Maybe you weren’t aware of it, but white evangelical maleness ended last week, with the dismissal of Tim Tebow from the New York Jets and the coming out of Jason Collins. Daniel D’Addario of Salon suggests Tebow may be the last mainstream evangelical celebrity. D’Addario points to the overall waning of evangelical influence on the [...]
I had the opportunity to give a talk at the PSR Sacred Snapshots event in Berkeley on April 20th about John Lennon as a rock-n-roll messiah. This is a variation on a lecture I’ve given as part of my “Pop Goes Religion” course. The conversation with those who attended reinforced for me the intense spiritual [...]
Finally getting around to writing about some music I’ve been listening to for the last few months, here’s some brief reviews of three albums that have made the rotation on my iPhone. Has Matisyahu become “spiritual but not religious?” Matisyahu, the Chasidic reggae star, has evolved both in sound and spirituality. Just the picture should [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
On short notice, I was given the opportunity to contribute an introductory essay to an event surrounding an exhibit of Father Michael Morris’ biblical film poster collection. The exhibit, called Epic! 100 Years of Film and the Bible, was showing at the Jewish Museum of Australia in Melbourne. The event was part of their “Midsumma Festival,” [...]
Ryan Parker is back in the Land of the Free Gift with Purchase, but a family situation has kept him from posting his thoughts on Life of Pi. I also have some thoughts, so here is a first ever, two-part, side-by-side review from your PopTheology co-editors. Ryan’s Review Life of Pi is the most recent [...]
It’s nearly impossible to make a good movie about Abraham Lincoln for the same reason it’s nearly impossible to make a good movie about Jesus Christ. Both of these savior figures have been divinized beyond the point of human portrayal. As personages of near-universal approval, how can you create them as three-dimensional characters? Everything Jesus [...]
Mumford and Sons are ready when you want to get serious. You can bop along to your bubble gum pop like “Call Me Maybe” and your international dance fads like “Gangnam Style.” You can listen ironically to your hipster bands like Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, and Fun. You can shake it to your dance divas [...]
