Archive for the 'Culture' Category
- Is Joel Osteen Fascinating?
Tonight on The Barbara Walters Special ” Most Fascinating People of 2006″ The man with the most annoying smile in the world was #8. There is much more that annoys me about Joel Osteen than his grin. His teaching is just awful, yet week in and week out millions of people tune in to hear [...]
- Christmas Icons in Public Places
Yesterday, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport removed their 25 year tradition of displaying Christmas trees after the threat of a lawsuit from a single passenger. A rabbi asked that a menorah be placed in the display as well, and instead of meeting this seemingly simple request, they decided to turn off and disassemble their fifteen holiday displays. [...]
- A New Threat To Airline Safety
I have a feeling this story will be added to someone’s most embarrassing list. An American Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Nashville after some of the passengers reported the smell of sulfur. It turns out a female passenger was trying to hide the evidence of her flatulence.
Now it seems [...]
- Is The Wii (Insert Ominous Music) Dangerous?
While studies are still in progress to judge its addictive powers, there is now proof that part of the Wii is in fact dangerous… to your television, or other expensive items within throwing distance of this Japanese Death Toy. That’s right folks, the Wiimote is dangerous, it has cracked screens, caused blunt force trauma to [...]
- The Effects of Pornography
I grew up in church, a fundamentalist church nonetheless. And I attended my youth group faithfully, and every February, around Valentine’s Day, our church would participate in “True Love Waits,” an abstinence before marriage campaign. But it couldn’t just stop with a simple urge towards chastity, these talks had to run the gamut; sex, abstinence, [...]
- Starbucks and Pluralism
I just read a very interesting article on EvolutionShift.com by David Houle. In this article, he discusses the shift towards a coffee culture. He believes that we have become much more of a coffee culture than ever before. It is now hard to be in any large city in the United States where there [...]
- Church: The Lost Art
The following is an excerpt of a commentary on the modern church written by an unbeliever.
It would be wonderful to imagine these places as sites where people gather to appreciate great art, music and poetry, and experience the best of religious history. Think again. A typical church service is a few hymns, a harangue from [...]
- The Lost Virtue of Cooperation
It doesn’t take much searching on the internet to find out what many Baptists believe is going to be the next big battle. Many speak in apocalyptic terms about this “evil” and fear that if something isn’t done soon, our convention is going to fall apart. In their opinion, this Trojan Horse is the dreadful [...]
- Tips Speak Louder Than Tracts
Daniel Holland of Relevant Magazine and Greg Koukl of Stand To Reason have both recently posted on this topic, but I thought I could add to the discussion.
I have never been a waiter, nor do I ever want to be. It’s not that I don’t like to serve people, it’s for this very reason. If [...]
- What Did Spurgeon Think
I could easily see this become another recurring post. Basically I take a theological or philosophical argument and using the magic of public domain and search engines find out Charles Spurgeon’s view on that particular issue. This is basically what I read this morning over at OldTruth.com. Jim Bublitz writes in “Did Spurgeon Create Converts [...]
- Chart Toppers: Hinder vs. Disturbed
In this edition of Chart Toppers I want to take a look Pop vs. Rock.
The distinctions between these two genres has always been interesting to me. While Pop can be any genre, it seems to me to have a common theme: Sex and relationships. I guess what they say in advertising is true, sex sells. [...]
- The Source and Importance of Beauty
tells us to “logizesthe” on beautiful things, among others. The word “logizesthe” means to dwell on deeply, to meditate. It does not mean to skim over. It would be silly to imagine that Paul would urge his readers to “logizesthe” on things that were not worthy of it. So, what things are worthy of [...]
- Should Dressing for Church be About Fashion or Family
Mark Driscoll, one of my favorite people to quote, posts his reflections on a recent question posed in a Dear Abby column. This question touches deep to the heart of what it means to be intentionally relational with non-Christians. How are we supposed to reach them if all we ever do is alienate and confuse [...]
- What is Art?
This is a harder question to answer than it may seem. That is because advancements in technology have presented us with various new mediums, so that the definition of art has expanded to include digital photography, graphic or web design, and especially video and film. When you add all the traditional notions of art (painting, [...]
- Christianity and the Arts
While up here in Louisville, I went to a coffeehouse discussion thing and the discussion topic was on Christianity and the Arts. Seminary professor Dr. Steve Halla delivered an excellent presentation on the topic and I spoke to him and shared my heart for this topic and it all got me very excited about coming [...]
- On Being Scared
As Halloween draws closer and colorful superheroes line the aisles of stores with ghouls and goblins, and trailers for horror movies light up our television screens with eerie and gruesome images, the question comes to my mind: Why do people, as a whole, like being scared?
Now, I grant you, not everybody likes to be scared. [...]
- The Gospel According to Wal-Mart
Teresa and I were strolling through Wal-Mart today, and as we were heading towards the front of the store to wait in line with the 400 other customers at the registers, something caught my eye. It was in the book and magazine aisle. A large banner hung over these books and read “Inspirational,” but what [...]
- Chart Toppers
I’d like for this to become a monthly column on this site. I’m going to take a look at some of the most popular songs on the airwaves today. I will be honest and say that I can’t give opinions on the musical quality of these songs because I’ve never heard them. I just went [...]
My Movie Reviews
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2008-10-24 15:24
With DeNiro and Pacino I expected much better. But it was dry and predictable the whole way through. Better than 88 minutes, but not by a lot.
0.3 -
2008-10-24 14:09
I hate horror movies, but this one surprised all of the critics and did great at the box office, so I had to see it. And despite the lame acting and predictable plot, it was creepy! I had to watch another movie after it to get to bed.
0.3 -
2008-10-24 14:06
Acting was superb. Expect posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger. Great action and twists. Can't wait for Christopher Nolan's next.
0.3 -
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of...
2008-10-20 20:00
The movie was okay. But Indiana Jones and aliens (sorry, interdimensional beings) just don't mix. They should have left well enough alone. Most of the movie was goofy and campy, especially the monkeys and groundhogs.
0.3 -
2008-10-20 12:00
I had high expectations of this move going in, and it lived up to them. The acting was fabulous, especially by the supporting roles, Martin Landau, Tim Robbins, and Bill Murray. Read my full review here.
0.3