the controversy surrounding zero dark thirty began swirling almost immediately after word got out that kathryn bigelow, award-winning director of the hurt locker, would be making the film. as soon as screenings began, the criticism reached a fever pitch, with both conservatives and liberals decrying the film. even when, on twitter and facebook, i stated that i’d be seeing it, a few people chastised me for doing so.

in an old testament class in seminary, we spent nearly two months talking through and studying just the first two chapters of genesis. seemingly straightforward, the multiple version of the story (yes, versions plural) told in those chapters are a poetic way to describe a complex history of all created things.

that class was the first time in my life that i began to get a clear understanding of the historical, cultural and literary context of the opening scenes of genesis.

simply put, it’s when it became ultimately clear to me that there is no possibility of a literal understanding of the creation story.

i’ve had an up and down relationship with jars of clay. they’ve had albums that sound like the most fresh new sound and they’ve had albums that sound like warmed-over contemporary christian music. but with this song, they’ve definitely shown me everything that is right about them.

several days ago, hbo premiered the sundance festival grand jury prize-winning documentary, how to die in oregon. the film documents the journey of several people towards physician-assisted suicides in oregon, the only state—as of 2004—where it is legal.

as a fan of documentaries in general and as someone who finds this topic particularly engaging, i eagerly anticipated its premiere. while it isn’t necessarily the best documentary i’ve seen (though it’s very good), it certainly compelled me to spend plenty of time contemplating what i watched and wrestling with the issue of euthanasia more than i have in quite some time.

the book or the movie? it’s the classic question that supposedly separates the intellectuals from the, well, non-intellectuals. i have absolutely no shame in saying that i’m a “movies” guy. almost aways. of course, i just don’t read any fiction or could-be-a-movie books. most of the reading i do is of the theological variety and there’s not too many movies [...]

over the last half a year, i’ve blogged about derek webb’s latest innovative project called democracy vol. 1. earlier this year, fans could cast votes for up to 12 songs that they wanted webb to cover. then, the 12 songs receiving the most votes would be covered by webb for the album. the album has been in the process of [...]

this is part of an ongoing series called 25 in the 2000s. if you want a bit of information about the series, you can find the introduction here. often, the story of a culture, a people, a time period is shared through cinema. movies transcend moments and create timeless asides from normal life. so it was over the last 10 [...]