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Satan coming in the movies  "CHRISTIANS DON'T NEED TO BE SCARED OF THE CURRENT CROP OF SATAN MOVIES, BUT  SHOULD USE THEM TO PRESENT THE ANTIDOTE - JESUS CHRIST," 
 -  SAYS MEDIA EXPERT DR. TED BAEHR By Dan Wooding

HOLLYWOOD, CA (September 3, 1999) - "Christians don't need to be scared
of the current crop of Satan movies, but should use them to present the
antidote - Jesus Christ," says Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of
MOVIEGUIDE, the respected family guide to movies and entertainment.

Dr. Baehr was referring to a Time magazine article which noted that
Hollywood was "rolling out the big stars to work for Satan this season."

Recent and upcoming movies that feature Satan include PALMER'S PICKUP
(March 1999) starring Robert Carradine; SOUTH PARK (July 1999); LOST
SOULS (October 1999) starring Winona Ryder; END OF DAYS (November 1999)
starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; GOD, THE DEVIL AND BOB (September 1999),
in which God is voiced by James Garner and Satan by Jim Cumming; and
LITTLE NICKY (in production) starring Adam Sandler.

"Making these movies is another cynical way for Hollywood to make money,
and, of course, they are playing to the teenage audience which likes to
be scared," said Baehr, who is also the founder and president of the
Christian Film and Television Commission.  "Also, Hollywood has always
had a few people who have dabbled in the most strange and occult
religions, but, by and large, between New York and L.A., there are a lot
of people with common sense.  There's a lot of goodness out there.

"When Hollywood entertainment industry executives talk about trends,
they usually are referring to the cutting edge kids who go Gothic or
attend Marilyn Manson concerts.  Of course, we want those kids to be
rescued.  We don't want them to be just fodder for the Adversary.  But,
the good news is that the majority of children and people in the
heartland of America want the truth and will not be fodder for this new
fad. In fact, this new wave of movies featuring Satan are just going to
create more of an opportunity for people of faith and values to
articulate the Good News of Jesus Christ."

AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE TRUTH

Baehr said that the current crop of Satan movies provides Christians an
opportunity to share the truth of the Gospel with this generation.

"You certainly don't want to support occultism or new age, which is just
occultism with a smiley face attached, but people who are Christians
should understand that this opens up a tremendous opportunity for Good
News, and the Gospel is the ultimate Good News," he said. "Regrettably,
little children are going to get scared, but anytime films and programs
are made about Satan, it gives us the opportunity to say, 'You don't
need be scared.  Fear not, because the peace of God is available to
you.'"

He went on, "The Church started off by being surrounded by the pagan
worshipers of occult deities.  Those pagan religions were the really
hardcore devil worshippers who practiced child sacrifice and the worst
sort of evil. The early Christians brought those misguided individuals
the Good News that they didn't need to be trapped by evil.

In response, to whether this is a new low in filmmaking, Dr. Baehr
noted, "There are no particularly healthy times for the Christian
faith.  Christians are always going to be caught up in the drama of
what's happening in the world around us and the need for redemption.  We
always have to be there with the answer, with the Good News that answers
the problem which each moment and each crisis presents.

"So, the good news about this crisis of the wave of new movies featuring
Satan, is that at least it admits that there is a world beyond ours and
that everyone needs to have a real Savior  You don't need just a new
technological fix or a sophisticated weapon to get rid of this heinous
villain.  You need to have a Savior  - Jesus Christ."

Dr. Baehr then said, "According to television critics, the last
remaining acceptable villain in Hollywood entertainment is the devil.
This means that they have moved beyond political correctness, moved
beyond humanism, which doesn't believe in the supernatural, and are
beginning to think seriously about the world in which we live and
starting to consider things spiritual, including how the Adversary,
Satan, is defeated.  Of course, the only force that could defeat an
adversary of this nature is God, who is Jesus Christ, who defeated Satan
on the cross 2,000 years ago though His death and resurrection.

"There will be the television programs and movies where Satan gets
defeated by technology, which is impossible.  There will be the TV
programs and movies where Satan will not be defeated, which denies the
Truth.  There will also be the television programs and movies where
Satan gets outwitted, which denies his very stature. And, there will be
those offerings where he gets defeated by occultism, which is a logical
contradiction."

When asked why these Satan movies are coming out now, Baehr said, "In
Hollywood, you've got a lot of people who are thinking about the
Millennium. Hollywood goes through phases, and one of those phases is
entertainment about the end of the world and Armageddon.  This Hollywood
phase corresponds with the cognitive preferences of the new generation
of 77 million children who are now in the reflection stage.  In this
stage, they like to be scared, and so they like Blair Witch movies. They

moved from the G-rated LION KING to the PG-13 NUTTY PROFESSOR, and now
they are attracted by the dark and sinister.

"The question is:  Is anybody going to be intelligent enough to think of
the real answer to the problems that the existence of Satan poses?"

Finally, Dr. Baehr noted that "everything works to create that
incredible drama in which we live.  The drama is the forces of good -
God - against the world, flesh and the devil, which are constantly
attempting to keep people from understanding their true nature and from
reaching the true, everlasting and eternal hope they have in Jesus
Christ."
 
If you want to train your kids to be media wise, call in North America,
1-800-899-6684 and order THE MEDIA-WISE FAMILY, Ted Baehr's latest
book.  Also, MOVIEGUIDE now offers an online subscription to its
magazine, at www.movieguide.org.  The magazine, which comes out 26 times
a year, is chock full of articles and reviews that can help parents
train their children to be media-wise consumers instead of media dupes.

 

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