Scott D. Winnail

“Happy Hunger Games!” is the greeting from Suzanne Collin’s blockbuster sensation Hunger Games. Interestingly, fans of the movie series almost wish each other the same greeting via texts, tweets and social media messages, as they make the pilgrimage to theaters for the second movie in the trilogy, Catching Fire. But, is this movie series, which has now developed a cult following, something Christians should really be “happy” about?

Recent news headlines are both shocking and disturbing. An insane gunman mowing down children at a summer camp in Norway. A deranged father keeping two mentally incompetent daughters as sex slaves. A psychotic father decapitating his handicapped seven-year-old son. Thousands of rioters destroying cars and buildings and stealing as they rampage. A rapist assaulting an 85-year-old woman for the “thrill of the moment.” And the gory list continues. What is happening? Has the whole world gone mad? Will the carnage ever cease?

Tuesday afternoon, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the small island nation of Haiti and its nine-million inhabitants. The quake flattened the president's palace, the cathedral, hospitals, schools, the main prison and whole neighborhoods. Officials feared thousands – perhaps more than 100,000 – may have perished but there was no firm count. One leading Haitian senator commented that there could be as many as 500,000 dead.

The median US home price has fallen over 21% from its peak in 2007 – that is, on average, more than $56,000 per home. Simultaneously, the value of the US dollar has fallen against many world currencies, prompting more than one nation to voice the observation, "America is for sale!"