Steve, I must defend myself against your false accusation against me. You wrote: But David has argued with scripture that movies and dramas ARE necessarily wrong in themselves. When doing so, he has misinterpreted the texts he quotes. David: I have not once declared the above, not once. I have stated they are wrong when they are used as means other than preaching, but not that they are wrong in and of themselves - unless it's a movie that portrays an IMAGE OF GOD. Going further Steve says: But there IS a balance. Good preachers also use illustrations of various types (and I'm not talking about pictures). David: So you to admit that there is a difference between using an vocal illustration and a picture. That's the point. An image is visible. Steve: (I sat in a service one time where the pastor read the entire book of Ephesians and did nothing else) is just as much compromising the role of communicating understanding of THE Truth as the pastor whose primary concern is using videos and jokes to get laughs and make everyone feel entertained so they will give and come back next week. David: I'm sure you won't find it surprising that I take great issue with your above statements. First of all, what's wrong with reading scripture as the pastor did above? You do realize that's what the Christians in Paul's day did right? They met in houses and had Paul's letter read to them. This is exactly why I disagree with your position Steve, for you put reading scripture straight through as being negative, and I don't know why. That only goes to show me that as much as you say contrary, the scripture itself MUST be boring to you! I mean no personal offense here because I think you do this without knowing it. The letter to the Ephesians is GOD"S WORD Steve. I commend that Pastor for having enough guts to "bore" people with it. If you were to set before me a preacher who does nothing but reads God's word straight, and a "preacher" who shows a 10 minute movie clip, I'll take the boring one anyday. :) Steve writes: Otherwise they are merely reading the verses and stopping. The more accurate and direct an illustration is, the more value it has in communicating to and helping the listener understand THE Truth. David: You're saying this based on a presupposition that we can actually help an unbeliever understand the truth, even when God has declared they are His enemies and the ONLY way they will understand is if GOD opens their hearts and again, faith comes by HEARING and hearing by the word of God. That's the problem I see with your position, you think that if we use a good enough illustration, people will understand better. I'm over my limit and I apologize to the list and for Moe for that. David