I enjoy all the videos included in my wife's list (Jody's Video Picks), but I'm going to concentrate on some additional videos. This is a work in progress, so bear with me!

First, let me state some of my principles and my tastes. Those who know me as a Bible teacher, writer and speaker (Pacesetters Bible School) will probably have expectations of the kind of things I'm going to recommend. I'm going to disappoint you somewhat about those. I think movies are first entertainment. There are obviously things we can learn from them, and I believe that all literature and art teaches, and is, in fact, the best way to instill values in a society. A good myth accomplished more than a true story. But I don't have to find the hidden spiritual meanings in order to enjoy a movie.

Which leads me to some standards on what I view. I don't think your specific standards are the key, but you should have standards, especially in front of your children and those you may influence. There is a point at which something ceases to be art, at least in any constructive sense, and simply becomes trash. I don't need to draw the line for you. In these recommendations, you may find things you believe step over the line. You may find that I reject things you might consider valuable. For example, I think that Law and Order: SVU is something that gets to be too much very quickly. I'm not saying that it's an evil show, I'm just saying that by my principles it's not something I concentrate on.

So let me state my principles as briefly as possible. These apply to books, games, video and art in general. I exclude anything that has the sole purpose of portraying violence or sexual activity. I do not have a problem with the portrayal of either of those things, including nudity, in the context of a good story. I think that many Christians allow more violence in their reading and viewing than sexual scenes, and this seems to me to be a bizarre thing to do. Either element, outside of an otherwise good context, has its share of problems.

A positive context presents people who are interesting and challenging, who make moral decisions, and who deal with the consequences. It involves a plot that goes somewhere. Let me emphasize that these people don't have to be people I would personally like, and their decisions don't have to be ones I agree with. What I want is for them to go somewhere--not merely drift. I tend to like moral situations in literature that are a bit more black and white than in the real world. The Lord of the Rings, for example, portrays a much sharper distinction between the good guys and the bad guys than you are likely to find in real conflicts. It's sort of the book of Revelation in another form. The good guys have become exceptionally good, and the bad guys exceptionally bad.

Bottom line, however, is that I know what I like. If it doesn't violate my principles, I'm simply going by taste, and so you may find my selections a bit scattered and inconsistent.

Dorothy Sayers is easily my favorite mystery writer, though there are some in close competition. I really have a hard time choosing between my top ten or so authors. But the Lord Peter Wimsey series is very special. I found them in our church library and devoured pretty much the whole set. I'm quite sorry that Sayers chose to leave off writing fiction in favor of other religious and literary works. The video series are excellent, though the productions are not quite up to the standards one expects in more modern adaptations.

As I noted in my introduction, I tend to include comedy under other subheadings. I don't have a problem with comedy as pure entertainment, but it is a rare comedy that doesn't also have a serious comment on our daily lives and on our spirituality. I suspect there are very few serious comments that couldn't do with some treatment in comedy. So I'm not asking you to give up the entertainment, and I'm not asking you to give up the serious. Just let them both touch your life gently (or even vigorously), with a laugh!

I found Bruce Almighty to be exceptional as a comedy, and thought provoking enough that I'm threatening to use it as the basis for a class on prayer. I've heard several preachers refer to it in sermons since, so I'm obviously not alone in this. When you're done laughing, think about the serious issues raised by this film. You might find that after the joy of the movie, you can make a bit more sense of them.

My brother introduced me to this delightful musical. It's neither historically nor Biblically accurate, so if that's all you can think about, don't bother to watch. It's adapted because it's a musical, and focused on the idea of pursuing one's dreams. "Any dream will do" is a recurrent theme in the music. I think this is an excellent example of adapting a story from one context and purpose into another. It keeps alive some of the best of Biblical literature. It's funny. It's not intellectual. It's a delight.

Also available in VHS.