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Hollywood Gets It Wrong . . . Again
College Friends Share Anonymous "Dad"
America's "War on Poverty"
Which US Cities Are "Bible-Minded"?

Hollywood Gets It Wrong . . . Again

© istockphoto.com/kilukilu

The success of The Bible miniseries has motivated others in the entertainment industry to produce religion-themed shows, the Parents Television Council reports. Unfortunately, as often happens when Hollywood tries to attract a Christian audience, they get it all wrong. Such is the case with NBC's Salvation, a new prime-time series described as a "provocative drama set against the backdrop of a prominent Texas church where faith, family, and corruption are explored in equal measure," and Conception, a "supernatural mystery drama" about a large-scale conception of children without human fathers who are "destined to change the world." Oddly enough, NBC has tapped David Janollari, former executive vice-president of MTV, to produce both. During his tenure at MTV, Janollari was known for producing shows that were focused on drugs and sex. Perhaps the best-known was Skins, which the Washington Post described as "a repugnant, irredeemably nihilistic viewing experience [and] a new frontier in phoniness and filth." The History Channel has announced it will produce its own The Bible series, but this one will be in the horror genre and will portray Jesus as a wandering exorcist.

"MTV Sex Show Boss Producing Church-Themed Drama,” parentstv.org, 1/22/14

College Friends Share Anonymous "Dad"

© istockphoto.com/pojoslaw

"What are the chances that two California teens would meet online in a roommate hunt, cross the country to attend Louisiana’s Tulane University and learn a semester later they were half-sisters, the daughters of the same Colombian sperm donor?" CNN.com asked. Indeed. What are the chances? It took Mikayla Stern-Ellis, 19, of San Diego, and Emily Nappi, 18, of San Francisco, a semester to deduce that their many shared interests and common traits could be traced to one anonymous man who sold his sperm to the California Cryobank two decades ago. While the girls, both daughters of lesbian couples, have discovered yet another half-sibling and are reveling in their newfound family, there is one thing they disagree on: whether or not to pursue more information about their "father." "The press is caught up in the novelty of the story and has not bothered to explore the many possible complications," observed C. Ben Mitchell, Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. "This situation illustrates vividly part of what's wrong with anonymous sperm donation. Who knows how many genetic half-siblings are out there from this single sperm donor? I suppose it could be worse: These two might have been a married man and woman who only later discovered they were brother and sister. Children have a right to know the identity of their parents."

"Sudden sisters: Tulane pals learn they share sperm-donor dad," cnn.com, 1/24/14

America's "War on Poverty"

With 2014 marking the fiftieth anniversary of the "War on Poverty," Joe Carter of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission noted five facts about the unprecedented and far-reaching effort to help America's poor.

1. The phrase "war on poverty" came from Lyndon Johnson's 1964 State of the Union speech, in which the president said, "This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America. . . . It will not be a short or easy struggle, no single weapon or strategy will suffice, but we shall not rest until that war is won."

2. Within four years, the Johnson administration had enacted a broad range of programs, including the Economic Opportunity Act, the Job Corps, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), Upward Bound, Head Start, Legal Services, the Neighborhood Youth Corps, the Community Action Program, the college Work-Study program, Neighborhood Development Centers, small business loan programs, rural programs, migrant worker programs, remedial education projects, and local health care centers.

Other antipoverty measures included an $11 billion tax cut, the Civil Rights Act, the Food Stamp Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Higher Education Act, Social Security amendments creating Medicare/Medicaid, the creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Voting Rights Act, the Model Cities Act, the Fair Housing Act, and several job-training programs and urban renewal-related projects.

3. From 1964 to 2012, government spending on welfare programs totaled $15 trillion. Currently, the US spends nearly $1 trillion every year to fight poverty—$20,610 for every poor person.

4. In 1964, the poverty rate was 19 percent. Today, the poverty rate is 15 percent.

5. The poverty rate for married couples is only 6 percent. Among married couples who both have full-time jobs the poverty rate is practically zero (0.001 percent). The poverty rate for single parents is much higher: 25 percent for single fathers and 31 percent for single mothers.

"5 Facts About the 'War on Poverty,'" erlc.com, 1/7/14

Which US Cities are "Bible-Minded"?

Have you ever wondered how your city compares spiritually to other US cities? Where are America's Christians most densely congregated? After surveying to determine how many people believe in the Bible's accuracy and read it regularly, the Barna Group and the American Bible Society rated the "Bible-mindedness" of America's top 100 metropolitan areas. The ABS observed that only three of the top twenty-five have a population over one million, and Christianity Today noted that nineteen of the top twenty are home to at least one Christian college.

1. Chattanooga, Tennessee
2. Birmingham/Anniston/Tuscaloosa, Alabama
3. Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia
4. Springfield, Missouri
5. Shreveport, Louisiana
6. Charlotte, North Carolina
7. Greenville/Spartanburg/Anderson, South Carolina; Asheville, North Carolina
8. Little Rock/Pine Bluff, Arkansas
9. Jackson, Mississippi
10. Knoxville, Tennessee
11. Charleston/Huntington, West Virginia
12. Huntsville/Decatur, Alabama
13. Nashville, Tennessee
14. Lexington, Kentucky
15. Wichita/Hutchinson, Kansas
16. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
17. Louisville, Kentucky
18. Jacksonville, Florida
19. Paducah, Kentucky; Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Harrisburg/Mount Vernon, Illinois
20. Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, North Carolina
21. Bakersfield, California
22. Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
23. Mobile, Alabama; Pensacola/Fort Walton, Florida
24. Columbia, South Carolina
25. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
26. Memphis, Tennessee
27. Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville, North Carolina
28. Indianapolis, Indiana
29. Atlanta, Georgia
30. Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Michigan
31. Norfolk/Portsmouth/Newport News, Virginia
32. Tulsa, Oklahoma
33. Greenville/New Bern/Washington, North Carolina
34. San Antonio, Texas
35. New Orleans, Louisiana
36. Richmond/Petersburg, Virginia
37. Dayton, Ohio
38. Charleston, South Carolina
39. South Bend/Elkhart, Indiana
40. Johnstown/Altoona, Pennsylvania
41. Houston, Texas
42. Kansas City, Kansas-Missouri
43. Waco/Temple/Bryan, Texas
44. Davenport, Iowa; Rock Island/Moline, Illinois
45. Cincinnati, Ohio
46. Harlingen/Weslaco/McAllen/Brownsville, Texas
47. Columbus, Ohio
48. Austin, Texas
49. Detroit, Michigan
50. Cleveland/Akron/Canton, Ohio
51. Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico
52. Flint/Saginaw/Bay City, Michigan
53. Des Moines/Ames, Iowa
54. Spokane, Washington
55. Omaha, Nebraska
56. Colorado Springs/Pueblo, Colorado
57. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
58. Saint Louis, Missouri
59. West Palm Beach/Fort Pierce, Florida
60. Champaign/Springfield/Decatur, Illinois
61. Portland, Oregon
62. El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico
63. Tampa/Saint Petersburg/Sarasota, Florida
64. Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida
65. Orlando/Daytona Beach/Melbourne, Florida
66. Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, California
67. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
68. Baltimore, Maryland
69. Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York, Pennsylvania
70. Fresno/Visalia, California
71. Seattle/Tacoma, Washington
72. San Diego, California
73. Los Angeles, California
74. Chicago, Illinois
75. Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota
76. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
77. Fort Myers/Naples, Florida
78. Honolulu, Hawaii
79. Madison, Wisconsin
80. Washington, DC/Hagerstown, Maryland
81. Denver, Colorado
82. Tucson/Sierra Vista, Arizona
83. Rochester, New York
84. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania
85. Green Bay/Appleton, Wisconsin
86. Syracuse, New York
87. Salt Lake City, Utah
88. Toledo, Ohio
89. New York, New York
90. Las Vegas, Nevada
91. Portland/Auburn, Maine
92. Burlington/Plattsburgh, Vermont
93. Phoenix/Prescott, Arizona
94. Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut
95. Buffalo, New York
96. Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa
97. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, California
98. Boston, Massachusetts; Manchester, New Hampshire
99. Albany/Schenectady/Troy, New York
100. Providence, Rhode Island; New Bedford, Massachusetts

"The Most and Least Bible-Minded Cities in the U.S. in 2014," 1/23/14, barna.org

About the Author

• SBC Staff