“A Christmas Tree” was published in 1850 at a time when the Christmas tree tradition was strong in Germany, but not yet the fad that it has become in the 21st century. Dickens was showing some English readers a first look at this Christmas tradition.   For fun Christmas reading this season, I highly recommend... Continue Reading

Dang. With the Sony hack, no more North Korean villains in movies. China is funding our movies now, so no Chinese villains. Castro is now a hero, so no Communist villains of any stripe. Muslims will fatwa, riot or bomb, so no Islamic villains. Liberals still rule Hollywood, so still no Left Wing villains. Looks like... Continue Reading

That was his greatest hope for the film version of UNBROKEN: not that it would be applauded by fellow Christians, although he certainly would have been honored and humbled by their appreciation; but that it would be seen by non-Christians drawn to a rousing epic about the indomitable human spirit who, when the credits have... Continue Reading

When I say “best” I have several questions in mind: Was this book well written and enjoyable to read? Did I find it personally challenging, illuminating, edifying, or entertaining? Is it a book I am likely to reread or consult often? Do I see myself frequently recommending this book to others?   This list is... Continue Reading

This video serves as a helpful reminder that Mormons and many others use new media very well. These Mormon evangelistic efforts are always very clever and very compelling. They always give away enough information to make it seem like Mormons are just another friendly group of Christians, and they withhold the information that distinguishes them... Continue Reading

Exodus is about as unsympathetic an exploration of one of the world’s longest-enduring religions as I can imagine. How does Scott get away with this? If he were to do a similar epic on the origins of Islam, he and everyone else involved would be living in a bunker in an undisclosed location. Evangelical Christians not... Continue Reading

“What we have are a bunch of characters that share names with the Exodus narrative but only barely match any of the events and don’t share any of the dialogue whatsoever. It’s almost so far from Exodus, they could have changed the characters, called the film something else entirely, and someone would have watched it... Continue Reading

Now owned by DreamWorks, the faith-inspired anthropomorphic vegetables have gone through multiple incarnations since their debut in direct-to-consumer videos in 1993, including leaps to the big screen and broadcast television. Nov. 26 marks yet another milestone as the characters premiered in a 22-minute, Looney Tunes–style cartoon series on Netflix titled VeggieTales in the House.   ... Continue Reading

“Although I love to read, I’ve always found the ordinary book clubs unattractive, mainly because I didn’t want to read their books (I know this sounds horribly postmodern, but bear with me). It’s not that their books were bad (albeit a bit predictable), but as a busy mom of three I wanted my precious reading... Continue Reading

If Jesus was not conceived by the Holy Spirit, then he had a human father. Without the virgin birth, there is no explanation for the incarnation. If Jesus had a merely human father, there is no authentic connection to the incarnational theology of Paul and John in the New Testament. All that remains is some... Continue Reading