Posts in the category “Popular Culture.”


In 1967

A Cause of the Decline of the Church

Posted Tuesday, January 17, 2006 by Brian Beers
Categories: Popular Culture   Comments: None
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The decline of morality in the US over the past 30+ years is clichéd. It has been bemoaned from pulpits and used as a popular vehicle for Christian guilt-trips. I have felt the guilt. I have taken the trip, but I had never heard the cause of this moral decline identified as I did in Michael Medved’s recent book, Right Turns. Read more of In 1967


February, 2006

Serenity Soon

Coming soon to a blog near you....this one, actually.

Posted Thursday, February 16, 2006 by Sam Yeiter
Categories: Popular Culture   Comments: None
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While I am waiting for me to finish my series on the Fate of the Unborn (which I highly recommend), I thought I would take Brian's advice, and let you know about a post I have coming on the movie Serenity, so you can go watch it in advance.  I will be ruining endings, etc, if you haven't watched it.  Now, it's PG-13, but with a few variations on violence, it could have been R (in my opinion).  As it stands, most of the violence is done Jurassic Park style...you know the guy gets gutted and eaten alive by the velociraptors, but it's off-camera...you just hear his screams.  I think Serenity is a good movie, and fun to watch, but I wanted to give you a bit of warning if you're squeamish. Read more of Serenity Soon



We're Bad, and that's Good

Let's not get our hamartiology from Serenity.

Posted Saturday, February 18, 2006 by Sam Yeiter
Categories: Popular Culture   Comments: 5
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I recently watched Joss Whedon’s (soon to be cult classic) Serenity.  I suggest you run out right now and rent this movie.  I suggest this for two reasons: First, it’s a fun, provocative movie (though disturbing at times – this is not a good flick for kids).  Second, I’m going to ruin vast parts of it for you if you read any further than this summary.  Aside from just being a rather interesting movie, it takes on the topic of sin and handles it in an interesting way.  So, watch the movie and then come back to read and interact with this post…

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March, 2006

Honey, I Want an Ark

What would you do with an Ark if you had one?

Posted Friday, March 31, 2006 by Brian Beers
Categories: Popular CultureArchaeologyHumor   Comments: None
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Now that my office is (mostly) done, I think I need another project. Johan Huibers of the Netherlands is building his own 1/5 size replica of Noah’s Ark. He intends to stock it with farmyard animals and sail it on the interior waters of the Netherlands.

This isn't just a lark though. Huiber's is building this replica as a testimony of his faith. The line from the BBC article which I found most poignant was:

Mr Huibers, who plans to open the vessel as a religious monument and zoo, hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands.

 

I struggle to comprehend that European nations have so utterly forgotten the truth. But I do like Huiber’s approach. “This will speak very much to children” he says, â€œthey'll hear the creak of the wood, smell the smell of the dung.”

 

Honey…I want one. We could sail it around Puget Sound.

Thanks to Todd at Bible Places blog

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April, 2006

What Can Be Said About Scrat

Posted Saturday, April 29, 2006 by Gerald Vreeland
Categories: Popular Culture   Comments: None
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As you know, “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown” is in the theaters.  What you may not know is that yours truly is an unrepentant fan of the bug-eyed saber-toothed squirrel, Scrat.  And so, I would like to write something of a Theology of Scrat.  It may appear as merely slapstick comedy to you; but for those of us initiated into the deep esoteric Gnostic wisdom of Scrat, there is quite a bit of heady philosophy – well, alright, that’s somewhat overstated.  But be that as it may, I’d like to become a Scratologian and write Scratology (not to be confused with scatology – a messier word that doesn’t seem to be nearly so alarming to my spellchecker!).  In addition, I would like to write Scratographically (not to be confused with what I have elsewhere referred to as scatography – or the writing technique of those ideational scatologians).  And so this is the maiden voyage of the good ship Scratology.  Let’s start Scrat-Light. . . . 

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May, 2006

Da Vinci Code Sermon

Posted Tuesday, May 23, 2006 by Charlie Trimm
Categories: Popular Culture   Comments: 3
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This past Sunday (May 21) I preached on the Da Vinci Code, and I thought I would pass along my sermon if anyone is interested. I came across some entertaining quotes about the book that I include in my introduction, and which are fun to read. I also have attached a list of web pages that are relevant. We sold some books to those who wanted them, and we sold 11 copies of The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction and 19 copies of The Story of Christianity. I was amazed how many people bought them. That is ten percent of our church who bought a book on church history! My conclusion, which may or may not surprise you (just to play it safe!), is that the book is a gift to the church. Read more of Da Vinci Code Sermon


September, 2006

Thinking about movies

The Godfather and Ocean's 11

Posted Thursday, September 21, 2006 by Charlie Trimm
Categories: Popular Culture   Comments: 6
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I like movies. There are certain kinds of movies that I do not enjoy, such as horror movies, but I do enjoy watching many styles of movies. We recently signed up for Netlix, so we are now watching a greater variety of movies than we have in the past, and this, along with having a child, has caused to do more thinking about movies, and specifically, what makes a good movie and what makes a movie moral or immoral. The first question I am not going to discuss now, but the second question is more interesting to me and more relevant to the list anyway, so that will be our topic of converstaion.  Read more of Thinking about movies


January, 2007

The Stewards of Reality Are Crazy

Posted Monday, January 01, 2007 by Brian Beers
Categories: Popular Culture   Comments: None
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L.M. Montgomery is the creator of Anne of Green Gables, the bosom friend of millions of young women. Her two volume journal, somewhat more rare than her fiction, has been some of my wife’s reading material the past few months. Montgomery eventually married a minister, a decent man, after her own Gilbert was gone from her life. But the hollowness of their religion is revealed in their disregard for eternal truths. Montgomery’s 1919 theology held the belief that believing the guilty were condemned before God –and that this might apply to you—was a sign, the sign, of insanity.

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February, 2007

Just let the Colts win!

Sam discovers that he’s not always orthodox.

Posted Saturday, February 03, 2007 by Sam Yeiter
Categories: Popular CultureHumorCulture and Theology   Comments: 2
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At work, my office recently went to war with another office across campus.  It began when they stole Rish’s candy jar.  Stealthily, I went and retrieved it.  A few days later the rival camp came and absconded with the jar a second time.  This time they hid it much more effectively (I did discover it later, after this story ends, and we won…but that is incidental to my story).  When my efforts to find it were at first fruitless, I went on a quest for a bargaining chip.

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April, 2007

The Christian Environmentalist's Creed

First Thoughts

Posted Tuesday, April 03, 2007 by eric.mattison
Categories: Popular CultureCulture and Theology   Comments: 5
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The world at large is asking difficult questions regarding the environment and our relationship to it.  The challenge is finding ministers and teachers that are willing to even discuss it in Biblical terms.  To often our teaching on it is reduced to platitudes heard on talk radio and some occassional proof texting via "Scientific" studies.  Perhaps a significant source of frustration is the lack of real doctrine related to this issue.   The lofty goal before us is to rectify some the inequities here.  Read more of The Christian Environmentalist's Creed



Jesus Camp

Posted Friday, April 20, 2007 by Charlie Trimm
Categories: Popular CultureCulture and Theology   Comments: None
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I watched an interesting film last night entitled Jesus Camp (Thanks to my friend Ben for first telling me about it). The film is a documentary about a children’s camp that trains kids to be fundamentalist and charismatic cultural warriors. The film was not interesting not only because they are inhabiting a fairly different evangelical world than mine, but also because in some ways they are very similar to us and it felt strange to watch “us” from the outside.

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My First Time Voting

One theoblogian’s response to Idol Gives Back

Posted Wednesday, April 25, 2007 by Sam Yeiter
Categories: Popular Culture   Comments: None
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My wife and I have watched three seasons of American Idol…this one, and the ones where Fantasia and Carrie Underwood won (Carrie shouldn’t have won…Bo was waaaaay better).  Anyway, until this week, we had never voted.  I actually poked fun at people who cared enough to vote, caricaturing them all as 12 year old girls with nothing better to do.  But this week, all of that changed.  We put down the popcorn and voted.  Why?  Read on.

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