Saints and Soldiers

Luke and I watched a movie the other night that I have to talk about. As with most young men, he likes war movies (or anything with guns). I've struggled in finding war movies that tell good stories with appropriate amounts of gore & violence, and not all the stinkin' gratuitous sex and language (I always have had a hard time buying that just because your in battle you use six - 4 letter words in every sentence!)

We happened upon an awesome one in Blockbuster last week --- Saints and Soldiers. It wasn't a 'Major' film, but as you'll see if you check out the film's website it won a lot of awards on the 2nd tier level.

It told about a true story in WWII, and yes it had some war violence, but it talked in real terms about friendship and faith -- and had great pictures of courage and sacrifice -- without unnecessary language and sex.

So if you're looking for something in this genre, check it out.

Let us hear from you: What movie have you seen lately that you would recommend and why??

Les Miserables

Last night we watched Les Miserables again - it has been several years. Man, this is one of my top 5 all time favorite movies!

What an incredible picture of the destructiveness of sin, the power of mercy, and the freedom of forgiveness compared to the slavery of the law . . .

If you've never seen it, get it and watch it . . . and I would encourage you to do so with your whole family (there's a couple of violent or rough spots so if you have small children you may want to preview it) . . . It will create incredible opportunities to talk about what God has done for us.

Golden Compass - The Right Direction for You and Your Kids?

Over the past several weeks I've received many emails about a much advertised movie that is going to hit the theaters on December 7th - The Golden Compass.

As you know, I normally don't spend time critiquing cultural events. Largely because if they emanate from popular culture we should expect them to have the perspective of the world. And then depending on our conviction, we should either use them to better understand our world and those around us; or leave them in the newspaper.

That being said, from the perspective of a Father and a Pastor, I am concerned about what I've read about the underlying direction of this movie. And much of my concern has to do with the target audience being children.

We cannot and MUST NOT bury our heads in the social sand when it comes to our children whose young hearts and souls need our guidance.

With that in mind I have collected several articles below that talk about Philip Pullman himself (author), the trilogy of books which this movie is based on, and the movie itself.

I encourage you to be as 'wise as a serpent' and use the below before 'inhaling.'

The first three links are different websites and then the last portion is part of an email also with links in it.

And then, please comment back and let us know what you think . . . . .


http://www.pluggedinonline.com/thisweekonly/a0003516.cfm

http://www.christianinformation.org/article.asp?artID=117

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

There is a new movie coming to theaters December 7. You should be forewarned about The Golden Compass. The target audience for the movie is children, and it is being promoted in some schools. The Golden Compass is based on a book trilogy that promotes atheistic views, likely to be reflected in the movie.

For more information on The Golden Compass, click here to read the column by AFA's Rebecca Grace. You might also want to read an article from Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship. Click here for the article.