By John W. Morehead I have roots in the conservative Evangelical Christian tradition, even though I see myself staking out more of a centrist position. When evangelicals “do theology,” whether biblical, systematic, or whatever form it takes, rarely is there an effort to wrestle with the darker aspects of the Hebrew and Christian Bible. For…
Author: matthewbrake84
The Devil and Generational Conflict in 1968
By Danny Anderson The year is 1968 and two attractive young people find themselves seduced by a Devil-worshiping cult. The cult seeks the vitality of their youth and will stop at nothing in a plot to indoctrinate them as servants of Satan. This plot summary surely rings a bell for horror aficionados, but the fact…
A Happy Lovecraft Halloween!
By Austin Freeman It’s spooky season again–that time when the barrier between the living and the dead, the mortal and the damned, grows thin. Spectral shapes scratch at our bedroom windows. And we, sloughing off the illusions of our civilized and rational age, slink back into the mouldy embrace of pagan tradition. Halloween is coming….
A Friday the 13th in October: Jason Voorhees and Scapegoating
By David L. Dickey Today marks a special Holiday for us “spooky kids” of the 1980’s. Not only are we in the middle of October, with most of us elbow deep in the process of transforming our homes and yards (and workplaces and cars and whatever else we can afford to) into tombs, graveyards, haunted…
On Why I Didn’t Deserve to Edit a Book on the Avett Brothers
By Alex Sosler Like most of life, I didn’t have the sense to know what decision I was making. I watched May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers a few years prior. It portrayed thoughtful, beautiful, compelling relationships. It displayed redemptive hopes and real fears, leaving and returning home. I thought because the…
Ryan Murphy, As American as Apple Pie and Demons
Ilaria Biano, PhD Clive Barker once said, “There are apparently two books in every American household—one of them is the Bible, and the other one is probably by Stephen King,”[i] thus suggesting an inseparable connection between American culture, religion, and the horror genre. If one were to seek a champion of this cultural milieu within…
“There is no God!”…but God: Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, Theodicy, and Psychological Growth
By David Armstrong Caveat Lector: Massive spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 ahead. James Gunn, who grew up Catholic, has offered two kinds of statements on religion in interviews. In one set of statements, he sees the value of faith, prayer, and meditation; in another, he has professed himself “anti-religion,” at least when…
Oppenheimer and the Deification of Humanity
By Walter Staggs, PhD The gap between what a film is meant to convey versus what actually gets conveyed (and therefore lost) can often be vast. In this case, though, Christopher Nolan delivers on his assertion that Oppenheimer is about consequences, particularly the kind that are out of our control once the genie is out…
Which Fantasy, Whose Theology? Reflections on Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination: Part 3 – The Post-Christian, Postsecular, and Postmodern
By Andrew D. Thrasher (Click Here to Read Part 2) Underlying contemporary Western culture are the three posts, and each of these, especially the first, underlines a major portion of my co-edited volume, Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination. The post-Christian turn is characterized by both the turn away from traditional Christian orthodoxy and practice and…
Whose Fantasy, Which Theology? Reflection on Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination: Part 2 – Invented Religion and Hyperreal Religion
By Andrew D. Thrasher (Click Here to Read Part 1) Carole M. Cusack and Adam Possamai are known for coining the phrases invented religion and hyperreal religion, respectively. While both terms are referring to how popular culture helps to inform and shape contemporary religions, the first refers primarily to how religions are invented based on…
Pop Culture and Theology 