Christianity Today articles from May 2010

Christianity Today archives from May 2010

The mirror of truth.
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Twenty-eight years ago, I left pastoral ministry to become an editor. I oriented myself to my new calling by reading an essay by Wes Pippert, United Press International's veteran political reporter. Was there a...

From bottom to top: how to read the Global Conversation upside down.(INSIDE CT)(Editorial)
May 1, 2010... MISSIOLOGIST J. SAMUEL ESCOBAR has lived in six countries-born in Peru and ending up in Spain. He has learned from experience about migration and immigration. In "Mission Fields on the Move" (p. 28), Escobar diverts us from the economic and...

American idols and saints.(SPOTLIGHT)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... With American Idol's record for most seasons at the top of the Nielsen charts (a record it shares with All in the Family and The Cosby Show), it was inevitable that the show would spawn a Christian imitator. But TBN'S Gifted shut down as Al...

God in the karaoke machine.(BRIEFING)(Chronology)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... 2002 9.9 million people watch premiere episode on June 11, 2002. 2005 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Carrie Underwood's Grammy-winning "Jesus Take the Wheel" becomes one of the best-selling post-Idol singles. 2006 Mandisa Hundley sings...

R.J. Helton.(INSTANT CELEBRITIES)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] R. J. HELTON Season one's fifth-place contestant became the first to release a post-Idol album for Christian markets. 2004's Real Life sold about 20,000 copies, but Helton's career stalled when he came out as gay....

Bo Bice.(INSTANT CELEBRITIES)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BO BICE The former New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian worship leader came in second to Carrie Underwood in season four. But season six's Phil Stacey credits Bice with the show's pro-Christian vibe. Bice "laid a lot of...

Jordin Sparks.(INSTANT CELEBRITIES)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JORDIN SPARKS Season six's winner had already won the Gospel Music Association's Academy Spotlight Award and had sung backup on two Michael W. Smith tours, but qualified as an amateur for Idol. After becoming the show's...

Danny Gokey.(INSTANT CELEBRITIES)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DANNY GOKEY Idol producers placed much attention on the death of Gokey's wife four weeks before his audition. Also noteworthy: He was one of two members on season eight from the worship team at Faith Builders...

Jermaine Sellers.(INSTANT CELEBRITIES)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JERMAINE SELLERS "I want you all to come to church with me one good Sunday," the self-described "church singer" told judges. Infamously grumpy Simon Cowell immediately agreed to go, to the surprise of his fellow...

There was a time when a worship leader performing on a show like American Idol would have caused Christians to question his faith.(BRIEFING)(Quotation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... "There was a time when a worship leader performing on a show like American Idol would have caused Christians to question his faith. But with the culture of celebrity becoming more common in the Christian community, the idea of a Christian making...

1 Earthquake destroys hundreds of churches.(CHILE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... Headlines about the 8.8-magnitude February earthquake in Chile quickly faded, but the country's Baptists found that the temblor had severely damaged half of their churches. The Baptist General Convention of Texas gave $25,000 to the Baptist...

2 Court: "Under God" may remain in pledge.(CHILE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Reversing its own 2002 ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the phrase "under God" can remain in the Pledge of Allegiance because the phrase is religious but does not represent a prayer. The court...

3 World Vision workers killed in Pakistan.(PAKISTAN)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Seven Pakistani employees of World Vision died in a March 10 robbery, the worst attack in the organization's 60-year history. About 15 unidentified gunmen shot the workers, injured six others, and set off a bomb after...

4 Court: Church defamed pastor.(PAKISTAN)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An Oregon appeals court determined the First Amendment does not protect churches from all defamation lawsuits and awarded a fired pastor $355,000 in damages. Pastor Tim Tubra sued the denomination of Vernonia Foursquare...

5 Government bans intelligent design.(AUSTRALIA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... Christian schools in South Australia are protesting new guidelines that ban the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in science classes. The December policy from the Non-Government Schools Registration Board requires science to be...

6 Christians murdered before election.(IRAQ)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The run-up to Iraq's March elections saw at least 10 Christians murdered and more than 800 Christians displaced from Mosul. Sunni Muslims had promised to wreck the elections; 38 people were killed on Election Day, March...

7 Government will monitor church finances.(CHINA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... Churches and other religious institutions must hire accountants and submit annual financial reports to the Chinese government starting in 2011. The March statement from China's State Administration of Religious Affairs also lets the government...

8 Catholic charity drops spousal benefits.(CHINA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... Prompted by the December legalization of same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia, Catholic Charities of Washington transferred its 80-year-old foster care program to another provider. Then it dropped health benefits for spouses of new...

Media.(GO FIGURE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... 0.8% Total news coverage in 2009 devoted to religion, down from 1 percent in 2008. 1.1% Total news coverage in 2009 devoted to the death of Michael Jackson. Project for Excellence in journalism

9 New EU group will monitor Christian rights.(ITALY)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... A new European Union working group will create guidelines for EU embassies to monitor religious freedom and to help Christians in countries where they are persecuted. The group, headed by Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini, will distribute...

10 Denomination refuses to let church leave.(ITALY)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America refused to let a Florida congregation leave the synod over theological differences. Members of St. Peter Lutheran Church voted twice unanimously to leave the denomination. The last official step in the...

11 Colorado cuts adoption list in half.(ITALY)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... Thanks to an initiative spearheaded by Focus on the Family, the number of eligible unadopted children in Colorado shrunk from nearly 800 to 365 in the past two years. Focus started the Wait No More initiative in November 2008, organizing large...

12 Divorce now easier for Indian Christians.(INDIA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... Christians no longer have to wait two years after marriage to file for divorce, according to an Indian high court ruling in February. When a Christian couple filed suit to be allowed to divorce after eight months, the court declared part of the...

13 Popular Chinese Bible updated.(INDIA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... The most popular Chinese-language Bible translation has been updated for the first time in 90 years. The American Bible Society translation team, which included scholars from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and...

14 Back door could open to assisted suicide.(UNITED KINGDOM)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... A ruling from the British director of public prosecutions could effectively open a back door to assisted suicide in the country. The office said prosecuting a man who helped his parents book a room at a Swiss suicide facility is not in the...

Church life.(GO FIGURE)(Table)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... American congregations that say they can't find enough people to serve on committees, by number of committees they have: 3 OR FEWER 17% 4-9 10% 10+ 7% Note: Congregation size did not significantly...

Quotation marks.(Quotation)
May 1, 2010... "I've hinted at this before, but now I am saying it--don't give money to the RNC." Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, after news reports revealed the Republican National Committee had spent $2,000 at a Los Angeles strip club....

Idaho's impact: Haiti scandal overshadows bigger threat to evangelical adoption efforts.(ADOPTION)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The legal saga of 10 Idaho-based Baptists arrested in January for attempting to smuggle 33 Haitian children into the Dominican Republic is winding down. (One of the 10, Laura Silsby, remains in a Haiti prison.) But...

Evangelism.(GO FIGURE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... According to a survey of 74 ministries, receptivity to the gospel--on a five-point scale--among first-generation immigrants from Ecuador and Guatemala 4.2 Liberia 4.1 Japan 2.3 Iraq and Iran 2.2 North American Mission Board /...

Moroccan Crackdown: expulsion of Christians surprises missiologists.(RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: MOROCCO)
May 1, 2010... Six years ago, a delegation of evangelical leaders visited the Kingdom of Morocco and hailed it as "open to evangelical Christian outreach." In 2005, country officials even invited the Newsboys, Phil Keaggy, and other Christian artists to stage...

Asylum surprise: decision for home-schoolers pushes persecution boundaries.(HUMAN RIGHTS)
May 1, 2010... A German Christian family received asylum in Tennessee after being severely penalized for illegally homeschooling their children in Germany. While private and public schools are allowed in Germany, homeschooling is not. The Romeike family was...

Passages.(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Died E. Earle Ellis Prolific New Testament scholar and founder of the Institute for Biblical Research, on March 2 near Fort Worth, Texas. He was 83. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Died Tokunboh Adeyemo ...

Gary Streit.(Retired)
May 1, 2010... President of Malone University, in February after admitting to plagiarizing parts of a January 13 chapel speech.

Who's the boss? Erskine College fights denomination's reforms.(HIGHER EDUCATION)
May 1, 2010... Erskine College and Seminary had seen its fair share of battles over the relationship between faith and learning. Online debates. Grumblings at denominational meetings. Then the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP)...

Art.(GO FIGURE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... 69% Growth in size of the main courses depicted in Last Supper paintings between years 1000 and 2000. 23% Growth in size of the bread. International Journal of Obesity

Should churches celebrate Mother's Day during worship?(UNDER DISCUSSION: Topics in the current debate.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... YES "Absolutely, we should celebrate motherhood. The fifth commandment establishes parenthood as a holy calling. But, it also makes good sense to acknowledge "cultural rhythms"--like certain secular holidays--liturgically, to recognize there...

Sexual slavery on Main Street: trafficking of teenagers in the U.S. is getting worse. Here's what some Christians are trying to do about it.(JUSTICE)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For 72 hours last fail, FBI agents and local police targeted truck stops, casinos, night clubs, and adult entertainment spots in 36 American cities to rescue teenagers being trafficked for sex. During the October...

A candle in the darkness: the president of Compassion International tells his story of childhood abuse and deliverance in a West Africa boarding school.(Cover story)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AT A TURNING POINT in my life in 2007, I realized that I needed to allow God to redeem the story of my childhood. That story was so painfully confusing that I did not speak of it for 35 years. Where did my prayers go,...

Mission fields on the move: the massive global migration we see today presents unparalleled opportunities for ministry.(THE GLOBAL CONVERSATION)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Migration is a major feature of the 21st century. A 2005 United Nations report claims that there are nearly 191 million international migrants worldwide. The International Organization for Migration estimates the number...

Faithful presence: James Davison Hunter says our strategies to transform culture are ineffective, and the goal itself is misguided.(THE CT INTERVIEW)(Interview)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] OVER TWO DECADES have passed since Allan Bloom's famous polemic, The Closing of the American Mind, shook up the American academy. The time is ripe for another shakeup. Enter James Davison Hunter, whose latest...

Why Johnny can't read the Bible: most Americans--including scripture-loving evangelicals--cannot name the disciples, the Ten Commandments, or the first book of the Bible. But that's not our biggest biblical illiteracy problem.(DISCIPLESHIP)
May 1, 2010... AMERICANS LOVE THEIR BIBLES. SO much so that they keep them in pristine, condition. Or, as George Gallup Jr. and Jim Castelli said in a widely quoted survey finding, "Americans revere the Bible but, by and large, they don't read it" Anecdotes...

A family affair: what would the church look like if it out we before me?(THEOLOGY)(Essay)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SPIRITUAL FORMATION occurs primarily in the context of community. Persons who remain connected with their brothers and sisters in the local church almost invariably grow in self-understanding. And they mature in their...

What got the most comments in March's CT.(TOP 3)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... What got the most comments in March's CT 19% The Mind Under Grace Darren Marks 19% Box Office Pantheism CT Editors 15% The Village Green, Immigration Samuel Rodriguez, James K. Hoffmeier, and David Skeel

Readers' response to "The Mind Under Grace".(YAY OR NAY)
May 1, 2010... Readers' response to "The Mind Under Grace" [thumbs up] 80% [thumbs down] 20%

Health care crunch.(ONLINE POLL)(Survey)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... Do you support the health care bill that President Obama signed into law? 30% I support most of it. 9% I support some of it. 58% I don't support it. 2% I'm ambivalent. Total Votes: 1,567

Worth repeating: things overheard at CT online.(VIEWPOINTS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... "They want a Savior who forgives their sins, but they don't want a risen Lord who tells them how to live." Ruth Gervat, on why some Christians ignore the Resurrection in their daily lives. Theology in the News: "The Resurrection Changes...

[Cartoon].(VIEWPOINTS)(Cartoon)
May 1, 2010... WHAT?! I SAID, LET ME HEAR YOU SING SOMETHING. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The end of religious freedom? The nightmare scenarios could very well unfold, but they are not the last word.(WHERE WE STAND: CT'S VIEWS ON KEY ISSUES)
May 1, 2010... THE U.S. SUPREME COURT hasn't taken on many significant religion for what could be one of the biggest rulings yet: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which went before the court April 19, is in some eyes the title fight between...

How can the intelligent design movement gain academic credibility? Origins and the scientific community.(THE VILLAGE GREEN: Leading Christians on pressing questions.)(Essay)
May 1, 2010... FIND A FERTILE IDEA Karl Giberson is director of Gordon College's Forum on Faith and Science, vice president of the BioLogos Foundation, and author of Saving Darwin. Leaders of the intelligent design (ID) movement--William Dembski, Stephen...

Same sex, different marriage: many of those who want marriage equality do not want fidelity.(THROWING INKWELLS)
May 1, 2010... SAME-SEX MARRIAGE advocates frequently ask, "How would gay marriage affect your marriage?" The question is posed rhetorically, as if marriage is a private institution with no social consequences. But The New York Times, of all papers, argues...

Ardor and order: the charismatic renewal has disappeared like yeast into bread dough.(PAST IMPERFECT)(Essay)
May 1, 2010... APRIL 3 MARKED exactly 50 years since Episcopal priest Dennis Bennett resigned from his post as rector of St. Mark's Church in Van Nuys, California. He knew that his glowing talk about baptism in the Holy Spirit had provoked fear and resentment...

Living God's ongoing story: N. T. Wright says character matters, but thinks the Reformers disagreed.(After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Against the backdrop of the recent economic crisis, N. T. Wright, Anglican Bishop of Durham, opens with a persuasive call to recover character. Many Christians focus on "getting saved," but what about the rest of the...

My top 5 books on prayer.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A GUIDE TO PRAYER FOR MINISTERS AND OTHER SERVANTS REUBEN JOB AND NORMAN SHAWCHUCK (UPPER ROOM) This is the book that first showed me that prayer is more than talking to God whenever I want, about whatever I want....

Cross-cultural manners: wise advice on dealing with money and relationships when working overseas.(book review 'Cross-Cultural Partnerships: Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission, by Mary Lederleitner )(Book review)
May 1, 2010... The American megachurch pastor had the best intentions when he promised a fledgling sister church in Eastern Europe to do "everything in his power" to help them build a sanctuary. After he returned to the U.S., the European church scraped and...

A Positive Life: Living with HIV as a Pastor, Husband, and Father.(BITS & PIECES: Excerpts from recent books)(Excerpt)
May 1, 2010... A POSITIVE LIFE Living with HIV as a Pastor, Husband, and Father SHANE STANFORD (ZONDERVAN, 224 PAGES) My grandfather broke the silence: "What are you going to do with this thing?" He never used the letters HIV or the word AIDS, and he...

Science vs Religion: What Scientists Really Think.(WILSON'S BOOKMARKS: From the editor of Books & Culture.)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... SCIENCE VS RELIGION What Scientists Really Think ELAINE HOWARD ECKLUND (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ecklund, a sociologist at Rice University, interviewed natural scientists and social scientists at elite American...

Silk Parachute.(WILSON'S BOOKMARKS: From the editor of Books & Culture.)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... SILK PARACHUTE JOHN MCPHEE (FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "The massive chalk of Europe lies below the English Channel, under much of France, under bits of Germany and Scandinavia...." I was hardly aware of the...

Thereby Hangs A Tail: A Chet and Bernie Mystery.(WILSON'S BOOKMARKS: From the editor of Books & Culture.)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... THEREBY HANGS A TAIL A Chet and Bernie Mystery SPENCER QUINN (ATRIA) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the gallery of great characters in detective fiction, from Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown to Precious Ramotswe, we need to make room for...

Get thee behind me, insecurity: Beth Moore tackles a menacing issue for many women.(INTERVIEW)(Interview)
May 1, 2010... Insecurity, Beth Moore says, is the number one issue threaten mg women. The prolific author and sought-after speaker says she does not plan to battle insecurity--she intends to defeat it. She seeks to help other women do the same with her latest...

Saving the children, really: documentary shows three faiths fighting slavery.(Sold)(Movie review)
May 1, 2010... There are no limits to the cruelties that humans inflict on one another, and slavery--particularly the trafficking of children--may be at the apex of depravity. An estimated 27 million are enslaved worldwide. Jody Hassett Sanchez's documentary...

Megachurches, oh my!(The Alpha and the Mega )(Brief article)(Video recording review)
May 1, 2010... The documentary The Alpha and the Mega (Clothespin Films) *** is more introductory than groundbreaking. The film, now available on DVD, explores the question, "What is a megachurch?" Director Morgan Mead, a small-town Indiana boy, attended his...

Two minutes with ... Owl City.(Adam Young)(Interview)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A year ago, few people had heard of Owl City, the one-man synth band masterminded by 23-year-old Adam Young. But when his first major album, Ocean Eyes, went online in July 2009, iTunes chose "Fireflies" as its single...

Roller-coaster life: Amy Grant's latest embraces hard realities and hope.(album review 'Somewhere Down the Road')(Sound recording review)
May 1, 2010... In August 1999, two months after her well-publicized divorce from husband Gary Chapman was made final, Amy Grant took the stage at the Gospel Music Association's Music in the Rockies seminar in Estes Park, Colorado. The divorce--and the...

Hidden Worldviews.(Hidden Worldviews: Eight Cultural Stories That Shape Our Lives)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... * HIDDEN WORLDVIEWS Eight Cultural Stories That Shape Our Lives STEVE WILKENS AND MARK L. SANFORD (INTERVARSITY) **** Worldview resources are usually designed to equip believers to shoot down rival philosophies in defense of Christian...

Jesus and the Land.(Jesus and the Land: The New Testament Challenge to "Holy Land" Theology)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... * JESUS AND THE LAND The New Testament Challenge to "Holy Land" Theology GARY M. BURGE (BAKER ACADEMIC) ***** Dispensational theology may be in decline, but its key tenet of Christian Zionism still tops the bestseller lists. Enter Gary...

What is the Gospel?(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... * WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? GREG GILBERT (CROSSWAY) **** Apart from recent debates about the gospel, this book might bore. Greg Gilbert has absolutely nothing new to propose about the Good News, instead focusing solely on God's perfection,...

Your Church is Too Small.(Your Church is Too Small: Why Unity in Christ's Mission Is Vital to the Future of the Church)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... * YOUR CHURCH IS TOO SMALL Why Unity in Christ's Mission Is Vital to the Future of the Church JOHN H. ARMSTRONG (ZONDERVAN) **** "God wants to tear down walls that keep you from other Christians." That's the basic premise of this new...

Meeting of the Waters.(Meeting of the Waters: Seven Global Currents That Will Propel the Future Church)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... * MEETING OF THE WATERS Seven Global Currents That Will Propel the Future Church FRITZ KLING (DAVID C. COOK) **** A number of books have been written on global trends that the church is wise to watch. But few do it as simply and...

No Stones.(No Stones: Women Redeemed from Sexual Addiction)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... * NO STONES Women Redeemed from Sexual Addiction MARNIE C. FERREE (INTERVARSITY) ***** By "female sex addict," surely we mean the woman who savors a periodic Harlequin romance? In the first major Christian-published book on the topic,...

The Gospel According to Lost.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... * THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LOST CHRIS SEAY (THOMAS NELSON) *** If ever a television show was asking for the "Gospel According to..." treatment, Lost is it. Seay does not merely project the gospel onto a popular show; he unpacks the rich...

Stuff Christians Like.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2010... * STUFF CHRISTIANS LIKE JONATHAN ACUFF (ZONDERVAN) **** Yes, the popular blog-turned-paperback Stuff Christians Like is a direct rip-off of the even more popular blog-turned-paper-back Stuff White People Like. And yes, one of the things...

Johnny Cash: American VI: Ain't No Grave.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... JOHNNY CASH * AMERICAN VI: AIN'T NO GRAVE (AMERICAN RECORDINGS/LOST HIGHWAY) **** Icons inevitably release posthumous albums (Cash has more than most). But this is one of the few that almost sounds--both lyrically and vocally--like it...

The Holmes Brothers: Feed My Soul.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... THE HOLMES BROTHERS * FEED MY SOUL (ALLIGATOR) **** Describing the Holmes Brothers as a "meat and potatoes" band isn't a slam; it just means that their music is simple, never flashy, and always nourishing. On Feed My Soul, produced by...

The Wayside: Spiritual Songs.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... THE WAYSIDE * SPIRITUAL SONGS (GYROSCOPE ARTS) **** In two decades of making rootsy music, John and Michelle Thompson (better known as The Wayside) have always asked questions in their lyrics. Spiritual Songs, an album of covers, is...

Ortolan: Time on a String.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... ORTOLAN * TIME ON A STRING (SOUNDS FAMILYRE) *** Taking melodic cues from the folk and pop of the 1950s and '60s, Ortolan brings girl-group elegance to the eccentric Sounds Familyre roster (Sufjan Stevens, SoulJunk, and the Danielson...

Point of Grace: No Changin' Us.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... POINT OF GRACE * NO CHANGIN' US (WORD) **** From Nashville's Fan Fair to the Grand Ole Opry, Point of Grace used the acoustic flavor of 2007's HOW YOU Live to test the waters of country music. And with plenty of mandolin pickin', fiddle...

Jennifer Grassman: Serpent Tales & Nightingales.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... JENNIFER GRASSMAN * SERPENT TALES & NIGHTINGALES (INDEPENDENT) **** One of the more intriguing albums I've heard in a while, Grassman's 58-minute opus is a unique mix of bombastic prog rock, piano pop, and opera--something between...

Iron Man 2.(Movie review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * IRON MAN 2 PARAMOUNT | NOT YET RATED | MAY 7 In 2008's Iron Man, the brilliant Robert Downey Jr. showed his acting chops by giving the title character (Tony Stark) the kind of complexity and depth that Stan Lee intended--a narcissistic,...

Making Sense of Autism.(Television program review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * MAKING SENSE OF AUTISM JONI & FRIENDS | UNRATED **** In recent years the church has become better at incorporating special-needs children into its programs, partly because of good resources now at its disposal. Add to the list this...

The mission of art: W. David O. Taylor grounds his aesthetic passion in the local church.(WHO'S NEXT: PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW)(Brief biography)
May 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Growing up as a missionary kid in Guatemala, David Taylor was learning the meaning of beauty before he even realized it. Taylor names the tropical landscape as one of five key elements in shaping his own identity as an...

What is beauty?(question & answer)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... Classically, the approach has been to see beauty in terms of three qualities: unity, complexity, and radiance. The textured parts of Shakespeare's Hamlet hold together in a way that keeps us asking for it again and again. But that can also be...

I might find something beautiful that you find ugly. Are we both right?(question & answer)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... Yes. You might find the German language beautiful; I may find it ugly. But we find it beautiful and ugly for complicated reasons. You may despise bratwurst and German consonants, but that doesn't mean that the language of Martin Luther ceases to...

How can the church better integrate the arts into its life?(question & answer)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... It's not that we haven't thought biblically about the arts; it's that we haven't thought biblically deeply enough. It's all there, as Andy Crouch points out in Culture Making: in Genesis and in the Gospels, in Jesus, the Icon of God and the...