I first set out to create a blog on theology that knows how to “read” the culture of its times. What do the prevalent symbols and narrative of our culture tell us about our understanding of the divine? How do these understandings connect with — or diverge from — the God we read about in Scripture?
I keep the blog up-to-date on what I’m reading in quarterly Look Back & Look Ahead updates. They’re a great way to see what’s influencing my thinking behind-the-scenes — and also to read along to see what might be coming up (or to request that I write on a specific title)!
Movies have the power to reveal what our culture believes about the divine, spirituality, and scripture. So far, my largest and most beloved series is on Mad Max: Fury Road, a movie that contains even more theology than it does explosions. Also check out my thoughts on the book-turned-movie Room.
Literature can also reveal our understanding of God and spirituality. A few good intro posts:
- Modern Demons: The Brothers K, Mass Shootings, and the Demon-Possessed Man
- The Slow Regard of Silent Things & The Image of God
- The Book of Uncommon Prayer & How to Pray Without Ceasing
There are some straightforward book reviews, like the perennially popular review on Benjamin Hoff’s The Tao of Pooh. I’m hoping to do more reviews of the books that back my theological understandings.
If you’re here with scripture foremost in your mind, my posts are also findable by Scripture categories: First Testament, Epistle, and Gospel texts. If you’re looking for something more specific, I recommend using the search bar at the top of the page.
You may be interested in learning how I approach culture. My philosophy of symbols and rituals and stories and theories that undergird how I come to the conclusions in my posts on culture — it’s all in the Foundations series. I recommend starting with this piece on the origin of symbols or this one on how best to understand relationship with the divine.
Sometimes I can’t keep silent on issues in Current Events here in USAmerica. Some with ongoing relevance are on mass shootings, prayer and policy-making, and voting with Christian values.
A new feature is the Quotation Compilation, a collection of quotations on a theme. The first one is on (what else?) story.
The BIGGEST and BEST feature is the Free, Ever-Expanding Resource Library. Sign up for access to playlists, Christianity in Culture lists, and discussion guides:
Finally, I’m a new member of group of blogs that participates in the Literary Wives series. We read books that refer to wives in the title and reflect on what the work reveals about the experience of being a wed woman. My first book review with them was on Emma Chapman’s How to Be a Good Wife.