(Display Name not set)April 2009 Archives

In this funny clip from "Family Guy" Meg, who is sick in bed with the mumps, watches evangelical Christian actor Kirk Cameron talk about God.

Check out our video interview with Kirk Cameron.

Director Ron Howard has recently come under fire from Catholic League president William Donohue because of his new film, "Angels & Demons," based off the Dan Brown best-selling mystery fiction novel--the prequel to "The Da Vinci Code." In a recent article on The Huffington Post, Howard adresses Donohue's concerns and accusations. We've reprinted part of the article below with permission.

'Angels & Demons': It's A Thriller, Not A Crusade
By Ron Howard

William Donohue of the Catholic League is on a mission. Whether it is a "mission from God," as the Blues Brothers would say, only God knows, but the goal of his mission is clear: to paint me and the movie I directed, Angels & Demons, as anti-Catholic.

For a $5 donation to his organization, Mr. Donohue will send you his glossy new booklet (Angels & Demons: More Demonic Than Angelic), in which he writes that I and the people who made this thriller "do not hide their animus against all things Catholic."

He's been making these assertions for years, going back to the theatrical release of The Da Vinci Code. He stepped up his campaign more than a month ago with a series of press releases. And there he goes again, in a Daily News op-ed last Friday, saying that Dan Brown and I "have collaborated in smearing the Catholic Church...."

Let me be clear: neither I nor Angels & Demons are anti-Catholic. And let me be a little controversial: I believe Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will enjoy the movie for what it is: an exciting mystery, set in the awe-inspiring beauty of Rome. After all, in Angels & Demons, Professor Robert Langdon teams up with the Catholic Church to thwart a vicious attack against the Vatican. What, exactly, is anti-Catholic about that?

Read the rest on The Huffington Post.

"Angels & Demons" hits theaters May 15.

For complete coverage of "Angels & Demons" visit Beliefnet's "Angels & Demons" Page.

By Chris Sagona

I felt instant foreboding when I ripped open an orange Fed Ex package two weeks ago and saw that the next book I was being asked to review was called "Losing My Religion."

It wasn't just the title and the cover's obviously extinguished candle that gave me a queasy feeling. It was the author's name; William Lobdell. He's a former L.A. Times Reporter known for finding great stories, avoiding assumptions-- and just telling things as they are. He's the enthusiastic guy who convinced the L.A. Times to let him write a column called "Getting Religion," while still working for the community news division, then was plucked from the local section to become the LA. Times full-time religion reporter.

I put off reading his book, fearing the inevitable; that he'd convince me to lose my religion, knowing all the while that it is a ridiculous fear. Now that I've read it, I have to confess: I've been thinking about his book for days. The non-stop kind of mulling that has you watching TV but not seeing a thing, and missing your exit sign on the highway.
In the weeks after the L.A. Times published Mr. Lobdell's last article, a front page opinion piece explaining how he'd lost his religion, he received about 2,700 emailed comments.

I feel I have about that many questions, thoughts, frustrations that I'd like to tell him too. No, no, I mean that I'd want to shout at him, laugh with him about, congratulate him for, and then cry about. It's that kind of book. Depending on your background, you could end up trying to convert him, or congratulating him on seeing the light of disbelief. It felt less like reading a book and more like looking around the back of your closet and everyone else's closet with a flashlight.

Oh, the things you can find back there.

I'll take my confession one step further; he made a dent in my faith.

I found myself trying to summon forth my faith by focusing on a misstep in his journey. If you follow Mr. Lobdell every step of the way, yes, he'll lead you on a nail-biting journey that has as its logical conclusion that religion's a bunch of hooey that can give religious leaders a job, sometimes fortune, and sadly, great opportunity to take advantage of people. He very effectively shows that religious organizations and even their unwitting members reject religious corruption stories, as simply mean attacks, as if there's no good in shedding light on crime.

Best-selling author and storyteller SQuire Rushnell--yes, that's a capital Q-- launched his popular Godwink Stories™ on Beliefnet this week. Look for his twice-weekly video vignettes that will lift your heart and make you smile. A "godwink" is what some people would call a coincidence, an answered prayer, or an experience so astonishing that it could only have come from God. He encourages us to pay attention to the many ways in which God winks at us every day--leading us to where we need to be in life, connecting us with the right people and opportunities at the right time. Visit SQuire each Monday and Wednesday to see new episodes. You can also catch SQuire Rushnell on Good Morning America Friday, April 24, between 8 and 9 AM.

You can learn more about the Godwink Guy in this interview.

Actress Kristin Chenoweth, known for her roles in "The West Wing" and "Pushing Daises," as well as her extensive work on stage (most notably as Glinda in Broadway's "Wicked") has a new book out April 14, "A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stage." In it, the outspoken Christian details a list of questions she'd like to ask God. Here is the list, reprinted with permission from Touchstone, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Post your thoughts about the list in the comments area below--and feel free to add the questions you'd like to ask God

Questions for God When I Meet Him
By Kristin Chenoweth

• Who killed JonBenét? And does she pretty much own the pageant circuit up here?

• Did Marilyn kill herself or was it a Kennedy?

• Did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone?

• Seriously...was it the cookies?

• Why is forgiveness so dang hard?

• Why is slapstick so dang funny?

• Who is the sadistic genius behind cellulite? Lord, please tell me you did not have anything to do with that.

• Does restless legs syndrome actually exist? And is there something about it that compels the person to sit in the front row?

• How on earth (or elsewhere) do you keep track of everyone?

• Why would someone go to all the trouble it takes to be a serial killer? Is there always some kind of Sweeney Todd backstory?

• Where are the mates to most of my socks?

• Why did Mom have to battle cancer twice? Seriously. Once was more than enough.

• Does sugar cause cancer? And if not, what does?

• Does sugar cure cancer? And if not, what does?

• Why do so many people find homosexuality scarier than war?

• What if you made it so that hate would cause hemorrhoids? Just an idea.

• Do you have Leonard Bernstein's cell number? I need to talk to him right away. Also, Puccini. And Ethel Merman.

• And one more thing, Heavenly Father. Are you proud of me?

From "A Little Bit Wicked" by Kristin Chenoweth with Joni Rodgers. Copyright © 2009 by Kristin Chenoweth. Reprinted by permission of Touchstone, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.