March (Web-only) 2004

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Finally, the Passion buzz is quieting. So, after weeks of avoiding the issue, Weblog will indulge—kinda. The movie is expected to gross more than $300 million, and rivalTitanic, Return of the Kings, and other blockbuster movies. Admittedly, there was plenty of talk, most of it negative, says the Chicago Tribune's Don Wycliff.

But it's more than publicity that has propelled this film, and some folks are catching on. Forbes magazine ran a series on Christians in business. Others have noticed that Christian books like Left Behind, The Prayer of Jabez, and The Purpose-driven Life have become bestsellers. Some were shocked at the marketing savvy Christians showed in promoting The Passion and the underground means of getting Christians to spend 40 days reading and discussing a book.

Well, the Technology Review has a good look. The culture war rhetoric that pits morality-obsessed Christians against the "liberated" rest-of-the-country is too simple, it says. Christians who reject a perceived valueless culture are not only refusing to watch television, or abstaining from movies. They're creating their own stuff.

Christian music is often the example in such arguments, citing Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, but the Review goes further. "Frustrated by network television, cultural conservatives have created their own animated series and sitcoms distributed on video. They have produced their own science fiction, horror, mystery, and romance novels, all of which can be purchased online. And alarmed by contemporary video games, they have produced their own—such as Victory at Hebron, where players battle Satan or rescue martyrs."

Shows like VeggieTales and Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey have done more than provide an alternative ...