Fall 2006 Schedule

Hello! This is the official webspace for the Christian Thought Society of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. We have formed the Christian Thought Society to encourage interaction and fellowship among the RTS Orlando community by examining personal, social, political, philosophical, ethical, and theological issues together. We are attempting to foster an environment for intelligent, compassionate, holistic dialogue from a variety of perspectives. To enhance our discussions and provide some topical launching points, we will sometimes view films at the meetings.

Meetings typically take place twice monthly on Friday night from 7-10pm in the Faculty Conference Room on the RTS Orlando campus. We look forward to seeing you there!

1. Friday, September 1: The Truman Show (1998, 103 minutes, PG). Directed by Peter Weir.
TOPICS: Reality television; media in American culture

2. Friday, September 8: Paradise Now (2005, 90 minutes, PG-13). Directed by Hany Abu-Assad.
TOPICS: Islam; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
GUEST: Chadwick Meyer

3. Friday, October 6: The God Who Wasn't There (2005, 62 minutes, NR). Directed by Brian Flemming.
TOPICS: Atheism; modern attacks on Christianity; apologetics
GUEST: Dr. John M. Frame

4. Friday, November 10: The Emerging Church PBS special (2005)
TOPICS: The emerging church
GUEST: Rev. Chuck DeGroat

DISCLAIMER CONCERNING FILMS

As Christians who are engaged in various forms of ministry, we are concerned with engaging the culture and examining its thought-forms. Film is an excellent media by which to evaluate what society considers its hopes, problems, and solutions. The themes of some of the films we will watch together may contain content that may make some viewers uncomfortable. We are not viewing films merely to critique them for foul language, sexual content, etc. Though surely we will seek to avoid excesses of such content, we cannot altogether avoid it. Thus, we do not necessarily endorse the message of the movies we'll be watching. In fact, some of them promote messages we stand against, all the more reason to think through them as Christians. We hope to discuss the worldviews presented in each film, to critically engage both the positives and negatives of this medium of expression, and to examine how scripture's narrative of creation, fall, and redemption shed light on the topics addressed.

For more on this, see:

“Should Christians Go To Movies?” by John M. Frame

“Moving Pictures: Theologizing at the Movies” by John M. Frame

“Questions to Ask of Films: A Worksheet” by John M. Frame