• Christianity,  Entertainment

    First Baptist Meets Lenny Kravitz… Literally!

    On June 25, the youth choir from FBC Lewisville, Texas was in New Orleans doing an open-air performance of Lenny Kravitz’s song “Fly Away.” Guess who happened to be nearby, heard them singing, and came over and joined them? You guessed it. Lenny Kravitz himself. The whole thing was caught on video and posted to YouTube (see above). The Dallas Morning News has a report on the encounter. This never happened on any of the church choir tours I went on in high school. But then again we weren’t singing Lenny Kravitz songs!

  • Entertainment

    The Final Act of Lost

    The “Lost” finale was pure genius. I say this with no hyperbole. It was the best ending to the best show in the history of television. In my last post, I had two predictions about the final act: (1) good and evil will be sorted out, and (2) someone important will have to die. Both of those predictions were born-out in the finale. Good and evil were embodied in Jacob and his nameless brother, and their epic conflict finally came to an end in the battle between Jack and “Locke.” When Jack killed “Locke,” the good finally prevailed. Someone important did have to die in order to save the island.…

  • Entertainment,  Theology/Bible

    Country Music, and Antinomianism

    The Towers recently interviewed Russell Moore about his love of country music. It’s a fascinating piece, and you should read it. I thought one exchange was particularly insightful and prophetic: Towers: Americans are said to live within a contradiction in which a deep religiosity exists alongside a fairly pronounced ethical Antinomianism and many see country music as reflecting that paradox. Do you agree with that? Moore: Yes, but I don’t think it’s American, I think it’s Southern Baptist. Most of the country music that we hear is coming from a person who has either been redeemed through a Southern Baptist version of Christianity or damned by a Southern Baptist version…

  • Christianity,  Entertainment,  Theology/Bible

    Southern Seminary Panel on Avatar

    Dr. Albert Mohler hosted a fascinating panel discussion on pop culture yesterday titled “Eden, Avatar, and the Kingdom of Christ: Just What Are We To Do with Popular Culture?” Panel members included Russell D. Moore, Mark Coppenger, Ted Cabal, and James Parker. The video is above. You can download the audio here or listen to it below. [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/media/audio/spring2010/20100211panel.mp3]

  • Culture,  Entertainment

    Leno as Hitler?

    Where are the Editors at The Wall Street Journal? Not only do they allow an inane comparison between Jay Leno and Adolf Hitler, they also don’t realize that Jimmy Fallon (not Jimmy Kimmel) follows “The Tonight Show.” In his goofy Op-Ed, Joe Queenan writes, “Mr. Leno will soon go after ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!,’ which follows ‘The Tonight Show,’ quite possibly demanding that NBC expand ‘Tonight’ to its original 90-minute length.” I expect we’ll see a correction on the on the Kimmel gaffe. The only way to correct the rest of it would be to remove the article. Meanwhile, Conan bows out gracefully. Now as Forest Gump would say, that’s all…

  • Culture,  Entertainment

    The White Messiah Fable

    I know, I know. Reviews of Avatar are a bit played out at this point. But David Brooks’ review in today’s New York Times caught my eye. First of all, he is no conservative, so his critique comes from an entirely different angle. Second, his critique deconstructs the story-formula itself. Brooks argues that “Avatar” fits the genre of “The White Messiah fable,” and he suggests that such stories are offensive. He writes: “[The white messiah fable] rests on the stereotype that white people are rationalist and technocratic while colonial victims are spiritual and athletic. It rests on the assumption that nonwhites need the White Messiah to lead their crusades. It…

  • Culture,  Entertainment

    Chad Brand says Avatar is Anti-Custer

    Chad Brand says that Avatar is “anti-military, anti-non-green, anti-American (at least Bush and Reagan’s America), and anti-Custer.” This is a clever, short movie review from a theology professor at Boyce College and Southern Seminary. His conclusion: “I liked the film. I will probably watch it again. But I am not going to drink the Koolaid.” Read the rest here.