I’ve come across a couple of interesting film reviews on M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water which is in theatres now. The first is by Torrey Honors Institute director John Mark Reynolds in which he argues that the film is not self-aggrandizing as many have written, but made too hastily and therefore done sloppily. You can read it here.

Another excellent review that takes what has come to be the “standard” take on Lady is posted below. It’s written by a very bright and godly student named Chad Glazener.

“Today I was able to see the new movie Lady in the Water. I found the movie to be poorly made for several reasons, but after thinking through the themes of the movie, I think I understand why I disliked it with such ardor. Here are some of my thoughts…

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Dear Reader,

It is good to be back after a very long hiatus.  First it was computer problems, and then it was graduation crunch-time that kept me from posting anything whatsoever on this blog.  However, finally, after another move, I’ve got my computer up and running and my schedule under control: So I’m back to the routine of Sunday posts.

One of the joys and struggles of the semi-nomadic life my career imposes upon me is the task of continually searching for a church to attend in each new city I move to.  It gives me the opportunity to gauge what is going on in American Christian circles, and think about the effects Christians are having on culture.  This Sunday I decided to visit the local Methodist church, simply to see first hand what goes on inside a local congregation of the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.

The service got off to a rather uncertain start as I found myself reciting the following call to worship with the rest of the congregation:

Leader: God whispers your name.  Come and Worship.

People: All of us.  The proud and the strong, the lost and the searching, the joyous and the sad.

Leader: From a whisper to a shout: Come and worship.

People:  All of us. Word-arrangers and finger-painters, rope-jumpers and slow-walkers, belly-laughers and soul-singers.

Leader: Here in this place, the light is shining, joy is brimming and God is beckoning.  Come and Worship.

We ended the service with an affirmation of faith that left me wondering just what I was really claiming to have faith in: (more…)

… and you live in LA… The LA Philharmonic has an incredible summer schedule at the Hollywood Bowl. August 3rd they are playing perhaps the world’s most famous piece of music, Beethoven’s 5th symphony. I just went to hear the 9th this evening and it was heavenly! Check out http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/ for the full skinny on all of the concerts happening.

Have you ever noticed how much Memory has in common with Prophecy? Both are imaginative abilities to see what is not present as present. Memory sees the past as present, prophecy sees the future. The common ground seems to be the use of the imagination. I mean “imagination” not in the loose sense of “making things up,” for neither true memories nor true prophecies are “made up,” but rather in a more strict and literal sense of the term, that is, the ability to create or recall or represent images… to coin a silly neologism, imagination is our ability to imaginate.

 Goldbart and Wallin’s work on love and relationships depends on an understanding of this mysterious human ability. The introduction of Mapping the Terrain of the Heart introduces us to their central concep of an “inner map.” The inner map is the sum or collection of experiences as they are represented in our psyche, and has inordinate influence over selves individually and in relationship.

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The best time to begin thinking about a project is long before the project begins. Foresight is one of the classical hallmarks of the man with practical wisdom, or prudence…. As one cliché puts it, “An ounce of preparation is worth a pound of execution.”

I am not married, and so in an attempt to be prudent (not to say “a prude”) I take each chance that I get to converse with married people, or to read books about love and marriage, in an attempt to learn from them, as from those who have gone before me on a path I too may travel, whether the way is rough or smooth, how to avoid any traps and wild beasts, and how to maintain movement along the narrow way. (more…)

The GodBlogCon website is looking fantastic. The event promises to be even better than the historical one of the year last. Matthew Anderson is a stud for putting it together. We miss his insightful posts, but encourage his creativity and hard work in making GodBlogCon a reality. Thanks, Matt!