Arts & Media
COMMENTARY: The television that ate our family
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service (Dale Hanson Bourke is publisher of RNS and a recovering teleholic.) UNDATED _ It started as a family experiment, a way to help my younger son concentrate more on his education and less on entertainment. But it’s become one of the most family-changing experiences we have enjoyed together. A simple, […]
COMMENTARY: A lie by any other name
By Dale Hanson Bourke — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service (Dale Hanson Bourke is publisher of RNS and the mother of two sons.) UNDATED _ At the school my sons attend there is something called The Honor Code. The Honor Code says you must not cheat or steal. But even more difficult is the admonition that a student must not […]
NEWS STORY: Religion finding its way on to prime-time television
By David Briggs — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Newhouse News Service UNDATED _ First there was “Touched by an Angel.” And its ratings success begot “Promised Land,” which together begot others such as “7th Heaven,” “Soul Man” and “Nothing Sacred.” But it was when the self-proclaimed “domestic goddess” Roseanne proclaimed on her final show, “I learned that God does exist,” that […]
The long arms of Disney
By RNS Blog Editor — June 20, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Here’s a partial list of the holdings of the Walt Disney Co., which the Southern Baptist Convention voted to boycott June 18: Theme parks/Vacation entertainment: Disneyland, Anaheim, Calif. Walt Disney World, Orlando, Fla. Disney Cruise Line Disney Vacation Retail stores: The Disney Store, more than 535 stores. Movie Studios, with […]
NEWS FEATURE: Artwork’s witness: You can burn buildings, but not the church
By Adelle M. Banks — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service BALTIMORE _ When the news of the spate of church burnings entered the national consciousness last year, there were many responses: churches raised money, corporations gave building materials and people young and old volunteered to aid rebuilding efforts. But artist Charlotte Ka, an elementary school art teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y., […]
NEWS FEATURE: Artwork’s witness: You can burn buildings, but not the church
By Adelle M. Banks — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service BALTIMORE _ When the news of the spate of church burnings entered the national consciousness last year, there were many responses: churches raised money, corporations gave building materials and people young and old volunteered to aid rebuilding efforts. But artist Charlotte Ka, an elementary school art teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y., […]
NEWS FEATURE: Nativity display is a sight to behold
By Ed White — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service HUNTSVILLE, Ala. _ Otto Freudenberger may have spent a career as an aeronautical engineer, but he never questioned his wife’s design specifications when it came to helping her with her biggest art project, “Come to the Manger.” “I just cut exactly where she told me to cut,” said Freudenberger, laughing. […]
NEWS FEATURE: Did Dylan, the pope sell out in their joint appearance?
By Julia Lieblich — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Which is odder: Pope John Paul II’s choice of a middle-aged Jewish folkie to inspire Catholic youth? Or a counter-cultural icon’s decision to play for a culturally conservative cleric like the pope? Music critic Tim Riley, author of”Hard Rain: A Dylan Commentary”(Knopf), saw Bob Dylan’s performance at a […]
COMMENTARY: Going abroad, finding the peaceful spirit of Islam, breaking down stereotypes
By Dale Hanson Bourke — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service (Dale Hanson Bourke is publisher of RNS and a member of the board of World Vision.) UNDATED _ Most people live quiet lives of faith, believing because they want to or need to in order to make it through each day. But there are others who brandish belief as a […]
COMMENTARY: TV ratings system are an inadequate guide for parents
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service (Frederica Mathewes-Green is a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. She is the author of”Facing East: A Pilgrim’s Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy”(HarperCollins), and a frequent contributor to Christianity Today magazine. UNDATED _ One side of the debate over ratings for television shows is expressed in a political cartoon […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: Sales of the sounds of Christmas
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Here are some of the top seasonal albums that consumers were buying in the weeks before Christmas 1997: Mainstream stores: THE GIFT, Kenny Rogers (Word) CHRISTMAS EVE AND OTHER STORIES, Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Atlantic) O HOLY NIGHT, John Berry (CPX/EMI) CHRISTMAS, Kirk Franklin & the Family (GospoCentric) HOME FOR […]
NEWS STORY: Steven Curtis Chapman named”artist of year”at Dove awards
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service (RNS) Singer Steven Curtis Chapman and dc Talk member Toby McKeehan were the big winners Thursday (April 24) at the Gospel Music Association’s 1997 Dove Awards. Chapman won artist, male vocalist and songwriter of the year honors and received a fourth award for pop/contemporary album of the year for”Signs of […]
NEWS STORY: TV rating plan gets bad reviews from many religious groups
By Carl Anderson — December 21, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Television’s proposed new rating system for programming, which the major networks plan to begin using Jan. 1, generally flopped with the religious community, drawing responses that ranged from harsh condemnation to cautious concern. The plan, unveiled Thursday (Dec. 19), will use a system of rating programs based on […]
TOP STORY: AFTER THE FALL: On the road from sin to redemption, Bakker discovers a new reality
By Adelle M. Banks — November 8, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service (UNDATED) A decade ago, when the PTL television ministry was at its peak, Jim Bakker was so busy raising money he hardly had time to read the Bible. Now, after five years in prison and two years of introspection on a rented North Carolina farm, he considers the holy book, […]
MEDITATION: OUR FELLOW PASSENGERS: The real mystery of TWA Flight 800
By Frances Kennedy — October 23, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service (Eugene Kennedy is a writer living in Chicago.) (UNDATED) Old railroad stations, John Cheever observed, were built like cathedrals: Their vast spaces invited meditation, the sun fell through great windows on marble floors and pew-like benches. Here were celebrated the mysteries of ordinary time: waiting and expectation, separation and reunion, […]
