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FIRE AND BRIMSTONE
To The Best of Our Knowledge
from Wisconsin Public Radio
You watch two trench-coated boys walk into their high
school and shoot everyone in sight. Then a demon drags them off
to be tortured in Hell. No, it’s not the latest video game.
It’s Hell House, a Halloween haunted house put on by a church
in Texas. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge we’ll
look into today’s Christianity - making Jesus cool, from Hell
House to Heavy Metal.
SEGMENT 1:
Phillip Jenkins is the author of "The
Next Christendom: The Coming of Age of Global Christianity."
Jenkins tells Steve Paulson that Christianity may be declining
in the nations of the industrialized West, but Pentecostalism
is experiencing explosive growth in Latin America and Africa.
He says Christians will continue to outnumber Muslims around the
world. Also, Hayley Morgan developed "Extreme for
Jesus" for a small publisher of Bibles. There are now more
than 30 books for teens and the brand does ten million dollars
a year. Morgan tells Anne Strainchamps about making the Christian
message cool and marketing to young people.
SEGMENT 2:
Film-maker George Ratliff took a crew to
Hell House - a Halloween haunted house produced by the Trinity
Assembly of God Church in Crawford, Texas. The churches goal is
to scare teenagers away from the behavior they believe leads to
eternal damnation. Ratliff tells Jim Fleming about Hell House
and what it was like filming there, and we hear excerpts from
the documentary film.
SEGMENT 3:
Theologian Harvey Cox tells Anne Strainchamps
that speaking in tongues is an ecstatic form of worship that has
been present in Christianity since the days of the Apostles. It
makes some church leaders nervous, but is a way for ordinary people
to experience mysticism. And we hear people speaking in tongues,
and explaining how they feel about it. Also, Oz Fox was
the lead guitar player and a vocalist for Stryper - a hugely
successful Christian heavy metal band. He tells Anne Strainchamps
how the band became Christian musicians and how they combined
the Christian message with the theatricality of glam rock. And
of course we remember some of their greatest hits.
Cassette copies are available
at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 03-01-12-A.
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Links:
Books:
- Harvey Cox. Fire From Heaven: The Rise of
Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the
Twenty-First Century. Addison Wesley
- Philip Jenkins.
The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global
Christianity Oxford
Music:
- 1. Amazing Grace Medley. Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
The Best of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Shanachie.
- 2. Jesus is Just Alright With Me. Doobie Brothers.
Best of Doobies. Warner Brothers.
- 3. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? Moby. Play. V2.
- 4. To Hell With the Devil. Stryper. To Hell With
the Devil. Hollywood Records.
- 5. Honestly. Stryper. To Hell With the Devil. Hollywood
Records.
- 6. Abyss. Stryper. To Hell With the Devil. Hollywood
Records.
- 7. More Than a Man. Stryper. To Hell With the Devil.
Hollywood Records.
Distribution dates:
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Questions and comments can
be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org
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