A few months ago I spoke at the headquarters for the largest non-profit in the world, World Vision International. As I spoke in their chapel, I challenged them to consider the role that beauty and art play when God transforms entire cultures. I showed them the often overlooked passages of scripture which make this clear […]
So Hollywood is narcissistic? Tell me something I don’t know, right? Well, though we live here in Los Angeles, and we see our share of fantastically ridiculous behavior, I was recently surprised and grieved to learn more about the narcissism in this city and how it is effecting our culture at large. Now, I must […]
“The Word became Flesh” –John 1:14 “We cannot begin to live a life we cannot first imagine, and images stock the imagination’s repertoire.” –Margaret Miles, Seeing is Believing: Religion and Values in the Movies. If God has an imagination, then Christ in human form is the ultimate expression of that imagination, and the incarnation itself […]
In Matthew 26, there is a surprising passage where a woman named Mary broke an alabaster jar and poured perfume on Jesus’ feet as a way to express her humility and devotion. Jesus said it was beautiful, because this expression of her love for God was extravagant, elegant and shared no concern for what others […]
How do you ask a room full of executives, actors, writers and producers expecting humor to forgive someone of an offense? That was exactly what happened recently at the Cinematheque Award Ceremony when Robert Downey Jr. received the prestigious honor.During Downey Jr.’s acceptance speech, he said. “I asked Mel to present this award for me […]
The American media’s influence is vast. Not just in the United States but throughout the world. We are the culture and country to emulate. Our style of films, music and entertainment are the gold standard. Even Arab countries who publicly denounce western values are watching our shows, buying our I-pods and cell phones, and uploading […]
The Call to Create Culture by Joel Pelsue. Remember The Da Vinci Code? Consider the astonishing impact this fictional book had on our culture: It has 60 million copies in print, was translated into 44 languages, and the movie earned $215 million in the domestic box office and $540 million in overseas receipts. The Christian […]
From the Matrix to Madonna, and from the Lion King, to the bestseller the Secret, pop culture provides a steady diet of neopaganism from which the populace can choose according to their tastes. Even my three and six-year-old children are bombarded with neopagan content in films, music, and video games designed to catch their attention. […]
How did you get started in photography? Amber: I got started in photography when I was in high school. I had an inspirational teacher, Mr. Ibach, who played jazz everyday as we printed our black and white photographs in the dark room. I became addicted, but wasn’t very good yet. The turning point for me […]
What have you been doing recently in your career? John:Well, there’s my literary blog BookFox. On BookFox I’ve been doing interviews and reviewing new fiction and short story collections. The blog was just described in winsome terms in “The Bookaholics Guide to Book Blogs.” I was also interviewed by the LA Times for an article […]