LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY crazyjane13)

Down Here, the best current affairs program we have is Four Corners. On Monday night, they screened a show called "Friends of God", which came to us from HBO. It was shot by Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

It had all the Usual Suspects - Joel Osteen, Ted Haggard, Ron Luce (now there's a truly dangerous individual), that comedian guy whose name constantly escapes me (I think I block it out), as well as amusing bridging sequences filmed from the car that showed some truly outrageous billboards. There was also the trip inside a household that, at first glance, looked Amish (boys in shirts and dress pants, girls in long dresses, women wearing headscarves) - until the "head" of the family started talking.

All in all, it was a brilliant doco, mostly because it let them speak for themselves, and they were not shy in giving out information. I don't know if/when it will screen in the US, but I'm hoping it will get podcast - or at least a transcript.

For those in Australia, it's being re-broadcast on ABC2 tonight at 9.30pm, and at 8.00 am on Thursday.

For those who are interested in background reading, and a possible podcast, go to Four Corners website.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wyldraven)

CNN Video: Christiane Amanpour on Ron Luce, Battle Cry, and Culture Wars

( Excerpt. Click Headline for full story. )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY crazyjane13)

This is a documentary from BBC's Channel 4 in the UK. The narrator, Tony Robinson, refers to Dominionists as "end-timers", but take a look at some of the people he interviews. Seems like the British are getting it, at least.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY multiclassgeek)

Just finished watching the aforementioned show: A documentary about Patrick Henry College in the US (for background,click here for the discussion we had here a few hours ago - It's a good primer on the PHC agenda.

Whilst I'm in no position to reiterate the entire documentary, here's some thoughts

( Warning: May Contain Sarcasm )

Overall, I was slightly disappointed by the show. Whilst it did a good job of showing how these young people wanted to become politically active in order to advance their faith in a suitably Dominionist way, there was no time taken to look at the roots of why they believe this (i.e the core of Dominionist/Christian Reconstructionist thought). It came across as more of a "Look at this college in the USA which trains kids to enter politics and exert influence" rather than a "Look at the sort of shit that's being pulled, here" (which I think would have been a better doc all round). However, the announcer at the end did point to Channel 4's own Religion Resourse, http://www.channel4.com/believe as a link for those who "wanted to find out more about US Evangelicals" (I can't vouch for the content, but I thought the link might warrant another mention).

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

The British Channel 4 is going to take a look at students from the extremely religious Patrick Henry College. The show is called "God's Next Army":

God's Next Army investigates Patrick Henry College (PHC), set up five years ago in Virginia, near Washington DC. Its mission is to train young fundamentalist Christians to become the next generation of America's cultural and political leaders. Though the separation of church and state is enshrined in the US Constitution, with financial backing from the evangelical community the college aims to 'rechristianise' America; to 'preserve the world from the sinfulness of man'.

PHC students are an isolated group who come from close-knit communities where everyone prays together and shares moral certainties. Most have been educated at home and have had no contact with either the social diversity or the political and intellectual cut and thrust of mainstream schools. Derek Archer, a prospective PHC student believes home-schooling has protected him from the 'moral decay of the world'.

Once at the college, the students ceremonially sign a covenant which commits them to a strict behaviour code: no alcohol, drugs or obscene literature; sex will be reserved for marriage; personal conflicts will be resolved biblically; the students will be above reproach, will uphold the tenets of evangelical Christianity and lead the nation for Christ.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ammitbeast)

"Onward Christian Soldiers"?

Yikes.

Saw this site mentioned in Brian Fleming's documentary The God Who Wasn't There.

Hmmm.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY jehovahsfitness)

For those of you who haven't seen it, I highly recommend The Jesus Factor. It's an informative documentry by PBS's Frontline series that tells about Bush's past with religion and how the Religious Right got him the presidency.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This AlterNet article is quite interesting. It 'depicts the transformation of a Texas teenager -- from conservative Christian to champion of sex education.'

Comprehensive sex education is at the heart of what divides America today. One side thinks it's a direct affront to the Christian value of abstinence until marriage; the other thinks it helps prevent the 60% of teens who already having sex from getting pregnant, or contracting a disease and dying.

Tonight's documentary on PBS, "The Education of Shelby Knox," traverses the bridge between both sides. Shelby Knox is a 15-year-old Christian girl who takes a church pledge to not have sex until marriage. She lives in Lubbock, Texas, a Republican Christian stronghold where local government meetings begin with a prayer, and where students learn that abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy and disease.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Theocracy Watch, an organization committed to bringing the excesses of Dominionist Theology and those who would try to impose it on the US to light, has several interesting streaming videos about Dominionism. These videos trace the history, leaders, and goals of Dominionists and put them into perspective. I watched one this evening, and it was very insightful and enlightening.

If you are running Firefox, the streamer for WMV video will not work. You will need to switch to IE for that. I tried to watch the RA version, but it kept halting every 45 seconds or so, and the Quicktime will not work properly through a Zone Alarm firewall, even with the mobile code options turned off, and accesses enabled for the site.

These streaming videos are also available to purchase on DVD.

If you watch them, let us know.

Sunfell

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Tonight's installment of "Frontline" should be interesting- The Jesus Factor will explore President Bush's born-again faith and its impact on public policy.

From the website:

"As an evangelical Christian, President Bush has something in common with the 46 percent of Americans who describe themselves as being "born again" or having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Often has the president recounted praying about major decisions facing the nation--but what do we actually know about the rudiments of George Bush's faith? To what extent do the president's spiritual beliefs impact or influence his political decision-making? And how closely do Bush's religious views mirror those of the country's burgeoning--and politically influential--evangelical movement?"

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Five years ago, PBS Frontline did a very interesting segment on the 'evolution of apocalyptic belief and how it spread around the world.'

The website goes into detail about this phenomenon and its implications, and introduces the various elements of apocalyptic belief.

It's an interesting- and sometimes scary- exploration, and worth an extended visit.

Apocalypse!

Sunfell

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Thanks to the good folks over at McChristianity for the link to a review of this very interesting movie.

Hell House

Yay! It's on DVD!

Here's what Amazon has to say about it.

And Netflix has it in their collection to rent. (puts movie at top of queue...)

I'll let you know what it's like.

Sunfell