ELSEWHERE: The Racial Impact of Miley’s Twerking Debacle

Last updated on: August 30, 2013 at 12:04 pm By Richard Clark

While the focus on Miley Cyrus’ VMA appearance has been primarily on the sexualized nature of the performance, there’s an undeniable racial element to the whole thing as well. I found two articles to be most helpful in exploring these issues: Tressie McMillan Cottom’s “Brown Body, White Wonderland,” and Leigh Alexander’s “On Twerking “And Being Mixed Race.” If you’re sick of the whole thing, take heart. These pieces take the attention off of Miley and direct us to the often unforeseen... Read more

ELSEWHERE: Online Streaming Services Are Still In The Red, But For How Long?

Last updated on: August 29, 2013 at 9:46 pm By Ethan McCarthy

For all of us trying to navigate the murky ethics of digital music, this NPR article drops some surprising data: online streaming services like Pandora and Spotify have been losing money for years. So why do they keep at it? They’re banking on a stream-centric future of music that’ll be “wildly profitable.” Read more

Coptic Christians in Egypt are Suffering; But What Is Coptic Christianity Anyway?

Last updated on: August 30, 2013 at 7:11 am By Geoffrey Reiter

"Throughout their history, the Coptic Christians of Egypt and its neighbors have been no strangers to suffering, and we need to pray and work for their perseverance through these most recent trials." Read more

Not A Fan of Fan Fiction? Some Things To Consider

Last updated on: August 29, 2013 at 10:20 pm By Ethan McCarthy

"It's interesting that fan fiction’s recent upsurge has coincided with our culture’s changing assumptions about hermeneutics." Read more

Wedding Photography, Sacrifice, and the ‘Price’ of Citizenship

Last updated on: August 30, 2013 at 7:45 am By Derek Rishmawy

"The sacral order of the liberal state must be maintained, even at the cost of its citizens deepest convictions about life. " Read more

Elsewhere: Abortion as a Failure of Feminism?

Last updated on: August 29, 2013 at 7:01 am By Jeff Cavanaugh

Marilyn Kopp, a member of Feminists for Life, makes the case that abortion represents a failure of feminism as its proponents conceived it for the first century or more of the movement. One early feminist wrote, “[It] is degrading for women to treat their children as property, to be disposed of as they see fit.” For more on the history of feminism, don’t miss this CAPC post: The F-Word: Why Feminism Is Not the Enemy Read more

Is Duck Dynasty a Good Example of Christianity?

Last updated on: August 29, 2013 at 7:02 am By Jeff Cavanaugh

A&E’s hit show “Duck Dynasty,” a semi-reality comedy show following the antics of the Robertson family in Louisiana, has quickly become the biggest hit in reality TV history, according to the New York Times’ profile this week. The show has sparked a good bit of discussion among Christians not only because of its popularity and entertainment value, but also because the Robertsons are fairly vocal about their own faith. I say “fairly,” of course, because the extent to which the... Read more

ELSEWHERE: How Segregated Is Your City?

Last updated on: August 29, 2013 at 7:41 am By Jewel Evans

The results displayed on this map are fascinating to see. Zooming in, out, and across, you can see clusters of color, colors representing races. If you have time, check out the map and see how your city displays racial segregation. Read more

Miley Cyrus and Exchanging Virgin Icons for Sex Icons

Last updated on: August 29, 2013 at 6:43 am By E. Stephen Burnett

Sure, Miley Cyrus' crude dancing crashed that wholesome, virginal image of her. But why were we surprised? And is weeping or hand-wringing the best response? Read more

Nicolas Cage Misses the Rapture because He Doesn’t Get Left Behind

Last updated on: August 29, 2013 at 6:59 am By Brad Williams

Not too far in the distant past, I saw a little internet buzz that Nicolas Cage was cast to play the lead in a cinematic reboot of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins’ “Left Behind” book series. If you are unfamiliar with that series, they are action adventure books that follow the outline of a dispensationalist, pre-millienial, pre-tribulation rapture understanding of Revelation. (If you just said “Whaaaat?” check out this wikipedia page under “eschatology”). But I dismissed the buzz rather quickly... Read more