After years on the Hollywood sidelines James Cameron has brought us what has been described as the revolutionary movie of the last decade. Perhaps not quite as impressive because it was released in the last fortnight of the decade described as the noughties. Regardless, this is a masterpiece that will redefine cinema as we know it, up to a point. The effects in this movie are sublime (thanks to Weta digital), the world is lush and the creatures seem to literally jump out at you from the screen, thanks in no small part for the 3D glasses provided to the viewer.

A great article from some years ago on the dangers of Harry Potter.

The Word of God and Harry Potter
John A. Lynn

"The fact that any Christians would not recognize J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter  books (and the corresponding movies) as a ploy of the Devil to introduce witchcraft to millions of people, especially children, is a sad testimony to the dearth of biblical knowledge in the Church today. The fact that some go so far as to endorse the books as advancing good-versus-evil “Christian” principles is even more discouraging.

For example, in John Granger’s article titled Harry Potter and the Inklings: The Christian Meaning of The Chamber of Secrets, he misses the boat by not seeing how Satan often tries to get people to choose between two alternatives, neither of which is true. In this case, the Devil promotes the whole modernistic, naturalistic, materialistic, no-spiritual-dimension belief system and then comes along with Rowling’s supposedly Christian antithesis to that. Granger says that “Rowling asks us to look at the world magically,” and he speaks of her “edifying use of magic in literature.” If God’s Word is true, both of those things are exposed as untrue. Granger uses no Scripture to document his assertions.

We don’t need J.K. Rowling to lead an attack on modernism, etc., as we already have Jesus Christ and the Word of God, which has none of the harmful side effects that come with ingesting Harry Potter.

Perhaps there are some Christian principles (e.g., good versus evil) woven into the H.P. narratives, but really, how many people, especially kids, do you think will come away with a Christian orientation or hunger and pursue that hunger by delving into the Bible? I’d say few, if any, for it doesn’t give them any real direction. And I think that even those who do notice anything akin to Christian ideology will be drawn in by that and then led astray by the more powerful message Rowling is promoting, which is that magic is anything but evil. 

If we allow God to speak for Himself, we can see things as they really are. First, what does He say about Satan, His arch-enemy?


2 Corinthians 11:13-15

13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

God makes it clear that the Devil is the Master Counterfeiter. The main characteristic about a counterfeit is that it looks a lot like the real thing. You or I would be fooled by an excellent counterfeit $20 bill. Why? Because we have not sufficiently studied the genuine article in minute detail, but the women I once saw at the U.S. Mint in D.C. could quickly go through bills and pull out the bogus ones—it was amazing. Of course they had been there 20 years.

There is no such thing as the “good magic,” “good spirits,” “good force,” etc., that Rowling promotes in the H.P. series. That rhetoric is a trick of the Devil to entice people into his realm of the spiritual, but it wouldn’t work if people took even a quick look at The Book. For example, here are some things God says about what Harry Potter, many kids’ new hero, epitomizes...."

Click here to read the full article.

A new application has been released for the iPhone. This application, called iDosing, encourages users to enter drug-like states. As the iPhone is a phenomenon for the y-generation this application is going straight into the hands of teens and younger. Make no mistake this seemingly harmless app can lead to serious addiction problems.

iDosing and digital drugs - can your kids really get high without narcotics?
news.com.au, Thursday July 16th

"Free legal drugs that can be downloaded through the internet? Parents, welcome to your new nightmare.

If "iDosing" is not the latest craze, it soon will be, as reports sweep the internet of kids achieving catatonic or hallucinogenic states simply by downloading and listening to "digital drugs".

Article by Cameron Spink

Sherlock Holmes has arrived to the 21^st century brought by the visions of iconic director Guy Ritchie. This brash movie portrays the exploits of the detective mastermind and his loyal companion, Watson as they seek to uncover a conspiracy that spans from cults to the British parliament.

The film is set in 1891 and the world is very reflective of that era. One could merely marvel at the backdrop to this movie in every shot. The aesthetic value of the British buildings and dark scenery fit superbly into the film. The music score, as composed by Hans Zimmer, also feels like it belongs in a pleasing sort of way. It does, however, leave much to be desired to Zimmer’s better works namely the Dark Knight and Gladiator. This may well be a good thing, as the music is unquestionably secondary and not meant to be as overpowering as his past works.

The cast is first class. It is worth going to see this movie just for the portrayal of Holmes by Robert Downey Jnr and Watson by Jude Law. Downey Jnr looks like he’s in his acting element as his character zaps giants, insults ladies and mopes like a child in a dark room. Rachel McAdams adds depth to the cast and has proven that she has outgrown her Mean Girls days. Mark Strong as the antagonist is brilliant and one is left wondering why his screen time is so limited.

The character of Holmes as portrayed in this movie is an intriguing one. At times he seems to be a gung-ho warrior, at other times he appears an intellectual genius and yet at others his antics and spaced out mannerisms make Jack Sparrow seem almost normal. Through-out the movie he not only uses logic to ascertain the facts but also, fairly regularly, blunders into a situation without realising the danger he is in. Thankfully it is Watson with the clear head who seems to push the flawed genius in the right directions.

The storyline does suffer from Sherlock’s clumsiness. And while evil schemes turning on supernatural hoaxes do satisfy the fundamental Sherlock Holmes literatures this creates a darkness that is neither an easy nor a particularly fun ride for the viewer. The movie, one must also remember, is created by Guy Ritchie to be an action/adventure and so Sherlock’s fine powers of deduction are often left by the wayside and substituted for brawling and survival tactics. This is not the only failing of this film. Rachel McAdams as Holmes love interest seems more of a by-the-by character rather than a necessity, cluttering the storyline rather than enhancing it. And the climax feels overdue and unsatisfying. From the audiences perspective one can’t help feeling forced through the movie and the bantering of the two main characters, while at times comical, scarcely makes up for the distinctive lack of flow that makes this movie not as pleasurable as it could be.

Everything in this movie feels exaggerated. The movie runs for well over two hours when a lot less would be more enjoyable. The characters are never really developed, who they are at the start of the movie are essentially who they are at the end. Perhaps the most frustrating part of all is Guy Ritchie’s need to repeat a handful of scenes through-out the movie in a way that, despite showing Sherlock Holmes’ brilliance merely comes across as cinematically dull. Whilst I would certainly recommend this movie just to see the reformed actor Robert Downey Jnr at work it is at best a flawed masterpiece.

3/5 stars

Tell us whether you agree or disagree with this analysis on our forum.

I was listening to 774 ABC radio on the way back up to Melbourne last night (6^th September between 10PM - 11PM). On air was Tony Delroy's talk radio show Nightlife exploring young adult's dysfunctional attitudes towards money with guests Arun Abey and Dr. Lisa O'Brien. While I don't agree with everything said on the show (and indeed am very sceptical of ABC in general) there was a lot of advice worth heeding for young adults. Both guests are members of The Smith Family an NGO seeking to "break the cycle of disadvantage by supporting kids' education". Now I have limited knowledge about what this organisation actually does so I will not endorse it but I was challenged about what they had to say about financial matters in regards to the young adult.

Part of the conversation spoke about the dangers of plastic cards and electronic money. This encourages a conception that financial planning is not important and leads to over expenditure. Now, to some extent, this has been dampened by the global financial crisis which has forced people to re-evaluate their financial decisions and potentially more money-savvy. However, there are a lot of young adults (and I put my hand up as well) who have no history of financial planning and upon receiving their first full-time job they abuse the money they have earned on things they, frankly, don't need.

Mr Abey and Dr. O'Brien stated that material consumption does not bring happiness, that people gather meaning from things other than finances, or cars etc. This is completely true, of course. Many young adults place large value on a high-paying job and getting their ducks all in a row, basically. Even Christian young adults are bought in by this concept of prospering. Yet we know, through scripture, that our prosperity should be in God and God alone. In his first letter to Timothy Paul writes this:

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

1 Timothy 6:17

However, this must be balanced with the concept of stewardship. This idea can be partly attributed to Jesus' parable of the talents in Matthew 25. While Jesus is obviously referring to things above and beyond wealth there is no getting past the fact that we are also called to be good stewards of our finances. In James 2 we are told in no uncertain terms that faith without works is dead.

We are to be good stewards of what we are given. And in our western world we are given a lot. This does not mean that I am encouraging any sort of self-obsession. Indeed, this is the very thing I am encouraging you to avoid. What we have belongs to the Lord. Therefore, we should think twice about using it for personal, selfish reasons. Now we know this, yet we are obsessed with buying new toys. Things beginning with "i", new televisions, new cars and, yes, new cameras. I challenge you to reconsider your financial planning and see whether or not you are being a good steward of the money God has given you. Because as Arun Abey alludes to in his book How Much Is Enough? if we don't check ourselves we will never be satisfied.

Some Red Bull advertisements have been deemed inappropriate by the Advertising Standards Board and have been banned from airing.

Watchdog deems Red Bull strip-club ad unfit
Herald Sun, April 14th 2010

"Red Bull's wings have been clipped by the advertising standards watchdog after it aired an animated TV commercial depicting a child at a strip club.

The energy drink manufacturer pulled the ad after leaving viewers fizzing over concerns it sexualised children, undermined parental authority and could even upset the RSPCA.