ATTENTION: Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE BRIGHT BLUE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)
PERSONAL NOTE: If you scroll down the right side of this page, you will note my JOURNAL . Check it out for the latest concerning me; 1/23 - I JUST POSTED 2 PRAYER REQUESTS.]
American Churches noted this PAST Sunday as "Sanctity of Human Life Sunday" (Did YOUR church acknowledge it in some way?); JANUARY is “Sanctity of Human Life" MONTH - To help you to pray for the end of abortion in America, please download "21 Days of Prayer for Life Prayer Guide," pdf - http://www.colsoncenter.org/images/content/colson2011/21-days-of-prayer-for-life.pdf (Read post #1463 below.)
UPDATE ON PASTOR SAHEED: "Free at Last, Free at Last!" - Tony Perkins, Washington Update, Jan.26,2016; http://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20160126/free-last
PRAYER MATTERS:"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting Him to accomplish His perfect and loving will." - Stan
7/24 - ASIA BIBI CONVICTION OVERTURNED! PRAY THAT SHE (IN VERY POOR HEALTH) MIGHT BE RELEASED WHEN HER CASE IS REVIEWED SOON. - A Christian mom had been sentenced to death in Pakistan for her faith. Asia Bibi was falsely accused of “blasphemy” – speaking against the prophet Muhammad. Now this wife and mother of five will hang for her Christian faith.She would be the first woman executed under Pakistan’s Shariah blasphemy law.This is the ultimate human rights violation. We’re mobilizing our international affiliate – the European Centre for Law and Justice – and its partner in Pakistan to stop this atrocity. Go to http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/breaking-pakistans-supreme-court-accepts-petition-to-hear-asia-bibis-appeal;please add your signature to over 300,000 others AND continue to pray for Asia Bibi.
"DEATH STARS AND DEJA VU - HOLLYWOOD IS OUT OF IDEAS" - By: Eric Metaxas| Breakpoint.org: Jan.14,2016; https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6120056083724277087#editor/target=post;postID=5618768703085021630 [AS I SEE IT: I agree with this author except where he generalizes towards the end about recent "Christian" films being of poor quality as those in the past. I think of the film "Unbroken" which didn't focus on the main character's Christian faith as it could have, and was not even produced by a Christian but still was a good quality film. "God's Not Dead" was also a decent film that - while a bit preachy to me - was still rather well done. I know I'm forgetting a number of others but I think YOU can think of some as well. All I'm saying is let's be encouraged that there ARE a number of films of excellence that have been produced lately. - Stan]
The Force may have awakened, but the lack of new ideas at the movie theater should be putting us to sleep. I'll tell you why I think this is a huge opportunity for Christians.
2015 was an important year for a lot of reasons, but for the nerd community, one of the biggest milestones came on October 21—the day Marty McFly from “Back to the Future” arrived in a time-traveling DeLorean from 1985. Most of the film's predictions didn't pan out. Even though the Chicago Cubs came close to the World Series.
But when Marty McFly stumbled into an advertisement for “Jaws 19,” his sojourn in 2015 came eerily close to ours. As Ross Douthat points out in The New York Times, the fact that the top-earning flick of last year was the seventh installment in a saga that was already classic in Marty's time says a lot about the state of Hollywood.
Consider that “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” dethroned a fourth “Jurassic Park” film at the box office and comes from a director who just rebooted Gene Roddenberry's “Star Trek.” All of this in a cinematic climate dominated by recycled Marvel and DC comics personalities from the 1950s to 70s.
Everywhere we look, entertainment has become synonymous with nostalgia. Douthat observes that the plots of 2015's top-grossing films are themselves pastiches of stories from yesteryear. “The Force Awakens,” was, despite critical acclaim and deafening approval from fans, a “beat-by-beat reworking of the original.”
Spoiler alert for the three of you who haven't seen it yet: The latest “Star Wars” is about an orphan with Force abilities who lives on a desert planet. She meets up with a droid carrying secret plans that draw her into a fight against a galactic empire whose deformed potentate has built a planet-destroying super-weapon. Our heroine joins a smuggler, an imperial defector, and a Wookiee at a space-cantina before inheriting a lightsaber, linking up with a rebel alliance, and losing her mentor-figure to a black-masked villain. It all culminates in a last-ditch X-wing attack on the enemy super-weapon, which the good guys blow up seconds before it fires on the rebel base.
If this all sounds familiar, that's because it's basically the plot from the original “Star Wars.” As Christian blogger Samuel James remarks, “There comes a point when tradition becomes stagnation, and at least in American mainstream film culture, it seems like that line was crossed some time ago.”
Let's get this out of the way: I kind of like Star Wars. But the nostalgic fog choking the film industry right now is not harmless. As James points out, if this climate had existed when George Lucas first imagined his “galaxy far, far away,” “Star Wars” would never have been made. Today, similarly daring films rarely make the silver screen, and many that do, like last year's “Jupiter Ascending,” and “Tomorrowland” flop miserably.
Audiences have spoken: They want more of the same stories—over and over. Never in my lifetime have we needed fresh stories this badly. And you know what? I think Christians should be the ones to offer those stories.
Please understand: I'm not talking about “Christian stories.” I'm talking about stories written, directed, produced, and acted with excellence, by Christians. We know the greatest story ever told. We should be, as C. S. Lewis once wrote, the best storytellers in the world. But lately we've earned a reputation for producing corny, preachy, and low-quality art. It's time to turn that around. And Hollywood's dearth of new ideas may be just the chance we need.
Do you know an aspiring Christian novelist, screenwriter, or director? Encourage them to do what they love without pigeonholing themselves. Point them to the great authors of the past—Christian and otherwise—who knew the power of stories to shape lives and orient imaginations. Then challenge them to get busy. In a culture playing its favorite movies on repeat, we need a generation of Christians to tell fresh, meaningful stories and offer Hollywood—dare I say it—A New Hope.
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION - Take every opportunity to present great stories and listen to great stories. And encourage Christian storytellers to hone their craft. Our culture needs them.
RESOURCES
"Not Sermons but Stories: Engaging in Culture the Right Way" - Eric Metaxas | BreakPoint.org | Jan. 8, 2013;http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/breakpoint-commentaries-search/entry/13/21183
"Star Wars: ‘The Force Awakens’ succumbs to the worst parts of remix culture" - Sonny Bunch | Washington Post | Dec. 22, 2015;https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/12/22/star-wars-the-force-awakens-succumbs-to-the-worst-parts-of-remix-culture/
"‘The Force Awakens’ Is the Least Interesting Star Wars Yet" - Brian Merchant | Motherboard | Dec. 21, 2015;http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-force-awakens-is-the-least-interesting-star-wars-yet?utm_source=mbfb
"'The Force Awakens' and Getting Trapped By Nostalgia" - Samuel James | samueldjames.net | Dec. 21, 2015; http://samueldjames.net/2015/12/21/the-force-awakens-and-getting-trapped-by-nostalgia/
"Star Wars and Decadence" - Ross Douthat | New York Times | Dec. 18, 2015;
http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/21/star-wars-and-decadence/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs%C2%AEion=Body&_r=0
"Requiem For 'Star Wars' ” - Ross Douthat | New York Times | Dec. 18, 2015;
http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/18/requiem-for-star-wars/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs%C2%AEion=Body
"A New Hope for a New Generation" - Alex Wainer | BreakPoint.org | Dec. 21, 2015;
http://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/articles/entry/12/28655
"To Shame the Strong" - Gina Dalfonzo | BreakPoint.org | Jan. 2, 2016;
http://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/articles/entry/12/28682
PERSONAL NOTE: If you scroll down the right side of this page, you will note my JOURNAL . Check it out for the latest concerning me; 1/23 - I JUST POSTED 2 PRAYER REQUESTS.]
American Churches noted this PAST Sunday as "Sanctity of Human Life Sunday" (Did YOUR church acknowledge it in some way?); JANUARY is “Sanctity of Human Life" MONTH - To help you to pray for the end of abortion in America, please download "21 Days of Prayer for Life Prayer Guide," pdf - http://www.colsoncenter.org/images/content/colson2011/21-days-of-prayer-for-life.pdf (Read post #1463 below.)
UPDATE ON PASTOR SAHEED: "Free at Last, Free at Last!" - Tony Perkins, Washington Update, Jan.26,2016; http://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20160126/free-last
PRAYER MATTERS:"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting Him to accomplish His perfect and loving will." - Stan
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14) Short of that, we should not be saying "God Bless America"but instead "God be merciful towards America!" - Rev. Franklin Graham once delivered this insight to his Facebook friends: "I do know that the president defends Islam and chastises Christians, rebukes our allies and befriends our enemies, and fully supports gay marriages and abortion but denies the religious freedoms of those who don't agree. Our nation is ridiculed abroad and morally crumbling within. We are in trouble. We have turned our back on God.")
PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS: Let's be praying that they might be Spirit-filled, leading us with Godly wisdom and integrity; that the Congress and the the President will find only pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit America today and future generations and NOT do any lasting harm.
Pray DAILY:1) For the Supreme Court, Pray that the justices will demonstrate more judicial RESTRAINT rather than judicial activisim as it has the past few years, esp. on issues having negative impact for generations yet born. Pray in particular that religious liberty will be defended rather than eroded by any decision handed down.2) For the National Elections NEXT November. Pray that Americans will elect leaders at the state (Governors, state legislators) and national(Congress and President)levels who have Spirit-filled wisdom, integrity, and a Biblical world-view, who will know and do what is best for us today as well as for future generations.
World-Wide Prayer Requests:
PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS: Let's be praying that they might be Spirit-filled, leading us with Godly wisdom and integrity; that the Congress and the the President will find only pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit America today and future generations and NOT do any lasting harm.
Pray DAILY:1) For the Supreme Court, Pray that the justices will demonstrate more judicial RESTRAINT rather than judicial activisim as it has the past few years, esp. on issues having negative impact for generations yet born. Pray in particular that religious liberty will be defended rather than eroded by any decision handed down.2) For the National Elections NEXT November. Pray that Americans will elect leaders at the state (Governors, state legislators) and national(Congress and President)levels who have Spirit-filled wisdom, integrity, and a Biblical world-view, who will know and do what is best for us today as well as for future generations.
World-Wide Prayer Requests:
UPDATE/1-15: "Asia Bibi Forgives Persecutors from Pakistani Prison" - CBN News; 1-15-2016;http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2016/January/Asia-Bibi-Forgives-Persecutors-from-Pakistani-Prison [NOTE: See other updates below.]
PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that coalition forces will be able to destroy the leadership and infrastructure of ISIS. (see post #964)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Force may have awakened, but the lack of new ideas at the movie theater should be putting us to sleep. I'll tell you why I think this is a huge opportunity for Christians.
2015 was an important year for a lot of reasons, but for the nerd community, one of the biggest milestones came on October 21—the day Marty McFly from “Back to the Future” arrived in a time-traveling DeLorean from 1985. Most of the film's predictions didn't pan out. Even though the Chicago Cubs came close to the World Series.
But when Marty McFly stumbled into an advertisement for “Jaws 19,” his sojourn in 2015 came eerily close to ours. As Ross Douthat points out in The New York Times, the fact that the top-earning flick of last year was the seventh installment in a saga that was already classic in Marty's time says a lot about the state of Hollywood.
Consider that “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” dethroned a fourth “Jurassic Park” film at the box office and comes from a director who just rebooted Gene Roddenberry's “Star Trek.” All of this in a cinematic climate dominated by recycled Marvel and DC comics personalities from the 1950s to 70s.
Everywhere we look, entertainment has become synonymous with nostalgia. Douthat observes that the plots of 2015's top-grossing films are themselves pastiches of stories from yesteryear. “The Force Awakens,” was, despite critical acclaim and deafening approval from fans, a “beat-by-beat reworking of the original.”
Spoiler alert for the three of you who haven't seen it yet: The latest “Star Wars” is about an orphan with Force abilities who lives on a desert planet. She meets up with a droid carrying secret plans that draw her into a fight against a galactic empire whose deformed potentate has built a planet-destroying super-weapon. Our heroine joins a smuggler, an imperial defector, and a Wookiee at a space-cantina before inheriting a lightsaber, linking up with a rebel alliance, and losing her mentor-figure to a black-masked villain. It all culminates in a last-ditch X-wing attack on the enemy super-weapon, which the good guys blow up seconds before it fires on the rebel base.
If this all sounds familiar, that's because it's basically the plot from the original “Star Wars.” As Christian blogger Samuel James remarks, “There comes a point when tradition becomes stagnation, and at least in American mainstream film culture, it seems like that line was crossed some time ago.”
Let's get this out of the way: I kind of like Star Wars. But the nostalgic fog choking the film industry right now is not harmless. As James points out, if this climate had existed when George Lucas first imagined his “galaxy far, far away,” “Star Wars” would never have been made. Today, similarly daring films rarely make the silver screen, and many that do, like last year's “Jupiter Ascending,” and “Tomorrowland” flop miserably.
Audiences have spoken: They want more of the same stories—over and over. Never in my lifetime have we needed fresh stories this badly. And you know what? I think Christians should be the ones to offer those stories.
Please understand: I'm not talking about “Christian stories.” I'm talking about stories written, directed, produced, and acted with excellence, by Christians. We know the greatest story ever told. We should be, as C. S. Lewis once wrote, the best storytellers in the world. But lately we've earned a reputation for producing corny, preachy, and low-quality art. It's time to turn that around. And Hollywood's dearth of new ideas may be just the chance we need.
Do you know an aspiring Christian novelist, screenwriter, or director? Encourage them to do what they love without pigeonholing themselves. Point them to the great authors of the past—Christian and otherwise—who knew the power of stories to shape lives and orient imaginations. Then challenge them to get busy. In a culture playing its favorite movies on repeat, we need a generation of Christians to tell fresh, meaningful stories and offer Hollywood—dare I say it—A New Hope.
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION - Take every opportunity to present great stories and listen to great stories. And encourage Christian storytellers to hone their craft. Our culture needs them.
RESOURCES
"Not Sermons but Stories: Engaging in Culture the Right Way" - Eric Metaxas | BreakPoint.org | Jan. 8, 2013;http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/breakpoint-commentaries-search/entry/13/21183
"Star Wars: ‘The Force Awakens’ succumbs to the worst parts of remix culture" - Sonny Bunch | Washington Post | Dec. 22, 2015;https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/12/22/star-wars-the-force-awakens-succumbs-to-the-worst-parts-of-remix-culture/
"‘The Force Awakens’ Is the Least Interesting Star Wars Yet" - Brian Merchant | Motherboard | Dec. 21, 2015;http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-force-awakens-is-the-least-interesting-star-wars-yet?utm_source=mbfb
"'The Force Awakens' and Getting Trapped By Nostalgia" - Samuel James | samueldjames.net | Dec. 21, 2015; http://samueldjames.net/2015/12/21/the-force-awakens-and-getting-trapped-by-nostalgia/
"Star Wars and Decadence" - Ross Douthat | New York Times | Dec. 18, 2015;
http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/21/star-wars-and-decadence/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs%C2%AEion=Body&_r=0
"Requiem For 'Star Wars' ” - Ross Douthat | New York Times | Dec. 18, 2015;
http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/18/requiem-for-star-wars/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs%C2%AEion=Body
"A New Hope for a New Generation" - Alex Wainer | BreakPoint.org | Dec. 21, 2015;
http://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/articles/entry/12/28655
"To Shame the Strong" - Gina Dalfonzo | BreakPoint.org | Jan. 2, 2016;
http://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/articles/entry/12/28682
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