Here are today’s dispatches from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.

1. Pro gay marriage video mocks Christians. From The Christian Post: A website in support of gay marriage in Minnesota has come out with a new vulgar video in which actors mock and slander Christians and even show two young boys kissing each other. The purpose of the website F**H8.com is to raise money for Minnesotans United for All Families, an organization whose goal is to defeat the proposed ban on same-sex marriage that the state’s voters will decide on in 2012…The video on the site is a parody of gay marriage opponents, mocking them for wanting to maintain traditional family values. It features men and women dressed in bright colors, some of the men in nothing more than a T-shirt and brief underwear, who finish each other’s sentences and jokingly comment on why gay marriage is wrong. The site takes critical aim at Christians in particular, with actors in the video portraying Christians as mindless followers of church laws. One girl, twirling her hair, sarcastically says that homosexuality is wrong “because the Bible tells me so.” It also displays a string of actors completing each other’s sentences, saying that that the Bible “tells me it’s okay to sell my daughter into slavery and to stone people that work on Sunday. So it’s great for making laws.”
Comment: This effort might be filed under “preaching to the converted” since few people who are on the fence on the issue are likely to be swayed to the pro-gay marriage point of view by a video filled with negative anti-Christian stereotypes that reflect the same sort of intolerance the group is supposedly against.

2. A cyber-threat to Christianity? From The Christian Post: Atheists and skeptics now have equal access to our children as we have, which is why the number of Christian youth who believe in the fundamentals of Christianity is decreasing and sexual immorality is growing, apologist Josh McDowell said. “What has changed everything?” asked the apologist from Campus Crusade for Christ International as he spoke on “Unshakable Truth, Relevant Faith” at the Billy Graham Center in Asheville, N.C., Friday evening. His answer was, the Internet.
Comment: Ultimately, Christianity will win the battle for hearts and minds since its based on actual reality and not virtual reality.  In the meantime, let’s push for laws and technology that allow consumers (i.e. parents, Christians etc.) to control what enters their homes via the Internet and television. Consumer empowerment, not censorship, is the key.

3. Casey Anthony a super star? From The Huffington Post: The ink was still drying on Casey Anthony’s acquittal in the first-degree murder of her daughter when dozens of links to protest groups and petitions began circulating online. Large numbers of people are urging the public to boycott all book or movie deals for Anthony and to ignore all media appearances she might make. Many of the groups seemingly have a large amount of support -– especially on social media websites — but will they have any impact? “No,” said Michael Sands, a Hollywood image consultant with whom The Huffington Post spoke. “The people who hate this woman are the same people that made her a star,” said Sands, founder of Sands Digital Media. “Everyone who tuned into the case made Casey Anthony a superstar larger than life and when [they] can’t get to her, they want her more.”

4. Ron Howard may take on murder story involving Mormonism. From The Wrap: Warner Bros. is negotiating for the rights to Jon Krakauer’s 2003 book “Under the Banner of Heaven,” TheWrap has confirmed. If the studio acquires the rights, Ron Howard will direct the movie and Dustin Lance Black will write the script. It’s a heavy book about two brothers — members of a radical, breakaway sect of Mormons — who kill another brother’s wife and daughter, saying God told them to commit the act. The book discusses the origins of the Mormon religion and goes deep into its fundamentalist sects, which have broken from the mainline Latter Day Saints church.

5. African-American abortion opponents take on Planned Parenthood. From The Blaze: The National Black Pro-Life Coalition isn’t holding anything back. This week, the group released the second part of its three-part video series called, “Numbers Don’t Lie.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkfdGg76JH0&feature=player_embedded

6. Can a movie help Heal America? From Big Hollywood:   Heal America is a feature film documentary following the legendary homeless activist Ted Hayes on his journey to heal racial and generational wounds in our society. Many know Ted from his work with the homeless on skid row in Downtown L.A.  After living with the homeless for eight years, in 1993 Ted Hayes founded The Dome Village, a groundbreaking homeless shelter that addressed the problem of homelessness in an original politically incorrect way – by nurturing the spirit of responsibility and self-reliance. A true inspiration for several generations of the downtrodden, Ted is living proof of how one man can positively transform his desperate surroundings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2OiW9S_0yI&feature=player_embedded

More about Dome Village here and here.

7. Francis Chan dominates NYT Bestseller list. From The Christian Post: A first for the California pastor, all three of his books have made its way into the “Paperback Advice & Miscellaneous” top 10 list this week. His latest book Erasing Hell debuted at No. 3 on the list, while Crazy Love trailed close behind at No. 4. Forgotten God secured its place at No. 10.

8. Captain Planet: The Motion Picture: From ScreenRant: Cartoon Network is joining forces with production company Angry Filmworks to begin development of a live-action Captain Planet movie, based on the popular environmental superhero animated series from the early 1990s.

Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11