I hate to demean anyone else’s faith, but the existence of the motion picture “Bio-Dome” seems a greater threat than Darwin himself to the Christian Hardcore. Ironically, one of the film’s stars, thespian / international laughing-stock Stephen Baldwin has renounced his self-gratifying lifestyle and seems very focused on making sure that the Youth Of Today know that Jesus H.C. put the sideways “X” in “extreme”. From Newsday’s Rachel Leifer :

Packaging an evangelical message with trendy pastimes appeals to kids, and Glory Zone knows it. The skateboarding preachers from actor Stephen Baldwin’s Livin’ It Ministry have sold more than 100,000 DVDs and countless armbands and T-shirts, mostly to young people attracted to a brand of Christianity that approves of “countercultural” fads frowned upon by traditional churches.

“This is a new kind of Jesus movement,” said Mark Gagnon, 17, of Medford, fiddling with the studs in his lower lip. “I’ve never been to a church where I can bring my bike.”

The boys set their bikes down in front of a white tent in the parking lot on church grounds, where more than 1,000 people listened to Baldwin, a native of Massapequa, preaching from an onstage halfpipe in shorts and a Livin’ It T-shirt, with a large gold cross around his neck.

“Check it out,” said Baldwin (above), who has appeared in films such as “The Usual Suspects” and “One Tough Cop”.

“You can be a hard-core skater kid and still be a person of faith.”

After describing how embracing born-again Christianity in 2002 helped him kick materialism, cigarettes and foul language, Baldwin, 39, passed the microphone to Sean Plimmer, road manager of the King of Kings Skateboard Ministry, a posse of skaters contracted to tour with Livin’ It. Many are sponsored by Reliance Skateboards, a Christian company based in Nampa, Idaho.

“Thanks, Stevie B.,” Plimmer said, waving to the crowd as a hip-hop beat filled the tent. “We’re here to give glory to the Lord with our skills!”