GOOD NEWS Newspaper

Page 4 | GOOD NEWS | February 2026
Eternity
ROMCOM: Elizabeth Olsen is at the centre of an eternal love triangle
Director: David Freyne
Stars: Miles Teller, Elizabeth
Olsen, Callum Turner
Certificate: 15
Available: Cinemas; streaming/
DVD dates TBC
LARRY (Miles Teller) and Joan
(Elizabeth Olsen) are an elderly
couple. Joan is terminally
ill, but it is Larry who dies
unexpectedly a week before
Joan – having choked on a
pretzel.
In the way station between life
and death where they meet, there
is an awkward encounter as Joan’s
first husband Luke (Callum Turner)
is also there, having waited 69 years
for Joan to join him since his death
in the Korean War of the 1950s.
This rather ingenious love
triangle is complicated by the many
stalls in this way station which
are ‘selling’ various alternative
eternities. So, who will Joan pick
and where will she choose to spend
eternity?
There are a few twists and turns
in the plot and some very funny
moments. But what does it tell us
about heaven?
It is unlikely that the film
maker had any desire to offer
a theological reflection on the
afterlife, but was aiming to make
an enjoyable fantasy love story, in
By Simon Carver
which they definitely succeeded.
The question ‘with which
husband/wife do you choose to
spend eternity’ is not new and it
was a question that was asked
of Jesus [see Matthew 22:23-33 in
the Bible]. His answer was that
the question was based on a false
premise: marriage is part of the
earthly life we live, but heaven is
different.
It is natural to ponder about
heaven and what it will be like,
but our earthly mind will always
struggle to understand matters of
eternity. What we can be sure of is
that who we are now will continue
to be who we are in the life to come.
The apostle Paul used the
analogy of a seed which falls and
dies, but then grows into a plant.
The plan for the plant is only
fulfilled after it dies, but there is a
continuity between the two.
What we know now but Paul
didn’t know is that the DNA in the
seed contains the plan for both the
seed and the plant. God has a plan
for us that is fulfilled in the next life
– if we put our trust in him.
God loves us and wants us to
spend eternity with him. If you
want to know how, see our Help
For Readers section on page 7.
INSPIRED by the example
of Jesus, who washed his
disciples’ feet, a group of
Christian women recently
cleaned the feet of inmates
in a women’s prison in the
state of Goiás in Brazil.
The leader of the
group, Shaila Manzoni
from a church in Brasília,
said: “Love doesn’t ask
who deserves it, but who
needs it. They need us.”
According to Christian
Daily International
(CDI), the group is called
AME (Ame Mulheres
Esquecidas or Love
Forgotten Women) and
was founded by Manzoni
to support incarcerated
women and restore their
dignity.
AME volunteers have
washed more than 800
prisoners’ feet in the
last five years. They have
also baptised 202 wom-
FROM LUST TO LOVE
helping others find Jesus 1990s, before quitting
too”, adding: “Crack the films in 2008 and
Bible … you won’t regret working as a webcam
it” and a cross emoji. ‘model’.
In a later post she She announced her
wrote: “My journey with faith in Jesus a year ago
my faith is my own and on social media: “I’ve
I’m being public about it found my faith again
because I know there are and I’m so at peace. My
legions of people that belief in the most high
FREE FROM HER PAST: Jenna Jameson today
want to know Christ but has led me to strength I
are in fear of judgement. never knew I had.”
I am unafraid and She told the New
A FORMER porn star using her platform to will continue to show York Post: “I am being
once earned her living help others find faith people that the broken loud and proud about
from the lust of men in Jesus.
are the most important my walk with Jesus
but has now found the Now 51, Jenna captioned to him.”
Christ.
love of Jesus.
an Instagram photo of The Las Vegas-born “Proclaiming my love
The Christian Post herself with the words: adult movie star was for him is opening so
reports that Jenna Jameson “After decades of being so successful that she many people’s eyes to
has been baptised as a known for my body and was given the title ‘The the fact that they are not
Christian and is now sin, getting baptised and Queen of Porn’ in the irredeemable.”
Women wash prisoners’ feet
to demonstrate Christian love
Screenshot/YouTube/ET
en, distributed 2,160
hygiene and food kits,
and facilitated 555 legal
consultations. They also
connect women who
have received no visits
with ‘godmothers’ who
write to them and offer
emotional support.
The event in the
Goiás prison was deeply
moving for both the
inmates and the women
who did it. The ladies
also led a Christian
service, sharing Holy
Communion, offering the
inmates a space where,
in their own words, “they
not only ate, but sat at the
table to belong”. Some
inmates danced, cried
and received prayer, and
several were baptised.
Manzoni told Diario
Cristiani of CDI: “Jesus
invites us to live the
Gospel through concrete
LOVE IN ACTION: Christian women wash the feet and
pray for inmates in a prison in Brazil through the cell bars
actions. The washing of
feet is a calling.”
Since AME began
working in a prison in
Luziânia in 2020, the
reoffending rates have
plummeted. Among 850
women who served their
sentence at the unit
between 2020 and 2024,
only three reoffended —
a recidivism rate of just
0.35 per cent, far below
the national average
of 42 per cent, according
to Brazil’s National
Secretariat for Penal
Policies.
Manzoni says: “The
world measures in
numbers, but this isn’t
just a statistic — it’s proof
of a possible path.
“A safe society isn’t
one that imprisons more,
but one that reintegrates,
rebuilds and chooses not
to give up on its people.”
DISCOVERY NEWS
Science, archaeology and history’s
latest revelations
Science finds link between emotions
and the heart – confirming the Bible
By Andrew Halloway
A NEW book by a retired GP explores
how cutting edge research is catching up
with what was written in the Bible
over 3,000 years ago.
Dr Stephen Brooke, author
of Your Heart in Rhythm
with God’s, recently told
the Salvation Army’s War
Cry magazine about discoveries
concerning the heart.
He said: “In all cultures
around the world, there’s a
recognition that the physical
heart is somehow the centre
of life, linking mind, body
and spirit. That has been
confirmed by the research
of the HeartMath Institute
in the United States, which
has been studying the links
for 30 years.”
The research has improved
our understanding
of the communication between
the heart and the
brain, and how emotions
impact our heart health.
Stephen told War Cry:
“In the Bible we’re told to
rejoice with our heart and
soul and love God with all of
our heart… These emotions
put our heart into a healthy,
coherent rhythm.”
The Bible talks a lot
about emotions of our
heart, and the impact of
both negative and positive
feelings. HeartMath
Institute has discovered
that regularly experiencing
emotions like love,
appreciation, compassion,
care and forgiveness are
all good for our physical
heart. Conversely, it has
long been known that a
bad temper and stress
is bad for the heart. It is
now also known that the
heart has its own ‘brain’ –
nerve cells that assess and
make decisions, sending
messages according to the
circumstances.
Stephen believes that we
should take our emotions
seriously because “they
have a great impact on our
heart and lifespan”. For
example, “nurturing anger
and combining it with
cynicism or hostility leads
to damage to the heart.
It’s well known in medical
literature that people who
can’t control their anger,
and have great outbursts,
are more prone to have a
stroke or a sudden heart
attack.”
The Bible says: “A joyful
heart is good medicine, but
a crushed spirit dries up
the bones” (Proverbs 17:22),
and “hope deferred makes
the heart sick, but a desire
fulfilled is a tree of life”
(Proverbs 13:12).
The Bible teaches us to
avoid negative emotions
like hatred and jealousy
primarily because they
are sinful and can lead
us to hurt others, but
also because they have a
negative effect on us – both
mentally and physically.
As a Christian, Stephen
adds: “The heart that we’ve
been given is a huge clue to
the nature of God, and to
the meaning and purpose of
our life on Earth. It is to have
a heart connection with our
Creator.”
Your Heart in Rhythm
with God’s is available
on Amazon
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