Against the Tide: Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities- by Miroslav Volf Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.
reviewed by Henry G. Brinton
In 1969, feminist Carol Hanisch popularized the phrase “the personal is political.”
The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder- by William P. Brown Oxford University Press, January, 2010. 352 pages, $29.95.
reviewed by D. Mark Davis
Bill Brown’s latest book strikes me as an invitation; specifically, an invitation to persons of Biblical faith and to persons devoted to science to communicate with one another as what he calls “cohorts of wonder.”
“Due Date” is the “road movie” that takes a lot of left turns. It’s one of those “Odd Couple” arrangements, where Robert Downey Jr., plays the uptight, wound-up, fussbudget, and Zach Galifianakis plays the free spirit — ditzy, discombobulated, disheveled and somehow they wind up in a car together, traveling across the country.
“Morning Glory” is the kind of “chick flick” that is relatively safe for guys: the males are still secondary, but not insignificant. And though not intended as any kind of parable about church --- religion is never even mentioned --- it feels like many of the same dynamics, anyway.
“Pure Country 2: The Gift” is pure cornpone. At times it’s so awkward it’s embarrassing; at other times it feels like a two-hour country music video. But at its core it’s heartfelt, family-friendly, and religious, which couldn’t be all bad.
“Hereafter” promises a glimpse into the afterlife, but is strangely devoid of any kind of reference to any religion, including Christianity. So don’t expect any faith statements of any kind, other than some amorphous sort of ill-defined assumption that is a lot closer to the Biblical Sheol than anything resembling the heaven of the New Testament.
by Derek Maul; Nashville: Upper Room Books, 2009. reviewed by Judith Fulp-Eickstead
Derek Maul, award-winning columnist for the Tampa Tribune, issues an invitation to anyone looking for a deeper level of commitment to Jesus Christ in a culture where “doing just enough to get by defines life for too many people and in too many contexts” (p. 17).
Woody Allen’s signature trademark is an ensemble of articulate, cosmopolitan urban adults who make a shipwreck of their lives by allowing themselves to be controlled by whatever passing passion looks irresistible.
One is pure undistilled machismo — a tattooed, long-haired, tough-looking hombre who never seems to turn away from a fight, and never seems to lose one, either.
“The Town” is a gritty story about bank robbers with a little lilt at the end. Is believing in redemption the same as rooting for the bad guy to get away?
