For years, churches have been leading the attacks on the movie industry. Now, more and more are embracing the medium.
For decades, churches and Christian activists verbally attacked Hollywood, boycotted films, and preached against the "entertainment culture" of America. In some more fundamentalist circles, this mentality carries on. Increasingly, however, the church is turning toward the medium it once railed against.
Christians is now embracing the film industry in two primary ways:
1) Christians are making movies themselves or at least entering the fray and influencing the industry. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ is probably the best-known and most successful example of this trend, but others include The Chronicles of Narnia, The Nativity Story, One Night With the King, Amazing Grace, and Facing the Giants. Other films, though not overtly Christian, were either written or directed by Christians -- and contain some mild Christian themes. These include The Pursuit of Happyness, The Fantastic Four and The Ulimate Gift.
2) Churches are turning toward the medium, bringing the Big Screen to church. In fact, many churches are meeting in theaters. Pastors are using multimedia displays and sometimes clips from popular movies to illustrate points. The worship service utilizes big-screen technology. The church is going multimedia.
Not everyone likes this trend, but it shows no sign of slowing down. Follow this link to read about how movies are shaping America's pulpits and churches.
