Faith Under Fire with Lee Strobel
10/09/2004 00:50 Filed in: Faith & Reason
Maybe there's something worth watching on television after all...
(Note: You must have Quicktime installed to view the above trailer from Faith Under Fire)
Last Saturday night, I was on the Tyndale House website looking for a title of a book when I came across a reference to a new television show, Faith Under Fire. I saw that it was coming on in a few minutes, so I used the nifty RCA Guide Plus+ Gold system on my television to record it. I watched the show after it aired, and I have also watched the second installment which aired tonight. And I have to say, I'm impressed.
Two years ago or so, I pretty much gave up on television. I no longer have any television shows on my calendar that are "Must See." In my opinion there's just not a lot of quality on the old airwaves anymore. Case in point, earlier today Kathy and I decided to have our breakfast in the "sun room" (that's what she calls it) where our only television is. We couldn't sit at the kitchen table because I had papers to grade spread out all over it. As we began our breakfast, we turned on the television and surfed through over sixty channels twice and still didn't find anything that really interested us. We probably should have turned it off and conversed, but with both of us a bit under the weather, it was easier just to leave it on TVLand and watch an episode of the Andy Griffith Show that we had not seen in a long time (you know, the one where Barney finds the suitcase with $250,000 in it).
Anyway, as I said, there just doesn't seem to be much worth watching on television these days. I don't have anything that I rush home to see every week like in the old days when I just had to watch X-Files or ST:TNG. However, after now watching the first two installments of Faith Under Fire, that may just change.
Faith Under Fire is a debate show in the tradition of CNN's CrossFire, but from a decidedly Christian worldview. Last week's show and this week's contained around four segments in which subjects were debated by two people holding opposing view points. I've often noticed that on a lot of television shows when Christianity is represented, often the Christian perspective is held by someone who is just really a flake, for lack of a better term. Or sometimes the "Christian" viewpoint is held by someone who is so rigid that I squirm with the thought that if I were not a Christian, I would not at all be attracted to the faith based on the presentation I am watching.
I was very pleased to see that on Faith Under Fire, Christianity being represented by the likes of J. P. Moreland, William Lane Craig, and even Cal Thomas (who continues to surprise me these days). And the individuals giving opposing viewpoints were no slouches either. All of them--well most of them, anyway (I might make an exception for "psychic" Rosemary Altea tonight who came across as a total loon) voiced their perspectives in an intelligent and coherent manner. In other words, the producers of this show did not simply pick easy targets to be quickly shot down, and thus making Christianity look good.
From the website at http://www.faithunderfire.com , here are the topics from last week and this week:
My only real complaint with the show is that I feel like the debates are a bit short. As soon as the participants seem to really be at the heart of the issue, time is up. I felt frustrated more than once because I wanted the conversation to go a bit longer. But I suppose that this is modern television and it fits the "Crossfire" model they are trying to pursue. Plus, I wouldn't want it to go to the other extreme. I remember watching the John Ankerberg Show over a decade ago where a number of the same kinds of topics were debated. However, with Ankerberg's format, the subjects would last for weeks and the participants would get into such minutia of the subject, even I got bored with it. Plus Ankerberg often used a good third to a half of the show urging viewers to send money or buy his newest book or video tape series. Thankfully there is none of that going on here. I even showed the first episode to my high school seniors this week, and it held their attention.
My other complaint stemmed from Lee Strobel's role when I watched the show last week. He seemed to contribute very little to the discussion other than, "Cal, how do you respond to that?" Well, a monkey could do that. Lee's a sharp guy. I wanted to see and hear more from him. This week my wish was granted as a "Hotseat" segment debuted in which Lee Strobel, by himself, interviewed and challenged a representative of the American Muslim community.
And, in reality, Lee Strobel is the perfect person to host a show like this. I first discovered him in 1994 when I read his book, Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary which was the book that was instrumental in changing the way I viewed the evangelistic mission of the church (but that's the subject for a later blog). If you don't know Lee Strobel, you should check him out. At one time Strobel was an atheist and reporter for the Chicago Tribune . After his wife became a Christian, he decided to use his skills as an investigative journalist to examine the claims of Christianity, primarily in hopes of debunking it. That led eventually to his becoming a Christian himself. Since then, he has served on staff at Willow Creek Community Church (Bill Hybel's church) in the Chicago suburbs and more recently at Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, California (Rick Warren's church). He has written a number of excellent books that have no doubt been partial inspiration for Faith Under Fire. These include The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith and most recently, The Case for Creation.
I heartily recommend this show to you, regardless of whether you are a committed Christian, atheist, seeker, or adherent of some other faith. Discussion guides are even available for download . All perspectives have been treated fairly in what I have seen so far. A number of the episodes forthcoming look interesting as well including a debate between Episcopal Bishop Shelby Spong and Dr. Albert Mohler of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Faith Under Fire currently airs at 10PM EST/9PM CST on the PAX Network.
(Note: You must have Quicktime installed to view the above trailer from Faith Under Fire)
Last Saturday night, I was on the Tyndale House website looking for a title of a book when I came across a reference to a new television show, Faith Under Fire. I saw that it was coming on in a few minutes, so I used the nifty RCA Guide Plus+ Gold system on my television to record it. I watched the show after it aired, and I have also watched the second installment which aired tonight. And I have to say, I'm impressed.
Two years ago or so, I pretty much gave up on television. I no longer have any television shows on my calendar that are "Must See." In my opinion there's just not a lot of quality on the old airwaves anymore. Case in point, earlier today Kathy and I decided to have our breakfast in the "sun room" (that's what she calls it) where our only television is. We couldn't sit at the kitchen table because I had papers to grade spread out all over it. As we began our breakfast, we turned on the television and surfed through over sixty channels twice and still didn't find anything that really interested us. We probably should have turned it off and conversed, but with both of us a bit under the weather, it was easier just to leave it on TVLand and watch an episode of the Andy Griffith Show that we had not seen in a long time (you know, the one where Barney finds the suitcase with $250,000 in it).
Anyway, as I said, there just doesn't seem to be much worth watching on television these days. I don't have anything that I rush home to see every week like in the old days when I just had to watch X-Files or ST:TNG. However, after now watching the first two installments of Faith Under Fire, that may just change.
Faith Under Fire is a debate show in the tradition of CNN's CrossFire, but from a decidedly Christian worldview. Last week's show and this week's contained around four segments in which subjects were debated by two people holding opposing view points. I've often noticed that on a lot of television shows when Christianity is represented, often the Christian perspective is held by someone who is just really a flake, for lack of a better term. Or sometimes the "Christian" viewpoint is held by someone who is so rigid that I squirm with the thought that if I were not a Christian, I would not at all be attracted to the faith based on the presentation I am watching.
I was very pleased to see that on Faith Under Fire, Christianity being represented by the likes of J. P. Moreland, William Lane Craig, and even Cal Thomas (who continues to surprise me these days). And the individuals giving opposing viewpoints were no slouches either. All of them--well most of them, anyway (I might make an exception for "psychic" Rosemary Altea tonight who came across as a total loon) voiced their perspectives in an intelligent and coherent manner. In other words, the producers of this show did not simply pick easy targets to be quickly shot down, and thus making Christianity look good.
From the website at http://www.faithunderfire.com , here are the topics from last week and this week:
My only real complaint with the show is that I feel like the debates are a bit short. As soon as the participants seem to really be at the heart of the issue, time is up. I felt frustrated more than once because I wanted the conversation to go a bit longer. But I suppose that this is modern television and it fits the "Crossfire" model they are trying to pursue. Plus, I wouldn't want it to go to the other extreme. I remember watching the John Ankerberg Show over a decade ago where a number of the same kinds of topics were debated. However, with Ankerberg's format, the subjects would last for weeks and the participants would get into such minutia of the subject, even I got bored with it. Plus Ankerberg often used a good third to a half of the show urging viewers to send money or buy his newest book or video tape series. Thankfully there is none of that going on here. I even showed the first episode to my high school seniors this week, and it held their attention.
My other complaint stemmed from Lee Strobel's role when I watched the show last week. He seemed to contribute very little to the discussion other than, "Cal, how do you respond to that?" Well, a monkey could do that. Lee's a sharp guy. I wanted to see and hear more from him. This week my wish was granted as a "Hotseat" segment debuted in which Lee Strobel, by himself, interviewed and challenged a representative of the American Muslim community.
And, in reality, Lee Strobel is the perfect person to host a show like this. I first discovered him in 1994 when I read his book, Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary which was the book that was instrumental in changing the way I viewed the evangelistic mission of the church (but that's the subject for a later blog). If you don't know Lee Strobel, you should check him out. At one time Strobel was an atheist and reporter for the Chicago Tribune . After his wife became a Christian, he decided to use his skills as an investigative journalist to examine the claims of Christianity, primarily in hopes of debunking it. That led eventually to his becoming a Christian himself. Since then, he has served on staff at Willow Creek Community Church (Bill Hybel's church) in the Chicago suburbs and more recently at Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, California (Rick Warren's church). He has written a number of excellent books that have no doubt been partial inspiration for Faith Under Fire. These include The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith and most recently, The Case for Creation.
I heartily recommend this show to you, regardless of whether you are a committed Christian, atheist, seeker, or adherent of some other faith. Discussion guides are even available for download . All perspectives have been treated fairly in what I have seen so far. A number of the episodes forthcoming look interesting as well including a debate between Episcopal Bishop Shelby Spong and Dr. Albert Mohler of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Faith Under Fire currently airs at 10PM EST/9PM CST on the PAX Network.