There’s something about pastors not acting the way people think pastors ought to act that attracts people—if not in real life, then at least on the screen. From Pale Rider to Machine Gun Preacher, people like to watch preachers pulled out of the regular ruts of how we imagine their lives and into some extraordinary action. Maybe pastors like to watch so they can live vicariously through the actions of guys in collars doing things we ourselves would never do!
truth
Diving into the great sea of knowledge, I am drowning. Wave after wave of fact and fiction, feeling and experience crash over my head as I fight just to take a breath. Pummeling pressure keeps my eyes just below the surface, so that I can’t quite see clearly. Swell after swell, small and distant, grows deeper and more powerful the closer it gets to me. Endless fathoms of knowledge washing in and out, burying me deep below understanding.
[SOME SPOILERS]
Watching awards shows is all about having the right expectations going in: you know already that it’s going to be an orgy of self-congratulation. You know that people are going to use their acceptance speeches to highlight or push (depending on your perspective) their favorite causes—although I can’t say I was expecting someone to use the slogan “workers of the world unite.”
[MINOR SPOILERS]
From the first time I saw a trailer for Netflix’ Messiah, I wondered how they were going to bring it to a conclusion. It seemed that there were only two possibilities: either the main protagonist is the Messiah, or he is some kind of charlatan. Is he a fraud? Is he some kind of cult leader, or maybe a terrorist? Or is he actually the second coming of Jesus?
I have a complicated relationship with David Bazan’s music. I’ve probably seen Pedro the Lion/David Bazan in concert more than I’ve seen any other musician and I have nearly all his band and solo albums. I’ve followed his very public trajectory from conflicted “Christian” artist to denial of what he sees as the message of the Bible and of Christianity. In a very real way, I’ve grown up with his music (he’s about three years older than I am).
There are very few better than Michael Crichton when it comes to warning about the numerous ways that […]
He heard it a million times from his mom; son of God, born of a virgin. When he was younger, he did not really know what all those words meant. Everyone was nice to him and he had a special place when they went to temple. He remembered the old men looking at him with tears in their eyes, and the widows would touch his little shoulder when he walked by. They told him that he was born of the Spirit, and there was much he would do in his lifetime. When he was little, he tried to imagine what it was he would get to do.
Raising children today isn’t easy – nor is taking care of yourself all that easy either, but nobody ever said it was going to be easy. I know you and other people have heard this before, but have you listened to this advice. Why? Well, I have a couple of questions for you. Do you talk with your kids about the stuff going on with the world we live in?
Time and time again, in Christian circles, it is common to hear phrases like, “You are special,” “God […]
I caught myself saying something I couldn’t believe I said to myself. It concerned the truth – as […]
Abrupt endings to movies used to bother me. I wanted a neat, wrapped-together conclusion that answered at least […]
By Paul Koch – The gathering together of God’s people in one place for worship is one of […]
By Tim Winterstein – [SPOILERS] Whenever films are based on true stories, there’s always a little dramatic enhancement […]
By Dennis Matyas – News reached me last week of the closing of a church. This church was […]
By Tim Winterstein – “What is truth?” Pilate asked Jesus when Jesus said that those who are of […]
By Tim Winterstein –
There’s nothing quite as uncomfortable as watching someone who does awkward well. In comedy, consider both Steve Carell’s Michael Scott and Ricky Gervais’ David Brent on both the American and English versions of The Office. But Jim Cummings could teach a master class on dramatic and (within the world of the film) unintentional awkwardness—that is, he does teach a master class in his first full-length, Thunder Road (available for rent or purchase on iTunes or Amazon).
By Tim Winterstein –
[SPOILERS]
I don’t know if the current cultural moment is producing a thematic bounty of what it means to deal with pain and guilt or if it was always equally present. Either way, the idea of what to do with guilt we can’t erase—because we can’t go back and undo it—seems to run through a lot of the films and shows that I’ve written about here. Or maybe those are just the themes that are most fertile for theological reflection, especially when they’re being explored by those who most likely wouldn’t give the answers that Christians would give.
By Paul Koch –
As the 13th chapter of Mark’s Gospel comes to an end the focus or intended purpose of our Lord’s teaching becomes quite clear. It is summed up perfectly in the closing line, “What I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” (Mark 13:37) Over and again the call of our Lord’s words have been to be on guard, to stay vigilant, to be watchful, to stay awake. All this comes from a discussion that he has been having with disciples concerning their questions about the end of times. When Jesus had told them that the temple itself would be thrown down, they wanted some assurance, some comfort about the unknowable future. “Tell us,” they said, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the signs when all these things are about to be accomplished.” (13:4) And so he has been telling them about the signs of the end: about what sort of things they might expect. He has spoken about wars and earthquakes and famines, about persecution and injustice. He has addressed false teaching and broken fidelity.
By Bob Hiller –
Remember that song by Garth Brooks where he sang, “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers?” Yeah, unfortunately, so do I. It’s this sappy romantic song about how Garth and his wife went back to his hometown and ran across his boyhood crush, the one he had prayed and prayed for God to let him marry. After seeing her he looks at his wife and is just so thankful that God ignored his prayers for the crush so he could marry his wife. God didn’t answer Garth’s prayer. He had a better plan in mind.
By Paul Koch –
Do you remember drinking from the garden hose as a child? I do. In fact when I’m working in the yard these days I will still get a quick drink from time to time from the hose. I like it. I like the taste; compared to the water that comes from the dispenser on the door of my fridge you would almost think they were from a different source. The water in the house passes through our water softener system, then through a filtration system in the fridge while it is chilled down a bit before it reaches my glass. In my front yard the water takes a more direct route off the main water line through a tired old hose with a slightly corroded metal spigot and directly into my mouth. It may not be as healthy or safe as the filtered option inside, but there is something simple and enjoyable about it.