Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net I invite you to peruse today’s offering of necessary and recommended reading under the overarching emotional/conceptual rubric of this recent rumination about the extreme value of ambivalence and undecidedness amid our present sociocultural circumstance of frenetic and manipulative opinion-peddling and belief-mongering: We live in a society in which…
Tag: Christianity
Vampies, zombies, and sacred horror
Here’s a fairly awesome audio feast spiritual about the deep connection between religion and supernatural horror: Sacred Horror: Zombie Resurrections and Vampire Souls It’s an hour-long episode of the radio program Encounter that was broadcast just three days ago by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Encounter “invites listeners to explore the connections between religion and…
Americans: Wild about apocalypse
This fine little BBC video presents an able summary of the central role that the idea of the apocalypse has played in American history right from its earliest beginnings. It effectively serves as a summary of and introduction to the 2012 book The Last Myth: What the Rise of Apocalyptic Thinking Tells Us about America…
Of demons and supernatural wonders in the age of secular materialism
There’s an absolutely fascinating conversation taking place over at the Website for the noted interreligious Christian journal First Things about the ontological status of demons and other supernatural beings and their place within contemporary Christianity and secular-scientific society at large. Starting from an article about this very subject, the comments section has evolved into a rich…
Christians and cosmic horror: Linked by Lovecraft?
In a fascinating October 30 article published at Hieropraxis — a website about Christian apologetics and, more broadly, “literature and faith, truth and beauty” — creative writing teacher Garret Johnson, who works for both the University of Houston and Houston Baptist University, talks about the deep value of Lovecraftian cosmic horror for Christians. Specifically, he…
Doom from Above: When the End Arrives, Will Anyone See It Coming?
The Extinction Papers – Chapter Three So few humans look to the sky these days, engrossed as they are with the glowing box on the wall, the interconnected device held in their hand, and the cracks in the pavement in front of them as they count each step to the grave. Add to this…
Christianity, Islam, and a call for evangelicals to practice what they preach
The attitude and ideas expressed in this excellent op-ed, aimed specifically at evangelical Christians and co-written by Teeming Brain friend John W. Morehead (proprietor of the always-fantastic Theofantastique), are so very necessary amid the current international conflagration over that hit-job of a negative propaganda film about Islam. Much of the conservative commentary on this event,…
Recommended Reading 23
This week’s bumper crop of excellent reading and viewing includes: an essay on the past, present, and future of apocalyptic expectations and their measurable impact on real-world religious and secular circumstances, including our present geopolitical prospects; a fine examination by Charles Hugh Smith of the moral-and-monetary corruption infecting not just the “1 percent” but everybody…
The Light of Natural Philosophy
Let us ask the Apostle Paul, that vessel of election, in what activity he saw the armies of the Cherubim engaged when he was rapt into the third heaven. He will answer, according to the interpretation of Dionysius, that he saw them first being purified, then illuminated, and finally made perfect. We, therefore, imitating the…
If Science Kills God, What Fate the Devil?
The Extinction Papers – Chapter One Greetings, dear readers, and welcome to the First Chapter of The Extinction Papers. I’m genuinely thrilled that The Teeming Brainfather Matt Cardin has asked me to pour out my often daft and hastily supported thoughts into this ever-growing dossier as I attempt to document the multitudinous Mass Extinction of…