Peter Berger, one of the premier sociologists and public intellectuals over the past fifty years, passed from this life on June 27th at the age of 88. For years I had hoped for the privilege to meet him, but that opportunity never developed. Thus, I offer this tribute not as a friend or even an acquaintance,…

Gavin Ortlund joins the Creation Project after recently earning a PhD in historical theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. His dissertation, which will soon be published by Brill, is titled “Ascending Toward the Beatific Vision: Heaven as the Climax of Anselm’s Proslogion” and focuses on St. Anselm’s doctrine of heaven in the Proslogion. As one might guess from…

Big Money, Big Science, and God’s Big World In my last post I presented the objections to spending billions on big science projects such as the Large Hadron Collider. Questions certainly arise in the face of this massive public spending, when we live in a world in which millions of people are hungry and lack access…

Some people have labeled me a “public theologian.” This is intended as a compliment because it often comes with a note that they appreciate and have learned from the way I engage. It is a kind observation that reflects the hope I have when I enter “public discussion.” I pray that the result, even if…

The current conversation about science and Christianity – particularly how to read Genesis in light of scientific advance – did not fall from the sky, but developed out of a historical stream of thinking, discovery, and intellectual inquiry. Our generation is not the first to ponder these issues, and a storehouse of insight awaits those who are willing…

Nollywood, the Nigerian version of Hollywood of the US and the Bollywood of India, is the largest  movie industry in Africa. In 2009 Nollywood produced 872 films while the United States Hollywood produced 485 major films. Though they are usually cheap and of poor quality, these movie videos are one of the most powerful promoters…

Josh Larsen is editor of Think Christian and co-host of the WBEZ radio program and podcast Filmspotting. In this interview, I asked him about his work at Think Christian, his journey as a Christian thinker and a film critic, his reaction to The Martian, and what it’s like having a foot in both mainstream and Christian media….

We tend in English to use the words “witch” or “witchcraft” in ways that fail to reflect analytic distinctions widely present in other cultures and languages. One class of persons practice divination or contact the dead on behalf of the living in a culturally acceptable and open way. For example, in South Africa the Sangoma and Inyanga are…

Is ‘ādām unclean, trampled ‘ādāmāh? Can ‘ādām be re-formed, given New Life? In the Toy Story trilogy, being marked by Andy’s name not only changes how his toys see themselves but how they see toys who are not Andy’s. At first, Buzz and Woody are terrified by Sid’s warped and misfit toys—a doll’s head on spider…

Since Vatican II most celebrants—Catholic and Protestant — no longer “turn their back” to the congregation (that is, turn to the east) during the words of institution. This act never had to do with the priest turning away from the people; rather, the point of it was to turn toward Christ’s anticipated Parousia (that is,…

In a brightly colored, unfamiliar room, Andy’s toys debate their future. They have just experienced a remarkable reversal. They thought they had been thrown away, but they commandeered their fate and found their way to Sunnyside Daycare, a place where “you’ll never be outgrown or neglected, never abandoned or forgotten.” What good news! But one…

  Peter Walpot on Acts 2:42-47 Community is and can mean nothing other than out of love for neighbor to share everything equally or in common and not to have anything of one’s own. This cannot happen any more nobly, better or perfectly than for each person to present himself and to place himself and…