This morning, the two hottest trends on Yahoo were #1: American Idol and #2 Haiti. Back to back, those topics seem so incongruous, so diametrically opposed, as to be laughable. One involves the christening of another entertainer, a fresh face in America’s pop cultural pantheon. The other involves death, loss, suffering, and destruction on an [...]
Much has been made of the mash-up of religion found in Avatar, with most of the criticism coming from conservative Christians. A question that hasn’t been asked, as far as I know, is simply the predominant role religion plays in the film. Sure, the religion is a composite of New Age, pantheistic, Native American beliefs. [...]
Author Mary Demuth recently asked the question Why Do Poorly Written Books Sell? That question seems to come up often in writers circles, which makes me wonder whether it matters more to readers or writers. Not that readers don’t care; writers just have more invested. For the aspiring author, nothing is worse than laboring to [...]
This weekend, Fox News contributor Brit Hume suggested that Christianity offers far more redemptive hope to Tiger Woods than does his Buddhism. Of course, that suggestion has left many fuming. However, upon closer inspection, the real outrage was not that religious advice was offered by a political commentator, but that in doing so, one religion [...]
One thing we have lost sight of amidst America’s changing religious demographics has been the role of spiritual leaders. The statistics tell a tale of exodus, with nearly 1/3 of American adults ditching the religion of their youth. But what does it say about our spiritual leaders that the religions they represent can’t seem to [...]
The gym has been packed lately. Rows of treadmills and gliders churning with sweaty passengers. The aerobics classes are also full, and you practically have to stand in line for the stomach cruncher. It happens every year, fueled by the best of intentions. However, by spring it’ll be back to normal. What would a new [...]
Avatar, James Cameron’s 3D CGI epic, walks a fine line between cutting-edge virtual reality and complete philosophical gibberish. Yes, the visuals are a revelation. But at the heart of the movie is a religious worldview so skewed and nonsensical that anyone with a molecule of discernment — i.e., those not suckered in by the mind-blowing [...]
I am coming to believe that Christians have two different views of the arts. This perspectival difference is behind much of our wrangling about music, film and fiction. Today’s Christian art industry, for the most part, is being shaped by a specific, dare I say Fundamentalist, worldview. Perhaps it is wrong to frame this in [...]
Hollywood-types may pine for world peace, but you sure couldn’t tell by the amount of firepower in their movies. It seems like a contradiction, sure. But how else are you gonna attract a crowd? Or, for that matter, how else can you defend pacifism? Just ask President Obama who, while receiving his Nobel Peace Prize, [...]
The logo may be new, but the Coexist Foundation‘s aims are strictly old school. The popular bumper sticker is meant to represent the synthesis or harmonizing of the major world religions and/or worldviews. Here’s what each letter is supposed to represent. C = Islam O = Pacifism E = “Gender equality” X = Judaism I [...]
