As part of my research for a future project, I’ve been reading The Cryptoterrestrials: A Meditation on Indigenous Humanoids and the Aliens Among Us by Mac Tonnies. It’s quite fascinating, but definitely “out there.” Tonnies is a recently deceased UFOlogist who veered from the more traditional interpretation of “space aliens” as extraterrestrial entities and conjectured [...]
Herman Melville in his classic, Moby Dick, wrote about Captain Ahab’s impassioned, myopic search for the white whale. It is a great symbol of the cosmic conflict between good and evil, light and darkness. Melville notes that when a whale is sighted there is much frenzied activity: deckhands scurry about, boats are lowered, men begin [...]
Back in April, 2011, I posted an article entitled The New Demographic: Christians Who Don’t Like Christian Fiction. It received a good amount of feedback, and currently has over 130 comments. I described this “new demographic” this way: There seems to be a lot more readers who like stories with “faith” elements than CBA (Christian [...]
There are many arguments for why Christian artists should avoid depictions of evil. The very concept of “clean,” “family-friendly” fare is based on the assumption that LESS renderings of evil (be it profanity, violence, gore, occultism, nudity, etc.) are qualitatively better or more “Christian” than stories or images that contain evil. One of the more [...]
My horror / military sci-fi novelette, Requiem 4, is now available in Audible audiobook. Narrated by industry veteran Dan Kassis, he captures the ominous vibe and diversity of characters with chilling precision. A fantastic iteration of this cautionary dystopian tale. You can download your copy of R4 in audiobook HERE.
This is NOT a deconversion story! I suppose I need to be clear about that right up front. Why? Because deconversion stories are currently trending. What is a deconversion story? Good question. Typically, conversion stories (aka testimonials) were designed to reach the unbeliever or spiritual seeker and encourage them towards faith. Deconversion stories, on the [...]
I’m thrilled to announce that my spiritual memoir discipl·ish: My Unconventional Pilgrimage thru Faith, Art, & Evangelical Culture is now available for pre-order for Kindle. In it, I trace my early spiritual quests, conversion to Christianity, plunge into the ministry, and the ultimate disbanding of the church. Along the way, you’ll meet an array of [...]
Famed scientist Stephen Hawking died earlier this week at the age of 76. He is largely regarded as one of the most important physicists in history. Of course, the tributes came pouring in. While most commemorated his genius and determination to transcend the debilitating effects of ALS, others attempted more nuanced commentary. Like USA Today [...]
NPR recently explored the ongoing popularity of zombies in pop culture. In Why The Zombie Craze Still Has Our Undying Affection they list current iterations of the zombie phenomena and then proceed to conjecture why our infatuation with the undead doesn’t die. Their answers, imo, are pretty lame. First, “pre-eminent zombie scholar” Sarah Juliet Lauro, [...]
My article Why the Popularity of Horror Movies Might Encourage Christians recently appeared at the popular evangelical site The Gospel Coalition. In it, I explore the ongoing appeal of the horror genre (2017 was the highest-grossing year for horror movies in box-office history) and how its continued popularity in culture might reflect “an intuitive, God-given sense [...]
