The historical conflict goes by a number of names: the Great War, the War to End All Wars, and later, World War I (1914–1918). Though World War II (1939–1945) caused far more destruction and higher death tolls, some Europeans who lived through both catastrophic wars—such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis—thought the First World War was more jarring…
The great Yale church historian Jaroslav Pelikan once called the Roman Catholic Church ʺthe most formidable religious institution in the history of America and of the world.ʺ1 One distinguishing doctrinal feature of Catholicism is the claim that the pope is the official leader of Christendom. Of the three branches of Christendom (Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism), Catholics uniquely view the pope as sitting…
In his film Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus, documentary filmmaker Timothy Mahoney recreates his search for the historical truth behind the Jews’ exodus from Egypt. I previewed this film at a theatrical release in February 2015. The documentary is now widely available for rent and purchase, and I’ve noticed that it’s been getting some promotion within the Christian apologetics community…
Today I offer an article by guest author Kevin Birdwell. *** Editors Sandra Dimas and Amanda Warner sat down with climatologist and RTB visiting scholar Kevin Birdwell to get a scientist’s perspective on Hollywood disaster films. Let’s start with somewhat recent films about massive earthquakes: 2012 and San Andreas. In 2012, Los Angeles experiences a 10.9 magnitude earthquake caused by…
Christian filmmakers are on a roll. The last several years have brought us an increasing number of religious films, many bordering on mainstream and featuring globally recognized stars. But among the miraculous true stories and positive message films, Risen, the tale of a skeptical Roman soldier Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) encountering the risen Christ (Cliff Curtis), is the one that caught…
Why do you go to the movies? For many, it’s for entertainment. Movies certainly possess a remarkable ability to make us laugh and cry. Others go to the movies to escape from the pressures and difficulties of daily life. I may be an odd duck, but I enjoy movies that make me think—especially about the deep questions of life. Some…
Imagination and storytelling are very powerful ways of drawing attention to important ideas and questions. A good book or movie provokes people to think in a way unlike hearing a lecture. This is one reason why Jesus spoke in parables. With a much-anticipated new chapter of the generation-spanning Star Wars saga about to unfold in theaters, RTB editor Maureen Moser…
This Friday, the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s highly successful debut novel The Martian hits theaters. In anticipation of the film’s release, I met with editor Sandra Dimas to discuss how The Martian might help remind others of a different kind of rescue mission. Sandra: In The Martian, astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is stranded on Mars by his crewmates…
Christian families are constantly interacting with all sorts of entertainment: books, music, video games, television, and movies. In part 1 of this series, we discussed worldview analysis as a foundational principle of evaluating the media we consume. Now we will examine some additional considerations. Production Value When I was a child in the 1970s, Christian filmmaking—films made outside the Hollywood…
When I was in seminary, I had a side job as a movie reviewer for a major Christian periodical. For two years I spent nearly every Friday night sitting in arthouse theaters watching a lot of really bad films. Then, I’d quickly cobble together a review for which I was paid an astounding $25, plus the cost of a theater…
Reflections 