Practical Christian Mysticism

When it comes to kids television, often times the best shows can merely be described as “harmless” and “amusing”. Avatar: the Last Airbender is the exception to this, and quite frankly, can be called “exceptional” in every way. Avatar: the Last Airbender is probably the most edifying television series for children ever produced that is not an “educational” show. Aside from it’s high quality production and engrossing story, Avatar: the Last Airbender teaches true spiritual virtues and spiritual truths of a maturity level that even adults will have a lot to think about while watching it with their kids. Continue Reading »

While Vikings don’t have the cleanest of history, they do star in one of my all-time favorite movies: The 13th Warrior. While the movie didn’t get the best reviews, or much enduring attention, it is frequently revisited by my wife and I. I spend some time thinking about why this movie appeals to me so much, then it finally became clear… It is a movie about real masculinity. Modern day media is full of feminized male roles, it is refreshing to see a movie about men at their best.

In The 13th Warrior, the heroes are a group of rough battle-ready warriors. The viewer of the movie is shown a culture where men live, not for comfort, but for a new challenge. A culture where luxury is rejected in favor of struggle and adventure. They value teamwork and camaraderie and rely on each other for their very lives. Even the physical depiction of the characters as large, strong, hairy, lumbering men is a huge contrast to the popular skinny, weak, and gender-ambiguous male leads we know today (More and more I keep finding myself asking “Is that a man or a woman?”). At the end of the movie, I always feel like I just watched a pretty accurate depiction of male utopia. Continue Reading »

I finally got to sit down and watch What the Bleep Do We Know!?, which I was interested in seeing but eluded me for a while (not many art theaters in the Bible Belt). After seeing the movie I was pretty disappointed. I was interested in the movie because I was hoping they were going to show how quantum mechanics demonstrates low little we know about the Universe. Instead, it was just a sales trick for cult weirdos who think they have all the answers. Continue Reading »

The things you own end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything that you’re free to do anything. ~Fight Club

Bill Talen (aka “Reverend Billy”) has gained much of my esteem. He stars in a new documentary/comedy called “What Would Jesus Buy?”. The movie is not only funny, but really hits home. Seldom does anyone stop to question consumerism, yet it runs (ruins?) our lives. Consumerism isn’t about buying things, it is about buying things we don’t need. We have created an entire culture were we work, labor, and struggle all in the hopes of buying our next… something. Continue Reading »

This a kind of holiday tradition of mine. Every Christmas season I post this article on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol. It is probably the greatest story told for the modern age and is precious to me and my family.

I have talked to people many times about how we have become distracted through morality, and how we obsess so much over the things we shouldn’t do that we forget the things we should do. In fact, the greatest evils in this world are perpetuated, if not created, by apathy and heedlessness more than hate. Continue Reading »

My wife and I have been fans of the work of Hayao Miyazaki since the translation and import of Princess Mononoke to the American market back in 1999. Shortly after this, Disney took it upon themselves to translate and import most of his more family-friendly films and bring them to America. A couple films you may have heard of are Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. Hayao Miyazaki’s films are all done with great imagination and creativity, but he also portrays the human condition more accurately than other movie director/writer I have ever seen.

The other great wisdom shown in Hayao’s Miyazaki’s films is how evil is overcome. “Overcome” is the key word here, evil is not “conquered” but rather overcome through perseverance and maturity. In Spirited Away, the main character starts out as whiny and selfish, and likewise most of the characters around her are shallow and greedy. Throughout the film, the main character is actually struggling against herself as she overcomes her own weakness, as she grows those around her are challenged to grow as well. In a couple movies like Howl’s Moving Castle, the films end with no villains left at all, everyone has reconciled. Continue Reading »