affirming Football Flick Picked to Win With Families

Facing the Giants, a new film from Carmel Entertainment and Sherwood Pictures, kicks off Friday (Sept. 29) in 400 theaters across America. With a Hollywood-backed theatrical release, this family-friendly Christian film about fear, faith and football will begin its drive, and many reviewers are predicting a touchdown. Continue.

The religious right wants parents notified about books taught in school. But when it comes to a PG warning on a film, Facing the Giants, that prosleytizes young people for the Baptist faith, the religious right disingenuously claims offense, huffing that the film gets the "same" PG rating that warns of sex and violence -- and blaming it on those Hollywood haters of Christianity.

UPDATE: July 14, 2006

Giant deal: Third Coast Sports lines up movie sponsorship

Third Coast Sports, the Nashville company that conducts Faith Nights at professional athletic events across the country, has inked the controversial Christian film "Facing the Giants" as a major sponsor for 2006.

"Facing the Giants," which opens in late September, is Provident Films' movie about a football coach's faith in God. The film has garnered national press because the Motion Picture Association of America rated the film PG (parental guidance suggested) instead of G (suitable for all audiences), making critics question if the MPAA considers religious content cause for parental caution. Continue

Parental guidance and matters of faith

In this column, Evans castigates the American Family Association for its over-the-top reaction to the PG rating assigned to an explicitly Christian film, "Facing the Giants." He says that either the AFA believes that parents should question its approved cultural products or that it is cynically agitating its followers for fundraising purposes. Click here

Film Rating Upsets Christian Groups

'Facing the Giants' Received a PG Rating

The makers of the new film "Facing the Giants" say the Motion Picture Association of America's viewpoint is biased on the movie's celebration of Christian values. Continue

MPAA places Christianity in same category as sex, violence, profanity

"The Motion Picture

Association of America (MPAA) is now warning parents of movies which contain a reference to the Christian faith, equating Christianity as being on the same level of sex, violence and profanity when it comes to objectionable material.

"The MPAA is controlled by Hollywood moguls known for their bitter opposition to Christianity," says Don Wildmon, chairman of the AFA, using what we believe to be coded language for Jews in the movie industry. We have posted the email on our website. Please click here

Narrow focus draws 'PG' rating for Baptist-backed film

This review/report quotes a source at the film's production company saying it got a PG rating because it proselytizes for one religion.Click here

House majority whip chimes in

An AgapePress news brief reports that House Majority Whip Roy Blunt has contacted the Motion Picture Association of America to say that "he is upset with the rating the MPAA awarded a new Christian-themed movie, Facing the Giants. 'That Christian theme appeared to be enough that that movie is going to be rated PG,' notes Blunt. 'Apparently the ratings group has decided that exposure to Christian values is more dangerous to young people than exposure to sex and violence.' Blunt says the ratings group needs to think carefully about its responsibility."

MPAA Rates Film 'PG' for Its Christian Message

Why should parents be forewarned about a Christian film with no sex, violence or raw language?

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has placed a PG rating on forthcoming film because it has a Christian message. Continue

'Nativity Story' brings Jesus' birth to big screen

Was the box office for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," that 2004 showbiz shocker, a fluke? Or did it reveal a massive, neglected audience for reverential fare?

We'll learn more from the receipts for "The Nativity Story," New Line Cinema's holiday gift -- opening Friday -- that brings Christmas-card scenes of Jesus' birth to life on screen.

Christians will presumably flock to "Nativity," although the same Time Warner unit bears responsibility for those "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" movies. Continue.

Review: The greatest 'Story' ever dulled

Story Highlights
• "Nativity Story" based on New Testament tale of Jesus' birth
• Movie stars "Whale Rider" actress as the Virgin Mary
• CNN reviewer says movie well made, but dull

(CNN) -- Low-budget Christian cinema has been quietly racking up small but significant profits over the last few years without troubling the mainstream media, but thanks to "The Passion of the Christ," bigger studios are weighing in.

"The Nativity Story" is a major release (from New Line, like CNN a unit of Time Warner), and boasts the kind of production values only money can buy. Discreetly ecumenical in thrust, it's a reverent, orthodox movie aimed at churchgoers across the spectrum. Continue.

'Nativity Story' not a miraculous conception

The Nativity Story comes across more like a tedious morning in Sunday school than a compelling biblical account.

Far from a magical version of the story of Christ's birth, it is unlikely to inspire the ardent following among Christians that The Passion of the Christ did. And while there is unquestionably an audience for this film, Nativity is not bound to become a holiday classic. Continue.

Nativity Story movie promoters woo churches

Hollywood has come calling with its latest holiday offering, The Nativity Story, wooing Christian churches across North America, including congregations in Winnipeg, with targeted marketing. Continue.

The Nativity Story: There's something about Mary

A teenage Oscar nominee seemed perfect to play the Virgin - until she became pregnant

If many of us have grown cynical of Hollywood's convenient timing of "life imitates art" propaganda, then director Catherine Hardwicke laughs at the notion of the controversy surrounding her new film, The Nativity Story, having been staged.

"Even the most ingenious publicist couldn't have come up with that one," says Hardwicke, left to single-handedly promote her biblical epic in the aftermath of her teenage leading lady - and Virgin Mary - Keisha Castle-Hughes's own pregnancy announcement.

"I doubt there's a single person who thinks anybody did this intentionally," says the director who was still editing when Castle-Hughes called in early October to break the news of her own unexpected nativity story; by then three months pregnant by her 19-year-old boyfriend, Bradley Hull. Continue.

Stepping Out of the Wings

The real achievement of The Nativity Story is its portrayal of Joseph.

When news about The Nativity Story (opening Dec. 1) first started circulating, the welcomest bit of information was that Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) would play the Virgin Mary. What a stroke of casting genius, I thought. The winsome Castle-Hughes had the right combination of age, appearance, and camera-friendly charisma.

But what is most memorable about The Nativity Story is not its portrayal of Mary (though Castle-Hughes plays her part admirably). The movie's real achievement is its narrative exposition of what Matthew meant when he wrote that Joseph was a "just man" (KJV). My Greek lexicon singles out Matthew 1:19 to suggest that here "good" or "honest" would be preferred translations. In any case, he was a man of virtue. Continue

'Nativity' Booted from Illinois Holiday Fair

CHICAGO (AP) - A public Christmas festival is no place for the Christmas story, the city says. Officials have asked organizers of a downtown Christmas festival, the German Christkindlmarket, to reconsider using a movie studio as a sponsor because it is worried ads for its film "The Nativity Story" might offend non-Christians.

New Line Cinema, which said it was dropped, had planned to play a loop of the new film on televisions at the event. The decision had both the studio and a prominent Christian group shaking their heads. Continue

Paranoia About Christianity Reaches New High as Chicago Dumps on The Nativity Story

The official Chicago City website invites guests to: "Experience a traditional German Christmas at Christkindlmarket, inspired by the famous Nuremburg Christmas market dating back to 1545. Just as it has for the past 11 years on Daley Plaza, this outdoor market offers exquisite handmade gifts, unique ornaments, rare European fabrics and textiles and the opportunity to devour German delicacies like brats, goulash, potato pancakes, cookies and Gluhwein (a warm spiced wine)." But it appears that the last thing Chicago wants their visitors to experience is an ad for a film about the birth of the Christ Child (which, by the way, is the direct translation of Christkind).

According to news stories from Associated Press, Fox News, and a host of other media outlets, the City of Chicago allegedly put pressure on the Christkindlmarket (I'm surprised they didn't make them change the name to "kindlemarket") to dump ads for The Nativity Story, a film opening on Friday, December 1. Now that news reports are beginning to circulate, the city is trying to spin this. Jim Law, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Special Events said that the motivation for withdrawing the ads was that they did not want to offend non-Christians attending the event. Continue

Documentary explores faith in politics

Bryan Hall thought he had little in common with protesters who picket outside LDS General Conferences. That's until he and his film crew were invited to dinner with them.

After sharing a meal with the picketers, Hall was surprised to find that their group dinner was like church socials he has attended as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hall said he realized that he could get along with the protesters despite their differences.

Hall's story about the protesters was included in his new documentary about the importance placed on religion in politics. The film is titled "Article VI" in reference to the sixth article of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits religious qualifications for public office holders. Continue.

At the movies

Films by, for and about the religious right

Jesus Camp Camp

Interview with camp director Becky Fisher

Jesus Camp documentary gives a frightening view across the cultural divide

Oscar® Nominee “Jesus Camp” Debuts on DVD Today from Magnolia Home Entertainment

Critically Acclaimed, Riveting, Compelling and Eye-Opening Documentary Examines Christianity Today

'Jesus Camp' Oscar Nod Gets Mixed Reax

Movie Review: Constantine's Sword (2007)

When Love of Religion Leads to Hatred of Others

Film on Catholic anti-Semitism coincides with pope's U.S. visit

'Constantine's Sword' Cuts Into Anti-Semitism

A New Documentary Draws the Ire of Catholic Groups for Its Take on Anti-Semitism

Constantine's Sword

Constantine's Sword

Resentment Over Darwin Evolves Into a Documentary

Ben Stein’s anti-evolution film raises hackles

No Admission for Evolutionary Biologist at Creationist Film

Intelligent Design Movie Is Not for Heathens

Dawkins Crashes 'Expelled' Party

Noted Darwinist shows up at screening of Intelligent Design documentary.

Disinvited to a Screening, a Critic Ends Up in a Faith-Based Crossfire

Actor Ben Stein stumps for evolution bills

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

'Expelled' sets off fireworks

A piece of Hollywood is converted into a call to Christianity

Golden Compass challenges absolutist dogma

Purim film debuts in top 10 in US

Filmmaker Hopes Passion for Esther Puts Jews and Christians in the Seats

Film on "Radical Islam" Tied to Pro-Israel Groups

Call Me Infidel: An Ex-Muslim Speaks Out

The Movie Obsession: Connecting the Dots

The Movie Obsession: Connecting the Dots (Part 2)

Prophets or profits?

What motive drives film industry’s new passion?

When Ms. Pelosi talked to Mr. Haggard

Nancy's daughter, Alexandra, is a documentarian who recently set her lens on evangelicals for her new HBO special, Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi. In an exclusive Q&A the new mom tells The Advocate what she unearthed—and what Ted Haggard is really like.

Soldiers of the Cross; 'Friends of God' Captures Movement's Zeal

Can H'wood make friends with evangelicals?

Sarah Paulson's 'Studio 60' character puts a sympathetic face on Christianity.

God, Mom and Country: A Filmmaker’s Odyssey

Documentary Gives an Unflattering View of Evangelicals

Experts say Rep. Nancy Pelosi's daughter simply doesn't understand Christians.

Evangelical Christian Film Is Inappropriate For Public School, Americans United Tells Alabama Educators

"Facing The Giants" Movie Is Aimed At Evangelism, Says AU's Lynn

Group rebuts ‘Giants’ critics

Judge Roy Moore and Foundation for Moral Law Applaud Paul W. Bryant High School for Showing Christian Movie Which Americans United for Separation of Church and State Wants Censored

'Facing the Giants' tops $10 million at box office ahead of DVD release

Giants Poised to Score: Faith-Affirming Football Flick Picked to Win With Families

UPDATE: July 14, 2006

Giant deal: Third Coast Sports lines up movie sponsorship

Parental guidance and matters of faith

Film Rating Upsets Christian Groups

'Facing the Giants' Received a PG Rating

MPAA places Christianity in same category as sex, violence, profanity

Narrow focus draws 'PG' rating for Baptist-backed film

House majority whip chimes in

MPAA Rates Film 'PG' for Its Christian Message

Why should parents be forewarned about a Christian film with no sex, violence or raw language?

'Nativity Story' brings Jesus' birth to big screen

Review: The greatest 'Story' ever dulled

'Nativity Story' not a miraculous conception

Nativity Story movie promoters woo churches

The Nativity Story: There's something about Mary

A teenage Oscar nominee seemed perfect to play the Virgin - until she became pregnant

Stepping Out of the Wings

The real achievement of The Nativity Story is its portrayal of Joseph.

'Nativity' Booted from Illinois Holiday Fair

Paranoia About Christianity Reaches New High as Chicago Dumps on The Nativity Story

Documentary explores faith in politics