Caricature of caricatures
The Park51 Islamic center (inaccurately called the Ground Zero mosque) controversy has constructed the ultimate caricature of caricatures.
The Presbyterian Outlook
Creating and curating trustworthy resources for the church, the Presbyterian Outlook connects disciples of Jesus Christ through compelling and committed conversation for the proclamation of the Gospel.
More Stories from this Author
Of indoor pools and inland seafood
Once, on a reporting assignment, I flew into Bismarck, North Dakota, just before winter’s brutal assault.
Book in review: Hannah’s Child: A Theologian’s Memoir
Book in review: Hannah’s Child: A Theologian’s Memoir
by Stanley Hauerwas
Eerdmann’s 2010. 287 pages
reviewed by Roy H. Howard
Book in review: Theology for a Troubled Believer: An Introduction to the Christian Faith
An Introduction to the Christian Faith
by Diogenes Allen
Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2010. 223 pp.
$19.95. ISBN 978-0-664-22322-9
reviewed by Ronald Byars
Film in review: “The Tillman Story”
Pat Tillman was the poster child for the American military of the ought decade — the NFL defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, who resigned at the height of his stellar career, giving up a multimillion dollar contract, to sign up for the Army as an enlisted man.
Film in review: “Lebanon”
“Lebanon” is that rarest of war movies — just the men inside one tank. That’s it.
Film in review “Going the Distance”
Yes, “Going The Distance” is both scatological and funny. If you don’t like the raunchy humor, don’t go see it. But it’s both a sensitive and hilarious treatment of a subject that has affected a lot of people — long-distance relationships.
Burning books burns bridges by Winfield Casey Jones
Everybody’s doing it
So Anne Rice — vampire novelist turned recommitted, Jesus-loving Christian — has quit the church, and the blogosphere has gone viral. What’s the big deal? Everybody’s doing it.
Book in review: The Future of Faith
by Harvey Cox HarperOne. September 2008. 256 pages.
Reviewed by Susan R. Andrews
When I served as a parish pastor, I found new member classes particularly challenging.
Book in review: Heresy: A History of Defending the Truth
by Alister McGrath HarperCollins. 2009, 288 pages.
Reviewed by Neil Craigan
Several years ago I used the word “heresy” as part of a statement I was making on the floor of our presbytery.
Film in review: “The American”
“The American” is a high-impact film with a serene, starkly simple setting, and a quiet, slightly discordant musical score that creates a building tension throughout.
Film in review: The Other Guys
Spoofing is a delicate business. You can be so subtle that the viewers hardly know you’re playing a parody of your own part. Then there are self-parodies, even when they aren't meant to be.
Film in review: “Get Low”
“Get Low” is one of those “niche” movies that feature a cast warmly embraced by the aging Baby Boomers such as yours truly: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek. How could it go wrong?
Film in review: “Takers”
“Takers” is one of those high-adrenaline joy rides that’s both a good story and well-crafted visually. This one works, and it will do well at the box office.
Film in review: Mao’s Last Dancer
This is one of those films that you’re rooting for to work really well, but it’s sort of a mixed bag, which is a shame, because it’s an inspiring true story.
Film in review: “Animal Kingdom”
“Animal Kingdom” has that gritty, hand-held camera feel of low-budget forays, and sure enough, we recognize hardly anybody on the screen, but all that anonymity somehow adds to the realistic dilemma of the main character: “J” Cody (James Frecheville), a 17-year-old who is having to grow up way too fast.
Film in review: “The Expendables”
“The Expendables” is a really sad action/adventure movie, because it features a collection of old, over-the-hill tough guys who seem like stunted adolescents, unsure what to do with themselves except throw knives at dart boards, smoke cigars, drive loud motorcycles, and make fun of each other.
Film in review: “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World”
It was bound to happen. Video games are so popular among the youth that the current “niche” movie for the under-twenties looks like … a video game.
Film in review: “The Switch”
“The Switch” is one of those movies that appears to be a romantic comedy, therefore you go in expecting something kind of silly and predictable. Thankfully, it is neither.
Anxieties and resilience of U.S. churches focus of Yale journal
What does the future hold for the institutional church in the United States, particularly “mainline Protestant” churches that once dominated the country’s cultural landscape?
Changing the wind: McLaren at Church Unbound
MONTREAT, N.C. — Institutions and movements — secular and religious — need each other to retain their vitality, even as they frustrate each other, cutting-edge theologian Brain McLaren told several hundred Presbyterians gathered here in mid-August for "Church Unbound."
Film in review: “Agora”
reviewed by Ronald P. Salfen
I love it when filmmakers re-create the Roman era, complete with the togas, the chariots, the Greek-influenced architecture. Of course, many of the now-familiar Roman soldier outfits have been used to shoot films about the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. But there are plenty of other locales and eras to consider as well: such as Alexandria, Egypt, in the 4th century.
The Presbyterian Territories
They need no exodus who dwell in the Promised Land.
Foundation donates $400K for Episcopal gay liturgies
(RNS) — A Michigan-based gay rights foundation has given more than $400,000 to the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif., to help craft formal same-sex covenanting liturgies for the Episcopal Church.