I can still remember the excitement and joy I experienced as a kid as my family and I snuggled up on the couch in front of the TV during the Christmas season. There would be smells of Christmas cookies in the air; the white lights from our tree reflected in the glass of our screen. We had family movie nights all year long, but there was something different, something special, about watching movies like Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, The... Read more
Evangelical Christians have long held video games at arm’s length, largely dismissing them as violent, sexualized, and even demonic time wasters that have no place in a believer’s life. But what if the church has too quickly judged this art form that just might have the power to bring us closer to God? I can still remember my unadulterated pre-teen joy the day I discovered a used Sega Genesis in a basket underneath a pile of mismatched remote controllers at... Read more
Religious movies have a long and rich tradition in the span of film history, with brilliantly made films like The Ten Commandments (1956), Lilies of the Field (1963), A Man for All Seasons (1966), and many more (see the list of The 20 Best Films About Faith here). These films, in telling compelling and artistically elevated stories, reflected the beauty and drama of faith in ways that invited audiences to see religion as something worthwhile and meaningful. But in recent... Read more
Everyone, it seems, is trying to both understand and connect with today’s culture. Corporations do it in hopes of selling products, politicians do it in hopes of getting votes, and Christians do it in hopes of winning souls. But even though it’s something of high interest to many people and groups, the track record for success from most seem to be markedly inconsistent. I had the opportunity to sit down with academic, Editor in Chief of the online magazine The... Read more
Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote “music is the universal language of mankind.” He rightly saw the intrinsic power that music holds across all tribes and time. Throughout history, every known culture has created their own music, used for celebration, grief, and most often in the context of religious custom. Be it the choral voices echoing in cathedral halls or rhythmic drums around a fire, music seems to be both intrinsically human and tied to our religious instincts. Today, almost... Read more
Art and faith have been two of the most powerful forces throughout history. Both have the power to inspire, instruct, teach, transform, and ultimately bring us closer to the transcendent. They offer us cohesive narratives and give definition to the reality we inhabit. This being the case, one might think they would blend seamlessly within culture. There have been times throughout history when the church and the arts have worked in tandem to produce some of the most beautiful works... Read more
Art and faith are two of the most powerful and influential forces in human history. Below is a list of books written by authors, film critics, artists, and theologians exploring the intersection of creativity and what it has to do with the transcendent. Art + Faith By Makoto Fujimura An award-winning painter and artist shares his thoughts on what faith has to do with art. Rembrandt In The Wind By Russ Ramsey A book by a pastor and art lover... Read more
Within Christian culture, R-rated movies have long had a strong and effective negative stigma attached to them. Both Christian leaders and laymen alike have long warned of the dangers of engaging with the explicit violence, sexuality, and coarse language found in the R-rated movies coming out of Hollywood and playing at the local theater or (now) streaming on your preferred service. And their fears are not unfounded. There is very real and demonstrable evidence that shows that viewing explicit and... Read more
What happens after we die is one of the most intrinsic human questions that lives within the mind of every mortal who’s walked this earth. Endless theories about the afterlife and its existence have been posited throughout the ages in an attempt to quell our existential angst. But even with the defined dogmas and traditions within religious cultures and the definite denial in the atheist/materialist camps, we ultimately have almost no idea what happens when we die. It’s not something... Read more
Video games are now the highest-grossing form of entertainment in the world, bringing in more money than the film, literary, and music industries… combined. And while some have pushed back and balked at the success of this medium, ultimately it makes sense as to why it’s captured the attention, even devotion, of billions around the world. Video games have all the elements of great art, combining storytelling, acting, music, and visual art in a work that doesn’t just let the... Read more
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