Culture Watch Blog

Wanderlust: A Sojourn to Elysium

Nicole Higgins — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:37:57 +0000

If there were a movie about your life, what would it look like? Which celebrity would play you?

Ah, the timeless ice breaker question.

Over the weekend, I made plans to see Friends with Kids with a few coworkers. I thought I was heading to see a comedic depiction of my current life stage as the young adult who is left in the dust of the friends-getting-married-and-having-kids frenzy.

If this confession prompts an eye roll from you on account of my young adult angst, let me add one bit of vindication: the movie was sold out.

Our next option was to see Wanderlust, and something interesting happened: in my search for one snapshot of my current context, I found a wholly different but still parallel other. Bring on the ice breaker questions — I have found the film about my year in intentional community.

Gaining Respect for End-Times Prophet Harold Camping

Christian Piatt — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:31:37 +0000

I’m a little bit worried that the solar flare storms either are affecting my personal judgment or the rest of the world. Given the logic of Occam’s Razor, I suppose I’m screwed.

First this week, I wrote a piece about how I agreed largely with the 700 Club’s Pat Robertson about decriminalizing marijuana. And as if that wasn’t enough to send me questioning the orientation of the universe, now I find myself with a growing modicum of respect for fear-monger pastor and end-times prophet, Harold Camping.

Famous for wrongly predicting the end of the world twice – and for bringing scads of followers and their life savings along with him – Camping has become both the butt of late night talk show monologues and the object lesson for the hubris of trying to ascertain the “mind of God.”

Those who choose to get in a knot about such things already have the Mayan calendar to blame for the current frenzy about end times, which is predicted to take place according to this ancient calendar later this year. In response to those who use such predictions to grab attention and scare believers, I wrote a piece recently that places the whole Armageddon thing in perspective for me.

Basically, my son’s school told him to sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite, but also not to be surprised if he awoke to a smoldering void instead of his home planet the next day, given that the French were about to ramp up their supercollider. So of course, he wanted to know if he still had to do his homework.

I love that kid.

Christians Can Find Humor in 'GCB'

Sandi Villarreal — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:36:04 +0000

It’s a television show that 1) follows “Desperate Housewives” and 2) only got “meh” ratings for its Sunday premiere, so I was slightly taken aback by the mini-firestorm over ABC’s new “GCB.”

The show, based on the book Good Christian Bitches by Kim Gatlin and starring Annie Potts and Kristin Chenoweth, is getting heat from conservatives and Christian groups for portraying Christians in a poor light for their cattiness, opulence, and overall … well, bitchiness. (Don't worry; I'm female. I get to say that.)

New York City Councilman Peter Vallone is going so far as calling for a boycott of the show, saying,” the title of the show alone is yet another outrageous attack on the Christian faith. Charlie Sheen will be back on ‘Two and a Half Men’ before we see a similar title targeting another religion.”

Buddhist Bhutan Fails on its Own Happiness Index

Vishal Arora — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:59:26 +0000

THIMPHU, Bhutan — In a country that prides itself on measuring quality of life in terms of "Gross National Happiness," this small Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas seems to have a problem: at least half its citizens aren't happy, according to its own measurements.

While more than 90 percent of the 7,142 respondents said they were "happy" in a recent government survey, only 49 percent of people fit the official definition of total happiness by meeting at least six of the survey's nine criteria.

Bhutan's fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, coined the phrase GNH in 1972 on the belief that people's happiness did not depend on the nation's economic wealth alone.

GNH indicators -- as opposed to more traditional measures like a nation's gross domestic product based on economic activity -- recognize nine components of happiness: psychological well-being, ecology, health, education, culture, living standards, time use, community vitality and good governance.

Afternoon Links of Awesomeness: March 5, 2012

Joshua Witchger — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:51:38 +0000

Steve Martin reads from The Great Gatsby, the longest chain of human dominoes sets world record, littering receives a big thumbs down, Andrew Bird lyrics are explained, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. offers hop-flavored lip balm, and "The Three Little Pigs" is retold as a breaking news story. See more inside today's links of awesomeness...

Contraception and Common Decency

Sandi Villarreal — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:53:46 +0000

I was raised half-Catholic and half-Southern Baptist in Texas, so Rush Limbaugh made an auditory appearance now and again in my car growing up. One of my early memories was discovering a new term: “feminazis.”

These dangerous women were unkempt, outspoken, and downright ungodly, if you believed Limbaugh. Then I reached about age 14. I was actually going to be a woman and maaaaybe this was kind of insulting. I realized that Limbaugh was often self-admittedly absurd—a shock-jock. I stopped taking him seriously.

So when he spit out his latest attack on women and outrage followed, I wondered whether I should even be surprised. What came out of his mouth was disgusting, but this is a man who doesn’t believe in the existence of sexual harassment.

Afternoon Links of Awesomeness

Joshua Witchger — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:30:36 +0000

Seventy-five years of Santa-school, celebrating National Sandwich Day, Muslims save Jewish bakery, remembering the inventor of the theremin, Cameron Crowe's new film, Lady Gaga's new anti-bullying project, and a new song from Mumford & Sons.

Boo! It's Jesus!: Halloween and Evangelization

Joshua Witchger — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:38:24 +0000

Is Halloween a prime time for evangelism?

Are religious tracks passed out along with (or in lieu of) "treats" really the best way to spread the gospel message?

Or do the roots and practices of Halloween run so deeply counter to Christian tradition that Halloween is best ignored by believers?

At times such as these, the church often finds itself wrestling with the big question H. Richard Niebuhr posed in his seminal 1951 work, Christ and Culture. That is, to what extent should Christians engage in and interact with the world around them?

Waxing Poetic: The Great Gatsby Revisited As Audiobook

Sarah Vanderveen — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:53:00 +0000

With her teenage son reading The Great Gatsby for school, poet Sarah Vanderveen revisits Fitzgerald's masterpiece, this time as an audio experience.

Halloween and Jesus: A Reconciliation in the Dark

Cathleen Falsani — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:04:04 +0000

One of my most vivid childhood memories of Halloween 1977, the year my family moved to a new town in Connecticut right after the school year had begun. I don't recall what my costume was, but I do remember going door-to-door with my father, meeting new neighbors and collecting a heavy bag of candy, as the suburban warren of Cape Cods and manicured lawns morphed into an other-worldly fairyland.

I was 7 years old and the new kid on the block, so when the cover of darkness fell at sunset, I hadn't a clue where I was. As my father deftly navigated our way home in the crisp autumn night, it felt like he had performed a magic trick. When the morning came, I couldn't believe that our adventure the night before had been on these same streets. To my young imagination (and heart) it felt as if we had been walking through Narnia or Rivendell rather than a sleepy New England suburb.

A few years after that, my family stopped celebrating Halloween. We had become born-again Christians and our Southern Baptist church frowned on the practice. Halloween, I was taught, was an occult holiday (or maybe even Satanic!) and good Christians should have nothing to do with it.

Afternoon Links of Awesomeness

Joshua Witchger — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 01:23:01 +0000

Occupy Writers; Wild Turkey Chases Camerawoman; Mars Hill Plays the Name Game; Knitting Sweaters For Penguins; Essays on Faith and Life; Music Interviews and News.

#OccupyWallStreet: Rediscovering Values

God's Politics Editor — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:29:51 +0000

Editor’s Note: In light of the recent protests at #OccupyWallStreet and around the world, we have revisited Jim Wallis’ 2010 book Rediscovering Values: on Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street and picked out some passages that are particularly pertinent to what we are seeing in our nation today.

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
– John 2:13-17

Interestingly, in his turning over of tables, Jesus specifically targeted the merchants who were selling doves. Doves were the least expensive sacrifice permitted to be offered in the temple, and, therefore, were often bought by the poorest of the pilgrims.

It was a marketplace that took advantage of the poor, who had little other choice. It was a “subprime” marketplace in which a few accumulated great wealth for themselves at the expense of those who could least afford to pay. The money changers had taken a place reserved for the values of God, and used it to put their profits first. No doubt these money changers would have argued that they were only responding to a demand of the market, but Jesus didn’t seem to see it that way. What was happening in the marketplace was a spiritual and moral problem, not just an economic one…

[When Jesus turns over the tables] we see a man enraged at injustice and passionately confronting those who exploit the poor. We also learn that there are some things that we all should get angry about, that there are situations where the only appropriate response is confrontation…

First, we were sold a lie. We were sold an illusion that promised the American Dream was as close as our next purchase. That we could pursue our selfish interests without thought to the consequences, because the “invisible hand” would work it all out in the end. We were told that we did not need to work for wealth, that it would come if only we put our money in the hands of the right stock broker, mutual fund, or stock…

Second, the rules of the game failed. It was supposed to be simple. Work hard, get ahead, buy a home, and tuck some money away for the future in a 401(k). If you followed those rules, everything would work in your favor. But good jobs have disappeared, wages have been garnished, and 401(k) savings have disappeared. The rules of the game seem to have worked for those who set the rules, but not for those who played by them.

Third, our good was supposed to trickle down. We were promised that as the rich got richer, the rest of the country would prosper as well. If we handed our finances and ultimately our lives over to those who knew the market the best, it would benefit us all. If we took the virtues of the market and made them the virtues of our lives, we, too, would experience boundless prosperity. Fulfillment would come if we could just trust the market enough to work for us…

The market has become our “golden calf,” our idol of ultimate allegiance… This is when God—and then Moses—got angry. Why? Just because they built a golden calf? No. The calf could have been just a work of art, a statue to enjoy. What made the calf an idol was that the people gave the newly created calf the credit for leading them out of Egypt. They gave to the golden calf credit and attributes that belong only to God…

Today, instead of statues, we have hedge funds, mortgage- backed securities, 401(k)s, and mutual funds. We place blind faith in the hope that the stock indexes will just keep rising and real estate prices keep climbing. Market mechanisms were supposed to distribute risk so well that those who were reckless would never see the consequences of their actions. Trust, security, and hope in the future were all as close to us as the nearest financial planner’s office. Life and the world around us could all be explained with just the right market lens. These idols were supposed to make us happy and secure and provide for all our needs. Those who manage them became the leaders to whom we looked, not just for financial leadership, but direction for our entire lives. That is idolatry.

Rich and poor alike were sucked into making heroes out of those who seemed to be able to turn everything they touched into gold. Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel lost virtually all of his personal wealth and his foundation’s, up to $37 million, to Bernie Madoffs Ponzi scheme. “We gave him everything, we thought he was God, we trusted everything in his hands.”‘

(All pictures are courtesy of Catholics United, who produced the ‘golden calf’. Extracts come from pages 19-29 of the hardcover edition of Rediscovering Values.)

Prayers, Songs and Sukkot: A weekend at #OccupyWallStreet in NYC

Cathleen Falsani — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:34:07 +0000

SOJOURNERS EXCLUSIVE: Salman Rushdie at #OccupyWallStreet

Cathleen Falsani — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:54:07 +0000

Sunday afternoon in Lower Manhattan, I ran into Salman Rushdie, who was walking nonchalantly through Zuccotti Park with his son. The renowned author's presence went largely unnoticed by the thousands of protesters, media and tourists crowding the park observing the Occupation demonstration.

On his way out of the park, Rushdie graciously took a few moments to talk with me about what he'd just witnessed. It was his first visit to the demonstrations and he was clearly moved by what he saw.

"Courageous": A Sermon Wrapped in a Movie

Jack Palmer — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:17:05 +0000

This was not so much a movie as a (very long) sermon. In fact, it's a sermon that actually culminates in a sermon, as Kendrick's character spells out what he has learned in a message delivered to his church congregation.

Despite its well-meaning intentions, Courageous fails to say anything new about fatherhood, family, faith or anything else, for that matter. The few funny or moving scenes are surrounded by clunky acting, overly-moralistic dialogue and a plot that is trying to be three movies in one -- and none of them terribly believable.

#OccupyWallStreet: Zuccotti Park Cleaning Cancelled Early Friday

God's Politics Editor — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:19:31 +0000

The clean up of Zucotti Park -- announced by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday -- by city workers has been scrapped as of early Friday a.m.

The announcement came shortly after 6 a.m. EST, less than an hour before city workers were scheduled to enter the park near Wall Street where thousands of demonstrators have been camped out for nearly a month.

Afternoon Links of Awesomeness

Joshua Witchger — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:36:12 +0000

Ben & Jerry's "rejected" flavors. A Gawker map of the "1 percent." Bjork releases album as an app. One Dress for One Year - an act of civil disobedience? Gasoline for charity? Chris Matthews takes on the Southern Baptist minister who calls Mormonism a "cult." And the catechism cataclysm.

Afternoon Links of Awesomeness

Joshua Witchger — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:30:40 +0000

For those about to rock-upy, Ben & Jerry salute you! Jesus-ween? Mobama sets her sights on jumping-jack record. And then they came for Grover... Scottish golfer wins his own weight in ham. (What? No haggis?) FoxNews unaired #OccupyWallStreet interview: Fair and (un)Balanced? Jobs memorialized in MacBook parts. Video game lets you try to balance your budget on a poverty income. Feist wows with new album "Metals." And some smarty-pants greetings for this Columbus Day.

#OccupyWallStreet: The Faith Factor

Cathleen Falsani — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:02:20 +0000

Slowly but surely, as media coverage of the #OccupyWallStreet demonstrations in New York and across the country continues to grow, attention is turning toward what the spiritual/religious/faith elements are to the larger political/social/cultural story.

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

God's Politics Editor — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:48:37 +0000

Steve Jobs, the visionary founder of Apple Inc., has died after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.

In response to news of Mr. Jobs' passing, A Twitter user named Matt Galligan wrote: "R.I.P. Steve Jobs. You touched an ugly world of technology and made it beautiful."

#OccupyWallStreet: A Digital Hootenanny

Cathleen Falsani — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 03:48:33 +0000

Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com

(+Video may contain coarse language+)
Indie music darling, Jeff Mangum, who rarely plays in public, surprised #OccupyWallStreet protesters in New York City earlier this week with an impromptu concert. A New Jersey singer-songwriter pens two songs for revolutions. And an order of Catholic nuns offer free mp3 downloads of a protest song inspired by the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

#OccupySesameStreet

Jack Palmer — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:04:56 +0000

#OccupyWallStreet (the New York-based protest against social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government) has moved to a new location, a street where the air is far sweeter than on Wall Street.

Won't you tell me how to get, how to get ... there?

That's right, folks, the occupation has taken over Sesame Street.

Meet Lily -- The Hunger Awareness Muppet

Joshua Witchger — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:21:02 +0000

This Sunday (Oct. 9) , Sesame Street will introduce a brand-new Muppet character — a magenta-faced, impoverished 7-year-old named Lily who represents one of the 17-million Americans who struggle daily with hunger and poverty — during a rare prime-time special called, "Growing Hope Against Hunger."

A Hymn for Blessing the Animals: "O God, Your Creatures Fill the Earth"

Carolyn Winfrey Gillette — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:07:15 +0000

This weekend and on St. Francis Day (Oct. 4) some churches are having services for the blessing of animals. The following new hymn can be used.

A Memoir in Six Words: What Would Yours Say?

Austin Carty — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:44:08 +0000

In teaching my students the concept of a thesis the other day -- trying to convey that a thesis not just a sentence but rather an overarching statement of what the whole paper will be about -- it occu

"Pay It Forward": Excerpt from BELIEBER!: Fame, Faith & the Heart of Justin Bieber

Cathleen Falsani — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:45:41 +0000

The idea behind my new book BELIEBER!: Fame, Faith and The Heart of Justin Bieber was to peel back the veneer of celebrity and take a closer look at Justin as a person and as a cultural phenomenon

Separation (of Church and State) Anxiety

Tripp Hudgins — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 15:31:54 +0000

Part of a university education is learning how to navigate the complicated and often competing value systems of different social groups.

Evening Links of Awesomeness: Banned Books Edition

Joshua Witchger — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:47:45 +0000

HUZZAH! IT'S BANNED BOOK WEEK!

CNN, Jesus and Justin Bieber

Tim King — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:00:35 +0000

I must admit, I was skeptical. Justin Bieber and Jesus -- at least not together -- weren't exactly on my radar.

Afternoon Links of Awesomeness: Food Edition

Joshua Witchger — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 02:41:50 +0000

Apples

Generation XYZ: This Is Not Your Grandfather's Morality

Danielle Tumminio — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:20:15 +0000

If older generations paint morality in black and white, young people's palettes are disappointingly grey.

Afternoon Links of Awesomeness: Get Your Click On!

Joshua Witchger — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:56:15 +0000

It's Oktoberfest. A frosty papal pilsner, perhaps? [caption id="attachment_34148" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Photo by Cathleen Falsani"][/caption]

Today's News Round-up

Joshua Witchger — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:40:44 +0000

Evangelical author nears the end of her "biblical year" [caption id="attachment_34082" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Rachel Held Evans"][/caption]

R.E.M. Taught Me How to Lose Religion and Live a Life of Faith

Adam Phillips — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:22:37 +0000

After 31 years, the band R.E.M. has called it a day. ...

Austin's Autumn (Nonfiction) List: Pete Rollins, Part 2

Austin Carty — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:05:34 +0000

I wrote yesterday of Peter Rollins' new book Insurrection.

The Mercy Seat

Cathleen Falsani — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 06:54:36 +0000

"It ALL began when they come took me from my home
And put me on Death Row,
a crime for which I am totally innocent, you know."

BREAKING NEWS: R.E.M. Breaks Up (Requiem For My Youth)

Cathleen Falsani — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 02:47:03 +0000

R.E.M. has ceased to be. The band announced its break up late Wednesday. And fortysomethings worldwide mourn the official end of our collective youth.

Evening List of Awesomeness: Get Your Click On!

Joshua Witchger — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 02:25:24 +0000

Nerd-dom covers vast swaths of territory, from Trekkies and Settlers of Catan enthusiasts to, apparently, at least a few followers of Christ.

Maurice Sendak: "Live your life, live your life, live your life."

Cathleen Falsani — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:46:34 +0000

"I'm finding out as I'm aging that I am in love with the world. And I look right now, as we speak together, out my window in my studio and I see my trees and my beautiful, beautiful maples that are hundreds of years old, they're beautiful. And you see I can see how beautiful they are. I can take time to see how beautiful they are."

Austin's Autumn (Nonfiction) List: Pete Rollins, 'Insurrection' and desire

Austin Carty — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:55:10 +0000

Last week, Rollins posted the introduction and first chapter of Insurrection on his website, and I devoured it. He really is one of the most challenging thinkers in the Christian world today.

Why Christians Should Be Biased

Tim King — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:20:19 +0000

Not every Christian who shares my concern for the poor has the same view on policy or politics. But, here is a prejudice I am not going to back away from.

To be a follower of Christ is to be biased for the poor.

In life, we all have our biases. Some of them are natural tendencies or inclinations and others are habituated. Our culture tells us to be biased -- in a deferential sense -- towards those who can pay us back or who can look out for us in return. Society tells us to get in with the strong and the powerful because they will give us strength and power in return.

Jesus teaches something very different.

Austin's Autumn Reading List: What's on Yours?

Austin Carty — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:28:23 +0000

For some reason, I associate autumn with good novels.

This makes very little sense, I realize, seeing as it's just as possible for one to stumble upon a good novel in any other season. In fact, if anything, most people are likely to associate summer with good reads.

But for me, it's all about the fall. Always has been, always will be.

Two Thumbs Up for Ebert and "Life Itself"

Cathleen Falsani — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:02:34 +0000

"I have no interest in megachurches with jocular millionaire pastors," Ebert writes. "I think what happens in them is sociopolitical, not spiritual. I believe the prosperity gospel tries to pass through the eye of the needle. I believe it is easier for a Republican to pass through the eye of a needle than for a camel to get into heaven. I have no patience for churches that evangelize aggressively.

"I have no interest in being instructed in what I must do to be saved. I prefer vertical prayers, directed up toward heaven, rather than horizontal prayers, directed sideways toward me," he continued. "If we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must regard their beliefs with the same respect our own deserve."

Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself...

Cathleen Falsani — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:10:51 +0000

They call me ..."God Girl."*

And I'll be your new tour guide here at God's Politics.

Some of you may know me by my more official byline, Cathleen Falsani. I've been a contributing editor and columnist for Sojourners Magazine for several years now, writing a column every other month called "Godstuff" and also have contributed from time to time to this'a'here blog.

We Are Family! (Get Up Everybody and Sing!)

Jennifer Grant — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:07:30 +0000

Could my mission really be confined to seeking the best for the children to whom I gave birth? Or, as a Christian, should I define "family" more broadly? I'd see images of women and children suffering around the world, and those puzzling verses returned to my mind. Maybe, instead of obsessing over the happiness of my babies, I should stick my head out of the window, so to speak, look around, and ask, "Who is my family?"

It didn't feel right to simply shrug my shoulders and blithely accept my good fortune as compared to that of people born into extreme poverty. I'd buy my kids their new school clothes and shoes and then think of mothers who did not have the resources to provide their children with even one meal a day. I'd wonder: what's the connection between us? Does the fact that $10 malaria nets in African countries save whole families have anything to do with my family buying a new flat-screen TV? Should it? Is there any connection between me, a suburban, middle class mom, and women around the world?

TGIF: Links 'n' Such

God's Politics Editor — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 00:14:07 +0000

[caption id="attachment_33432" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="A homeless man on San Francisco's Mission Street. Photo by Franco Folini, www.flickr.com/photos/livenature/"][/caption]

Life Inspired: Roger Ebert

Cathleen Falsani — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:45:00 +0000

[caption id="attachment_33194" align="alignright" width="232" caption="Roger Ebert (Photo courtesy of Mr. Ebert)"][/caption]

Red State Wins: Take a Bow, Silent Bob

Cathleen Falsani — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:15:44 +0000

Don't believe most of what you'll hear about Kevin Smith's new movie, Red State.

It is not an angry tirade against religion, nor is it an attack on Christianity guised as a horror flick laden with gratuitous violence.

Smith has described Red State as a horror film, and it is that, but not in the conventional Nightmare on Elm Street iteration. There is violence for sure, but nothing approaching the unrelenting bloodbath of, say, The Passion of the Christ.

A.M. Giggle: Cookie Waits does 'God's Away on Business'

Cathleen Falsani — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:42:45 +0000

Some clever folks have created a magnificent "mash-up" of Sesame Street's resident pastry enthusiast, Cookie Monster, and the iconoclastic performer Tom Waits' song "God's Away on Business" from his 2002 album, "Blood Money." (Waits' song also appeared in the 2005 film, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.)

Surprised by Joy on 9/11/11

Cathleen Falsani — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:30:00 +0000

"[Music] is no invention of ours: it is a gift of God. I place it next to theology. Satan hates music: he knows how it drives the evil spirit out of us." -- Martin Luther

Liberate Eden: A Digital Meditation on the Contemporary Life of Faith

Cathleen Falsani — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:00:00 +0000

"The man who can articulate the movements of his inner life," the late Christian apologist and author Henri Nouwen said, "need no longer be a victim of himself, but is able slowly and consistently to remove the obstacles that prevent the spirit from entering."

Throughout the ages, how Christian believers have chosen to articulate their inner lives has had many manifestations in literature, music, architecture, and other artistic endeavors.

As a means of communicating and wrestling with his inner life -- his journey of faith -- Greg Fromholz, an American expatriate youth worker for the Church of Ireland in Dublin, wrote a book titled Liberate Eden, but traditional publishing houses found that his work was a bit too iconoclastic for their tastes.

"It is just too different to be Christian," one publisher pronounced.

Compassion, Destruction, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Gareth Higgins — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 22:00:50 +0000

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a surprising addition to the typical summer blockbuster canon -- for one thing, it manages to entertain and challenge, without resorting to gratuitous violence to make its point. But there's a deeper subtext that is even more unexpected -- for this is a story in which we start to lose.

It was fashionable in the late 1960s and early '70s for science fiction films to attempt to out-dystopia each other -- see for example the notion in Soylent Green that post-industrial humanity snacks on itself to survive, the suggestion that only robots can be trusted to look after creation in Silent Running, and the climactic revelation in the original Planet of the Apes that a few generations from now, the nuclear arms race will end in mutually assured destruction. All these point to a simple philosophical idea: that humans cannot be trusted to care for ourselves or the planet we steward.

Why Christianity and Comics Go Together

Gene Luen Yang — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:00:10 +0000

I remember vividly the first time I went to a comic book shop with my mom. I'd sneaked there before. But this time was different. This time I'd come without pretense, openly confessing my love of the four-color art form. I was in the fifth grade.

While I perused the back issue bins in the middle of the shop, my mother looked from one rack to the next, her face slowly solidifying into a grimace. On one cover, a half-naked green man punched a half-naked rock man in the head. On another, a woman wearing spandex tight enough to be body paint draped herself over some sort of futuristic motorcycle. Eventually, my mother's eyes fell upon the cover of a sword-and-sorcery title near the cash register. Behind a tan, sinewy barbarian stood a harem of women, all wearing thin strips of well-placed linen. We left before I could make a purchase.

A Hymn for Somalia

Carolyn Winfrey Gillette — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:00:09 +0000

[Editors' note: Below is a hymn written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette to inspire churches to further support and pray for famine relief in Somalia.]

O God, You Love the Needy
7.6.7.6 D LLANGLOFFAN ("Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers")

O God, you love the needy and care for all the poor!
Today our hearts are heavy with news of drought and war.
When plantings yield no harvest, when hungry people die,
When families flee, defenseless -- Lord, hear your people's cry!

read more

Coming Home From Killing

Michael Nagler — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:00:34 +0000

The recent British film In Our Name is a returning-soldier drama featuring a married woman, Suzy, who leaves her husband and little girl to fight in Iraq. Because she's involved in the killing of a little girl during her tour-this part is based on a true story, but it happened to a man -- she returns home only to steadily fall apart under the stress of soul-destroying anxieties.

Video: Practicing the Way of Jesus

Christine Sine — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:30:56 +0000

No Time to Think

Duane Shank — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:30:40 +0000

The avalanche of information available via the Internet is both a blessing and a curse. Used judiciously, it is an invaluable tool for research -- making what used to take hours in a library now just a few clicks away. Any piece of information, no matter how obscure, is at our fingertips.

The proliferation of blogs and listservs mean an amount of information that is simply impossible to keep up with. We have news summaries several times a day and instant breaking news headlines as they happen. And then there is the rise of a new social media. Facebook has enabled us to connect with friends and family, so we know immediately the latest cute thing their toddler did, what they're cooking for dinner, and the most recent book they read. On Twitter, we share thoughts and activities in 140-word tweets.

All of this means we know more than ever, but never have time to think about it. Neal Gabler, a senior fellow at the Annenberg Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California, lamented in a piece in The New York Times Sunday Review:

Speculative Fiction, the Church, and Hope

Julie Clawson — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:00:59 +0000

So NPR just released the results of their survey for the "Top 100 Science-fiction and Fantasy Books." It's a great list with some of my all-time favorite books on it (although I disagree with their decision not to include young adult books on the list, but that's just me). Some 5,000 books were nominated for the list, but the ones that made the top 100 were mostly ones that were more than just entertaining stories; they are the stories that mean something. Stories that through their imaginings of alternative worlds tap into the power of the prophetic to deliver the message that our world too is not absolute, but imagined and therefore capable of change.

Now, while I have complained in the past about why imaginative challenges to oppressive orders in our world only seem to happen in speculative fictions, the genre still remains my favorite -- often for that very reason. As this recent comparison of women of sci-fi vs. women of prime time shows, there are just so many more substantial ways of being in the world than the status quo generally allows for. Speculative fictions not only present the possibility that the dreams we struggle for now could someday actually be realities, they are also the prophetic voice calling us into that world.

6 Films for a Meaningful Summer

Gareth Higgins — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:00:01 +0000

It's been a fabulous few weeks for movies -- at theaters and at home. There are images in the great Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris, recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, that are so beautiful they can evoke an aching longing for transcendent experience. This is entirely the point, for the film is about the search for meaning in a God-breathed universe. A man goes to space to investigate a mystery, discovers himself in the face of his loved ones, and ends in an embrace with the divine -- love itself. It's an astonishing work of art that repays multiple viewings, and serves as nothing less than an icon for worship. This summer's The Tree of Life, the fifth film in 40 years from the Christian humanist artist Terrence Malick, becomes something similar, and in the process makes excellent cinematic use of Brad Pitt and Sean Penn as avatars of contemporary masculinity. It's the most moving film I've seen this year.

Hymns for September 11

Carolyn Winfrey Gillette — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Many people remember "O God, Our Words Cannot Express," a hymn written on the afternoon of September 11, 2001. The hymn was quickly shared by email and Web postings (it is still on over 10,000 websites); it was used by many churches on that evening and in the days that followed. The hymn was featured in newspaper stories, radio programs, twice on national PBS-TV, and on BBC-TV in the United Kingdom. YouTube has the Church World Service music video by Emmy winner Pete Staman of this hymn being sung by Noel Paul Stookey (of "Peter, Paul & Mary") with the Northfield Mount Herman School Choir.

The new posting of this interfaith hymn includes a revised version for the 10th anniversary. Also included is "God, We've Known Such Grief and Anger", a hymn lifting up Christian hope in the face of disaster that was written for the first year anniversary of 9/11. Last week I wrote a new hymn for the tenth anniversary of September 11 with an emphasis on working for peace and justice for all.

Hidden Battles: A Story of Five Former Soldiers

Hannah Lythe — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 22:00:26 +0000

Hidden Battles is a 65-minute documentary which follows a female Sandinista rebel, an Israeli officer, a Palestinian freedom fighter, and two American soldiers as they come to terms with their combat experiences. The film offers unique insight and hope into the internal conflicts that human beings around the world continue to face long after they have left the battlefield.

The documentary listens to the stories of these former soldiers as they reconcile what it means to have killed another human. A Vietnam veteran recalls that when he first killed, he was gripped by the feeling that he "did something -- literally against God." Watch this film and see how these veterans have fought to overcome. Each soldier deals with killing in his or her own unique way. Hidden Battles shows five ways in which this act is integrated into five different lives. Ultimately these stories testify to the resilience of the human spirit and hopefulness for the future.

Neocolonialism and Cowboys & Aliens

Julie Clawson — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:30:33 +0000

Americans have a hard time knowing how to respond to the sins of our colonial past. Except for a few extremists, most people know on a gut level that the extermination of the Native Americans was a bad thing. Not that most would ever verbalize it, or offer reparations, or ask for forgiveness, or admit to current neocolonial actions, or give up stereotyped assumptions -- they just know it was wrong and don't know how to respond. The Western American way doesn't allow the past to be mourned or apologies to be made. Instead we make alien invasion movies.

Is a Boycott of Murdoch and News Corp. Possible?

Eric Stoner — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:30:12 +0000

With the scandal around Rupert Murdoch growing by the day, a full-fledged boycott of News Corp. has been launched on the internet, according to the Washington Post.

The website Boycott Murdoch also has Facebook and Twitter pages. While the boycott has received coverage on many mainstream news outlets, it has yet to gain much traction. The Facebook page has less than 700 fans and the Twitter page is approaching only 1,000 followers. To make even a small dent in Murdoch's bottom line, the boycott will need to metastasize, and quickly.

On My Bookshelf: The 10 Books I Always Reach For

Duane Shank — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:30:14 +0000

My office has two overflowing bookshelves, with more books stacked on top and on the windowsill. But above my desk within easy reach is a small shelf. On it I keep those books I most regularly use in thinking and writing. Here are the top 10.

1. The Bible: What can I say about the foundational source of God's guidance in everything? I read or refer to it nearly every day. It was given to us "for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).

2. The Book of Common Prayer: I am not Anglican/Episcopalian, but there is something in the formal prayers of the traditional liturgy that resonate with my soul. On those days I really don't feel like praying or can't find the words, it's comforting to have a place to turn for inspiration.

The Harry Potter Prayer

Betsy Shirley — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 22:00:25 +0000

photo © 2007 Laura Askelin | more info (via: Wylio)Though I like a rousing round of ave maria's as much as the next person, the past few centuries of church prayer trends have eschewed Latin in favor of the vernacular -- that is, the language of the people. And to the tune of 450 million copies in more than 70 translations (and counting), it's clear that people the world around speak the language of Harry Potter. Or rather, the story of Harry Potter speaks to them.

So as I watched the final Hogwarts Express depart from Platform 9¾ in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II this past weekend (slightly teary-eyed, I confess), I started to wonder: What might it sound like to pray in the language of Harry Potter -- language that clearly resonates with folks around the world? Would it be cheesy? Probably. Profane? Perhaps. But I figured the God who relied on earthly parables about wineskins and fig trees to explain the Kingdom would understand.

Are Books a Thing of the Past?

Jim Rice — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:30:35 +0000

photo © 2010 Zhao ! | more info (via: Wylio)Sales of printed books are down 9 percent this year, supplanted in part by digital versions on Kindles, Nooks, and even iPhone apps. But the real threat to long-form, hard-copy reading -- that is, paper books -- is inside our heads, according to Johann Hari, a columnist for the Independent in London.

"The mental space [books] occupied is being eroded by the thousand Weapons of Mass Distraction that surround us all," Hari told me last week. "It's hard to admit, but we all sense it: it is becoming almost physically harder to read books."

[Okay, I admit I didn't actually talk with Hari. The quote is from his newspaper column. But pop over to Twitter, and you can see how, in effect, he gave me permission to paraquote him at #interviewbyhari.]

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, long-form reading. Hari quotes David Ulin, author of The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time, who wrote that he "became aware, in an apartment full of books, that I could no longer find within myself the quiet necessary to read." Ulin wrote that he would sit down with a book, and find his mind wandering, enticing him to check his email, or Twitter, or Facebook. "What I'm struggling with," he writes, "is the encroachment of the buzz, the sense that there's something out there that merits my attention."

Shane Claiborne on Rupert Murdoch, Zondervan, and Empire

Will Braun — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:00:01 +0000

photo © 2009 World Economic Forum | more info (via: Wylio)Most people know now that Rupert Murdoch presides over the News Corp media empire, and that he is fighting for his reputation after being forced to sink his scandal-laiden British newspaper News of the World, the most widely read English tabloid in the world. But few people know that Murdoch also owns Zondervan, the world's largest publisher of Bibles. For 23 years, the News Corp family has included the leading seller of the best-selling book in history.

Harry Potter, the Deathly Hallows, and Mobilizing Kids for Social Justice

Julie Clawson — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:30:04 +0000

Seeking justice for the oppressed. Working to end the connection of child slavery to chocolate. Helping heal a devastated Haiti. Mobilizing young people to respond to a story of redemption by imaginatively working to build a better world. I think many of us Christians would hope that those words were describing the work of the body of Christ, intent on following the path of Jesus Christ in this world. In this case, they are actually descriptions of the Harry Potter Alliance. That's right -- the Harry Potter Alliance.

Is Glenn Beck's Departure the Beginning of the End for Fox News?

Jake Olzen — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:00:37 +0000

If you haven't noticed, Glenn Beck -- the vitriolic voice of "reason" and "values" for Fox News -- is gone. Thursday, June 30 marked the end of Beck's controversial career with FOX, but his pandering continues on The Glenn Beck Program, which is broadcast nationwide. While talk-radio remains a favorite medium for right-wing ideology -- and quite successfully at that, considering the top three talk syndicates are Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck, respectively -- what is more significant is what the ousting of Beck may mean for Fox News.

8 Inspiring Movies About Social Change

Gareth Higgins — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:00:18 +0000

Ah the joy of watching movies in the summer! Of course, there are a number of summer blockbusters coming out that will woo crowds to the theaters, but with the sky-high prices of theater tickets these days, nobody will fault you for wanting to stay home and kick back with a rental. If you're looking for a film that will entertain and inspire you, consider adding some of these excellent films about social change to your online queue. If you have any other films to add to this list, please contribute your favorites in the comments section below. (To read more of my film reviews, check out my monthly column in Sojourners magazine.)

Worship, Liturgy, and an Introduction to Poet Scott Kinder-Pyle

Claire Lorentzen — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:30:19 +0000

Malick's Metaphysics: Creation, Being, and The Tree of Life

Debra Dean Murphy — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:00:10 +0000

When evangelical politicians pronounce on topics like the origins of the universe, the results are almost always awful -- embarrassing, infuriating, unwatchable. When a reclusive, visionary filmmaker like Terrence Malick treats the same subject matter, as he does in his new movie The Tree of Life, one is transported. Which is a useful reminder that the mysteries of creation are best grappled with through art. The book of Genesis, after all, begins not with scientific description or theological argument, but with a poem.

The Infuriating, Scary, and Ironic Inside Job

LaVonne Neff — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:15:57 +0000

Black Men and 'Jumping the Broom'

Leroy Barber — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:30:17 +0000

Ashley Judd: 'My Christian Faith Demands I Work for Social Justice'

Jason Howard — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:00:42 +0000