St. Mark's Lutheran Church

Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
600 Stevens Drive
Wausau, Wisconsin 54401
715.848.5511
Movies and Music to come




Angels & Demons (based off the novel by Dan Brown)





      
 Suggestions Minimize  
Suggestions, from Chris Sansom, posted 9/1/2009 2:32 PM

Add New Thread         

Song: "I'm not Afraid"
From the Album "Recovery" by Eminem

12345678910
Eminem has a tendency to go back and forth, from music you wouldn't listen to if you were given the CD for free, to music that seems alright with the exception of a few choice words. This most recent release seems to be more of the latter. The song itself is about himself digging out of the hole that he has been in in the recent past. He seems to be making an anthem to his rehabilitation. In the overall purpose of the song I find nothing inherently bad, actually, we should be happy that he is speaking out against drugs, instead of recommending the blue and yellow, purple pill which he did a few years ago. However, this better content does not immediately make the song good. The language of the song is just as bad as most of his music, not to mention the things both good and bad from his past which he references are not of good Christian behavior. Even in his good times Eminem if vulgar in his use of language and discussion. There is also a lot of aggressive emotion behind much of his lyrics, which study after study has shown that this type of forceful and even violent emotion displayed in music can effect the listeners making them more forceful and in some cases even violent. I would not recommend this song even an edited form without the harsh lyrics still has the potential to expose the listeners to imagery and violence that is not Christian.

This review was supplied by Pastor Chris

Song: "Wanted" by Jessie James
From the Album Jessie James


12345678910
This song has all the makings of a good song. It has a memorable beat and a catchy tune. The kind of song that gets stuck in your head for hours after having listened to it. However, what does the song say, and should we, as we sing along with it on our way to work, be singing and saying what is in this song. I have to admit that I listened to this song many times before actually listening to what it is about. Even the video depicts Jessie James running from authorities with a bunch of money in a vehicle. This gives the impression that the song is about a criminal, but this would be inaccurate. The actual lyrics depict Ms. James apparently waiting for her lover to take part in pre(or non)-marital relations. On her website it talks about this song in reference to the comfort she feels with her sexuality. Lest this be confused with marital relations, it also says on her website that she "won't" date, it isn't that she is not dating now, but that she won't date which means whoever this mystery lover in the song is, he is certainly not her boyfriend. I gave the song a six, content wise this song is certainly not Christian and is very much secular, however, Ms. James is not placing an attack on Christianity by instead, simply revealing her lack of Christian morality. Because of this, this song is not neutral, but is non-Christian and should be listened to with caution for what you decide to fill your ears with.

This review was supplied by Pastor Chris


Safe 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Dangerous

This movie/documentary takes a satirical look at religious faiths around the world. The political and religious comedian Bill Maher goes from place to place to interview and make fun of, those of some religious faith. The view, which Maher says explicitly at the beginning and end of the movie, is that all religions are dangerous relics of the past that needs to be eliminated before our world can move forward. The movie had a few moments that were humorous, but most of this documentary was a non-stop attack on faith. However, many of the questions that Maher asks to begin with are from misinformation. I found this movie to be informative, if nothing else, to better understand how many, especially the atheist, in our world think about religion. If viewed in that light it can be helpful to understand how they are thinking, and some of the misinformation they have been told. On the other hand, for the uninformed, this movie pulls out several arguments against church and religions all together. For the anti-religious content of this movie I gave it a rating of 8, there is no nudity that I saw, but Mr. Maher does use foul language often.

This Review is supplied by Pastor Chris Sansom.