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Filmography - Christianity: U - Z

Titles available on DVD and Streaming video as of October 2013

Christianity

Titles available on DVD and streaming video as of  October 2013

Most streaming videos listed are available exclusively to AU students, staff and faculty after an online authentications by AUID#.

This is a selective list of video holdings in the American University Library. Filmographies are created by doing multiple keyword searches in the ALADIN catalog to capture as many titles on a topic as possible.  All DVDs listed below are located in Media Services on the Lower Level of Bender Library. To search the library’s complete videos holdings on prison topics (including VHS tapes) search the library catalog at: http://www.american.edu/library/mediaservices/index.cfm

Unitarian universalism. 2007.  I BELIEVE-with Dennis Wholey.  1 streaming video file   (28 min.). In this program, Dennis Wholey has a conversation about Unitarian Universalism with the Reverend Shana Lynngood of All Souls Church, Unitarian, in Washington, D.C. Topics of discussion include the guiding principles of UUism, such as the unconditional acceptance of all people; the history of UUism and its constituent antecedents, Unitarianism and Universalism; and the vital importance of keeping religion relevant to contemporary life. In addition, the history of ASCU, the makeup of its congregation, and details of the worship service are outlined by the Reverend Louise Green, minister of social justice. Streaming video.

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=39051

 

The United Church of Christ. 2007.  I BELIEVE-with Dennis Wholey.  1 streaming video file   (28 min.). In this program, Dennis Wholey has a conversation about the United Church of Christ with Hans Holznagel of the UCC Church House in Cleveland, Ohio. Topics of discussion include how the UCC came to be, the importance of social justice in UCC philosophy, and the "God Is Still Speaking" outreach campaign and "You're Welcome Here" television advertisements. In addition, the Reverend Felix Carrion of Cleveland's Euclid Avenue Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ outlines the history of the church and what a Sunday worship service is like.  Streaming video

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=39052

 

The United Methodist Church. 2007.  I BELIEVE-with Dennis Wholey.  1 streaming video file   (28 min.). In this program, Dennis Wholey has a conversation about the United Methodist Church with Bishop Mary Ann Swenson of the UMC California-Pacific Annual Conference. Topics of discussion include the history of the United Methodist Church, a union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren; the UMC's core beliefs; three types of grace; the organization and governance of the Church; and Christian living as a marriage between personal and social holiness. In addition, Kirsten Oh of the First United Methodist Church of Pasadena, California, tours viewers through the Gothic-style church and describes aspects of the Sunday worship experience.  Streaming video

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=39053

 

The Vatican's lost war: Pope John XXIII's Council a half-century later. 2011.  1 streaming video file   (52 min.). Shortly after his election in 1958, Pope John XXIII announced to an astonished world that he planned to convene an Ecumenical Council in Rome-an event that became known as the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II. Produced on the 50th anniversary of the historic gathering, this film presents interviews with high-ranking clergy members and Church officials with detailed knowledge of how Vatican II came about. Not least among these is Loris Francesco Capovilla, Pope John XXIII's personal friend and private secretary, who describes the trepidation he felt when the Holy Father told him what he intended to do. The film also explores the repercussions of Vatican II through the years and how they relate to the dilemmas facing the Catholic Church today.  Streaming video

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=49663

 

Walking the Bible. 2006.  2 videodiscs (ca. 168 min.). One man's journey by foot, jeep, rowboat and camel through the greatest stories ever told: The five books of Moses. From crossing the Red Sea to climbing Mount Sinai, this will change the view of history's most legendary events.  DVD 2119

The war of the Gods.  1974.  Disappearing World   1 streaming video file   (70 min.). This film contrasts the belief systems and ways of life of the Maku and Barasana Colombian Indians with those of the Protestant and Catholic missionaries who, in competing to convert the Indians to Christianity, threaten to consume their ancient culture. The Protestants, North American Fundamentalists from the Summer Institute of Linguistics, are said to have used their organization as a cover in order to be allowed to work with the Indians, because open Protestant missionary activity would not have been acceptable to the authorities.  Streaming video

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=49220

 

Water and its powers. 2005.  The Land and the Sacred: Nature's Role in Myth and Religion 1 streaming video file   (53 min.). Water may be the world's hardest-working religious symbol, representing life, death, purification, destruction, and countless other ideas. This program studies the spiritual properties of water and the myriad ways in which humanity has regarded the precious substance over the millennia. Establishing a link between climate and the evolution of god-images, the video explores the notion of the angry deity who punishes with water-a concept prevailing in arid regions and informing flood myths across the globe. The program also illustrates the power of the river-as a source of life, and as a route into the underworld-highlighting the cultural and historical importance of the Nile, the Ganges, and the mythical Styx. Streaming video.

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=35645

 

Way of the cross: Pope John Paul II and the Passion of Christ. 2002.  1 streaming video file   (172 min.). On World Youth Day, 2002, hundreds of thousands of young Roman Catholics from all over the world descended on Toronto's Downsview Park to see and hear their spiritual leader, Pope John Paul II. To commemorate the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus, the center of the city was taken over by throngs of pilgrims who helped reenact the Way of the Cross-a passion play featuring a highly convincing portrayal of the crucified Christ. The procession gathered momentum along a downtown street, ultimately attracting both travelers and local residents and coalescing into a transformative, communal, living drama. This program documents the sprawling event, offering viewers a window into what many participants described as the most important moment in their spiritual lives. Streaming video.

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=48852

 

What is truth? gospels and their authors . 2003.  Who Wrote the New Testament 1 streaming video file   (53 min.). Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are generally regarded as the authors of the Gospels. But did they actually write them? And if not, who did, and when? This program focuses on accounts and theories pertaining to the identities of the four Evangelists, as well as the authenticity of the texts attributed to them. Scholars and clerics examine and discuss original manuscripts, such as Codex Sinaiticus, with its Shepherd of Hermas and the Epistle of Barnabas, and the Book of Alexandria with its first and second letters of Clement.  Streaming video.

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=33161

 

Who authored the new testament? 2004.  Who Wrote the Bible?: Who wrote the new testament?  1 streaming video file   (53 min.). Transitioning from ancient Jewish narratives to the emergence of the Jesus story, this program follows theologian Robert Beckford as he studies the authorship of the Gospels and subsequent New Testament books. Beckford's itinerary stretches from Jerusalem and Bethlehem to the Turkish ruins of Ephesus, then westward to Rome, London, and Bible-Belt America-underscoring the textual evolution that produced a standardized Bible and highlighting both ancient and modern politicization of the scriptures. Explanations of the translation process and of key technological shifts-from papyrus to vellum, for example-help create an account that is both intellectually and spiritually compelling.  Streaming video.

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=36446

 

Whose truth is the truth? New testament apocrypha and codification of the canon. 2003.  Who Wrote the New Testament? 1 streaming video file   (52 min.). The early Church saw a proliferation of writings all claiming divine authority. This program surveys many of these texts and their adherents, as well as traces the course of the New Testament's codification. Original manuscripts and critical commentary are used to explore the infancy gospels, St. Clement's letters to the Corinthians, and the Gnostic gospels, including the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Mary Magdalene, and Gospel of Philip. Key figures and events in the process are also portrayed, including Marcion, Tertullian, the Emperor Constantine and his conversion, the Council of Nicea, and St. Athanasius, who first codified the 27 books of the New Testament.  Streaming video.

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=33163

 

With God on our side George W. Bush & the rise of the Religious Right in America. 2004.  1 videodiscs  (ca. 97 min.). "Takes an in-depth look at President Bush's connection with evangelical Christianity ... a parable of the complex ways religion and politics mingle in American life"--Container.  DVD 1236

Wonders of the African world with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2000.  3 videodiscs (330 min.). Two programs in a series that travels through twelve African countries and more than 5,000 years. In the first segment, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. travels through the old kingdoms of Asante and Dahomey in Ghana and Benin to learn the real story of the transatlantic slave trade. From slave castles on the coast to royal courts in the interior, he finds both pride in these powerful African kingdoms, and discomfort about the source of their wealth and power. In the second segment, Gates travels to Ethiopia to investigate the history of Christianity in the ancient civilization. For over 1600 years, Ethiopia was a Christian kingdom whose rulers traced their lineage back to Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Journeys to rock-hewn churches, mountain monasteries, royal shrines, and on to Aksum, birthplace of an ancient civilization, and home, the Ethiopians believe, to the Lost Ark of the Covenant.  DVD 3698

The world of the Lindisfarne Gospels. 2003.  1 streaming video file   (48 min.). Filmed on location across England and Ireland, this program takes a close look at the Lindisfarne Gospels-a priceless work of art and one of Christianity's most enduring symbols of faith-and the historical and religious contexts in which it was created. Michelle Brown, curator of illuminated manuscripts at the British Library, explains who made it and why, presents new findings about its dating, and shows how it unites a remarkable range of motifs and styles from the Celtic Iron Age, Germanic prehistory, ancient and Christian Rome, Coptic Egypt, and Byzantium. A wealth of other devotional objects and images from early Christianity are also featured.  Streaming video.

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=33426

 

Ye gods religion and art. 2007.  This is civilization   1 streaming video file   (49 min.). This program considers the debt Western civilization owes to paganism, Christianity, and Islam, showing how each religion has influenced the other and how the art of all three continues to exert an effect on the world. Highlighting the lifelike sculptures of ancient Greece that celebrate what it is to be human; the primitive daubs in Roman catacombs, shimmering Byzantine mosaics, and Renaissance crucifixion scenes; and the dazzling arabesques of Egyptian, Turkish, and Spanish mosques, Matthew Collings points out the common humanity underlying three significantly different worldviews.  Streaming video.

http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=39855