GETTING HOLY WITH HIP HOP
A group of hip-hop Christians are hoping to spread the word across the United States with a new CD titled, "And the Word Was Hip Hop: HipHopEMass." New York Episcopal priest, the Rev. Timothy Holder, who goes by the rap name "Poppa T," created the HipHopEMass to reach younger generations. He mixes religion with the language, dress, and dance moves of the hip-hop culture.
For example, instead of the 23rd Psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd," his flock says: "The Lord is all that, I need for nothing, he allows me to chill."
The CD has links to pages in "The Hip Hop Prayer Book" as well as moments from the service set to music. Although many clergy have criticized this approach, proponents argue that using vernacular language is a way to draw young people to church.
STOP SMOKING, BUILD MEDIA SMARTS
Teaching kids about subtle pro-smoking messages in movies may reduce the likelihood of teen smoking, finds University of Pittsburgh research. More than 4,000 teens begin smoking each day and most cessation programs aren't successful-but when researchers analyzed the responses from 1,211 high school students they found that those who had a better understanding of marketing and advertising hijinks were least likely to smoke. Those teens that scored in the top half of the smoking media literacy test were nearly 50% less likely to report current smoking than those who scored in the bottom half. Teaching media literacy, rather than using scare tactics, might help reduce teen smoking.