Pop Goes Religion: Faith in Popular Culture

by Terry Mattingly, Mark Joseph (Editor)

Overview

Johnny Cash, Harry Potter, the Simpsons, and John Grisham. What do all of these icons in pop culture have to do with faith? Find the answer in Pop Goes Religion; relevant insight into the world of today's entertainment.

In this collection of essays, popular American journalist, Terry Mattingly teaches readers how to identify elements of faith in today's pop culture.

Topics include:

• God & Popular Music
• Faith & the Big Screen
• God on TV
• Ink, Paper, and God
• Politics and Current Events

From music to movies, politics to the pope, Mattingly explores the matters of the heart with a fresh and relevant perspective.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780849909986
Publisher:	Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date:	11/13/2005
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Terry Mattingly writes the syndicated "On Religion" column for the Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C. that appears in about 350 newspapers nationwide, and is associate professor of media and religion at Palm Beach Atlantic College. He also is a senior fellow for journalism at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

Mark Joseph has had a varied career as as an entertainment executive, writer and multi-media broadcaster including as a host/reporter for CNN's "The Entertainment Report," NHK, and FM Tokyo. His writing has appeared in a number of publications including Beliefnet, Christianity Today, The Jewish Press, Billboard and the National Review. He is the author of three books including Faith, God & Rock 'n' Roll. He is currently co-producing the Inspired by The Passion of the Christ official rock sountrack for the movie.

Table of Contents

	Editor's Note	xi
	Foreword	xiii
	Introduction	xv
	God and Popular Music	1
	U2 Bedevils the Modern Church
	At the Crossroads
	Do the Math
	The Rock for Life Pledge
	Elvis: A Prodigal Son?
	Rich Mullins: Enigmatic, Restless, Catholic
	Songs for Souls in Hard Times
	Bleeping Baptists Pray for Bleeping Ozzy
	Worship for Sale, Worship for Sale
	The Testimony of Johnny Cash
	Bono's Crusade on the Road
	Big Ideas on the Big Screen	29
	"The Passion" of Old Words and Symbols
	"Titanic": The Sixties as Sacraments
	Signals from Hollywood Heaven
	Duvall on Sweat, Sin and the South
	The Late Great Planet Hollywood
	A Hail Mary for Hollywood
	Should a Christian Do a Nude Scene?
	Mission? Filling In Some "Holes"
	A Chick Flick to Remember
	Hollywood After "The Passion"
	Not a "Rookie" Faith
	"The Passion" and the Talmud
	Beyond the Baptist Boycott
	God on TV	65
	Beyond "Becky Goes to Bible Camp"
	God, Man and "The Simpsons"
	Freud Meets Lewis on PBS
	The Very Rev. Ted Turner Speaks
	Oprah, "Babe" and Religious Liberty
	Jim Bakker's Other Conspiracy
	Carl Sagan: Televangelist
	Veggies Attack the Funny Gap
	Home-Schoolers: The Anti-Woodstock Generation
	Vanilla Values on the D.C. Mall
	Ink, Paper and God	93
	Walking With C.S. Lewis
	Harry Potter and Free Will
	John Grisham's Pulpit
	Comic-Book Visionaries
	Reading the Sporting Jews
	Romeo and Juliet, Born Again
	J.K. Rowling: Inkling?
	Yes, There Is a Mitford
	All Those "Left Behind" Catholics
	Chaim Potok and Storytelling
	Harry Potter for Grown-up Believers
	The Gospel According to "The Gospel According to..." Books
	Flights of Filmed Fantasy	125
	George Lucas, the Force and God
	God, Man, Hobbits and J.R.R. Tolkien
	"Star Wars": The Only Parable in Town
	J.R.R. Tolkien, Sin and Creation
	God-Talk After "The Matrix": Pop Gnostics
	God-Talk After "The Matrix": Theology for Sale
	Trust Your Feelings, Darth?
	Vague Faith in Middle Earth
	"Constantine": And All the People Said, "Whoa"
	"The Matrix": The Apocalypse
	The Visions of Tolkien and Jackson
	Star Culture Wars
	Pop Media, Real Life	157
	Looking for a New God, a Fresh Creed?
	Faith Popcorn's Spiritual Cocktails
	A Brand Name for Your Soul
	Bobos "R" Us
	Lent: Fasting From Television
	Catholic College Culture Wars
	Praying With the Digital Natives
	Just Another Sunday at Saddleback
	Mysterious Echoes of Gunshots
	Intolerant Christians in the Public Square
	Worship Wars in the Pews
	Notes	187
	Index	189
	About the Author	199

Editorial Reviews

Hollywood's influence on morality and religious values has always aroused controversy, though surprisingly little of lasting value has been published on the subject. Pop collects the syndicated "On Religion" columns of journalist Mattingly, who is interested in how movies, music, television, and publishing intersect and collide with religion. Subjects range from the significant (reaction to and influence of Mel Gibson's box-office smash The Passion of the Christ) to the trivial (born-again actress Rene Russo's decision to do nudity in The Thomas Crown Affair). The essays themselves are brief and likely to date quickly. Hollywood-based writers and editors Lewerenz and Nicolosi also believe that popular arts play an important role in the American religious scene today. Their collection is published under the editorial supervision of Act One-an organization that aims to train Christian writers to work in the film industry-and features Hollywood writers and producers who acknowledge the lack of understanding and depth in modern movie coverage of religious issues and the failed tactic of blaming Hollywood. Instead, they bid committed Christians to act as "apostles and artists" by supporting one another and learning filmmaking skills, thereby extending their ministry beyond the narrow flock to the wider world. Topics include what makes a good Christian film, what kind of stories should be told, and how to start and survive in Hollywood. Some essays seem a bit simplistic, but the book puts a refreshingly positive spin on a rarely covered topic. While Pop is marginal for most libraries, Screen can be recommended for public or academic libraries where Michael Medved's broadside Hollywood vs. America has found a responsive audience.-Stephen Rees, Levittown Lib., PA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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