Friday, February 06, 2004

(AgapePress) - In the wake of the recent uproar over indecency in this year's Super Bowl halftime show, officials at NBC decided to edit the nudity from a scene of Thursday night's broadcast of the television show ER.

Reportedly the episode of the popular medical drama was to include a scene in which an elderly female patient's breasts are exposed. Pro-family groups got wind of the scripted exposure and put both NBC and the FCC on notice.

Parents Television Council president Brent Bozell suggested that only deafness or extreme arrogance could account for NBC's failure to heed the recent uproar over the baring of Janet Jackson's breast during the Super Bowl halftime show and recognize that American families are fed up with gratuitous nudity on television. Bozell stated that if published reports about the ER scene were true, then "every one of NBC's affiliates should expect maximum fines from the FCC for violating decency standards."

The American Family Association also made preparations to launch a protest against NBC if the network allowed the nude shot to air. But according to AFA special projects director Randy Sharp, NBC's network officials listened to their local affiliates, who did not want to be the focus of an FCC investigation. He says NBC was warned that if the nude scene were broadcast as planned, AFA would ask its supporters to "go to bat just like they did with CBS and the Super Bowl." More...

Thursday, February 05, 2004

PLANO, Texas (BP)--Perhaps no one person aside from Mel Gibson himself has made a more noteworthy effort to promote "The Passion of The Christ" than a Texas man who purchased 6,000 tickets to the film and gave them away to the community.

Arch Bonnema, a member of the Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, happened to be invited to a preview of The Passion when a friend had to back out at the last minute. The film had such an impact on him that he wanted to share it with as many people as possible.

"I have been a Christian all of my life, and I have heard people talk about Jesus dying for our sins and sacrificing His life," Bonnema told Baptist Press. "But when you hear it repetitively, it loses impact. When you see this film, it really hits home the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

"I walked out of there with a whole recommitment to be more Christlike, and I thought this is something we need to wake up the church -- something the church needs to see." More...

Tuesday, February 03, 2004

HOUSTON (BP)--The Federal Communications Commission has opened an investigation into the broadcast of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show and has promised the probe will be "thorough and swift."

"I am outraged at what I saw during the halftime show of the Super Bowl," FCC Chairman Michael Powell said in a statement Feb. 2. "Like millions of Americans, my family and I gathered around the television for a celebration. Instead, that celebration was tainted by a classless, crass and deplorable stunt. Our nation's children, parents and citizens deserve better."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan would not say whether President Bush believes fines should be imposed. During a press briefing Feb. 2, McClellan directed most questions toward the FCC. More...

Monday, February 02, 2004

(AgapePress) - A civil liberties group is defending a college teacher in North Carolina who lost her job after using part of her class to speak out against the Iraq war while the ground invasion was under way.

During her business-writing class at Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, instructor Elizabeth Ito voiced some of her own thoughts about the U.S. military invasion of Iraq, and also provided a forum in which her students could share their opinions on the war.

Subsequently Forsyth administrators dismissed Ito for insubordination after she refused to give her word that she would never again discuss the war in class.

Greg Lukianoff with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education says Ito should not have been punished for expressing her political views in class, especially when her remarks on Iraq lasted only ten minutes and later served as the basis for a class writing assignment. Moreover, he says, the teacher's refusal to promise to avoid the topic in the future was only her way of reserving the right to talk about the war in the event that her students brought it up again. More...

Sunday, February 01, 2004

EDITORS' NOTE: Art Stricklin, an award-winning Christian sportswriter and contributor to Baptist Press, is reporting from the site of Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston this weekend, providing exclusive coverage from a spiritual perspective.

HOUSTON (BP)--While New England and Carolina wrapped up preparations for Sunday's showdown at Houston's Reliant Stadium, pre-Super Bowl parties continued nonstop in this hard-charging Texas city.

Every hotel room for nearly 50 miles was rented for the thousands of out-of-town visitors from all over the country, stretch limos ruled the streets and there were parties, public and private, in all shapes and sizes throughout the town.

But a growing group of Christian NFL players are determined to enjoy the week which ends with Sunday's Super Bowl with a strong testimony and Christian message. More...

(CNSNews.com) - An Illinois high school student suspended for saying "God Bless" on the air has been reinstated to anchor the daily newscast, which is aired on the closed circuit television system at the school.

The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, represents James Lord - a senior at Dupo High School in Dupo, Ill. - who was suspended for one month from his daily news broadcast after signing off his December 17th broadcast with the sentence: "Have a safe and happy holiday, and God Bless."

Lord said the school principal told him that the use of the words "God Bless" was inappropriate and suspended him from the broadcast for one month - a suspension that was due to expire on February 1st. More...

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--As the buzz surrounding Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ" mounts prior to its Feb. 25 launch, the North American Mission Board has begun offering detailed evangelistic resources to help churches answer questions the movie raises.

NAMB is mailing Southern Baptist churches suggestions for preparation, prayer and personal witnessing -- as well as tools to help follow up with individuals who respond. The same information also is available through www.PassionChrist.org, a new NAMB website. More...