So it looks like actor/director Mel Gibson – who has been embroiled in controversy since he was criticized for uttering anti-Semitic comments – wants to make a new movie…about Jewish hero Judah Maccabee. Still, Yahoo Movies reports that several Jewish leaders aren’t especially happy about the project:
“Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti Defamation League, who criticized Gibson’s controversial 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter in response to the news.
‘Judah Maccabee deserves better. He is a hero of the Jewish people and a universal hero in the struggle for religious liberty. It would be a travesty to have his story told by one who has no respect and sensitivity for other people’s religious views,’ Foxman tells THR of the project, which is being co-developed by Basic Instinct writer Joe Eszterhas.”
The Washington Post reports on a new poll that says that most Americans – Republicans and Democrats – want a president who believes in God:
“Atheist alert. New statistics from the Public Religion Research Institute show that over 70 percent of Republicans and over 50 percent of Democrats want a president who has “very strong religious beliefs.”
While a large majority of the electorate fully embraces the importance of the commander-in-chief’s faith, atheists groups continue to denigrate politicians – along with all religious people – who believe in God.”
CNN asks what happens when you take some activist Christianity and mix it up with a famous Ice Cream maker – why Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, of course!
“An unlikely pairing took to the stage Saturday in front of a sold out audience at World Café Live to promote peace and ice cream.
Philadelphia-based Christian author and activist Shane Claiborne partnered with Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, to raise public awareness about federal military spending.
The evening started off on a somber note with Cohen pouring 10,000 BB gun pellets into a metal container to illustrate the power of the United States’ nuclear arsenal in front of a stunned audience.
‘It’s that kind of overkill mentality that drives an out-of-control Pentagon budget,’ he said.”
The BBC asks – is China in the midst of a spiritual crisis?
“It is impossible to say how many Christians there are in China today, but no-one denies the numbers are exploding.
The government says 25 million, 18 million Protestants and six million Catholics. Independent estimates all agree this is a vast underestimate. A conservative figure is 60 million. There are already more Chinese at church on a Sunday than in the whole of Europe.”
Today’s Tweet(s) of the Day is continuation of last Friday’s tweet from megapastor Rob Bell about Giant Squids. Apparently he wasn’t finished yet, and still had…er…wisdom to grant via three other tweets:
@realrobbell – And what goes through the center of the brain of a colossal squid? The squid’s esophagus. 2/4
@realrobbell – Which leads to the unfortunate possibility that it would swallow something too big and thus sustain brain damage. 3/4
@realrobbell – So slow down and chew your food. 4/4
