‘Joshua’ keeps on preaching
The doctor’s verdict was blunt and he didn’t want to quibble about details. The patient’s heart and blood were in terrible shape. He was working too hard and the stress was about to kill him. The...
View ArticleMission? Filling hole in Hollywood
Look up “mission” in a dictionary and it’s clear why the word makes Hollywood nervous. A “mission” can be “an aim in life, arising from a conviction or sense of calling.” That’s nice and secular. But...
View ArticleTerrorism, fiction and the Truth
WASHINGTON — One of the most sobering sights that novelist Joel Rosenberg has ever seen was the glitter of Manhattan outside the windows of a Learjet a few months after Sept. 11. Since this was a...
View ArticleRushdie says, ‘Get religion’
It remains Salman Rushdie’s fervent conviction that it’s wrong for clergy, jurists or politicos to threaten writers’ lives simply because they think their books are terrible. Not even the shocking...
View ArticleThat Da Vinci sex code
In the beginning, Judaism was a faith built on sacred sex. At least, that’s what Dan Brown told 60 million readers in “The Da Vinci Code,” speaking though a fictional Harvard University scholar named...
View ArticleShadows of THE wardrobe
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The tall wardrobe in the office of the Westmont College English department isn’t much to look at, but visitors from near and far keep visiting to peek inside. A previous owner...
View ArticleFinal Harry Potter wars? Part II
Coming soon to a parish near you: Sunday school with Harry Potter. This could happen if your congregation buys the new “Mixing it up with Harry Potter” study guides from the Church of England. The goal...
View ArticleDefine “spiritual.” Pick three films
The hero is stranded on a dying planet, lonely and yearning for companionship. Then a miracle occurs and his female counterpart — her name is EVE — arrives seeking a sprout of new life that says it’s...
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