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Category: Pop Culture and Theology

  • The Shape of Redemption in The Gospel and The Movies

    Earlier in this movie mini-series, I talked about the need for a nuanced take on movies. Then, I started unpacking some basic perspectives that need to be in place. First, I explained the need to see movies as artistic creations. Second, I pointed to the moral messages woven into the fabric of most movies. Today,…

  • Moral Messages in Motion Pictures

    Last week, we discussed how movies, at their core, are the creative responses of creatures made in the image of God. While that’s what a movie is, people are usually more interested in what a movie means. There are at least two ways to answer this question at the general level. I’d like to talk about…

  • What Does Music Mean?

    Over at the 9Marks blog, there are two different views about music and meaning posted. The first one is from Harold Best. The second is from Ken Myers. Both were asked to answer the following questions: Can God employ any musical form for redemptive purposes? Even if God can employ any musical form redemptively, are…

  • On Nuance and Noah: Toward Cinematic Literacy

    Now that some of the hype has died down, I want to comment on the Noah movie. Actually, to be more accurate, I want to comment on the response to the Noah movie, and what it teaches us about interacting well with movies. When it comes to analyzing movies, we need nuance. I think this…

  • Introducing Movie Mondays

      This saying is true and worthy of full acceptance: people love movies.[ref]Also, a corollary: the love of good movies compels people to hate certain movies.[/ref] Given the prominence movies play in the our culture, I don’t think it is a stretch to say that being conversant with them is a necessary skill for Christians.…

  • Reading for Preaching: The Preacher In Conversation With Storyteller, Biographers, Poets, and Journalists

    Cornelius Plantinga Jr. Reading for Preaching: The Preacher In Conversation With Storyteller, Biographers, Poets, and Journalists. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, November, 2013. 136 pp. Paperback, $14.00. Buy it: Amazon Visit the publisher’s page Thanks to Eerdmans for the review copy! Cornelius Plantinga Jr. is president emeritus of Calvin Theological Seminary, as well as senior research fellow at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.…

  • In Which I Make An Argument In Favor of (Sports) Atheism

    Over at the Christ and Pop Culture website, I got an article published on cultivating sports atheism: Football, more so than other sport, cultivates the idea of a sold-out, totally dedicated fan base (e.g., those Bud Light commercials about superstitions). Perhaps it is because unlike the eternal season of baseball that spans spring, summer, and…

  • Echoes of Eden: Reflections on Christianity, Literature, and The Arts

    Jerram Barrs is the founder and resident scholar of the Francis Schaeffer Institute at Covenant Theological Seminary. There he teaches apologetics and outreach as professor of Christian studies. Here, he is writing about the arts, and specifically literature. In doing so, he provides an excellent apologetic for both its value as the creation of God’s…

  • Popcultured: Thinking Christianly About Style, Media, and Entertainment

    Steve Turner is a journalist, writer and poet living in London, England. He has written numerous articles and books[ref]A Hard Day’s Write: The Stories Behind Every “Beatles” Song, Amazing Grace : The Story of America’s Most Beloved Song, The Gospel According to the Beatles, The Band that Played On: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went…

  • Outreach And The Artist: Sharing The Gospel With The Arts

    It is hard to imagine two books could be any more different. Back in the fall, I reviewed Constantine Campbell’s Paul and Union With Christ, an encyclopedic study of both the exegetical and theological usage of Paul’s “in Christ” language. It was thorough, exhaustive, and top of the line NT scholarship. Apparently, Campbell is not…