Culture & Movies

Impressions on the Noah Movie

by | Apr 3, 2014 |

I went to see Noah last evening. I had briefly blogged about it earlier to draw readers' attention to Brian Mattson's review, which I highly recommend. I'm not going to recycle his observations. I just wanted to share some impressions. This is s a weird movie. Not in...

Christians, Christmas, and Such

by | Dec 25, 2017 |

The latest episode of the Naked Bible Podcast just uploaded. The topic is on whether Christians should consider Christmas a pagan holiday. I hope you'll give it a listen. I broke down the topic into two areas: the traditional date of Christmas (December 25) and what...

What Does Earning a PhD Mean?

by | Dec 20, 2017 |

What follows arose up within me in the wake of yet another soul-crushing example of the disturbing ignorance that passes for insight or knowledge in Christian Middle Earth. If you follow me on Twitter, you know I'm referring to a tweet that orgasmically exalted in...

Dan Wallace on the Great Commission

by | Mar 21, 2014 |

Noted Greek grammarian and textual criticism scholar (and all-around nice guy) Dan Wallace recently posted a three-part treatment of the Great Commission. This is what pastors should be doing on any given Sunday. No, pastors don't need to be Greek scholars. They just...

Why You Don’t Learn Much Bible in Church

by | May 17, 2014 |

Just a heads up -- this is another Naked Bible rant. Short answer: It's by design. For the longer answer, keep reading. I came across a troubling, but completely predictable, article today by Mark Galli, an editor at Christianity Today, entitled "Yawning at the Word."...

Checking Your Brain in at the Church Door

by | May 8, 2010 |

This post is laced with sarcasm, but it's (apparently) backed up by research. Brain Shuts Off in Response to Faith Healer's Prayer.The first paragraph: WHEN we fall under the spell of a charismatic figure, areas of the brain responsible for scepticism and vigilance...

Exodus Movie: An Utterly Banal Waste of Time

by | Dec 21, 2014 |

Last night my wife and I saw the Exodus movie by Ridley Scott. She talked me into it. She told me it would be something people would expect me to see and say something about. Pardon me, but if my audience is this cruel, I need to rethink what I'm doing online. What...

Prometheus: Another Review

by | Nov 27, 2012 |

This past week at the annual meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion I ran into an old friend of mine, George Gatis, who practices law in South Carolina. George is a fellow bibliophile, theologian, and sci-fi fan. I was...

Prometheus: A Galactic Bore

by | Jun 9, 2012 |

I saw Prometheus last night. Instead of enjoying the drive home with my head filled with appreciation for a provocative, inventive retelling of the ancient astronaut myth, my mind busied itself on how many ways I could mock this under-achieving, unimaginative bore of...