The New Age Movement has made a resurgence in 2020. Particularly popular for those claiming to be spiritual and not religious, we cannot write off New Age spirituality as something of the past. It is in the here and now, and even Christians are enticed by it. Teal Swan is popular among those in the social media generation who are seeking spiritual enlightenment. Swan claims to have endured horrific sexual abuse at the hands of a satanic cult as a child and she uses her platform to help others ov...
Mar 19, 2020•50 min
Marxism, rebranded as socialism or democratic socialism today, is making a comeback. And now the makeover is complete. But Karl Marx’s theory suffers the same malady as every materialistic theory: it contradicts the existence of the theorist. How should Christians apply a Christian ethic and world view to civic government? If Christians agree that the government cannot save people or fundamentally change human hearts, how is this an apologetic issue and not a political one? Topics covered in thi...
Mar 12, 2020•43 min
The pro-life argument isn’t that it is wrong to intentionally kill fetuses because they are capable of experiencing pain. Abortion is wrong because it intentionally kills innocent human beings. Even so, unborn babies as early as 20 weeks may feel pain intensely. This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Megan Almon about her volume 42, number 3/4 (2019) article, “What’s Pain Got to Do with It? Why Arguments over Fetal Pain Capability Ultimately Miss the Mark in the ...
Mar 05, 2020•36 min
Christians are not averse, in principle, to the concept of nonhuman persons. We attribute personhood to the Trinity and to angels, clearly nonhuman beings. We recognize, however, the danger that lies in attempts to elevate animals to our moral equals in the face of glaring evidence they could never operate as such. These efforts ultimately reduce us all to an undifferentiated mess. This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Jay Watts about his article in volume 42, n...
Feb 27, 2020•38 min
Just War Theory (JWT) has been criticized for being so flexible that it can be used to rationalize almost any motivation for initiating war and is therefore of little use in actually preventing war. Because it was originally developed as a means of evaluating the moral considerations of war between nation-states, the applicability of JWT becomes more complicated and difficult to assess when potential combatants reside within the same borders. In this special case, even what would seem to be a st...
Feb 20, 2020•39 min
In apologetics, a crucial question to ask a critic of religion is, “What do you mean by God?” Author Philip Pullman gives an imaginative answer to that question in His Dark Materials, a fantasy trilogy for young adults turned television series now airing on HBO. The books originally generated backlash from Christians because of Pullman’s anti-religious bent and his negative characterization of God and the Church. However, a closer look at Pullman’s “god” reveals him to be merely a straw-man, a f...
Feb 13, 2020•51 min
The internet gives Christians a virtual platform from which to survey the theological landscape and spot from a long way off the horrifying wrongness of others, and then it is a tool by which we can to correct them, by name, in a tweet, Facebook or Instagram post, or long-form blog post. But what does the Bible say? Should Christians critique others and call each other out by name for theological error or sin? Under what circumstances? In what manner? And how often? This Postmodern Realities epi...
Feb 06, 2020•42 min
This film review examines the artfulness and cinematographic symbolism that makes The Two Popes spiritually uplifting, while also providing philosophical tools to assess its core message of postmodern change for the Roman Catholic Church. The 2020 Oscar nominated film portrays a friendship between Cardinals Joseph Ratzinger and Jorge Bergoglio who became the modern-day two popes–Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Jason Monr...
Jan 30, 2020•35 min
The Light of the World Church (TLOW), with over 15,000 temples in 58 countries, claims to be the restoration of the early church of Christ. Although official doctrinal documents are rare, we can trace their central doctrines from its hymnology and other sources. When we analyze three critical doctrines held by TLOW, comparing them to early Christian orthodoxy and early heresies, TLOW aligns more with ancient heresies condemned by the early church. However, rather than being discouraged by the ap...
Jan 23, 2020•42 min
A 2015 Pew study found that 25 percent of those identifying as Christians believe in reincarnation. For some, the idea of reincarnation offers comfort and guidance. And many times, the pop-culture view of reincarnation, while popular in American circles, does not fit the Hindu and Buddhist religions where the doctrine originated. According to these religions, you do not choose your next lifetime. Karma determines it. That is, the combination of your good and bad actions produces good or bad resu...
Jan 16, 2020•47 min
First time visitors to an Anglican Church, especially a parish of the high church tradition, are often bewildered. Worship abounds in written prayers, vestments, acolytes, a robed choir, candles, hymns accompanied by an organ. People cross themselves, kneel for certain prayers, stand for others. Communion wine is just that, wine served from a common cup. If it happens to be a feast day, there may be incense. To the uninitiated all these elements may feel positively arcane and certainly alien. Pe...
Jan 09, 2020•39 min
[This review contains SPOILERS for the film that tells the story of the Austrian hero Franz Jägerstätter who died during World War II.] A Hidden Life, the three-hour film by acclaimed director Terrence Malick is based on the true life story of an Austrian farmer living in the final years of World War II. In it we see the main character, Franz Jägerstätter, a farmer and family man living a modest life in the mountains of Austria, knock again and again at the door of martyrdom. Malick’s latest fil...
Jan 02, 2020•33 min
It’s been 42 years in the making, but finally The Rise of Skywalker, the final film in the nine-film epic space opera saga called Star Wars, debuted in Dec. 2019. In this podcast episode, the topics discussed include: The reasons behind fans embracing the film and film reviewers critiques of it. The view of God in the Star Wars films, how The Rise of Skywalker affects the theology of the series, and how the meaning of Star Wars changed over the nine films. This spoiler-filled podcast episode is ...
Dec 26, 2019•43 min
The path to emotionalism has been a process of elimination, striking down various authorities along the history of ideas. The history of ideas can be roughly summed up by three main epochs: pre-modernism, modernism, and postmodernism in the mid-late 20th Century. While postmodern ideas may have been commonplace in academia, they still represented a fringe-group of thought experiments. The average person still mostly acted as if there were absolute truths and knowable facts about the world and mo...
Dec 19, 2019•51 min
“Have you ever thought what it’s like to be wanderers in the Fourth Dimension? Have you? To be exiles?” So asked William Hartnell’s mysterious Doctor back in An Unearthly Child (1963), the very first episode of the long-running British, BBC produced science-fiction TV series, Doctor Who. He is a Time Lord travelling the universe in the TARDIS, a bigger-on-the-inside time machine disguised as a Police Box, fighting monsters with the help of his human companions. Complete with its own convention (...
Dec 12, 2019•44 min
More than 85 million people in the U.S. are avid watchers of the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas films. Complete with its own mobile App, Hallmark Christmas film fans can partake year-round in the romantic, true-love plots. Not just on the Hallmark Channel, but other on-demand viewing channels like Netflix have also gotten into the Christmas film game. All the films have the same plot, the same kiss, the same quaint small town, the same fake snow falling gently onto the shiny hair of the protagonis...
Dec 05, 2019•37 min
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is being marketed primarily on the strength of the cultural similarity between Mr. Rogers, America’s most wholesome neighbor, and Tom Hanks, the lovable actor sometimes called “America’s dad.” It’s a good casting choice, but it might mislead viewers into thinking that Hanks will be as much at the center of the film as he is in Cast Away or Forrest Gump. This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Philip Tallon on his online-exclusiv...
Nov 27, 2019•34 min
is Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Correy Latta forthcoming online-exclusive movie review article, “What Joker Gets Right About Human Depravity”. https://www.equip.org/article/getting-what-we-deserve-what-joker-gets-right-about-human-depravity-a-film-review-of-joker-2019-starring-joaquin-phoenix/ We’d also like to invite you to subscribe to the Journal. To subscribe to the Journal, please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/crj-subscription/ When you to s...
Nov 14, 2019•47 min
Several Christian voices have recently been questioning the value of engaging with pop culture, and particularly the kind of entertainment gluttony encouraged by the convenience of services like Netflix or Amazon Prime. They posit that excessive consumption of pop culture by Christians is worse for our souls, minds, and hearts. So are those Christians who believe that engaging popular culture is valuable mistaken? Are Christians who engage with pop culture distracting themselves from more spirit...
Nov 07, 2019•47 min
This episode is a conversation about the book Modern Kinship: A Queer Guide to Christian Marriage by David and Constantino Khalaf who invite the LGBTQ community to see marriage in a new enchanting light—that of an unorthodox, unbiblical, LGBTQ-affirming “Christianity”. The book makes the case that queer “Christian” marriage is a healthy option for partnered gays and lesbians, and that, in many cases, it is a more functional version of its counterpart—heterosexual marriage. Its forward is written...
Nov 04, 2019•49 min
The new Magnolia Pictures documentary Hail Satan?, directed by avant-garde documentarian Penny Lane, is a thought-provoking darkly comedic study of an upstart faction of Satanists known as The Satanic Temple (TST). Cofounded by Lucien Greaves and Malcom Jarry in 2013, TST has been a growing, mischievous, and yet whimsical presence in public life. The group has earned a reputation as diehard political activists, that takes the art of trolling to a whole new level. The discussion covers what Satan...
Oct 31, 2019•1 hr 9 min
The stereotype of old people as crusty, cantankerous complainers who have nothing better to do than remind young whippersnappers of how much better things used to be, tends to be supported by experiences we have with many of the elderly we meet. So its surprising when an old man or woman who does not fit this stereotype. As we age, how can we can be the kind of people who bear the burdens of old age well and continue to be productive people well into his or her later years? Ciceros On Old Age is...
Oct 28, 2019•55 min
Many Christians think of sports as having little to no value. They see the time, money, devotion, and energy that many put into sports as time, money, devotion, and energy that could be better used for the sake of the kingdom of God. But can we think about sports, and be involved in them, in ways that build the kingdom? Yes! To do this, however, will require that we approach sports in ways that are often countercultural. Not only can we approach sports with a kingdom mindset, we must do so. The ...
Oct 23, 2019•45 min
Todays world is a laboratory for experimenting with all types of new media, and we are all creating our own ways of adopting technologies as they develop. It is not dramatic to say that these digital technologies and especially the ones we use on our computers, smartphones, and tablets we use every day, summed in the simple word app, are changing what it means to function as humans. Apps on our electronic devices have certainly made communication faster and access to information easier but we ar...
Oct 03, 2019•33 min
Those familiar with the street preaching type of Hebrew Israelites have usually seen their 12 Tribes of Israel Chart. Hebrew Israelites are usually black, Hispanic, and Native Americans who claim they are the true biological descendants of Jacob from their paternal line. Hebrew Israelites of the street proselytizing variety usually trace their theological roots back to a small, New York City based school, initially called the Israelite School of Torah. The school, launched in 1969, was at one ti...
Sep 26, 2019•38 min
Despite certain elements of the accounts of King David in the Hebrew Bible appearing to be legendary, there are several intriguing sources that strongly suggest that David existed and founded a dynasty and that Davids kingdom was more than a myth. Textual sources written from the perspective of the enemies of Israel and Judah mention the house of David, a clear reference to David as a dynastic founder. While direct, physical evidence ie David was here is lacking, archaeological data from key sit...
Sep 19, 2019•31 min
Of all the public conversions from conservative evangelical too progressive, Jen Hatmakers is one of the most culturally appealing. Her trademark breezy, well timed humor penetrates to the heart of the overwhelmed American woman she gathers into her tribe and admonishes to keep up the hard work, which will, by her gritty love, save the world. This is Hatmakers gospel as you model your life on Jesus and love as inclusively as He did, you will heal yourself, your family, and the world. This gospel...
Sep 12, 2019•31 min
Steven Spielbergs made five movies featuring aliens: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., A.I., The War of the Worlds, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But the really important alien movies are Spielbergs first two: Close Encounters and E.T. Like Spielbergs other early films, Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark, these movies refined a B movie genre into critically acclaimed gourmet popcorn. Close Encounters and E.T. raised the bar for cinematic science fiction. They also...
Sep 05, 2019•41 min
NBCs The Good Place television series has had three hilarious yet thought provoking seasons its final and fourth season begins Sept 26 2019 which tell a riveting story while examining crucial philosophical questions such as what it means to live a good life and whether we have any moral obligations to our fellow man. Along the way, viewers have been exposed to the ideas of several major figures of Western philosophy such as Aristotle, Kant, Kierkegaard, Hume, Mill, and Sartre, as well as a few c...
Aug 29, 2019•57 min
Losing the American universities is truly one of the greatest tragedies of world history. But first, why does it matter? It matters because the university is the most influential institution of western civilization. From it come our journalists, artists, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, political leaders, K 12 educators, and even future professors. As goes the university so goes the culture. Indeed, as goes the U S university, so goes the world. Ideas have consequences. This Postmodern Realities e...
Aug 22, 2019•51 min
