Shrek Director Picked for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Shrekdirector Andrew Adamson will direct The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe film“As we’ve seen with Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, bringing to the screen a literary fantasy classic, beloved by millions of readers, requires both a reverence for the original material and a rich imagination to create a realistic fictional world,” Walden Media CEO Cary Granat said in a press release Wednesday. “Andrew Adamson knows better than anyone how to create magic on-screen and tell a story which touches the heart of an audience. His expertise in visual effects, animation, and live action will be critical to a fantasy work of this magnitude.”

So far, there’s been little buzz about the appointment at the Mere Lewis e-mail list (which is on hiatus this week) or on the alt.books.cs-lewis newsgroup. Note, however, that though Shrek was extremely well received by both mainstream and Christian critics and filmgoers (one negative review in Books & Culture got absolutely pilloried by readers and other critics), Adamson also worked as visual effects supervisor on the terrible Batman Forever and Batman and Robin—films that did anything but show “reverence for the original material.” Of course, he wasn’t director of those films, either—but he did win Academy Award nominations for both.

“Narnia was such a vivid and real world to me as a child, as it is to millions of other fans,” Adamson says in the press release. “I share Walden’s excitement in giving those fans an epic theatrical experience worthy of their imaginations, and driving a new generation toward the works of C.S. Lewis. Making a film that crosses generations is a far easier task when the source material resonates such themes as truth, loyalty and belief in something greater than yourself.”

Walden also named South African Ann Peacock, who won an Emmy for the HBO film A Lesson Before Dying, as the screenwriter.

All well and good, and Weblog hates to be a total wet blanket years before the project comes out. But here’s something to worry about. Walden Media is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, which is, according to its website, “the largest shareholder of the outstanding common stock of Qwest.” (Philip Anschutz, who funds Walden Media, started Qwest Communications.) For those of you following the news, Qwest is in trouble, and under investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission for its accounting practices. Anschutz himself is under fire for selling $1.5 billion in shares while Qwest was inflating its revenues. Might these woes affect the budget of Walden Media—and thus the Narnia series?

Bringing the head of John the Baptist Richard Freund, an archaeologist at the University of Hartford (Conn.), says he might have found the skeleton of John the Baptist. Even he admits it’s a circumstantial case: while excavating caves in Qumran, near where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, Freund’s team discovered a male skeleton dating from the first century. “Freund reported that the orientation of the body and its accompanying grave goods suggest that the remains may be that of the ‘Teacher of Righteousness,’ the founder of an ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes,” a university press release explained. “Scholars have long thought that this teacher may have been the prophet John the Baptist.”

“I don’t know if this is John the Baptist,” Freund told The Hartford Courant, “but it certainly is possible.”

But even members of the excavating team say such a theory is preposterous. “No person in the world believes there is a connection between the two. There is nothing to it,” Magen Broshi, one of the heads of the expedition, tells the Associated Press. “What we have unearthed is most probably a skeleton of a Bedouin man from about two or three hundred years ago.”

Persecution and crime:

World Vision worker released in Southern Sudan | Two others still captive (Idea, Germany)
Also: Rebels want to control food aid | A militia group holding two aid workers hostage in southern Sudan are demanding control over some of the millions of dollars worth of food aid delivered annually to the impoverished region (SAPA)
Priest recalls his meeting with church murderers | Islamic gunmen showed little remorse over one of the worst massacres of Christians in Pakistan’s history (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Freed Missionary Hails Indictments (Associated Press)
Also: Missionary satisfied with indictment (Religion News Service)
Also: 5 charged in death of U.S. missionary | None are in custody (The Orlando Sentinel)
‘Cheap grace’: Are churches giving corporate execs free moral ride? | Religious communities must urge rigorous examination of motives, consistent actions (Religion News Service)

Pennsylvania miner rescue:

In mine and church collapses, God was there | If God gets the credit for what happened at Quecreek, does God get the blame for what happened in Memphis, Tenn., last week? (David Waters, Scripps Howard)
Giving thanks, taking credit | Did prayer help rescue the miners? (Keith Ward, The Wall Street Journal)
Did God really save the miners? | How we feel about the Somerset nine’s rescue says a lot about what we think about God (Frederica Mathewes-Green, Beliefnet)
In a clash of cultures, we’ve put God in the middle | Americans’ notion of the deity needs reexamination (Norah Vincent, Los Angeles Times)
Relieved talk of mercy, miracles, and providence | In a rural county in southwestern Pennsylvania where Christian stations crowd the left side of the radio dial, words like miracle, providence and mercy made up the vocabulary of joy and relief today over a rescue that for a while looked as if it was going wrong, but ended up right. (The New York Times)

Gracia Burnham:

Gracia Burnham looks forward to return to Kansas | Says she needs time to rest, grieve, and write (The Wichita Eagle)
Gracia Burnham makes statement during Washington trip (The Wichita Eagle)
Now, home life beckons | Accompanied by her family, Gracia Burnham said she now hopes to reacquaint herself to life in the States and to “raise three neat kids.” (The Wichita Eagle)
Philippine hostage survivor, with her children, visits Bush (KRT)

Bible:

The Gospels with all their original grace and harshness | Jewish names and the politics of anti-Semitism. (The Christian Science Monitor)
Why The Message isn’t controversial | Is Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase a Bible? (Associated Press)

First Amendment:

Group sues University of North Carolina over reading | The Virginia-based Family Policy Network opposes program requiring incoming students to read “Approaching the Qur’án: The Early Revelations” (The Daily Tar Heel, UNC)
Also: Edgy first college assignment: Study the Koran (The Christian Science Monitor)
Woman: School banned anti-gay talk | Betsy Hansen, who graduated in June, said she was forced to remove comments about homosexuality from her speech to an all-school assembly and was prohibited from being on a panel that discussed religion and homosexuality. (Associated Press)
Lawsuit contends N.M. jail bans all but religious literature | Luna County officials say there is no book ban, just a misunderstanding. (Associated Press)

Church and state:

Suit claims student’s right to faith | Leominster school didn’t let girl, 7, share Jesus story (The Boston Globe)
Jesus Book Banned in Class | Massachusetts teacher who asked her pupils to bring a book to class about their Christmas traditions—but religious titles weren’t allowed (Reuters)
Call for courts to drop religious oaths | Courts should abandon the practice of requiring religious oaths and use only a secular affirmation, the Equal Opportunity Commission and the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria will tell a parliamentary inquiry this week (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
Court hears suit over Ten Commandments at Texas Capitol | Austin is latest battleground (Associated Press)
‘In God’ motto unveiled | Bakersfield City Hall brings in representatives of the city’s Islamic, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jewish, American Indian, Catholic and Protestant faiths will pray over the words “In God We Trust.”(The Bakersfield Californian)
God and country in Bakersfield | California Bible Belt’s capital embraces ‘In God We Trust’ motto, stirring controversy and reinforcing stereotypes (San Francisco Chronicle)
Federal appeals panel hears synagogue zoning dispute | Pennsylvania town asks 3rd Circuit judges to overturn ruling allowing congregation to buy property in residential neighborhood (Associated Press)
Maryland county votes to rededicate park with biblical monument | ACLU threatens lawsuit (Associated Press)
Commandments foes can’t remain anonymous | Meanwhile, Hamilton County, Tenn., officials abandon plans to display group of historical documents containing religious codes (Associated Press)

Politics and law:

Bush denounces ‘false religion’ of terrorists | Spokesman reiterates earlier comments that Islam is a religion of peace (Associated Press)
French Scientology case barred | Statute of limitations expired, says judge (Associated Press)
Catholic hospitals caught between faith and law | Health bill mandate for contraceptive coverage clashes with teachings (Times Union, Albany, NY)
With papal prodding, Guatemala may end executions | This week, President Portillo sent a proposal to Congress that would eliminate capital punishment (The Christian Science Monitor)
Bill gives back land to church | A Federation Council senator has come up with a proposal to return former church land to the Russian Orthodox Church and the country’s other main faiths (The Moscow Times)
Pastor Mumba welcomes Chiluba, Levy stand-off | It’s answer to prayers, says former presidential candidate (The Post, Lusaka, Zambia)
Also: Zambian anti-corruption effort pits president vs. predecessor (The New York Times)
Earlier: One African Nation Under God | Zambia is missionary David Livingstone’s greatest legacy. But this Christian nation isn’t always heaven on earth (Christianity Today, Feb. 5, 2002)
Conservative groups oppose Harty | State Department’s consular affairs bureau chief nominee won’t do enough to protect religious minorities, say groups (Associated Press)
Martin Luther King Jr. Center appalled by MLK use in flier | Take Back Miami-Dade using note to fight gay rights law (The Miami Herald)
Witches threaten Romania’s EU interests as revenge for TV ban | The country’s National Witches Association claims it discriminates against white witches and should only apply to black magic (Ananova)

Pledge of Allegiance:

Attorneys general urge court to reconsider Pledge ruling | 9th Circuit’s decision is legally flawed, matter should be reheard by full court, say officials from 48 states, two territories in letter (Associated Press)
Roy Moore defends Pledge, calls for Christians to vote | Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice speaks to the state’s Christian Coalition (Associated Press)
Calif: Pledge is patriotism, not prayer | State Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed a brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday requesting reconsideration of the June 26 decision (UPI)

Life ethics:

Teen’s suit cites illegal abortion | Cherise Mosley was so desperate to have an abortion while still a minor that she tried to use a fake identification card at a clinic. It worked. (Houston Chronicle)
‘Designer baby’ denied | Britain’s IVF watchdog rejects a couple’s request for treatment to help their sick child (The Guardian, London)
Christian group in Kenyan anti-abortion campaign | African nation considering liberalizing its abortion laws (African Church Information Service)

Missions and ministry:

Uzbekistan: Missionaries lure youngsters | The authorities’ crackdown on Islamic radicalism appears to have prompted many young Uzbeks to join the growing number of Christian groups in the country (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)
Church-based support during, after divorce | With statistics showing the divorce rate hovering around 60 percent, many newly single Howard County residents are looking for spiritual solace, ways to begin life anew and answers to a larger question: Why did this happen to me? (The Baltimore Sun)
Victors over hardship on a spiritual mission | In these times of turmoil, Women of Faith seems to have a ready audience (The Miami Herald)
Kids religious about learning reading | Camps use Bible stories and Christian themes to teach children reading and writing (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Zoning dispute fires up ministry | A small ministry in east Orlando has been waging a David-and-Goliath-style battle against Orange County, contending that the county ignored its own laws and let a liquor store operate across the street (The Orlando Sentinel)
Church gives warm send-off to its college-bound teens | The aim of Ebenezer Baptist Church’s Friday night gathering ranged far beyond merely outfitting dorm rooms (The Bergen [N.J.] Record)

Church life:

Minister to pay $335,000 to settle suit over church | He had refused to give title to congregation (The Baltimore Sun)
Fighting primates | The present Archbishop of Canterbury tried to block the appointment of Dr Rowan Williams (The Spectator, U.K.)

Theology:

Benke controversy continues (Associated Press)
Earlier: Benke Suspended for ‘Syncretism’ after 9/11 Event | Interfaith prayer exposes divisions in LCMS (Christianity Today, July 31)
If your faith is slipping , try the female approach | Women priests are showing the way forward (Gillian Ferguson, The Scotsman)
You better believe it (but we don’t) | Are the pulpits of Anglican churches occupied by closet atheists? A new survey shows that many vicars do not believe in the Resurrection or Virgin Birth (The Times, London)
Earlier: English clergy doubt resurrection, survey shows | A third of Church of England clergy doubt or disbelieve (Associated Press)

Other religions:

The ongoing fight for religious dominance | From the Secret Service agent’s slur, to critiques of the Ninth Circuit’s Pledge of Allegiance decision (Marci Hamilton, Findlaw.com)
Incident didn’t help feelings between Muslims and non-Muslims | We will stay divided until Muslim-Americans stop feeling as if they are under siege, and until the rest of us stop doing, or condoning, things that give them even the slightest reason to feel that way (Ruben Navarrette, The Dallas Morning News)

North Dakota mascot debate:

Devils Lake residents urge: Satan, be gone | Most residents push for change in mascot (The Fargo [N.D.] Forum)
Also: Devils Lake residents debate Satans nickname (Associated Press)
Also: Board Studies ‘Satans’ Nickname | Vote expected Thursday night (Associated Press)

Education:

For some, home schooling is the best education | More parents choosing to leave public education (The Gadsden (Ala.) Times)
Zimbabwe’s Mugabe takes over private Christian schools | School officials say accusations of racism and sectarianism are a ruse (Financial Gazette, Harare, Zimbabwe)
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me an American Visa? | Uganda is a religious nation—there is a religious dispute or controversy here every other day. Now the head of the Anglican church, Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkooyoyo, has kicked off the latest brouhaha by directing that all schools founded by a church be headed by members of that church (The East African, Nairobi)
Dispute damages Christian family group’s credibility | Rather than hypocritically whining or trying to prevent students from hearing a Muslim voice into the classrooms, Christian groups like the American Family Association should teach their members how to promote and stand up for their beliefs (Rex Arnett, The South End, Wayne State University, Detroit)

Business:

Religious employment has different standards | Abstention from certain vices called for by some; church-related jobs on short end of pay. (Springfield [Mo.] News-Leader)
Investors lose faith in religious toy co. | ChapelBox Toys to close its doors (Playthings.com)

Pop culture:

Far too often, religion isn’t even a subplot | In movie after movie, TV show after TV show, people face every manner of terror, crime, illness and betrayal without ever turning to, or even acknowledging, a higher power (Donna Britt, The Washington Post)
Punk band revels in rocking for God | At first The Sloths weren’t a Christian band. But after awhile, they decided to play for God (The Bakersfield Californian)
Beastly twist on Bible tale | ABC movie will tell story of Noah’s ark from animals’ perspective (New York Daily News)
The Door magazine sees no problem mixing religion with some humor | “Those who judge us don’t know us,” says editor (Scripps Howard)
Earlier: Close The Door | Now that the evangelical satire magazine isn’t just satirizing evangelicalism, it’s not all that funny anymore (Ted Olsen, Christianity Today, Apr. 22, 2002)

Books:

The Stephen L. Carter stonewall, day 11 | The Emperor of Ocean Park author remains silent about why he was a no-show at the President’s Council on Bioethics (Slate.com)
In the Shadow of the Wall | Philip Hamburger’s Separation of Church and State is delightfully iconoclastic, a great read that transforms a cherished belief of American civil religion into a myth (Stephen Prothero, The Wall Street Journal)
The book on black church leaders | An ambitious new work examines the religious struggles and contributions of African Americans (Los Angeles Times)
The Archbishop, the censored quote, and the second coming | The Times’s excerpt from Rowan Williams’s book was anything but exclusive (The Independent, London)
Fundamentally unsound | Left Behind, the bestselling series of paranoid, pro-Israel end-time thrillers, may sound kooky, but America’s right-wing leaders really believe this stuff (Michelle Goldberg, Salon.com)

Sexuality and gender:

Liberals told to stand up to courts | Same-sex marriage ruling must be appealed: critics (The Ottawa Citizen)
Also: Liberals to fight gay ruling | Appealing Ontario case: Government seeks ‘clarity’ from courts on marriage laws (National Post, Canada)
Feds may leave marriages to the church | One of four options Justice Department is contemplating, regardless of whether it appeals an Ontario court decision that sanctioned gay marriage for the first time in Canadian law (The Ottawa Citizen)
Gay pastor won’t face Methodist church trial | Lesbian minister was predecessor of Mark Williams, the gay pastor whose case was dismissed in May (The Seattle Times)
Announcing gay unions | The Boston Globe is reviewing its policy with an eye toward possible change. Underline possible. (Christine Chinlund, The Boston Globe)

Sex abuse scandals:

Books on Catholic issues vie for audience after abuse scandals | The publishing industry, according to trade journals, has been careful not to exploit the church scandals. But the topic has gained publishing wings, with at least 10 books focusing on the Catholic Church that are new, reissued or picking up sales on Amazon.com (The Washington Times)
Policy enforcement lax, group alleges | “We have seen 178 different applications of the policy,” says Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (The Boston Globe)
Catholic Charities trustees consult AG over donations | Wants to take money from groups the archdiocese opposes (Boston Herald)
Sydney’s Catholic Archbishop comes under fire from sex abuse groups | George Pell says abortion is a greater crime than pedophilia perpetrated by priests (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Also: Pell to face dissent on abortion quote | Critics say comparing clergy abuse with abortion makes incompatible comparison. (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
Money scandal in Florida diocese adds to church woes | Church officials from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach have revealed that two bishops accused of sexual abuse kept secret the embezzlement of $400,000 (The New York Times)
Catholics build a `parish’ without walls on Net | Spurred by the abuse scandal, an informal network of Web essayists has sprung up, offering a safe place to debate and celebrate their faith (Chicago Tribune)
Pell on abortion and sex abuse: They’re both evil |Sydney’s Catholic archbishop says earlier comments were taken out of context (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Heaven help the cardinals | As the crisis of pedophilia engulfs Catholicism, millions of worshippers have walked away from a church out of kilter with modern life and bereft of moral authority (Stephen Crittenden, Sydney Morning Herald)
Hearing weighs church-victim pact | Cardinal Law expected to take witness stand (The Boston Globe)

Pope John Paul II and Catholicism:

The ‘pilgrim Pope’ fondly bids the Mexicans farewell | Pope John Paul II left Mexico on Thursday amid the chants and tears of millions, offering words of affection that many considered a fond and final farewell (The New York Times)
Pope returns to Rome after trip | Will recover for two weeks before returning to Vatican (Associated Press)
Bolstering faith of Indians, Pope gives Mexico a saint | Pope John Paul II made an emphatic appeal to the indigenous people who have abandoned the Roman Catholic Church and presented them with a saint they could call their own (The New York Times)
Mexicans approve of Fox kissing papal ring | Almost two thirds approve (Reuters)
Also: A president’s reverent kiss | Gesture by Fox during papal visit surprises secular Mexico (The Washington Post)
Pope issues call for rights in Mexico | ”Mexico needs its indigenous peoples, and these peoples need Mexico,” says John Paul II (The Boston Globe)
Catholic charismatics summon their Christian roots | Still, for many Catholics, the idea of being filled with the Holy Spirit remains as foreign as an altar call (The Kentucky Post)

Other stories of interest:

Couple fights eviction after complaints | Two roommates facing eviction for allegedly praying too loudly in their apartment are trying to convince Ontario’s rental-dispute agency to allow them to stay put (Canadian Press)
Mable Ann Criswell: Worked to preserve Baptist leader’s legacy | Mable Ann Criswell, who died July 20, had an essential skill needed to preserve her father’s legacy; she could read his handwriting (The Dallas Morning News)
Survey finds growing spirituality in European youth | More young people believe in God, in spirituality and in life after death than they did 20 years ago. But fewer believe in the church or attend service in religious establishments (Voice of America)
Ex-baseball star in fulfilling role | Burke Masters is now a priest (Rick Morrissey, Chicago Tribune)
Christian designs found in tomb stones of Eastern Han Dynasty | Studies show that as early as 86 A.D., or the third year under the reign of “Yuanhe” of Eastern Han, Dynasty Christianity entered into China, 550 years earlier than the world accepted time (People’s Daily, Beijing)
Scamming, in the name of the Lord | Online ordination is a widespread phenomenon in the United States. (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
Drug use cited in Texas bus crash | Fatigue and inattention also named as reasons for church bus crash that killed four youths in late June (Associated Press)
Religion news in brief | Jewish self-identity, World Anglican panel cannot agree on homosexual morality, ELCA loses membership, Hawaiian church land lawsuit, United Methodist’s proabortion stance, and more (Associated Press)