By Scott Merrill, Ph.D. Is it a coincidence that America is the strongest, richest and most vibrant society and also the sole country whose national sport is gridiron football? Greg Easterbrook, The King of Sports Football can be called a sociological practice of the folk religion….that often includes ritual expressions of patriotism. Prayers prior to…
Voldemort Fears Death and Dumbledore Does Not: A Decisive Difference
By Jack Holloway “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21) I finished reading the Harry Potter books in 2017. I was denied them as a kid, and so enjoyed them for the first time as an adult. I am actually glad of this, because as an adult I saw…
Sting – 57th & 9th: An Ecotheological Review
By The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade Sting and ecotheology? Seriously? What possible connection could there be between the famous pop music artist and the study of ecology and religion? I have been a huge fan since the Police in the 80s, and throughout Sting’s solo career in the subsequent decades. His latest album met…
Blade Runner and Theology
By Stephanie Pacheco The Blade Runner films show us a version of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that looks exactly like we do. My take on Blade Runner—both the original and Blade Runner 2049—is that it concerns androids less than appearances suggest, but rather asks us: “What makes us human?” The 2017 sequel utilizes dazzling cinematography to…
“Get Out”: Racism in the Place of Theological Discourse
By Fr. Linh Hoang I am not a person who goes to horror movies. The reason is that I am never sure of their message besides just wanting to scare the living daylights out of people. Like most people, I don’t think being scared is entertaining. With that dismissive attitude aside, I decided after persuasion…
The Lyrical Faith of Sufjan Stevens
By Carina Julig Though he is not a ‘Christian musician,’ indie singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens has built a cult following among Christian listeners, and his haunting music has a deeply religious quality. Stevens’ ethereal songs frequently convey musings about faith, while at other times, he is directly talking to God. Religious imagery is especially prominent in…
2017: Top Five Posts
I want to thank all of the people who have made the inaugural year of this blog possible. Of course, without you, the reader, there would be very little point to this project, which attempts to make theology accessible to the wider public. To our contributors, we literally could not do this without you. Thank…
The Children Everyone Was Waiting For
By Roberto Mussinatto There are a few days left before Christmas, and we can already feel in the air this soft joy and sense of waiting which make Christmas different from any other celebration in the year. We feel like something we were looking for is ready to come; it seems like nature feels it, too….
Asgard and the Kingdom of God in Thor: Ragnarok
By Corey Patterson [SPOILERS!!!] If Marvel fans were expecting a continuation of the dark tones from the sequel to Thor and Thor: The Dark World, they would find themselves in a losing bet. The latest installment, Thor: Ragnarok, brings to life a world of color and humorous scenes, more akin to Guardians of the Galaxy…
Is God Funny?
By Alison Downie, PhD Is God preposterous to you? He is to me. But let me explain: The God I work daily to trust bears no resemblance whatsoever to the “God” many Christians preach about and the “God” so many reject as absurd. The endlessly essential theological question is: What sort of God is being…
Pop Culture and Theology 