We wander a bit outside the usual science themes, but we are not lost; we are with Tolkien.Read more…
Science Corner: To Infinitesimal and Beyond!
And so we have a hero who saw the vast gulf of experience and communication between himself and other living creatures and decided to build a bridge.Read more…
Science Corner: Ashes to Ashes, But What of Synthetic Dinosaurs?
This reflection on the themes of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom avoids spoilers, but as always feel free to wait until you’ve seen the movie if you want to know nothing about it when watching. It is widely reported that anRead more…
Science in Review: A Droid in Every Garage
What it does with ships, Solo also does for droids, taking a ubiquitous feature of the setting and giving them their day in the twin suns.Read more…
Science in Review: Just Gotta Get Right Outta Here
For Han Solo, spaceships mean the freedom to go anywhere but here.Read more…
Science Corner: Sympathy for the Bedeviled
If not knowing is a form of freedom, how can it be that the truth will set us free?Read more…
Science in Review: Thor, Thanos and Theology
Not only does this theology equate divinity with supernatural power to the exclusion of power manifest as nature, it also seems to only consider power.Read more…
Science in Review: A Strange Prescription for Reconciling Faith & Science
If we are at the place where the natural and the supernatural meet, it is a place of fruitful collaboration, not strident conflict.Read more…
Book Response: Hollywood Worldviews, by Brian Godawa
“I am a screenwriter. . . . If you don’t have a good story, you won’t have a good movie, no matter who is acting in it or lighting it or directing it or producing it. If the story doesn’t work, the movie doesn’t work” (9). Yes, the writer creates and “the story is king” (10).Read more…
Science in Review: God or Supergod?
On those long, dark Saturdays of the soul, we’ll have a choice. We can adjust our idea of God for a complete explanation now—that God either acted evilly or God was unable to act—or we can believe God is consistent and gain the hope of Resurrection Sunday.Read more…
Jurassic July: Look, Don’t Touch
Should we be so comfortable with splicing genes or otherwise meddling with biology? Shelley dubbed Victor Frankenstein the modern Prometheus. Are we still concerned that the gods will punish us for taking fire from the heavens, demonstrating a level of control over nature reserved for the divine?Read more…
Jurassic July: Safety Not Guaranteed
What risks are of greatest concern in your discipline or institution? What risks have been tacitly assumed that you would like to see reconsidered?Read more…
Jurassic July: Velociraptor’s a Pack Hunter
Is there a culture of collaboration in the context where you work or study? How do you incorporate collaborative elements like peer review, mentoring, and public communication into your work?Read more…
Jurassic July: The Three-Legged Stool of Science
When I was a microbiology graduate student, it was generally understood that there were three broad career options: continue on in academia, work for the government, or join the corporate world. Any discussion of one’s future plans and goals typically started with a question about that threefold choice.Read more…
Science in Review: The World of Tomorrow, Today
[H]ow a message is framed strongly influences how we respond to the message itself. . . . Tomorrowland doesn’t claim that just changing the kind of science fiction we tell will be enough to address the concerns it has. Read more…
Science in Review: Playing God
There is much to enjoy about Avengers: Age of Ultron, and it touches on a number of themes worthy of further exploration. Astonishing visuals do a lot of narrative heavy lifting; the action choreography reveals a lot about the characters and their relationships. Consequently, the film has plenty of opportunities to share what’s on its mind. And apparently, that’s God.Read more…
Movies are Signposts in a Strange Land
May we point to the path, at times narrow and dark, but never without the Light.Read more…
Common Grace: Where Christianity and Movies Intersect
If the Christian story is true, it is true for all people, places, cultures, and times.Read more…
Our Love of Movies Can Show the Love of God
Our favorite movies tell us who we are and why we are.Read more…
Science Corner: A Vision of Science
Note: This is a spoiler-free comment on Avengers: Age of Ultron. If you have seen any trailers for the film or are at all familiar with the character of Ultron, none of this should be news. Assuming a single weekendRead more…
Movies: They All Begin and End the Same
We love stories, tell stories, and read stories, knowing that stories can only be told because the story exists.Read more…
When the Lights Go Down: Movie Review as Christian Practice
Early in my teaching vocation, I began to train students how to watch movies and how to write movie reviews. Since the early 1990s, classes have watched full-length feature films; interactive responses followed. . . . If you asked my former students now what they remember about my classes then, they would smile and say, “He ruined watching movies for me forever.”Read more…
What have you been watching over Christmas Break?
Last week I asked, What have you been reading over Christmas Break?* Now I’d like to know what you’ve been watching. Below is my movie reel with some comments. Comments … Tom Grosh IVTom enjoys daily conversations regarding livingRead more…
Week in Review: Can You Hear Aslan Roar?
What are you reading, watching, thinking about this week? As usual, here’s a few which have been on our mind. Let us know your thoughts on any/all of them. If you have items you’d like us to consider for theRead more…