Recent Posts
Not Fit for Dinner: Placing #ObamaInHistory“We can disagree about the connections made on the President biography pages, but we we would be mistaken to think that Obama is ahistorical and is leading America in a past-less present.”
The Televangelists: In Praise of Sherlock & its Co-Creator Steven Moffat“Here, then, is a brief tour through Moffat’s oeuvre of awesomeness.”
Sacred Space: What’s Wrong with Videogames in Church?“My objection to video games in church boils down to what makes a church.”
Grace Notes: My Bloody Valentine“Few bands can claim to have altered the musical landscape, much less charted out an entirely new landscape.”
Mixed Signals: How to Make a Proper Apology“Learning to make a proper apology is one of those indispensable life skills that we all need but few of us were trained to deliver appropriately.”
We Recommend:
Reviews of comics, graphic novels, and manga by Seth T. Hahne, CaPC’s new illustrator.
Asides Features Archive
-
Playing Human in a Video Game
Posted on October 20, 2010 | No CommentsCheck out my latest column for GameSetWatch: Gaming and Confronting Our Humanity It’s possible to write about games dispassionately, taking apart the storyline, the different technical aspects, and the gameplay features. It’s possible to give a game a numerical score in various categories, from sound... -
Must our Art be Uplifting?
Posted on October 19, 2010 | 5 CommentsFlannery O’Conner responds to an accusation from a reader that her stories were not meeting the needs of the “tired reader” who comes home and wants to be uplifted: And his need, of course, is to be lifted up. There is something in us, as... -
In Praise of the New Republic
Posted on October 18, 2010 | No CommentsI wanted to bring attention to the article “The Moral Case for Soaking the Rich” on the New Republic’s website. This article was written by Jonathan Cohn, one of NR writers. In it, Cohn makes gives two “moral” reasons for raising taxes on those with... -
Makoto Fujimura: “A Letter to North American Churches”
Posted on October 18, 2010 | 11 CommentsAcclaimed artist Makoto Fujimura has written “A Letter to North American Churches” regarding the often contentious relationship between artists and the church. You began to believe in the late 18th century that we needed rational categories, to try to protect “faith” from “reason.” Reason began... -
Tea Party Racists…or Elite Condescention?
Posted on October 14, 2010 | No CommentsA study of signs held at a recent Tea Party rally show that 5% mentioned President Obama’s religion or race. Instead, the vast portion of the signs argued for limited government, lower taxes, or attacked President Obama in his official capacity as Chief Executive. This... -
Don’t Not Pray for Christopher Hitchens
Posted on October 14, 2010 | 4 CommentsSeptember 20th was “Everybody Pray for Hitchens Day”. The writer and well-known atheist has cancer of the esophagus, and several of his friends in the clergy enlisted their congregations to pray for him. Hitch was understandably indifferent to the idea — “unless it makes you... -
6 Relatively New Albums Worth Listening To
Posted on October 13, 2010 | 2 CommentsIt seems like a lot of good music has been released lately and I have wanted to say something about this for quite some time but everytime I sit down to do it, it feels overwhelming because I have so much to say about the... -
I Need The Darkness
Posted on October 13, 2010 | 2 CommentsA song from Arcade Fire's latest puts things into perspective. -
John Mark Reynolds on the “Yoga Wars”
Posted on October 12, 2010 | 1 CommentOver at The Scriptorium, John Mark Reynolds of Biola University writes a response to the “Yoga Wars” (our own Rich also responded last week): Recently, Mohler wrote a courageous post condemning the importation of Yoga into the church. If a blog post was to be... -
The Yoga Wars
Posted on October 7, 2010 | 15 CommentsOn Facebook, someone asked me: “What do YOU think of the Yoga Wars?” Here’s my response: Well, I don’t think Mohler’s wrong. To some degree, it seems to me like an issue of semantics. It’s possible, obviously, to do the various Yoga moves as physical... -
Poser Christianity
Posted on October 7, 2010 | No CommentsDr. James K.A. Smith offers a critique of Brett McCracken’s Hipster Christianity, insisting that McCracken is really addressing posers more than hipsters. It’s an interesting article and I think it raises some good critiques. The critique itself is, I think, a bit more harsh than it... -
Pop music with a “spirit-penetrating totality”?
Posted on October 6, 2010 | No CommentsI’m still making up my mind concerning Sufjan Stevens’ The Age of Adz (for the record, his All Delighted People EP is excellent) and I’ve yet to listen to anything by Janelle Monae, but I like the way that Joel Hartse thinks (emphasis mine): I am really... -
Survivor and Games as a Mirror to Ourselves
Posted on September 30, 2010 | 1 CommentOn the latest episode of survivor, something kind of shocking happened. Naonka made quite a big move in order to acquire for herself a clue that would help further her in the game. In the words of Jeff Probst (from his highly recommended weekly blog... -
Apparently Evangelicals Don’t Know Nothin’ about Religion
Posted on September 29, 2010 | 1 CommentYou have probably heard the news, you may have even taken the test, but apparently atheists and agnostics know more about the major world religions that evangelicals do. You may be surprised by this–I wasn’t. I am not sure how accurate these pew forums are,... -
Boys, Reading, and Video Games
Posted on September 27, 2010 | 4 CommentsThomas Spence’s Wall Street Journal piece “How to Raise Boys Who Read: Not with Gross-out Books and Video-Game Bribes” has a number of interesting points. First of all, there’s the rebuttal of the common publishing myth that the way to get boys interested in reading... -
If Outsourced was outsourced it would be significantly better.
Posted on September 24, 2010 | 1 CommentDid Outsourced ever stand a chance of being funny? Maybe. It could have defied expectations and depicted Indian culture as something beautiful and used it as a mirror to our own culture, demonstrating our own faults. Instead we see conversations like this: Todd: See, in... -
I Love My Church!
Posted on September 22, 2010 | No CommentsI am a big fan of my church. Its not perfect mind you, no local expression of Christ’s bride will be this side of eternity, but I love it. God uses it regularly to encourage, convict, and stir me. I just wanted to say that... -
Wait, What was The Event Again?
Posted on September 21, 2010 | No CommentsAfter watching The Event, I think I’m hooked, at least for a few more episodes. The story seemed simple but intriguing, and while the big supernatural reveal at the end was a bit hokey for my taste, it accomplished its’ objective of making me wonder... -
Is a New Moral Code in Order?
Posted on September 20, 2010 | 1 CommentOn CNN.com Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate suggest, “Our moral code is out of date.” “Ask someone on the street to name a moral hero; if he isn’t at a loss, he’ll likely name someone like Jesus Christ or Mother Teresa. Why? Because they’re regarded... -
When Google Doesn’t Meet Your Religious Standards
Posted on September 16, 2010 | 7 CommentsSurfers who are concerned about being potentially morally and spiritually contaminated by Google’s search results now have some “holier” alternatives. NPR recently wrote about several alternative search engines that cater to specific religious groups: In a world where Google has put every bit of information...