At a dive bar in New Orleans this past January, Ryan and I got together to discuss possibilities for PopTheology.com for the coming year. As the drinks flowed freely and we watched my beloved Bengals blow another playoff game, our bar napkins filled up with penned ideas. Maybe it was my mounting gloom at the outcome of the game, or the effect of cheap booze on a cold winter’s day, but the best idea we could come up with was... Read more
Last night was a great night of television with two of the best series serving up two of their strongest “episodes.” ESPN’s sports documentary series, 30 For 30, turned its attention to North Carolina State’s 1983 Cinderella-story performance in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament under coach Jim Valvano in the film, Survive and Advance. AMC’s The Walking Dead is winding down its third phenomenal season, and last night’s episode was one of its most suspenseful and disturbing yet. Two completely... Read more
Three recent examples of conservative Christians in the news: of course, these are “newsmaker” Christians—people who have their own publicists and media machines. They may or may not be reflective of Christians or evangelicals as a whole, but they are reflective of what passes for religious commentary on culture in the public square. Christians Gone Wild I: The “Bible” Mark Burnett, producer of quality television like Survivor and Sarah Palin’s Alaska has produced The Bible, which he describes as a... Read more
If you follow Pop Theology, you’ll notice I’ve been focusing on documentaries as of late. The five Oscar nominees are rich viewing experiences that incite a variety of emotional responses and will no doubt contribute, in very important ways, to ongoing dialogue around issues as diverse as the procurement of AIDS treatment drugs and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. A small scale documentary that didn’t get the wider publicity it deserved, The Waiting Room, which is a welcome voice in discussions around... Read more
With frequent accounts of random gun violence, the vehemence with which many Americans cling to their weapons, and the on-going debate over the influence of violent media on consumers, anyone who suggests that perhaps we are an increasingly peaceful (or less violent) species might be laughed out of…or violently removed from…the room. Yet this is exactly what scientist Steven Pinker asserts, backed by extensive research, in his remarkable book, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. (more…) Read more
Very rarely does one come away from a movie musical with a new understanding of a theological doctrine. But, surprisingly enough, for all it’s melodrama and schmaltz, that’s where I ended up after seeing Les Miserables. I’ve made it clear on these pages that I have a problem with one important element of orthodox Christianity, at least as interpreted by my Protestant tradition through the lens of the Apostle Paul and the theological matrix of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin.... Read more
Like so many horror films, my problems with romantic comedies often stem from the stupidity of the main characters. So much of the gruesome deaths…or the heart-breaking separations…results from dumb choices taken further to dumber actions. I found Celeste & Jesse Forever to be weighed down by such stupidity. (more…) Read more
I knew what I was getting into when I selected The Queen of Versailles on Netflix instant. I guess I felt like watching a train wreck. I didn’t imagine it would be so riveting. (more…) Read more
After the Super Bowl, Richard called me to vent some more about Ray Lewis. In the course of our conversation, he posed a difficult theological question about the fervently devoted Raven. Last night, I watched Denzel Washington‘s latest Oscar-nominated film, Flight, which put Richard’s question and Ray Lewis’ faith into (for me) fresh perspective. (more…) Read more
One of this year’s Oscar-nominated documentaries, How To Survive a Plague, should be annual required viewing during LGBTQ History Month (that’s October here in the States if you’re wondering). It’s an expertly crafted film that not only looks back at a tumultuous time in that community’s history, but how it, against seemingly insurmountable odds, changed the world. (more…) Read more
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