What is it about films like The Revenant and 127 Hours that grips us so much? One of my buddies (J. D. O’Brien) out here in the Twin Cities is a local filmmaker. His first major film was a documentary called Out in the Cold, which you can check out on Amazon Prime. Out in the Cold looks at homelessness in the Twin Cities in the middle of winter (J.D. and his buddy actually spend a week “out...
I have been learning about how to improve myself in regards to building habits, setting goals, and achieving goals recently. I just got engaged almost a month ago now and I realized that if I want to be a reliable and competent husband, and just a reliable and competent person in general, then I must work at it. Natural and unchecked tendencies can only carry a person so far, such as a natural sense of...
The Question With the ex-vangelical movement on the rise and evangelical church attendance in decline, the question is often raised: Is evangelical theology, particularly the conservative evangelical theology that drives writers like Wayne Grudem to write articles like “Why voting for Donald Trump is a morally good choice,” and “Why Building a Border Wall is a Morally Good action,” toxic? This brand of theology is predominately driven by older white Protestants, as only 11 percent of the US population is...
So, I’m on twitter now. My life just needed more social commentary, and my more-conservative-than-not Facebook news feed just wasn’t cutting it. Fortunately, Twitter remains the cool social enclave for many of the more-left-than-central folks, which has allowed me to follow some very interesting thinkers. It has been fascinating to watch debates and dialogues evolve around various issues pertaining to politics and religion. Occasionally, there are pictures of puppies, and I am most thankful for...
Just the other day (July 11) the post-hardcore-indie-funk-hip-hop-piano-punk duo known as twenty one pilots just released two new tracks that will appear on their upcoming album, Trench, which is set to be released this October. The first song, “Jumpsuit,” appears to continue some of the themes from their most recent album Blurryface about their insecurities, their love-hate relationship with the music industry, their fear of selling out, and their desire to be authentic. I find their explorations...
As a college student, my life shifts drastically between the beginning of May through the end of August. I don’t have to worry about any major assignment deadlines, but I also had little reason to hide in the library when it hit 118 degrees the other day. With summer comes a sudden stop in goals. Throughout the school year, you’re essentially just given goals: get straight A’s, do some meaningful research, don’t pull an all-nighter....
The Ideology of Love in Film We have all seen it; a film wherein a lover pursues another for the duration of the movie, creating tension and perpetuating the feeling of an unattainable partner. This is necessary for the plot and for the ideology of love to function. If the lover’s partner is obtained in one climactic scene, as they are in many films, the political ramifications are tremendous. The longing is no longer there, the...
Stanley and I recently went on a trip to San Diego, CA and went to some fantastic restaurants. With my new Samsung S9 in hand (just made the switch from iPhone to Android), I took some pictures of the good eats in San Diego, and thought I’d share some of them with you. I absolutely love good food! It is one of the many blessings of this life, and reminds me of God’s goodness and...
Long before I entered the Anglican tradition in college, I harbored a secret curiosity for the saints. Growing up in a local conservative baptist church, “saints” merely referred to those who are in Christ. Biblically speaking, this is true. When St. Paul writes to the Church in Philippi, he writes to the “saints,” literally, the “holy ones” (Phil. 1:1). Since we who are “in Christ” are “saints,” shouldn’t we be suspicious of those who (seemingly)...
You’ve probably seen by now all the pictures of children being taken away from their parents. You’ve also probably seen the detention centers, the TIME magazine cover, the blog posts, the tweets, AG Jeff Sessions defending the practice by quoting Romans 13, President Trump saying that he couldn’t do anything about it, blaming Democrats, doing something about it, and then turning the issue into illegal immigrant crime. No hyperlinks needed; We’ve all seen them. We’ve...
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