Jerry Costello of The Christophers shares his thoughts on Los Angeles Dodger, Clayton Kershaw, who took an eye-opening trip to Zambia last year: Travel is broadening, they say, often in ways that are quite unexpected. Just ask veterans of the Peace Corps, or the once-young men and women who were part of the Papal Volunteers for Latin America. These good people went off to foreign lands to help others, but more often than not came back to the United States... Read more
Yesterday, I featured some excerpts of my “Christopher Closeup” interview with Scripture scholar Dr. Tim Gray who co-authored a book with Jeff Cavins called “Walking with God: A Journey Through the Bible.” It uses the latest Biblical scholarship to analyze both the Old and New Testaments. Dr. Gray addressed some commonly asked questions, some of which are excerpted below including 1) Does Eve being created from Adam’s rib mean that the Bible is saying women are inferior to men? and... Read more
A lot of people have questions about different parts of the Bible. For instance, Isn’t Genesis just another creation myth? Why does God seem angry and vengeful in the Old Testament, but loving and merciful in the New Testament? Does Eve being created from Adam’s rib mean the Bible is saying that women are inferior to men? Why does God ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? Dr. Tim Gray, the author of “Walking with God: A Journey Through the Bible,” answered... Read more
Christopher Closeup Podcast – Guest: Hallie Lord, Part 2 Last week’s “Christopher Closeup” podcast featured Part 1 of my interview with Ryan-Gosling-loving, fashion maveny wife and mother of five Hallie Lord discussing her book “Style, Sex and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things That Really Matter.” (You can read about it here). The book consists of 10 essays by a diverse group of women bloggers who share their stories, struggles and faith in revealing, sometimes humorous ways. This week,... Read more
– Last night, “American Idol’s” most overtly Christian contestant in a while, Colton Dixon, was eliminated from the competition after receiving the least number of votes. Though he was obviously disappointed, he demonstrated maturity, self-awareness and humility in his THR exit interview with Didi Benami (a former contestant herself). – This next video has no underlying religious or social value other than laughter being good for the soul – an element of our faith lives that gets short shrift sometimes.... Read more
A lot will be written over the next few days about Dick Clark’s legacy because of TV shows like “American Bandstand,” “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” and others. But from a simple, human perspective, I think one of Dick Clark’s most important legacies is more recent. After his stroke in December 2004, many people – myself included – assumed this would be the end of Clark’s on-camera career. When he said he was returning to “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” in 2005,... Read more
FORMER ELVIS CO-STAR – MOTHER DOLORES HART – TO RECEIVE LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM THE CHRISTOPHERS NEW YORK, April 18, 2012—The Christophers announced today that Mother Dolores Hart – a former actress who became a Benedictine nun, and was recently profiled in the Academy Award-nominated HBO documentary “God is the Bigger Elvis” – will receive the 2012 Christopher Life Achievement Award during its 63rd annual Christopher Awards ceremony on Thursday, May 24th. As part of the annual Christopher Awards which... Read more
Over at her Tumblr blog, singer/songwriter Audrey Assad weighs in on beauty, truth and creating great art. If you’re familiar with her songs, you know Audrey has a way with words. Her blog writing is no exception. This passage was my favorite: “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is regarded as one of the world’s greatest works of art. Even it, in all its beauty, falls short of God’s Beauty. You cannot help but admit, though, that in its brilliance it assists the... Read more
Christopher Closeup Podcast – Guests: 1) Hallie Lord, Part 1, and 2) Maura Byrne, Part 2 When Hallie Lord’s new book, “Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things That Really Matter,” began with the story of blogger Jennifer Fulwiler climbing out of her minivan’s window like one of the Dukes of Hazzard because the door was broken, I knew I’d be in for an interesting, engaging and funny read – despite the fact that I’m not exactly... Read more
When the lovable, but dysfunctional Hecks – the family at the heart of the ABC sitcom “The Middle” – decide their pastor’s homilies put them to sleep (literally), they attend a friend’s black gospel church to see what it’s like. They’re immediately blown away by the lively music and general enthusiasm. The preacher then relates a story about visiting a dying congregant and asking him if he fulfilled his purpose in life. “Did you get your business done?” the pastor... Read more
Christopher Closeup
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In