The Christian Skeptic

For all those not living in South Florida, it’s winter again. And there’s always a noticeable cold snap this time of year just to remind you of what you may be ignoring on your calendar: a new year is coming. I’m sure it only seems like yesterday that you were excitedly turning the page to a brand new 2012. But here we are again. The cycle of life has spun once more.

Sometimes it feels about as interesting as watching a bicycle wheel go round and round. Soon the frost will thaw, the birds will begin to sing, and the world will come back to life. Until the first leaf drops. Again. And before you know it, we’re back to buying new calendars.

This is how we live, in cycles. Kids plan how to use summer break, every year. Adults plan their allotted vacation days, every year. Television networks plan fall lineups, every year. Apocalyptic predictions notwithstanding, whatever we did last year chances are we’ll do again this year.
No wonder no one’s excited about heaven. Sure, many of us may …

Growing up, I ate a sandwich almost every day of my life. No joke. Bread, meat, cheese, mayo, pickles, and microwaved for 45 seconds was my favorite lunch. Unlike some people, I like looking forward to this same event in my day. I do enjoy change and the excitement that comes with new things. But following a routine provides more than just consistency; it provides security.

Life is unpredictable, but my sandwich is not. I know it will be delicious because I've eaten thousands like it before. And I would hate not knowing if my lunch was gonna suck or not. I have to know.

For the same reason, I rarely start watching a TV show without first checking it out on Wikipedia. Of course, this means that I mostly watch stuff years later on Netflix. But somehow I feel I can prepare myself to enjoy it better if I know what’s going to happen.

One show that I watched recently was Lost. Now I did end up watching the final season as it aired, but I had Lostpedia sitting on my laptop next to me as…

This past summer I saw The Avengers three times in theaters. And honestly it wasn't because I really enjoyed the film so much that I just had to spend $45 on it. I went because different groups of my friends wanted to see it at different times, and I wanted to enjoy it with all of them. Conversely, I only saw The Dark Knight Rises once.

Now based on the empirical evidence, one would conclude that I preferred The Avengers, perhaps even the Marvel series in general, much more. But as much as I did enjoy seeing Hulk slam Loki around like a ragdoll, I thought Christopher Nolan's portrayal of Batman was vastly superior, artistically speaking. My reasoning? The hero--or superhero in this case--was flawed.

I'll admit I'm biased on this. I've been a fan of Nolan's work since his incomparable Memento, and comparing him to the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is like comparing "Ride of the Valkyries"to "Call Me Maybe."

Now it's not as though To…

And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then, lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it." For those unaware, this is not actually from the Bible. The King's English has had many other applications beyond religious texts. This is a passage from the fictitious Book of Armaments in the celebrated cult film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Not unlike other British comedies from the 1970's, it is as silly as it is sacrilegious. In fact, religious satire often follows the ad absurdum route of pushing a religion's rituals and culture to the silliest of extremes.…

I am a hopeless, unrepentant metalhead. The sound of crushing guitars and pummeling drums makes me lose myself in a way that Eminem could never understand. What it comes down to is I think heavy metal is the most majestic form of music. While some people appreciate the more delicate elements of creation like flowers and butterflies, I prefer the powerful things: thunderstorms, crashing ocean waves, and skyscraping mountains and trees. And I just don't think that Chris Tomlin does a good job capturing those things musically.
But this is not how most people see heavy metal. They see a bunch of angry, defiant, pierced and painted teenagers fighting the "man" and just fighting each other. In short, they see metal as childish. And this is forgivable as kids will be kids. But nothing seems to draw more scorn from the upper crust of American society than a man over thirty with long hair, dangling chains, and an In Flames t-shirt. Eventually, you're expected to grow out of …