I’ve recently watched the movie 300, about the battle between the Spartans and the Persians at the pass of Thermopylae many centuries ago. The movie does not seek to be a faithful retelling but is rather a stylized war movie based on historical events. Thus, while you can’t call it fantastic history, you could call it “historical fantasy.” Critics have had a range of reactions to this ultra-violent film about men standing up for their country and their families. They’ve... Read more

Continuing the theme of cultural media week, I want to briefly examine the show Lost, which my wife and I sometimes watch. We’re way behind, but it’s fun to occasionally watch an episode, a luxury afforded us by the DVD sets the show has produced. Lost is an engaging show with an interesting premise, good character development, and generally clean entertainment. There are occasionally snags, but for the most part, for a major show airing at a primetime hour, Lost... Read more

My lovely wife has informed me that I need a lighter week of material to balance some of the heavier stuff I’ve been writing about recently. I’m taking up her wise suggestion and will be looking at a few different things I’ve encountered in the culture recently. Today I’ll look at some good music that’s out there. First, I want to encourage you who like modern hymns to go to the Getty Music website. Here you’ll find the beautiful and... Read more

The blog title is the title of one of the most stirring books I’ve read in a good long while. Written by a dynamic man named Geoffrey Canada, Fist Stick Knife Gun is a heartbreaking story of one child’s journey through an inner-city environment so dangerous it seems possible only to the cinematic imagination. Sadly, however, Canada’s evocative portrayal of life in New York’s city is far from fantasy. It is real. I cannot encourage you enough to buy or... Read more

Any extended discussion of Christians and consumerism must include material on tithing. Though I’m not going to quote Scripture here, as this isn’t a lesson, if you are familiar with the Bible, you know that the Bible encourages us to give to our local churches. The New Testament tithe is not the same thing as the OT tithe (see D. A. Carson for more on that), but the principle of giving richly and generously to one’s church is clearly extended... Read more

If you’ve been around folks with money, then I’m guessing you’ve at some point observed the phenomenon I’ve termed “creeping possessivism.” What do I mean by this? Simply this: the more goods and money one gets in this world, the more one tends to hold onto them, and the less generous one tends to become. This is not always the case, of course. I’ll give you a notable example below. But I can say with confidence that it is often... Read more

One of the major ends contemporary consumers seek is celebrity. A consumer culture seems to revolve around celebrity stars who tell us what we need and should want. Our attachment to these figures is not simply affectional. Rather, such people become a sort of materialistic guru to us. They preside over a goods-based spirituality in which they are the deities, we are the worshippers, and the means by which we ourselves might become transcendent is in purchasing. David Beckham is... Read more

I am right now reading an excellent book by a woman named Julie Schor. It’s called Born to Buy and it is a seering exposure of the evils of consumerism that now run rampant in American society. Parents would benefit greatly from it, as would anyone who sometimes feels a bit guilty or wasteful in regards to spending too much money on unnecessary goods. I certainly fall in that category, and I’m certainly benefiting from this book. That’s not to... Read more

If there’s one key idea I try to comunicate regularly on this blog, it is this: we Christians should understand how we are being shaped by the culture, and should conform ourselves to Christ instead of the world’s design. That’s it. So if you read this blog, you’ll get a steady diet of that. I hope it contributes in some small way to your conformity to the Savior. Today, I’m hoping you’re not conforming yourself to celebrity culture. This is... Read more

It’s not easy for any of us to accept the aging process. Aging gracefully is not easy. It is an art. It must be entered into with care and thought, prayer and readiness. I’m a young guy, relatively speaking, but I can still see clear signs of aging in myself. Though I know the theological response to the body’s aging, I still sometimes struggle to believe that aging is not a terrible ordeal. One can easily grow anguished at the... Read more