I recently sent out an e-mail to a bunch of friends about an article that I read on the subject of Christians and secular media (i.e. movies, music, books, tv…). The question the article ends up touching on quite well is this whole: What should be a Christian’s repsonse to secular (I use the word "secular" simply to mean that which doesn’t neatly fall into any Christian category) media? Do we hide from it or do we dive into it?  Perhaps there is another path. Should I watch Harry Potter as a Christian? Should I listen to Enya? Yes, ok, I listen to Enya, so what! I find it very calming even though in some songs it sounds like she’s speaking a form of Elvish from The Lord of the Rings.  I know, it’s probably Gaelic which is a cool sounding ancient language.  I digress…

The article I speak of, which is an interview with Pastor James Harleman the leader of Film & Theology at Mars Hill Church in Seattle WA, can be read by clicking "Here." It is bascially an article of VoxPop, the church’s monthly newsletter. No, James is not the lead pastor. And yes, that job belongs to the sometimes, ok often times, controversial Mark Driscoll.

In this public space I want to personally affirm what James Harleman echoes in his interview and would love to learn more with others in our community what this can mean for us in The Joshua House as we learn how to be salt and light in our ever lovly but needy city of Vancouver.  This like so much of the Christian faith should not be done alone but rather ought to be worked out with others in Kingdom community using the wisdom, discernment and freedom we have in Christ.

That being said, who’s up for watching The Village, CSI or CBC’s The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulis for Christ?  Can I really say that?

By the way, here is a web page I personally use in determining which movies I might or might not want to watch as a Christian, husband, father, friend, etc. It’s ChristianityToday’s movie webpage and is really well run. I guarantee a "no cheese" rating. Just click "Here" for it and hopefully you find it useful in your quest to glorify God in your movie viewing experiences.

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