My Bulldogs got it done last night in a nail-biter against Navy. Read about it here: “Louisiana Tech’s terrific trio too much for Navy.” This is the third bowl win in three years for my alma mater. How ’bout them Dawgs!
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The remarkable woman behind “In the Bleak Midwinter”
Last year, Karen Swallow Prior had a fascinating piece at TGC about the author of “In the Bleak Mid-Winter.” Her name is Christina Rossetti (1830–1894), and Prior writes that she was a woman of “deep Christian conviction.” Prior concludes: The paradox of Rossetti’s life is that her “spirit of self-postponement” produced some of the finest Christian poetry written—the gift of herself, given to her Savior and received by the world. I commend to you the rest of Prior’s essay, which you can read here. I also recommend two versions of the song that are staples around my house during this time of year. My favorite version is Shawn Colvin’s, and…
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A drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business
In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge has a startling conversation with the ghost of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley. Jacob is damned in death for his misdeeds in life, and he appears to warn Scrooge that he is headed for the same fate. Scrooge resists the suggestion that Jacob’s life was damnable. Scrooge understands that if Jacob’s life is damnable, then so is his own. So this exchange ensues: “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,” faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself. “Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing his hands again. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business;…
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Why all the excitement about the movie “Dunkirk”?
Today, Warner Brothers released the first full-length trailer for the forthcoming movie Dunkirk (see above). I assume that most of you reading this know why this film is so highly anticipated. But I am writing for those of you who may not. The story of the evacuation from Dunkirk during World War 2 is one of the most riveting true stories that you will ever hear. It is a story of heroes, common and uncommon. It is a story of national valor and courage, and for that reason the story is beloved and cherished. What happened at this little fishing village in the north of France in 1940?
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“Riva” (a short film)
Riva is a beautifully executed short film from Chris Wiegand about a homeless woman on a journey to find healing for her broken, bleeding hands. It’s loosely based on Mark 5:34, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” The film has won seven awards, including “Best Film” at the 2015 Annual 168 Film Festival. You can watch it above. Well done, Chris!
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Are counter-imperial readings of the Bible about to make a comeback?
Over the weekend, Mike Bird made a canny prediction on Twitter: I predict with a Trump presidency that empire criticism is about to get jacked, ripped, and buffed in the coming 4 years. — mbird (@mbird12) December 11, 2016 If you are not familiar with “empire criticism,” it is an approach to reading the Bible (especially the New Testament) that approaches Scripture as a “coded” critique of imperial regimes. According to this approach, those who are reading the biblical text carefully will notice parallels between gospel terminology and that of the first century Caesar cult. When read in that light, it is clear that the gospel is meant to oppose…
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Christmas in Kentucky… Everywhere it’s Christmas!
On his most recent Christmas album, Steven Curtis Chapman has a song about returning to his hometown of Paducah, Kentucky for Christmas. But this song is not sappy nostalgia along the lines of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” or “Tennessee Christmas.” Christmas is not parochial and narrow. It’s about what God has done and is doing in the whole world. And for the whole world. As Chapman puts it, “Everywhere it’s Christmas.” In the video above, you can hear the song in its entirety as well as read the lyrics. I recommend that you do both. If you haven’t bought this album since I last wrote about it, I still highly…
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When “fake news” comes from both right and left
Albert Mohler has a really thoughtful commentary on “fake news” today. He is in large part responding to Sarah Pulliam Bailey’s piece at The Washington Post on the same subject. Bailey is lamenting the fact that too many evangelicals have too much credulity toward “fake news” and too much incredulity toward real news delivered according to real standards of journalism. Mohler is sympathetic with Pulliam Bailey on this point. He agrees that there really is a qualitative difference between mainstream outlets and other “news” sources that have no editorial accountability. But Mohler also raises the very real problem that mainstream outlets have with detecting their own ideological bias, which sometimes…
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Is the new head of the EPA a “climate change denialist”?
I know that climate change policy is highly controversial with ideological interests driving both sides of the debate. It is extremely frustrating, therefore, when news reports depart from “straight” reporting and delve into advocacy for one side or the other. I think we’ve already seen some of that in some of the reporting on Scott Pruitt’s recent nomination to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).* Earlier today, I heard the personalities on “Morning Joe” discussing Pruitt’s nomination and expressing fears that Pruitt denies the reality of global climate change—the implication being that conservatives are “science deniers,” etc. Their discussion seemed to be based on The New York Times’s coverage, which…
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The man who sings funny “O Holy Night” revealed!
Many of you will be familiar with the hilarious internet meme that comes around every Christmas involving a truly horrid rendition of “O Holy Night.” I have posted the song on this site in the past. If somehow you haven’t managed to hear it yet, here’s your chance: – For years, this piece of Christmas candy has floated around the internet without attribution or provenance. Nobody knew where it came from, although there were some pretenders who took credit for it.