Have you seen the movie "Hoosiers"? It makes you want to go out and work on your jumper, doesn't it? How about "The Program"? There's a flick that'll get you pumped up to hit someone.

What is Hollywood saying?

Do movies influence the way you think? Probably. You don't believe me? Look at the way you talk.

• Have you ever asked someone for the 4-1-1, said, "Whatever" (Clueless) or accused someone of going postal (same movie)?
• Have you ever told someone to Beehave, zip it, or shh (with the hand gesture that Austin Powers made famous)?
• Have you asked "Dude, where's my car?" lately?

Hey, I've been in entire conversations where the only phrases used were movie quotes. Hollywood has a pretty big influence on us.

So what is Hollywood saying to us? More to the point, what are we learning from the stars?

Last night, I watched "Cider House Rules." Have you seen it? Everyone I talked to said it's a great flick. What did you think?

More importantly, did you think about its message?

Basically it's about an orphan named Homer as he's growing up. He learns how to be a doctor from the man who runs the orphanage. But he's never seen anything outside the orphanage. The doctor who is teaching him performs abortions. The doctor claims it's the loving and proper and safe thing to do. Homer doesn't agree. But then Homer goes out into the real world and runs into a situation where it seems like an unwanted pregnancy will ruin his friend's life. Led by his emotions, he decides that maybe abortions are helpful and loving.

He "comes of age," as the critics describe it, and realizes that in the real world sins can be excused.

What does God say?

What kind of message is that? Is that how God describes life in his Word? Absolutely not! God calls abortion murder-never loving. (Want to find out more? Journey over to Christian Life Resources.)

God tells us to defend those who can't defend themselves-like the baby in the womb of Homer's friend. Hollywood just looks at the inconvenience it might cause for the mother, rather than the inconvenience it will cause the baby. Did I say inconvenience? Never being born, never being baptized isn't just inconvenient! No emotional argument can change that fact when you analyze it.

Next time you go to the movies, think about it. What are the movie people are trying to tell you, and what does God say? Don't be afraid to talk about it either.

If you want to practice, check out one of these sites and read some of the reviews. Try to figure out what Hollywood is trying to teach you through those movies.

http://www.imdb.com/
http://sonoma.unclewebster.com/movies...

Jon Scharf is an instructor at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota.