A descant is a melody sung higher than the “main” melody. A descant is complementary to the main melody, enhancing its beauty and its effectiveness. I believe that Fuller Seminary, the Brehm Center, and Reel Spirituality provide God’s descant in harmony with the finer melodies of the mainstream movie, television, and music industries…
Do Die Hard and The General have anything more to offer than stunts and explosions? Are they worthy of their passionate audiences’ devotion? Listen in to find out.
When Marty gets sucked back in time in the now-famous DeLorean, he and his mentor Doc Brown, have a sense that although their lives are imperfect back in the present, it’s best not to mess with the true unfolding of events in time. This is an illustration of humans having eternity ‘set in their hearts’ so to speak, looking at the imperfections of life, but somehow knowing there is a sacred narrative being played out amidst all the incongruity…
A list of the 10 most important films that I’ve seen that were released during my lifetime.
To call something the “greatest” is to beg for differing opinions. In this episode of the Reel Spirituality Podcast, we consider the “greatest” films of all time.
My earliest movie memory involves Raiders of the Lost Ark. I was born a few years after its theatrical release, so I first saw Raiders when my parents rented it when I was four years old. I don’t remember watching most of the movie, but I do remember the ending…
Jim and Cindy have struggled with and grieved their infertility. They “couldn’t have tried harder.” After learning from their doctor that their journey with fertility treatments was at its end, Cindy wanted to just close the door to the nursery, forget it, and move on. Jim said that he couldn’t just move on. Together, they wisely chose to take time to explore and express their dreams about their dream child…
“Can you get that?” In this week’s RS podcast, we make romantic connections in Sleepless In Seattle & Punch-Drunk Love.
We all fantasize about being famous, so films like this become the voyeuristic opportunity we crave. Part of Me pulls the curtain back and delivers a look inside. Constantly being answered along the way is the question: is Katy Perry living the fantasy we all dream of?
It’s veal versus verses on this week’s episode of the Reel Spirituality podcast as we compare Ratatouille and Poetry.
Pixar’s Ratatouille is a movie that seems to get better each time I see it, and I think that is because as time goes on, I understand more about the various sides of my identity – as a writer, as a critic, and most importantly, as a member of my family, my greater community, and the world…
The pain of loss expressed in this movie is heart wrenching. Watching it, all my beliefs about death and the afterlife were suspended as I was pulled into the emotional experiences of loss and desiring for Chris and Annie to once again be connected. Moreover, the film is a beautiful portrayal of the essence of psychotherapy – of joining others in their pain…
One features explosions. The other features quiet scenes of the Rwandan countryside. What, if anything, do The Expendables and Munyurangabo have in common?
Beasts is a post-Katrina fairy tale made from real mud. In this muck, though, there is beauty to be found, even if it’s flecked with dirt…
What does Christopher Nolan’s big budget, action extravaganza Inception have in common with Abbas Kiarostami’s low budget, independent darling Certififed Copy? In some respects, not much, but in others, more than you might think.
Jason finally finds his way to the site of his original sin, and he meets the very man who twisted him, a mirthless psychologist, Dr. Albert Hirsch. Hirsch confronts Jason with a very simple truth: no one made Jason who he is. He chose to become Jason Bourne. He willingly killed, and the man he was before, David Webb, ceased to exist. As David died, Jason was born…
In the beginning, Jason is trying to live a peaceful life with his girlfriend Marie, but his past catches up to him both in his dreams and in the real world – he has dreams of people he thinks he’s killed, and counter-intelligence agents find him in India and accidentally kill Marie. In Jason’s life the phrase “the wages of sin is death” proves true…
Each denizen of Downton Abbey has something valuable to offer.
Jason Bourne doesn’t know who he is. He is struggling to find his identity. I may know my name and my origin, but I too am struggling for identity. I am trying to distinguish who I should be, who I was made to be, who God wants me to be…
Though some dogma is clear in the Bible, many issues cannot be seen as black and white. God gave us each a story and as we tell it, complexities and intricacies come up that cause us to move away from our thoughtless ideas and positions. With all my heart I believe the Word of God is God breathed and accurate front to back, but I also believe that God left room for interpretation, room where He can continue to reveal himself over time…
When it comes to doctrinal answers like predestination, homosexuality, women in the church and other complex issues, our theology becomes so much more intricate. Being at the Sundance Film Festival has given me a new lens, one that sees deeper into the gray of Christian doctrine. Though this can be a complicated frontier to explore, it is a lens that also reveals to me that the God I serve is complex…