| October
2012 - Vol. 63.
Movie
Master
..
Taking
a stand for good culture
and
right morality
.
by
Michael Shaughnessy
There are Christians who simply avoid watching movies altogether. Most,
however, go to the cinema at least now and then. Those aged 12-24 are twice
as likely to be frequent movie-goers.
Choosing what movie to see can be a challenge. Picking "the best there
is" often can yield a pretty bad result. However, it is not that hard to
make a good decision if you avoid just judging by the movie trailer and
rating. Go to a couple of movie review sites and get more information.
It takes just a few minutes. Here are a few. Add them to your browser toolbar:
To master the movies, make a practice of walking out of inferior or offensive
movies. Surely you have seen a movie and thought, "This is lousy." Next
time, get up, walk out and ask for your money back. You will probably get
your money and also be taking a stand for good culture and right morality!
This
article was first published in the August 2012 Issue of the Kairos
North American Youth Culture Newsletter..
> See previous
articles related to the Media
|
He's Not My Superhero
.
by
Dr. Dan Keating
There
is a superhero model of salvation: the people are in trouble, an evil character
has gained control and is about to enslave the people. Just when it looks
most hopeless, the superhero arrives and defeats the bad guy in the nick
of time. The people applaud and cheer as the superhero leaves to return
to his alter-identity. The people have their ordered, peaceful life back
until the next bad guy arrives on the scene.
This
superhero view of God is quite close to what American teens think about
God. They believe he exists, is good, and watches over things, but he doesn’t
get particularly involved in our life unless things go really wrong. That’s
when we call upon him. He rescues us and then goes off again to a safe
and convenient distance.
Unfortunately,
this is NOT a good model for what Christ has done for us. Jesus did not
fly in, defeat our enemy and then go off again leaving us pretty much the
way we were.
Although
he came to defeat the devil, he didn't leave when that was done. He remains
among us and is changing us. He took on our nature so we could take on
his – and by rising from the dead he received a glorified human nature.
This "super" nature is what he is passing on to us. We aren't just rescued.
We are remade.
[Dr.
Daniel A. Keating is professor of theology at Sacred Heart Seminary in
Detroit, Michigan, USA and an elder of The Servants of the Word, a lay
missionary brotherhood of men living single for the Lord.] |
