Utopia: A Brief Critique
Utopia is often accompanied by such adjectives as impossible, unrealistic, and impractical. In spite of that, it is not so hard to find some renowned people who actually maintain that is a very helpful and practical concept. Zygmunt Bauman (Socialism: The Active Utopia) argues that “utopian thinking belongs in the same category as invention” and invention is what a society needs in time of crises […]
An Experiment in Film Criticism
C. S. Lewis was no fan of the cinema. He once described himself as “rather allergic to films” and after attending one he added in a letter to a friend, “Do not worry it shall not become a habit.” But though he was quick to dismiss films, his fruitful discussion of story, myths and literature is easily adapted to an appreciation of the cinematic art. […]
Nevin Lectures, 2015
Noted Catholic patristic scholar, Robert Louis Wilken, delivered the second annual Nevin Lectures at Beeson Divinity School’s Hodges Chapel last Friday and Saturday, February 20-21, 2015. Wilken, the Emeritus William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Virginia, traced the influence of the writings Tertullian, Lactantius, and other church fathers on the development of ideas of religious liberty. According […]
50 Shades of Surprise
I confess that I’m surprised by the number of Christians who are surprised by the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey. Many are simply bewildered by the buzz the movie has generated. They shouldn’t be. This is the world we live in. More precisely, this is the country we live in. We live in a sex-crazed culture that can’t get enough of this sort of […]
