Documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, who also directed the doc about the Presidential campaign of George W. Bush Journeys with George, tackles evangelicals in Friends of God, an original film for HBO. It's a startling look deep inside the conventions, beliefs, and personalities that make up this larger than you would think demographic in the United States, which contains an estimated 50 to 80 million Americans.

Some of the subjects in the film are some wrestlers who describe what they do as "Taking TV wrestling, cleanning it up, and putting Jesus in it," and a minister who brags about the amount of sex he has with his wife. He also dubiously claims that evangelicals have "The most satisfying sex lives out of any group." He also asks two of his constituents how often they have sex with their wives, and they both claim every day. Two times a day, sometimes ... and they climax every time. Wow. Not exactly what you'd expect to see in a documentary about evangelicals, and that's what makes this look appealing.

It hasn't been a good week for television-watching Christians. First, the Parent's Television Council drops the bomb that Fox has gone to number one with a bullet in the Christian-mocking competition, and now, Two and a Half Men has gone and crapped all over a Christmas carol.

On the December 11th episode of Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen sang a "vulgar adaptation" of "Joy to the World." The American Family Association is demanding an apology for these altered lyrics:

It is said one cannot toss a dead squirrel in the air without it landing on a Christian, what with there being so many of them. Do we really know all about the origins of this religion, though? With the Christmas season upon us, CNN will be airing a two-hour documentary, CNN Presents: After Jesus – The First Christians, which will examine the early days of Christianity, including the persecution of early Christians and debates over the direction the religion should take even among its own followers.

I consider myself a non-religious person who's still interested in learning about religion. While I don't subscribe to the Christian faith, I'm always interested in learning about the history behind things, and to fill in what I forgot from my college religion courses. Based on the press release, this sounds like it could actually be rather informative, so I'm looking forward to it. It will air December 20 at 7 and 10 pm, and re-air December 23 and 24 at 7 and 10 pm also.

First off, let me just state that I'm with Bob Sassone: I absolutely love Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The acting, the writing, the production value...I could go on but suffice it to say that I agree with Bob on just about everything.

Let me also state that I am a practicing Christian (Lutheran, specifically) and have been all my life. I mention this because I want you all to know from what position I'm speaking as you read this post.

You know you've really made it to the big leagues when an infamous religious zealot pins you as a big reason why half of humanity won't make it to Heaven. Congratulations, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert! Fred Phelps just put you two on his personal "Dead to Me" board. Let's rain down some fire (and confetti) to celebrate.

Yeah. Apparently, Reverend Fred Phelps didn't enjoy Jon and Stephen's little presentation during this year's Emmys. He put his rant in video form, bashing the two for making God's wrath a joke. I tried putting all my concentration into watching the rant in its entirety, but I had to keep pausing to remind myself that Phelps isn't kidding. Catch the video after the jump.

(WARNING: Listening to Fred Phelps for more than two consecutive minutes may cause one to lose faith in all humanity)

[via CC Insider]

Christians are in a disagreement over whether or not "a la carte" cable, the ability to pick and choose which stations you want to have rather than buying "packages" of various channels, is a good thing. Some argue it's a means of protecting children and families from channels that carry "inappropriate" programming, but evangelicals behind such religious-themed networks as the Trinity Broadcasting Network and Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network claim people could cut those networks out just as easily as networks such as MTV. The response to this, of course, is that only certain Christians watch these networks anyway, so why does it matter? Colby May, an attorney for the Faith and Family Broadcasting Coalition which represents the two aforementioned networks, is against the concept of "a la carte" cable, claiming the by having Christian stations as part of the lineup increases the chances of people serendipitously stumbling across them and "[changing] their life for the better." Dan Isett of the Parents Television Council argues, however, that allowing viewers to pick and choose could create diversified programming and ultimately help such stations.

[via Huffington Post]