Critical thinking is a dying process that we need to rediscover so that we can be meaningful to our world without being absorbed with its whims. Throughout the summer we will have the chance to get together to view four films that present different angles of faith. Our hope is that we encounter the content of the films critically, and learn to sort truth from fluff.

Through these films we'll experience four perspectives that can shape our beliefs and views about God, the Church and religion. We will encounter fiction, documentary, editorial, and satire and will try to understand how to distill the good from the bad.

The four films will be:

Angels & Demons (Fiction) -Thursday, May 21, 6:00 pm, Ontario Cinemark Theater

• We'll meet at 710 at 6:00 and take the van to the theater for the 7:00 pm showing.  We'll view the film adaptation of Dan Brown's novel of the same name. It is the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, another Brown film adaptation, although the novel Angels & Demons was published and takes place before the The Da Vinci Code novel . Filming took place in Rome and the Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles. Tom Hanks reprises the lead role of Robert Langdon, while director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman also returned. Our goal in viewing the film will be to see how fiction might influence beliefs and about God, the church, good, evil and man's role in science and religion.  How does fiction sculpt fact and how to we discern between a good story and the truth?

The Trials of Ted Haggard (Documentary) - Thursday, June 11,  7:00 pm, Ditlevson's Home Theater

• Ted Haggard had it all: prosperity, a doting wife, five kids and a ministry that reached more than 30 million followers who hung on his every word. But in 2006, it all fell apart in a sea of scandal. Journalist/filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi returns to talk with "Pastor Ted"--whom she met while filming Friends of God for HBO--who was exiled from the church he built and the state where he lived after admitting to "sexual immorality" and to buying methamphetamines. Following Haggard and his family as they move from house to house and motel to motel, Pelosi interviews the sullied ex-minister as he works as a traveling insurance salesman...and maps out a strategy for redeeming himself and supporting his family. Through this film we are faced with exercising judgement while trying to resist the sin of judging. It will force us to sort out our response to the natural complexity that can be wrapped around truth and humanity.

Religulous (Editorial) - Thursday, July 9,  7:00 pm, Ditlevson's Home Theater

• In this editorial comedy from director Larry Charles (BORAT, "Seinfeld"), comedian and TV host Bill Maher ("Real Time with Bill Maher," "Politically Incorrect") takes a pilgrimage across the globe on a mind-opening journey into the ultimate taboo: questioning religion. Meeting the high and low from different religions, Maher simply asks questions, like "Why is faith good?" "Why doesn't an all-powerful God speak to us directly?" and "How can otherwise rational people believe in a talking snake?" For anyone who's even a little spiritually connected, Maher's unapologetic editorial film will challenge your thinking.  This film will be an adventure in not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  Even though we are often confronted with negative views of faith, there can often be nuggets of truth that need to be dealt with. At very least, we get perspective of what others believe about our way of life so that we can interact with better understanding.

Saved!  (Satire) - Thursday, August 6,  7:00 pm, Ditlevson's Home Theater

• Classic teen comedy mixes with cunning satire in Saved!. Fervent Christian Mary (Jena Malone, Donnie Darko) believes God wants her to save her gay boyfriend by sleeping with him. But he gets sent to an anti-gay indoctrination camp while she ends up pregnant--which starts to drive a wedge between Mary and her snotty best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore, How to Deal). Meanwhile, they're both interested in the son (Patrick Fugit, Almost Famous) of their Christian school principal (Martin Donovan, Trust). Saved! respects faith but gleefully mocks the excesses and absurdities of contemporary organized religion, particularly its suburban, let's-speak-the-language-of-the-kids manifestations. The actors, including Macaulay Culkin (yes, from Home Alone) and Mary Louise Parker (Fried Green Tomatoes), play their parts with sincerity, which makes the fusion of humor and heart succeed.  --Bret Fetzer  This over-the-top nature of this satire will help us process the reasons why we are offended. Are we offended more by people poking fun at us or at Jesus? Is there some painful truth in the content? At what point are we right to watch and learn and at what point are we justified to stand-up and walk out of a movie, conversation, concert, etc.