August (Web-only) 2004

Good Dog, Bad Dog
After seeing Benji: Off the Leash!, some Christian critics want to adopt him, others to impound him. Plus: Hero, Exorcist: The Beginning, Without a Paddle, We Don't Live Here Anymore, Riding Giants, and more reviews of Open Water, Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, and Alien vs. Predator.
Princesses and Predators Disappoint Audiences
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement is a royal disappointment, and Alien vs. Predator takes two franchises to a new low, while Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie baits youngsters to waste money. Plus, more reviews of Napoleon Dynamite, Collateral, Little Black Book, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, A Home at the End of the World, and Intimate Strangers.
Time on Christians at the Movies; Collateral Cruises
Time magazine on the church's changing attitudes about film. Plus: Religious press critics review Collateral, Open Water, Garden State, Little Black Book, A Home at the End of the World, Code 46, Maria Full of Grace, The Village, The Manchurian Candidate, and Thunderbirds.
Time on Christians at the Movies; Collateral Cruises
The church's changing attitudes toward movies. Plus: Religious press critics review Collateral, Open Water, Little Black Book, Garden State, Code 46, Riding Giants, The Story of the Weeping Camel, Maria Full of Grace, The Village, The Manchurian Candidate, and Thunderbirds.
Monsters and Nightmares Haunt Villagers and War Veterans
Shyamalan's Village people are stalked by phantoms, while a presidential candidate is targeted by a brainwashed assassin in The Manchurian Candidate. Plus, critics praise Intimate Strangers, shoot down Thunderbirds and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, and continue reviewing I, Robot, A Cinderella Story, The Bourne Supremacy, Maria Full of Grace, and Catwoman.
The Passion of the Musicians
For composer John Debney and vocalist/lyricist Lisbeth Scott, the creative talent behind the soundtrack to The Passion of The Christ, scoring the epic film was the experience of a lifetime.
Top Ten Movies from Asia
From hilarious comedies to poignant—even heartbreaking—stories about culture and society, here's one critic's list of Asian movies worth watching.
Suspect Zero
Bright Leaves
Top Ten Movies from Europe
From stories of grace and beauty to those depicting the horrors and heartbreak of war and death, here's one critic's list of European movies worth watching.
Benji: Off the Leash!
Exorcist: The Beginning
Hero
Rosenstrasse
Without a Paddle
Benji's Back!
Joe Camp, creator of the Benji films, brings the beloved pup back to the big screen after 17 years. He tells us all about it—and how his faith played a part in the process.
Alien vs. Predator
Intimate Strangers
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Princess Diaries 2
Does Hollywood Have a Prayer?
Christians often get riled up about the movie industry's questionable entertainment offerings. So why not turn that passion into something productive?
Stapp: I Am a Christian
Former Creed lead singer Scott Stapp tells us about his faith journey—falling away from God as a rebellious rock star, and, just recently, coming back to embrace Christianity.
Code 46
Collateral
Open Water
Violence, Profanity and Nudity: A Dialogue (Part 4)
What is a Christian's responsibility when it comes to portraying The Big Three vices in film? There are no easy answers to the question.
Iraq Churches Attacked
At least 11 dead, 52 injured in Baghdad and Mosul bombings. A roundup of the on-site reporting and response.
Evangelical Leaders Call for Darfur Action
Plus: A tainted quest for Noah's flood, another Methodist lesbian trial, and the group that may or may not be behind the Iraq church bombings.
Rediscovering 'Husbandry'
What Colonial farmers have to teach us about living with the land.
Presbyterian Church (USA): No Actively Gay Pastors
Close vote at July General Assembly maintains sexuality standards.
The Resolution That Put the 'PC' in PCUSA
In its anti-Israel resolution, the Presbyterian General Assembly isn't speaking on behalf of members. A rabbi's opinion.
Silencing Democrats' Religious Speakers
Plus: Washington Post vs. freedom, censoring Romans 1, and many, many other stories from online sources around the world.
Another U.K. Religious Speech 'Crime'
Plus: Too loud churches, banning home worship, Salon on religious persecution abroad, Dobson backs Bush, and other stories from online sources around the world.
Iraq's Church Bombers vs. Muhammad
Attacks defy the Prophet's wish for the area's millennia-old Christian community, which is now on the edge of oblivion.
Is Speaking Truth a Hate Crime?
Hate laws making their way through U.S. and British governments highlight the need for peaceful yet critical Christian witness. A 12th-century abbot leads the way.
Fuller Prof Ordered to Leave U.S.
Plus: Iraqi Christians return to church, Boston churches demonstrate against violence, and Bush is told to renounce his possessions.
No Free Speech in Preaching
Swedish pastor sentenced to jail for blasting homosexuality.
Will the American Bar Association Bar Judges as Scout Leaders?
Plus: Senate leader vs. EU vs. Arab League on Darfur genocide, Mrs. Bush vs. Kerry/Edwards on stem cells, and Luis Palau in the Twin Cities.
Books & Culture's Books of the Week: 'Be Happy!'
How the ancient Olympics differed from the modern spectacle.
We've Got Books
The first installment of our new midyear book report.
Using Tabasco God's Way?
Plus: Falwell gets another critical site, Christian radio station raided in DRC, the faith behind the world's fastest runners, and other stories from online sources around the world.
Britain Starts Cloning
Plus: Who's going to New York, the next big movie controversy, the fundamentalist press, and other stories from online sources around the world.
When My Son Was Arrested for Murder
Finding faith under unthinkable circumstances.
San Francisco's Gay Marriages Ruled Invalid
Plus: N.J. gov's religious resignation, wheat-free-free Communion, blaming the victim in Iraq, and more articles from online sources around the world.
Life with Dignity
Let's not be too eager to pull the plug on our fellow image-bearers.
Judge Dismisses Suit Over Greek Orthodox Constitution
Courts don't have authority to adjudicate ecclesiastical matters, says New York State Supreme Court Justice.
The 'Assumed' Fate of Jesus' Mother
Roman Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Assumption on Sunday. What's up with that?
The Antiabortion, Antiwar, Pro-Jesus Party
Plus: Rwandan troops arrive in Darfur, and the Pope preaches at Lourdes.
Christian Athletes to Watch in the Olympics
Sports Spectrum magazine has its eye on the believers competing in Athens.
Bring Me the Stead of John the Baptist?
Plus: Florida vouchers nixed, assisted suicide wins again in Oregon, Methodism and the presidential campaign, and other stories from online sources around the world.
The Proposition 71 Stem Cell Scam
The biotech lobby is attempting to buy a law in California, Wesley J. Smith says.
Real Fantasy
The first installment in a new Tolkien-inspired series shows genuine promise.
(Not Just) Summer Reading
Part 2 of our midyear report on outstanding books.
Hell House Goes Hollywood
Plus: Ethicists vs. the Bush campaign, Falwell's law school, DNA testing the Dead Sea Scrolls, and other stories from online sources around the world.
Distress, Harassment Continue for Vietnam's Montagnards
U.N. relief workers airlift 198 refugees to Cambodian capital.
Gen. Boykin Broke Rules, Says Pentagon Report
Plus: Crisis editor Deal Hudson withdraws from Bush campaign as exposé approaches, and other stories from online sources around the world.
This World Really Is Our Home
We're not just passing through, says theologian Michael Wittmer, author of Heaven Is a Place on Earth.
Why Paul Loved His Body
2 Corinthians doesn't teach that flesh and spirit are opposites, Michael Wittmer says.
Is The National Catholic Reporter's Hudson Exposé a Big Deal?
Plus: Democratic candidate leaves Catholic Charities post, school chief quits over Ten Commandments, and other stories from online sources around the world.
Evangelicals on Opposite Sides in Venezuelan Referendum
President Hugo Chavez will need the support of churches to restore progress to the country.
Revisiting the Pagan Olympic Games
New scholarship on the ancient Olympics reminds Christians why Emperor Theodosius outlawed the event so many centuries ago.
Anti-conversion Reprieve
Sri Lanka Christians cheer high court ruling on controversial bill.
Newsweek Raises Up Stones
Plus: Deal Hudson gets contrite as Bill Donohue turns nasty.
Book 'Em!
The concluding installment of our three-part midyear book roundup.
Can a Constitution Be Unconstitutional?
The battle for state marriage amendments leads to a power grab in Michigan.
Free the Boykin Transcripts!
Plus: Joe Stowell resigns from Moody, and many other stories from online sources around the world.
A God's-Eye View of Gutenberg
The rise, fall, and redemption of the Father of the Information Age.
Democrat Says He Was Fired From Catholic Charities Over Abortion
Plus: Another blow to the partial-birth abortion ban, church attacks in India and Cyprus, and other stories from online sources around the world.
They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Ad Hominem Attacks
Plus: Bill Clinton on bearing false witness, and the Olympics that began with Greek paganism ends with a former priest's apocalypticism.
Be Careful What You Pray for
The strange tale of the controversial Bishop Pike and his fatal quest for relevance.

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