Book Review

In reviewing the Christianity Today book, "Faith & Pop Culture" I have to admit that I lost interest & actually forgot to finish the small study guide & write my review. But it may be of interest to small groups that are looking for a specific subject to discuss over a matter of weeks together.

The 8 chapters include these topics:

• Are movies the art form of our day? And if so, how do they connect with Christian faith?
• How can great books pave the way to faith?
• Do we take sports seriously enough?
• With hundreds of channels screaming for our attention, how do we decide what or whether to watch?
• Must all entertainment Christians enjoy be "family friendly"?
• Can violence be entertainment for Christians?
• Can Christians influence the entertainment industry?
• It's the cry of our culture, but is it compatible with a life of faith?

I was pleased to find the collection of writers for this study guide did not all agree with one another. The book gave differing views to stimulate a group discussion. I also was relieved to find that it was not a book about how totally horrible media was & that true people of faith should run away from it completely. The writers actually admitted to watching & loving TV & going to a variety of movie styles. It is possible that my reluctance to complete this assignment was a pre-conceived idea that the book would be telling Christians to turn off their televisions & spend their evenings praying for the "far-left media monsters". This book did not do that at all. It could be a stimulating discussion starter. Unfortunately, in my experience most people who would come to a group that gathered for this subject specifically, would be of the mind mentioned above.