By Arthur Aghajanian “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it has its foundation on…
Author: matthewbrake84
“The Trip” as a Christian Pilgrimage
By David Armstrong I’ve done a relatively terrible job at keeping up with popular culture recently. I suppose that’s a strange way to put the matter, because it is not really a major thing to keep up with, ordinarily speaking, and my reasons for being out of the loop are traditionally respectable ones: marriage, fatherhood,…
Extended Call for Papers: Theology, Religion, and Watchmen
Editors: Matthew Brake and David K. Goodin Alan Moore is considered one of the greatest modern writers of comics and graphic novels, and he is perhaps best well-known for the celebrated comic series Watchmen, along with artist Dave Gibbons. Watchmen is not only one of the most celebrated comics series of all time, but in…
Call for Paper: Theology, Religion, and the Last of Us
Call for Papers The Last of Us: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? Series: Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture Editor: Dr Peter Admirand, Dublin City University The Last of Us, The Last of Us: Left Behind (DLC) and The Last of Us Part II video games embody sustained critical and commercial success, and are some of the most…
Grant Morrison, Batman, and (Re)Cycles of Pain: More from a Post-Traumatic Christian
By Matthew Brake As I’ve written before, I have not given up on my Christian faith. In many ways, at least creedally, I think many of my friends and colleagues would find me surprisingly orthodox. But emotionally and spiritually, I have described myself as a “post-traumatic” Christian, riffing on Grant Morrison’s notion of Batman as…
Why Should Theologians Read H.P. Lovecraft?
By Austin Freeman The eldritch fingerprints of H.P. Lovecraft seem to be everywhere–tentacles, myriad eyes, regressive cults, and ancient names excavated from prehistoric monuments, bearing knowledge of forces greater and more terrifying than the soft anthropomorphic gods of the civilized world. From tabletop gaming to young adult comics to flagship television programs, Lovecraft’s great old…
All-Star Superman as Religious Creed
By Matthew Brake All-Star Superman recently began to trend when James Gunn announced that the upcoming DC movie slate would be inspired by many of the works of comics writer Grant Morrison. While not taking place in DC Comics’ “main continuity,” the story of All-Star Superman is a quintessential Superman tale, combining all the elements…
Extended Call for Papers: Theology, Religion, and Watchmen
Editors: Matthew Brake and David K. Goodin Alan Moore is considered one of the greatest modern writers of comics and graphic novels, and he is perhaps best well-known for the celebrated comic series Watchmen, along with artist Dave Gibbons. Watchmen is not only one of the most celebrated comics series of all time, but in…
Black Mirror and the Virtue of Constructive Boredom
By John Anthony Donne Technology is making us bored. Andy Crouch supposes that the English word ‘bored’ came into existence in recent centuries in tandem with a new disposition that we experience with the advent of new technologies, especially digital technologies.[1] And boredom begets boredom. It is a recurring internal trigger that causes us to…
Conference: Theology, Religion, and D&D
A few weeks ago, our site published a Call for Papers for a Dungeons and Dragons volume. For fans of that franchise, we also want to let you know about a virtual graduate conference being held on March 25 hosted by the editors of the D&D volume, Scott Donahue-Martens and Brandon Simonson (you should also…
Pop Culture and Theology 