- Header image courtesy of Beyond Belief Media. (Adapted from the Christ Pantocrator icon in St. Catherine's monastery, Sinai, 6th century.)
Subscribe via RSS feed
-
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
- To see what books I'm reading, visit my Shelfari page.
Category Archives: Film
Roundup: Yeezianity, the Young Messiah, false Jesus theories, abandoned churches, religion treasures at Yale
“The Church of Yeezianity” by Matt Wilstein: This new religion reveres Kanye West as Yeezus, “a divine being who has been sent by God to usher in a New Age of humanity,” according to the religion’s official website. In an … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Pop Culture, Roundup
Leave a comment
Johnny Cash’s “Gospel Road”
Despite all Johnny Cash’s chart-topping hits—“I Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Ring of Fire,” etc.—his lesser-known movie The Gospel Road is supposedly his proudest work. [1] This 1973 feature film was a labor of love: he and his wife … Continue reading
Karel Teissig’s Black Jesus
At the end of the TV miniseries Killing Jesus that premiered this March, several contemporary Jesus artworks scan the screen. I recognized many of them, but one that was new to me and that I really like is a crucifixion … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Non-Western Art
Tagged black christ, Christ as victim, Patrice Lumumba
Leave a comment
Roundup: New Jesus movie, Lent retreat, Art in Orvieto, and Covenant and Exodus videos
Last Days in the Desert movie review: Another Bible-inspired movie! Having premiered last month at Sundance, this one is about Christ’s temptations in the wilderness, starring Ewan McGregor. Critic Jordan Hoffman, writing for The Guardian, gives it four out of … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Western Art
Leave a comment
The Christmas Truce of 1914
This December marks the centennial of the famous ceasefire along the Western Front during World War I. On Christmas Eve, 1914, along the four-hundred-mile frontline, enemy soldiers spontaneously emerged from their trenches, arms laid aside, to celebrate Christ’s birth together. … Continue reading
Roundup: Eden in art, transgender children, public schooling, new Exodus movie, and John Williams parody
“Back to Eden: Contemporary Artists Wander the Garden”: This new exhibition at the Museum of Biblical Art in Manhattan is on view through September 28. It features eighteen artists, many of whom work in nontraditional media. “I Am Ryland: The … Continue reading
Movie Review: Higher Ground (2011)
Director: Vera Farmiga Screenwriter: Carolyn S. Briggs (with Tim Metcalfe), based on her memoir This Dark World Starring: Vera Farmiga MPAA Rating: R, for some language and sexual content Most films that center on Christianity fall into one of two … Continue reading
Bill Viola’s Emergence as a Picture of the Resurrected Christ and the New Birth of Believers
Water shows up a lot in the Christian scriptures and, along with bread and wine, is central to the sacramental life of the church. In the rite of baptism, it signifies purification or cleansing, even as it signifies too the … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Western Art
Tagged born again, Jesus resurrection, second birth, video art
4 Comments
Roundup: Coventry Cathedral, the falsifiability of Christianity, racism, a child’s letter, liturgy, and a “recycled orchestra”
I apologize for not generating much original content lately. I haven’t anything substantive to present at the moment, but I have been voraciously reading up and taking notes on the history behind the building and art of Coventry Cathedral—one of … Continue reading
Posted in Film, History, Inspirational, Music, Western Art
1 Comment
The Jesus Question 