Warnings about sex, violence come to Christian movies [Excerpts]
To get to the movie section at Lifeway Christian Store in Bridgeton, customers pass by shelves of books, CDs, and greeting cards. The rack of Christian DVDs isn't huge, but it's twice as big as it was a year ago and "growing all the time," said manager Francine Evans.
Some of the Christian titles these days, she said, tackle "touchy subjects" such as drugs or domestic violence. Two on the shelf at Lifeway, "Sarah's Choice" and "Bella," are about abortion.
"These are movies that deal with issues that real people deal with," Evans said. "Sometimes that's what's necessary to reach people for God. But the seals are needed. They're a good idea."
The seals Evans anticipates are part of a new system to gauge the Christian values in films that contain sex, violence, and drugs -- a system developed by the Dove Foundation, a nonprofit based in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The organization is introducing a purple "Faith-Based" seal that warns of raw images or language in otherwise Christian-themed movies and a gold "Faith-Friendly" seal, indicating a Christian-themed movie that's safe for a family audience.
While the foundation's purple "Faith-Based" seal will register as a caution for parents, those in the film industry say they're not worried it will have a chilling effect on Christian writers and directors concerned about DVD sales.
("Warnings about sex, violence come to Christian movies," By Tim Townsend, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.com, Monday, June 28, 2010)
[TBC: “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me” (Psalm:101:3I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.).]
