It has been said that we’re all separated by a maximum of six degrees of introduction from every other person on this globe. In the case of the Newtown tragedy, I’m separated by but two steps. My mother knows Rob Charach, the principal of Linden Christian School in Winnipeg, MB. And Linden is the school that was […]
evil
What in hell is going on? A Review of Sharon Baker’s “Razing Hell” (Part 1)
Sharon L. Baker. Razing Hell: Rethinking everything you’ve been taught about God’s wrath and judgment. Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. 222 pp. ISBN: 0664236545 Make sure you get the title right. We’re not talkin’ about raising hell as in some good ole’ boys going cow tipping in the moonlight. No, we’re talkin’ about razing hell as […]
“The Lovely Bones,” and why Roger Ebert will not like a film version of “The Shack”
This article was originally published at The Christian Post in January 2010. Film critic Roger Ebert clearly did not like the film adaptation of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. While I haven’t read the book or seen the movie, I certainly found Ebert’s review revealing. Ebert is one of the most interesting film critics to […]
Pedophiles and rock stars: A reflection on “The Woodsman”
“The Woodsman” opens with convicted pedophile Walter (Kevin Bacon) returning home after a twelve year stint in prison. Not surprisingly, he finds that his entire support network has evaporated. After all, who wants to be associated with a pedophile? But how blurred the criteria of social condemnation can be. In the late eighties the glam metal band “Winger” had […]
I want to know what evil is
The critics never liked Foreigner much, but then their mullet-wearin’ Camaro-drivin’ fans never liked the critics much. And really, who could resist the infectious drive of an arena-grade power ballad like “I want to know what love is”? Although Lou Gramm may have been asking what love is, I think he had a reasonably good […]
On being skeptical of the skeptics
In “Surely you can’t be serious” I wrote that “The evil of the cannibal seeking to eat Jim is, to put it bluntly, a metaphysically necessary truth.” Brenda responded: “Well, that is a claim. One you have not proved must be true. I don’t see how you can ‘prove’ that cannibalism is necessarily wrong the […]
Torture Porn and Human Nature: An All Hallow’s Eve Meditation
This weekend “Saw 3-D” came out on top at the box office. No surprise. It is a well established horror film franchise. I’ve never seen any of the Saw films, but I get the general idea: line people up to be tortured and killed in a series of grisly, sadistic and extraordinarily creative ways. The Saw […]
Rape as objectively evil
In my last post I stated that rape is objectively evil and any worldview that cannot count for this fact suffers accordingly. Alexander responded with a refreshing dose of dramatic bravado: “Not so, Randal Rauser! According to Randy Thornhill, rape is actually an evolution of a ‘genetically advantageous behavioral adaptation’ and, in that context, not inherently evil.” This […]
