Not Fit for Dinner: Consuming News Carefully and Critically

“For Christians, careful consumption of news is also a way to continue their tradition of being ‘people of the book'”

Grace Notes: Mono, Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Damien Jurado

Japan’s Mono brings the post-apocalyptic noise; Brother Sun, Sister Moon wraps you in nostalgia; and Damien Jurado’s trademark folk gets a shot of psychedelia.

Under the Sun: Depoliticizing the Pulpit

“These historical complications do not on their own invalidate Olasky and Piper’s position. They do, however, call into question the stories these men are telling about their positions.”

Mixed Signals: Your Life as a PR Campaign

“Instead of living life for the joy of living it, we set up moments that we can broadcast, making life more like a production to execute to an audience rather than a life to live to the full.”

What Memes Mean: Why Memes Are Important (Part 1)

“The memes that fascinate us reveal much about our passions and our values, what we as a culture love and allow—sort of our cultural heart.”

Music at Mars Hill: The Welcome Wagon’s Precious Remedies of Healing and Reconciliation

“They aren’t afraid of making music that exists entirely outside the context of Sunday mornings—even music that has appealed to non-Christian music fans.”

Sex & Thrones: Four Christian Views on Sex in “Game of Thrones”

Four Christ and Pop Culture writers look at the way George R.R. Martin portrays sex in his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, and how Christians can think about it.

God and Country Music: Why White Kids Are Eating Up Hip-Hop and Country Music

“My hope is for the American church to look deep into their traditions and subsequently into the rich traditions of other church cultures, and then collaborate.”

The Moviegoer: The Girl with the Bear of a Problem

“What makes Brave satisfying is that it ultimately supports Merida’s quest for individuation, while also warning against desire for the kind of freedom which would promote self over others.”

The Kiddy Pool: Karen Klein, Jerry Sandusky, and Redemption

I don’t know what kind of redemption is possible for any of the players in these stories here and now, but I hold on to the hope that there is something more, something better, beyond the traumas of today.

Citizenship Confusion: Why Christians Should Read Disturbing, Dark, and Secular Fiction

“Sometimes we have to read hard, ugly, offensive, depressing things to understand our world, and thereby love our neighbor. “

The Televangelist: The Angelic Ambiguity of Haibane Renmei

If you’ve grown tired of ‘typical’ anime fare, then Haibane Renmei might just represent a breath of fresh air.

Not Fit for Dinner: Evangelicals, Immigration, and Mitt Romney

“Romney’s stance on immigration sounds nice in theory—probably because it’s unclear on the logistics of precisely how he plans to implement his policies.”

Sacred Space: Why didn’t John Piper Endorse the Marriage Amendment?

“Piper cannot go into the voting booth and pull the lever for them, and he shouldn’t, even if someone might let him.”

Mixed Signals: McDonald’s, Photoshop, and Why We’re Lovin’ It

“We have long known what the advertising machine would churn out: images of uber-perfection to create an impossible reality from which we measure our happiness.”

Under the Sun: C.S. Lewis, Swimsuits, and Social Propriety

“Even if I know the history of a cultural practice—if I correctly classify a problem as ‘propriety’ rather than ‘chastity’—my decisions about how to look and what to wear don’t suddenly get easier.”