manna?

Kids, Mutts, and God by Steve Beard (Thunderstruck)

Posted by Ed Miller

There is sage advice given to fledgling filmmakers: Steer clear of making movies with kids or animals

In addition to avoiding movies with kids and animals, it is also considered wise to avoid the taboo subject of religion. Allowing for the notable exception of a cash cow such as The Passion of the Christ, religious movies simply do not make money. The feeling is that once you start to dabble into the area of theology, doctrine, and clerical collars there are too many opportunities to step on ecclesiastical toes.

Despite the previous-mentioned impediments, filmmakers are still defying the odds in order to make movies that families can watch together such as Because of Winn-Dixie. Adapted from Kate DiCamillo’s award-winning children’s book, the story revolves around a little girl named Opal (AnnaSophia Robb) and her loveable and mischief-prone mutt named Winn-Dixie whom she rescues at a grocery store. The two of them lean on each other to break the power of loneliness and rejection, and end up bringing a soulless town back to life.

Opal and her father live in a low-rent trailer park in Naomi, Florida. Her dad, whom she refers to as the Preacher (Jeff Daniels), is the new pastor of Open Arms Baptist Church which meets in a dilapidated convenience store where the congregation sits on folding patio chairs.

Refreshingly, religion in Winn Dixie is not treated like a strange hobby or the obsession of a tacky televangelist. Instead, faith is treated like a normal part of life. The movie deals honestly with the strained relationship she has with her father, an emotionally wounded man who is doing the Lord’s work and loves his daughter in the best way that he knows how.

Despite the fact that Jeff Daniels (Terms of Endearment and Dumb and Dumber) says he has not been to church in 30 years, his preacher character is not heartless or clichéd. “I’m glad we didn’t go fire and brimstone with him,” he said. “It seemed to be more of a part about a man who was also a father, who was a preacher. This was his calling.” Daniels said that he wanted his character to be “a guy who loved to preach, but had some issues.” Most clergy can relate to that.

Fans of musician and singer Dave Matthews will be delighted by his portrayal as Otis, the quirky ex-con who runs an odd pet shop. Raised in South Africa in a Quaker household, Matthews is well-aware of the struggles of faith. “Bartender, please/ Fill my glass for me/ With the wine you gave Jesus that set him free/ After three days in the ground,” he sings on his album Busted Stuff.

For his part, Matthews believes in a philosophy of life that elevates respect and kindness. “There have been great purveyors of that philosophy who have used different words to describe it, but I think Christ was probably the most famous of them — that respect and kindness will win the day if the day ever came,” he says. “It may or may not in my time, but I’ll still stick by it as a not unreasonable philosophy.”

Part of the joy of this movie is watching the relationship between Opal and Winn-Dixie. When she convinces her dad to allow her to take the dog to church, he howls while a quartet sings, embarrassing her father and raising more than a few eyebrows in the congregation. “He doesn’t know the words,” Opal says of the dog, “but he is sure moved by the spirit.”

Full Post:http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/beard200502180742.asp

13 Things You Don’t Know About Presidents (MSN)

Posted by Ed Miller

Not only were these men leaders of the United States, they were multitalented, unique, and sometimes even downright quirky. We’ve heard a lot about their contribution to United States history. But would you have guessed the following?

1. In warm weather, 6th president of the United States John Quincy Adams customarily went skinny-dipping in the Potomac River before dawn.
2. 9th U.S. president William Henry Harrison was inaugurated on a bitterly cold day and gave the longest inauguration speech ever. The new president promptly caught a cold that soon developed into pneumonia. Harrison died exactly one month into his presidential term, the shortest in U.S. history.
3. John Tyler, 10th U.S. president, fathered 15 children (more than any other president)—8 by his first wife, and 7 by his second wife. Tyler was past his seventieth birthday when his 15th child was born.
4. 15th U.S. president James Buchanan is the only unmarried man ever to be elected president. Buchanan was engaged to be married once; however, his fiancée died suddenly after breaking off the engagement, and he remained a bachelor all his life.
5. Often depicted wearing a tall black stovepipe hat, 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln carried letters, bills, and notes in his hat.
6. 17th U.S. president Andrew Johnson never attended school. His future wife, Eliza McCardle, taught him to write at the age of 17.  (Bonus fact about Andrew Johnson: He only wore suits that he custom-tailored himself.)
7. Both ambidextrous and multilingual, 20th president of the United States James Garfield could write Greek with one hand while writing Latin with the other.
8. Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th president of the United States, underwent a secret operation aboard a yacht to remove his cancerous upper jaw in 1893.
9. The teddy bear derived from 26th U.S. president Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot a bear with her cub while on a hunting trip in Mississippi.
10. William Taft, 27th president of the United States, weighed more than 300 pounds and had a special oversized bathtub installed in the White House.
11. Warren Harding, 29th U.S. president, played poker at least twice a week, and once gambled away an entire set of White House china. His advisors were nicknamed the “Poker Cabinet” because they joined the president in his poker games.
12. Herbert Hoover, 31st U.S. president, published more than 16 books, including one called Fishing for Fun-And to Wash Your Soul.
13. 32nd president of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt was related, either by blood or by marriage, to 11 former presidents.

Sunday Febuary 20, 2005

Posted by Ed Miller

Manna meets @ 10:42 AM in the Park Theatre

248 South River Ave.
Holland, Mi. 49423-3201

Continuing in Acts.

Dress warm, think spring.

Hollywood Touts Devine with Upcoming Films by Marshall Allen (Pasedena Star)

Posted by Ed Miller

Movie Reviews

The horror movie “Constantine’ features demons, exorcisms, readings from a Satanic Bible, suicide, a priest who uses vulgarity, graphic depictions of hell and a gory scene involving an electric chair.
Many evangelical Christians eagerly await the movie’s opening on Friday.

These pastors, seminary students and youth leaders say “Constantine’ will provoke valuable discussions about subjects like heaven and hell, angels and demons, and God and salvation. They cite the film as an example of God using unusual channels to communicate with people.

Also opening Friday is “Because of Winn-Dixie,’ a family and faith-friendly movie about a young girl who adopts an orphaned dog. The movie’s official Web site features a Bible study to connect moral themes in the story with passages in scripture.

Perhaps it’s more obvious than “Constantine,’ but Christians who want their entertainment to reflect their morals are excited about “Winn- Dixie.’

Neither movie is overtly religious, but they are both crossovers mainstream movies that also appeal to people of faith. After religious filmgoers helped “The Passion of the Christ’ reap more than $611 million worldwide, some say the two films may also be harbingers of films to come.

Because of Winn-Dixie’ is based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo. In the film, a lonely girl named Opal befriends a dog, and the two breathe new life into a small town.
This one has morals to it, character building, and it’s done creatively,’ Cordeiro said. “And when you go away from it, you feel awfully good.’

Viewers will likely not leave “Constantine’ with the same warm feeling. The movie is the latest and perhaps most extreme example of the evangelical embrace of popular culture. Those who recommend the movie acknowledge the R-rated film’s graphic nature and muddled theology.

In the film, Keanu Reeves plays a man who has the ability to see angels and demons, the latter of which he hunts and destroys in an attempt to earn his way into heaven. It’s violent, fast-paced and utterly appealing to the same type of evangelicals who enjoyed discussing the philosophical and religious beliefs that undergirded “The Matrix.’

Full Post:http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/Stories/0,1413,206%7E22097%7E2708486,00.html#

Book Club Febuary 17, 2005

Posted by Ed Miller

Thanks to Robin and Ed A. for keeping the seats warm last week.

The “Book Club” meets Thursday nights in Barnes And Nobles @ 7:00 PM. Lets see, what could we discuss this week? How about the West Wing, Lost, or CSI Zeeland? How about The Mystery of a Sovereign God. Yeah, thats the ticket. Lois promises to be there this week. (I’ll be working) New members welcome. No dues. Attendance not taken.