Spider-Man No Way Home PG-13 Review by Leonard Freeman A few early critics did not give Spider-Man: No Way Home a lot of love, but apparently they forgot to check with the rest of the moviegoing public. The first film to pass $1 billion at the box office in the COVID pandemic era, Spider-Man: No Way Home has apparently spoken to an entertainment need significantly … [Read more...] about Spider-Man and Redemption
redemption
‘Love Came Down at Christmas’
Presiding Bishop Curry’s Christmas Message 2018 Via the Office of Public Affairs In the Third Chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus says at one point, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that all who believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” For years, I’ve often thought that that passage only referred to Jesus giving his life as a … [Read more...] about ‘Love Came Down at Christmas’
Relentlessly Baptismal
Knight of Cups Dogwood Films and Waypoint Entertainment Directed by Terrence Malick Review by Hannah Ruth Earl The mythos of a California setting is culture-worn and well trod. Waves and palm trees serve as harbingers of a particularly American form of self-direction via self-destruction. In Knight of Cups, director Terrence Malick subverts this popular narrative … [Read more...] about Relentlessly Baptismal
No Substitute for Substitution
Defending Substitution: An Essay on Atonement in Paul By Simon Gathercole. Baker Academic. Pp. 128. $19.99 Review by Fleming Rutledge It may or may not come as a surprise to some readers of The Living Church to know that the simple statement, “Jesus Christ died in my place for my sins,” might bring down the wrath of the academic community upon the unsuspecting head … [Read more...] about No Substitute for Substitution
Still-Amazing Grace
By Retta Blaney“I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I hope to be. But by the grace of God, I am certainly not what I was.” — John NewtonChristopher Smith had never heard of John Newton when, with a little time to spare and in search of some air conditioning, he browsed through the children’s section of a library in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, looking for inspiration … [Read more...] about Still-Amazing Grace
Christmas and Pelagius
The Rt. Rev. Scott Anson Benhase, Bishop of Georgia, writes in his newsletter, eCrozier: Research released this fall illuminated something I’ve had a hunch about for some time: Many Christians, even those who claim they hold orthodox belief, actually have theological convictions that aren’t congruent with the Church’s traditional teaching. In some ways, this shouldn’t be … [Read more...] about Christmas and Pelagius
Voices of Buchenwald
By Alexander H. “Sandy” Webb II Could this be Buchenwald? The cobblestone access road was lush and green. The sky was blue, with a beautiful view of the valley below. Could this be the place where more than 240,000 Jews, Gypsies, and other perceived enemies of the Third Reich once lived in slavery? “If these trees could talk,” Elie Wiesel said five years ago, drawing on his … [Read more...] about Voices of Buchenwald
Save Paws and Save Souls
WWL-TV of New Orleans reports on a dog-training program in Louisiana prisons, and how it will help young Maggie Rollins, daughter of the Rev. Drew and Jeanie Rollins:“This is a mission and this mission is to save paws and to save souls,” said Bill Barse, founder of DoggoneExpress, a nonprofit that has programs including “The Big House to Your House” and “Companions for … [Read more...] about Save Paws and Save Souls