Everything about the set of Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming biblical epic, Noah, cries big budget. From the ark (a towering, multi-level construction built to Genesis’ specifications); to the A-list cast (Russell Crowe and Anthony Hopkins); to the large, meandering crews of teamsters (whose strict lunch and break rules are pushing shooting hours off schedule),... Continue Reading

My biggest complaint with Spielberg’s Lincoln is that it gives the impression that one great, pure man brought about “the greatest measure of the nineteenth century.” The reality is that while most of the country followed Lincoln’s lead, Lincoln was following the lead of runaway slaves, free blacks and abolitionists. And none of this would... Continue Reading

Apparently, this book is too cool for a subtitle. Carl Trueman has a market on cool by rebelling against cool. Especially skinny jeans. But I digress. I’m thinking something like, “The Indicatives are Imperative.” But that’s just me. Does your church catechize or teach with creeds? Sure it does. Trueman makes the case that all... Continue Reading

Prothero does undress the situation for us on how little most Americans know even about the popular faith that they profess to follow. Here is a small sample of the astonishing condition he reports we are in: Only half of American adults can name even one of the four Gospels. Most Americans cannot name the... Continue Reading

Most courageous new chapter: Brothers, be Bible-oriented – not Entertainment oriented preachers (13) Here Piper bravely takes on the flippant, funny, feel-good entertainment-type preaching that can be found in so many churches. He says the main problem with this “is that it is out of sync with the subject matter of the Bible, and diminishes... Continue Reading

While Spielberg’s Lincoln wrestles with the ethical dilemmas of dirty politics, he never seems to waver in his rock solid conviction that everything must take a back seat to ending slavery. And unlike most everyone around him, he doesn’t doubt that blacks deserve full legal, political and social equality. This Lincoln is inspiring. This Lincoln... Continue Reading

For the balance of the season, the brittle, petty, religious intolerances on display—especially from Lord Grantham, who finds the prospect of a Catholic granddaughter “flabbergasting”—serve to heighten the deep sense of loss in the house, upstairs and downstairs. They also set up two other major plot points, both of them rooted in the gospel.  ... Continue Reading

I have come to the conclusion that the best way to continue enjoying Downton is to re-read it as an Austenesque tragedy. In this approach, we can interpret Mary as a minor character from an Austen novel whose moral bearings are ever more skewed, to only social and spiritual consequences. After all, the social world... Continue Reading

Downton Abbey is full of overt and subtle sins without being offset by the gospel or godliness. Homosexuality, fornication, lying, adultery, murder, jealousy, greed, envy, strife – all are in the Bible. All are in Downton Abbey. But Scripture (and many classic works of literature and film) sets them beside purity, honesty, selflessness, generosity, and... Continue Reading

My advice, essentially, is to rip out the introduction (the fruitfulness stuff) and maybe chapter 10 (the “A” to “B” stuff) which sets up chapters 1 to 30 as the key to successful ministry, and read chapters 1 to 30 because most of them are really, really good.    I was recently on a conference... Continue Reading