On May 2, 2022, the website Poltico posted a story attributed to Josh Gerstein and Alexander Ward sharing a leaked first draft of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) majority opinion on Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organization addressing the constitutionality of a Mississippi law restricting abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy. The majority opinion draft, authored by Associate Justice Samuel Alito, overturned Roe v Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992), releasing the stranglehold the judicial branch has held over abortion and sending the issues to the individual states to settle the abortion laws within their borders through local democratic efforts and elections. Chief Justice John Roberts almost immediately verified the document’s authenticity announcing the breach in secrecy which generally surround the deliberations of the Supreme Court would be met by an internal investigation. The draft and the decision were real. The outcry from both sides of the issue was immediate and intense. Most of the loudest objections to the draft center on emotional appeals and anecdotal testimonies about women who need abortions and will be forced to compromise their safety and freedom to carry an unwanted child to term. The idea that Roe v Wade will be overturned produced a wave of fear, anger, and anti-religious vitriol. How could 50 years of legal precedent defending Roe suddenly be swept aside?This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversion with JOURNAL author Jay Watts about the leaked SCOTUS opinion in Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organization and about his online-exclusive article, “The Leaked Draft: Is this the Fall of Roe v. Wade?” https://www.equip.org/article/the-leaked-draft-is-this-the-fall-of-roe-v-wade/Starting in February 2021, online-exclusive articles, have been locked and are only available for Journal subscribers as noted below; however, given the time sensitive nature and global importance of this subject, our editorial board decided to make this available to the public as soon as possible. Also consider this a free preview of the quality and in-depth research that goes into our online-exclusives. To learn more about subscribing and gaining early access to future online-exclusive articles, please see our FAQ section on Early Access to Online-Exclusive Articles by clicking here https://www.equip.org/early-access-to-online-exclusive-articles-faqs/ and subscribing by clicking here. https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/Locked articles are online exclusive content that are only available to subscribers. There are three subscription options to access our online exclusive content.1. Subscribe ($33.50) to the print edition of the Christian Research Journal which includes all online exclusive content.2. Pay a monthly fee ($4.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.3. Pay an annual fee ($24.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.For more information and to subscribe please click here.When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click hereOther articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts featuring this authorEpisode 284 What Attorney Mary Ziegler Gets Wrong About Pro-Life TacticsWhat Attorney Mary Ziegler Gets Wrong About Pro-Life Tactics Episode 274 Filipovic’s Confused Claim that the Pro-Life Community Must Champion ContraceptionFilipovic’s Confused Claim that the Pro-Life Community Must Champion ContraceptionEpisode 249: Do Abortion Politics Hurt Women Enduring Miscarriage?Do Abortion Politics Hurt Women Enduring Miscarriage?Episode 230: Is it Ethical for Pro-Life Christians to Receive Covid-19 Vaccines?Is it Ethical for Pro-Life Christians to Receive Covid-19 Vaccines?Episode 190 Assessing the Confession of Norma McCorvey in AKA Jane RoeAssessing the Confession of Norma McCorvey in AKA Jane RoeEpisode 134 Are Laws Restricting Abortion Forced Organ Donation? A Review of Beyond RoeAre Laws Restricting Abortion Forced Organ Donation? A Review of Beyond RoeEpisode 117-Unplanned: An Imperfect but Brave Film Unplanned: An Imperfect but Brave FilmEpisode 007: Rape and Sexual Violence on the College CampusRape and Sexual Violence on CampusDon’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

In 2019, two million people on Facebook said they were going to raid Area 51, a military base in Nevada, with the hopes of proving theories that extraterrestrials (ETs) and their spaceships were being stored there. In the end, only about 150 people showed up, and the “Storm Area 51” raid was a failure. But perhaps the most exciting recent occurrence regarding ETs and unidentified flying objects (UFOs) happened in early 2021 when the U.S. government released video footage of UFOs that they could not, of course, identify. This created a firestorm in the media, but especially among ufologists, people who believe UFOs have extraterrestrial origins. With shows like Ancient Aliens (A&E, 2009–) giving what appears to be evidence of alien life not only on other planets but inside our planet, Christians are grappling with questions about our place in the universe. One of the most popular promoters of ETs, space travel, and government conspiracies is self-identified whistleblower, Corey Goode. He has a wide following on social media and is the primary subject and informant for a book, Insiders Reveal: Secret Space Programs and Extraterrestrial Alliances (Exopolitics Institute, 2015). His claims read like the latest sci-fi novel: a world where benevolent ETs are trying to save humanity from the malevolent ETs. This isn’t science fiction, though — at least not to Goode and others like him who believe in a Secret Space Program that has spanned for decades and believe that ETs live among us. Intertwined with his beliefs about ETs, as often happens with this subject, are New Age beliefs like karma, reincarnation, and humans as gods.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Lindsey Medenwaldt about her article, “Corey Goode: Time-Traveling Secret Space Program Whistleblower” in the forthcoming new issue of the Christian Research Journal.To subscribe and make sure you get this issue when released, please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/crj-subscription/ For a special limited-time offer (Spring-Summer 2022) on gift subscriptions please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/may-june-2022-resource-wa/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts featuring this authorEpisode 219: Humanity’s Ascension: Assessing the History Channel’s New Age, Time Travel Guru David Wilcock“Humanity’s Ascension: Assessing the History Channel’s New Age, Time Travel Guru David Wilcock.” Episode 168: Best Selling Author and Astrologer Chani Nicholas Brings New Age Teaching to the Social Media GenerationEpisode 166 Controversial Guru Teal Swan Brings New Age Teachings to the Social Media GenerationControversial Guru Teal Swan and Astrologer Chani Nicholas Bring New Age Teachings to the Social Media Generation​Episode 244: Falun Gong: How the West Was WonFalun Gong: How the West was Won Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

In the early 2000s, Oprah featured what became one of the most popular books of the last twenty years, one that transformed a culture eager to abandon the old mores of hard work and bygone Judeo-Christian scruples in favor of an easier, technologically shaped personal fulfillment. The book was called The Secret, and in it the author, Rhonda Byrne, claimed to have discovered mysterious — though eminently practicable — knowledge from ancient, learned men.2 These sages knew how to harness the powerful vibrational “quantum” energy frequencies of the Universe to get what they needed, and, more importantly, what they wanted. In some version of gnostic prosperity-seeking faith, possessors of the secret, people as removed from each other as Jesus of Nazareth, da Vinci, and Goethe, nevertheless understood that their thought could draw forth what the Universe has to offer. Either for good or for ill — for the Universe is able only to hear the thoughts of people and not to discern or interpret them — the manifester in every time and place is able to master her thoughts by listening to her feelings. She then aligns herself with those frequencies. The oft appealed to word is “intentional.” Don’t let your thoughts and feelings get away from you. Intentionally drive your desires into the Universe through your positive thinking. Examine yourself and then alter your emotional and intellectual life to put yourself in the place to receive riches and blessing. This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Anne Kennedy about the practice of manifesting and her article, “Trusting Jesus in a Universe that Doesn’t Have Your Back: A Christian Looks at Manifesting” in the forthcoming new issue of the Christian Research Journal.To subscribe and make sure you get this issue when released, please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/crj-subscription/ For a special limited-time offer (Spring-Summer 2022) on gift subscriptions please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/may-june-2022-resource-wa/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other related articles:What is the Secret?The Secret RevealedParadise Still Lost in Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth”What’s Wrong with the Word Faith Movement? (Part One)What’s Wrong with the Word Faith Movement? (Part Two)Christianity in Crisis: 21st Century: Wealth and WantChristianity Still in Crisis?Osteenification and What It PortendsYour Best Life Now: Seven Steps to Living at Your Full PotentialJoyce Meyer in the Twenty-first CenturyJeremiah, Preacher of Prosperity?Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

Agelessness appeals in a culture which will do anything to disguise or deny the fact that we’re all, minute by minute, day by day, getting older. Agelessness appeals in a culture in which the elderly are often mocked and marginalized. And yet, as Christians, we must ask, is agelessness really God’s plan for us? To answer that question, we must recapture a biblical theology of aging. As we explore what the Bible says about aging, we discover that God has written purpose and meaning into the life of the aged. When we embrace aging with the confidence that Christian immortality awaits us, we discover rich opportunities in aging. Aging may indeed become the age of opportunity, the opportunity first, to grow closer to Christ through suffering and weakness; second, to blossom with the fruit of a rich humility and a persevering patience; third, to live our calling as disciples in new ways; fourth, to prepare to die with the hope of a resurrection body; and finally, to leave a legacy that draws others to glorify and enjoy God. As we ourselves age and as we care for aging loved ones, we must embrace the biblical hope for aging. This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Elizabeth Turnage about her article, “The Age of Opportunity: How the Bible Gives Hope for Aging” in the forthcoming new issue of the Christian Research Journal.To subscribe and make sure you get this issue when released, please click here https://www.equip.org/product/crj-subscription/. For a special limited-time offer (Spring-Summer 2022) on gift subscriptions please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/may-june-2022-resource-wa/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts featuring this authorEpisode 256: How Unanswered Prayer Grows Faith, Hope, and LoveHow Unanswered Prayer Grows Faith, Hope, and LoveDon’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

The New York Times recently published an opinion essay from Mary Zigler, Florida State University law professor and author of Abortion and the Law in America: Roe v. Wade to the Present, titled, “Anti-Abortion Groups Once Portrayed Women as Victims. That’s Changing.” Ziegler claims that opponents of legal abortion have gravitated away from offering legislation grounded in arguments framing women as additional victims of abortion. Reasoning from that claim, Ziegler believes that conservative state legislators introducing more aggressive abortion restrictions signals that women seeking abortions, no longer idealized by abortion opponents, will become the focus of aggressive prosecutions should Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey be overturned with the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision expected from the Supreme Court this summer.This Postmodern Realities episode is an in-depth conversation with Journal contributor Jay Watts about Ziegler’s claims and about his accompanying online-exclusive article, “What Attorney Mary Ziegler Gets Wrong About Pro-Life Tactics“. https://www.equip.org/article/what-attorney-mary-ziegler-gets-wrong-about-pro-life-tactics/Locked articles are online exclusive content that are only available to subscribers. There are three subscription options to access our online exclusive content. https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/1. Subscribe ($33.50) to the print edition of the Christian Research Journal which includes all online exclusive content.2. Pay a monthly fee ($4.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.3. Pay an annual fee ($24.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.For more information and to subscribe please click here.Note online-exclusives are eventually made available to the public at regular intervals but to gain access to read it when it’s originally posted subscribing at the link above is the best option.When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts featuring this authorEpisode 274 Filipovic’s Confused Claim that the Pro-Life Community Must Champion ContraceptionFilipovic’s Confused Claim that the Pro-Life Community Must Champion ContraceptionEpisode 249: Do Abortion Politics Hurt Women Enduring Miscarriage?Do Abortion Politics Hurt Women Enduring Miscarriage?Episode 230: Is it Ethical for Pro-Life Christians to Receive Covid-19 Vaccines?Is it Ethical for Pro-Life Christians to Receive Covid-19 Vaccines?Episode 190 Assessing the Confession of Norma McCorvey in AKA Jane RoeAssessing the Confession of Norma McCorvey in AKA Jane RoeEpisode 163 Merely Human: The Problem of Recognizing Chimpanzees as PersonsMerely Human: The Problem of Recognizing Chimpanzees as PersonsEpisode 134 Are Laws Restricting Abortion Forced Organ Donation? A Review of Beyond RoeAre Laws Restricting Abortion Forced Organ Donation? A Review of Beyond RoeEpisode 117-Unplanned: An Imperfect but Brave Film Unplanned: An Imperfect but Brave FilmEpisode 042: When Freedom of Expression and Emotions Collide on Campus When Freedom of Expression and Emotions Collide on CampusEpisode 032: On Chimeras and What It Means to Be Human On Chimeras and What It Means to Be Human Episode 013: Death with Dignity and the Imago DeiDeath with Dignity and the Imago Dei Episode 007: Rape and Sexual Violence on the College CampusRape and Sexual Violence on CampusDon’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Cole Burgett about his online-exclusive article, “When the Hurlyburly’s Done: A Review of Everything Everywhere All at Once” **Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for Everything, Everywhere All at Once ** https://www.equip.org/article/when-the-hurlyburlys-done-a-review-of-everything-everywhere-all-at-once/Locked articles are online exclusive content that are only available to subscribers. There are three subscription options to access our online exclusive content.1. Subscribe ($33.50) to the print edition of the Christian Research Journal which includes all online exclusive content.2. Pay a monthly fee ($4.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.3. Pay an annual fee ($24.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.For more information and to subscribe please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/Note online-exclusives are eventually made available to the public at regular intervals but to gain access to read it when it’s originally posted subscribing at the link above is the best option.When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Articles referenced in this podcast: Would Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life Spell Doom for Christianity?Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

Scientific materialists recognize that an intellectually satisfying worldview must account for the entirety of human experience. A previous article explored how various contemporary authors attempt to explain the quintessentially human intuition that our existence has meaning, purpose, and value, and argued that their efforts inevitably fail. In addition to providing a foundation for the indispensable intangibles that make life worth living, a viable worldview must include plausible explanations for major origin events — the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and the origin of consciousness. The latest popular level scientific materialist manifestos written by prominent public figures who specialize in fields such as astrophysics and cosmology include extensive discussions of these so-called singularities in cosmic and biological history — presenting the current naturalistic theories for the various origin events. However, they do so with a veneer of unwarranted optimism. They regard these abysses as temporary obstacles to a comprehensive scientific narrative and proffer an unwavering faith that researchers will eventually cross them. Some writers are more transparent than others in terms of their philosophical commitment to a reductionist, materialist understanding of the natural world and suggest that permanent mystery is vastly superior to positing the involvement of a transcendent intelligence. This is particularly evident in treatments of the origin of life problem. Further, these writers fail to acknowledge that plausible scientific explanations, should such be forthcoming, do not diminish the case for a Designer of life.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Melissa Cain Travis about her article in the 43:3 issue of the Christian Research Journal, entitled, “Facing The Abyss: Scientific Materialism and the Origin of Life Problem.“ https://www.equip.org/article/facing-the-abyss-scientific-materialism-and-the-origin-of-life-problem/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts featuring this authorEpisode 238: Scientific Materialist Manifesto: The Pursuit of Meaning in a Godless UniverseScientific Materialist Manifesto: The Pursuit of Meaning in a Godless UniverseEpisode 062: How the Structure and Comprehensibility of the Universe Reveal a Mindful MakerA Grand Cosmic Resonance: How the Structure and Comprehensibility of the Universe Reveal a Mindful MakerEpisode 266 Exploring Philosophical Themes in Apple TV’s Foundation SeriesReligious Robots and Other Curiosities: Exploring Philosophical Themes in Apple TV’s Foundation SeriesEpisode 138-Using NBC’s The Good Place in Conversational Apologetics Using NBC’s The Good Place in Conversational ApologeticsEpisode 132: The Artistic Pro-Life Theme in Netflix’s I Am MotherThe Artistic Pro-Life Theme in Netflix’s I Am MotherEpisode 095 Virtue, Human Nature, and the Quest for HappinessVirtue, Human Nature and the Quest for HappinessEpisode 002: Motherhood and the Life of the MindMotherhood and the Life of the MindDon’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.ItunesApple Podcasts

The purpose of this podcast and accompanying article is to understand the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son. Eternal generation is not a philosophical speculation, nor a theological deduction, but an exegetically grounded doctrine. The church fathers appealed to several biblical texts in both the Old and New Testament in support of their conviction that the Son is eternally begotten of the Father. The concept of begetting is a metaphor drawn from the embodied experience of human fathers begetting human sons. This doctrine is important because it is crucial to defending the full deity of the Son, and it is the linchpin of the classical doctrine of the Trinity.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Charles Lee Irons about his article from the 40:1 issue of the Christian Research Journal, entitled, “Begotten of the Father before All Ages: The Biblical Basis of Eternal Generation according to the Church Fathers.” https://www.equip.org/article/begotten-father-ages/To subscribe to the Journal to receive articles like this in future editions, please click here.https://www.equip.org/product/crj-subscription/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles featuring this topic: Athanasius A C.S. Lewis of the Early ChurchDon’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye is a film that probably works best as a companion to the compelling 2000 documentary that inspired it. While watching that documentary is not a prerequisite to enjoy the film on its own terms, the movie will certainly appeal best to people who have a working knowledge of the hilarious and tragic hijinks that ensued in America in the 1970’s and 1980’s. What the documentary — by nature of its medium — lacks in pathos, this film more than makes up for by giving viewers a look at the life, times, and hardships of the controversial late-20th century televangelist, here portrayed by a truly mesmerizing Jessica Chastain in an Oscar-nominated performance. Does Tammy Faye really buy all that she’s selling, or is it all just a means to an end for her, a way of making a quick buck at the expense of the burnt-out and the gullible? Wisely, the film never seeks to provide a definitive answer to the question. That conclusion is left up to the viewer to determine for themselves, much like it was at the end of the 20th century for those who witnessed the collapse of the PTL empire firsthand. Instead, the film opts to paint viewers a portrait of Tammy Faye that perhaps wasn’t as obvious on the television sets, portraying her as a human being of texture and contradiction. The story of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker is something of a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions, full of self-sabotage and rich paradox. At the end of the day, these are two people undone by their own fantasies. The whole affair calls to mind the dark irony found in any number of Psalms, such as Psalm 10, wherein the psalmist cries out to the Lord demanding that the arrogant wicked who pursue the poor are caught in their own schemes (Ps. 10:2). Can anyone look at Tammy Faye and say, with certainty, whether the woman truly believed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ as the basis of her right standing with the Father? No, and to that end, The Eyes of Tammy Faye does not even attempt to offer comment. But she was sincere in her delusion, that much comes through in the film, and pathetic in the truest literary sense of the word. I believe that Jesus Christ must have felt deeply for her, as he feels deeply for those who, like Tammy, remain ensnared by the fixed illusion that God has only ever intended the faithful to prosper materialisticallyThis Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Cole Burgett about his online-exclusive article, “Tragedy and Delusion in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” **Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for The Eyes of Tammy Faye.** https://www.equip.org/article/tragedy-and-delusion-in-the-eyes-of-tammy-faye/Starting in February 2021, online-exclusive articles, have been locked and are only available for Journal subscribers as noted below; however, given the time sensitive nature and global importance of this subject, our editorial board decided to make this available to the public as soon as possible. Also consider this a free preview of the quality and in-depth research that goes into our online-exclusives. To learn more about subscribing and gaining early access to future online-exclusive articles, please see our FAQ section on Early Access to Online-Exclusive Articles by clicking here https://www.equip.org/early-access-to-online-exclusive-articles-faqs/and subscribing by clicking here.https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/Locked articles are online exclusive content that are only available to subscribers. There are three subscription options to access our online exclusive content.1. Subscribe ($33.50) to the print edition of the Christian Research Journal which includes all online exclusive content.2. Pay a monthly fee ($4.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.3. Pay an annual fee ($24.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.For more information and to subscribe please click here.Note online-exclusives are eventually made available to the public at regular intervals but to gain access to read it when it’s originally posted subscribing at the link above is the best option.When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts featuring this authorEpisode 276 Boba Fett’s Character Arc Actually Makes Sense ( A Review of The Book of Boba Fett)Boba Fett’s Character Arc Actually Makes Sense ( A Review of The Book of Boba Fett)Episode 271 Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Emotional Cheapening of the Modern BlockbusterSpider-Man: No Way Home and the Emotional Cheapening of the Modern BlockbusterEpisode 269 The Matrix Resurrections: Self-Awareness and Romance in the Digital AgeThe Matrix Resurrections: Self-Awareness and Romance in the Digital Age Episode 263: Free Will, the Power of Choice, and Skin in EternalsEpisode 261 Dune and the Future of the Science Fiction EpicDune and the Future of the Science Fiction EpicEpisode 259: All the Time in the World: No Time to Die and the End of an EraAll the Time in the World: No Time to Die and the End of an EraEpisode 251 Growing Up and Letting Go in CODAGrowing Up and Letting Go in CODAEpisode 242: Friendship and Fatherhood in Pixar’s Luca Friendship and Fatherhood in Pixar’s LucaEpisode 239: No Us Without Him: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Zack Snyder’s Justice LeagueNo Us Without Him: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Zack Snyder’s Justice LeagueEpisode 234: Star Wars Happy and Glorious in The High RepublicHappy and Glorious in The High Republic: A Review of The High Republic Era beginning with Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles SouleEpisode 227 Catharsis and the Power of Release in WandaVisonCatharsis and the Power of Release in WandavisonEpisode 222 Deconstructionism and the Gospel of Hope in LoganDeconstructionism and the Gospel of Hope in LoganEpisode 218: Wonder Woman 1984: The Truth Is Enough.Wonder Woman 1984: The Truth Is Enough.Episode 214 Star Trek’s Christopher Pike: An Old Fashioned Hero For Our Cynical TimesStar Trek’s Christopher Pike: An Old- Fashioned Hero for Our Cynical Time Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

​“I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent,” the pastor paused for breath and stretched out his hands to the congregation, trying by the power of his will to disbar the sleep from their eyes, for it was only seven in the morning, and a miracle that any of them were there at the appointed time. His voice called across the empty pews, “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” The assembled ten people, bilious from the carb-laden stupor of previous evening’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, wrestled their wandering minds to the liturgical mat and began to confess their sins.It is an ancient practice — the observation of Lent — and one that for many, especially in the apocalypse of COVID-19, is falling by the way. It is becoming a vestigial yet beautiful anachronism for which formerly religious people feel nostalgia, without being able to remember why they obeyed when the church called for their penitent attention.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Anne Kennedy about her online-exclusive article, “Haven’t We All Sacrificed Enough: A Christian Tries to Observe Lent”. https://www.equip.org/article/havent-we-all-sacrificed-enough-a-christian-tries-to-observe-lent/Starting in February 2021, online-exclusive articles, have been locked and are only available for Journal subscribers as noted below; however, given the time sensitive nature and global importance of this subject, our editorial board decided to make this available to the public as soon as possible. Also consider this a free preview of the quality and in-depth research that goes into our online-exclusives. To learn more about subscribing and gaining early access to future online-exclusive articles, please see our FAQ section on Early Access to Online-Exclusive Articles by clicking here https://www.equip.org/early-access-to-online-exclusive-articles-faqs/ and subscribing by clicking here. https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/Locked articles are online exclusive content that are only available to subscribers. There are three subscription options to access our online exclusive content.1. Subscribe ($33.50) to the print edition of the Christian Research Journal which includes all online exclusive content.2. Pay a monthly fee ($4.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.3. Pay an annual fee ($24.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.For more information and to subscribe please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/Note online-exclusives are eventually made available to the public at regular intervals but to gain access to read it when it’s originally posted subscribing at the link above is the best option.When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and podcasts featuring this authorHank Unplugged: Gaslighting, BLM, Cancel Culture and More with Anne KennedyPostmodern RealitiesEpisode 273: Identity and Obedience in Revoice 2021Identity and Obedience in Revoice 2021Episode 268 I’ll Start My Diet Tomorrow: A Christian Makes a New Year’s ResolutionI’ll Start My Diet Tomorrow: A Christian Makes a New Year’s Resolution-Special limited previewEpisode 264: The Windswept Plains of the Heart: A Review of Wholehearted Faith and What is God LikeThe Windswept Plains of the Heart: A Review of Wholehearted Faith and What is God LikeEpisode 258: African Traditional ReligionAfrican Traditional Religion, Black Lives Matter, and Prosperity GospelEpisode 255 For Our Lamps Are Going Out: Gaslighting in the Age of Social MediaFor Our Lamps are Going Out: Gaslighting in the Age of Social MediaEpisode 252 Meditation Upon the Death of a PetMeditation Upon the Death of a PetEpisode 245: Glimpsing the Grave: A Critical Review of The Book of LongingsGlimpsing the Grave: A Critical Review of The Book of Longings: A Novel by Sue Monk KiddEpisode 240: Be Free! The Making of Biblical Womanhood A Summary Critique review of The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women became Gospel Truth by Beth Allison BarrBe Free! The Making of Biblical Womanhood A summary critique review of The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women became Gospel Truth by Beth Allison Barr Episode 224 You Only Die Once: Why It’s Okay Not to Live in the PresentYou Only Die Once: Why It’s Okay Not to Live in the PresentEpisode 216 Why Do I Call Myself Good? A Look at Virtue SignalingWhy Do I Call Myself Good? A Look at Virtue SignalingEpisode 211: There Is No Health in Us: Wellness and Self-Care in the Age of COVID-19There Is No Health in Us: Wellness and Self-Care in the Age of COVID-19Episode 209 She Who Has Eyes, Let Her See: A look at Didn’t See That Coming by Rachel HollisShe Who Has Eyes, Let Her See: A look at Didn’t See That Coming by Rachel Hollis Episode 204: The Road Back to Where? A Look at Self Discovery Using the EnneagramThe Road Back to Where? A Look at Self Discovery Using the EnneagramEpisode 198 Cancel Culture and the Gospel: Where Can You Go When The Whole World Is Against You?Cancel Culture and the Gospel: Where Can You Go When The Whole World Is Against You?Episode 193 Catching UP with Rachel Hollis, Glennon Doyle & Jen HatmakerEpisode 191 Gods, Gold, and Cheetahs: The Theological Vision of UntamedGods, Gold, and Cheetahs: The Theological Vision of UntamedEpisode 181 But What If It Is Me? The Work and Worldview of Brené BrownBut What If It Is Me? The Work and Worldview of Brené BrownEpisode 178 Worshipping TogetherEpisode 160-Naming Names: Why It’s OK (and Necessary) to Call Out False Teachers and Fugitives from Church Justice by NameNaming Names: Why It’s OK (and Necessary) to Call Out False Teachers and Fugitives from Church Justice by NameEpisode 151 Am I a Bad Christian for Watching Hallmark Christmas Movies?Am I a Bad Christian for Watching Hallmark Christmas Movies?Episode 147 Book Review of Modern Kinship: A Queer Guide to Christian Marriage and An Evaluation of 2019 Evolving Faith ConferenceA Helper Like Me: A Review of Modern Kinship: A Queer Guide to Christian Marriage by David and Constantino KhalafLosing Faith: A Look at the 2019 Evolving Faith ConferenceEpisode 140 The Theological “Mess” in the “Moxie” of Jen HatmakerThe Unhindered Leadership of Jen HatmakerThe Theological “Mess” in the “Moxie” of Jen HatmakerEpisode 136 Have You Considered Trying Harder: The Theology of Rachel HollisHave You Considered Trying Harder: The Theology of Rachel HollisDon’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

To say that director Matt Reeves’s approach to the Batman character is scaled back would be an understatement, but this doesn’t come at the expense of audience expectations. The whole affair plays out across its walloping three-hour runtime like an acoustic cover of some of Batman’s greatest hits. The clever gadgets are present, but they’re not gimmicks; they are practical, accessible tools that make sense not only in the context of the narrative, but also in the context of the dirty, grimy version of Gotham City that Reeves has created, one rife with corruption and rotting from the inside. Even the iconic Batmobile makes an appearance in one of the movie’s most thrilling action sequences, but in Reeves’s capable hands it’s a rugged, applied, hand-built horsepower machine — when the engine thunders, the theater shakes. Part of what makes Reeves’s vision so compelling is the way he methodically reinvents these concepts that have become enmeshed in the popular imagination over the past century. This is undoubtedly and unashamedly a Batman film — for my money, the best adaptation yet — but it is Batman unlike we have ever seen him on the silver screen. “I’m Vengeance” are the first words the Batman utters onscreen, and this is the best indicator for how this version of the character sees himself. In this film, those words become a brilliant starting point for his deconstruction of the character. And this is the character arc that Reeves gives Bruce Wayne here, the realization that violence, retribution, vengeance are all banal, are not enough to truly heal the putrid, festering heart of Gotham City. In fact, if the Batman does not come to stand for something more than vengeance, then he is only perpetuating the endless cycle of violence corroding Gotham’s soul. This is a noir, after all, the film genre that excels in making the whitest of whites look a little gray. There are no “good guys” in film noir, and everyone in some way, shape, or form is morally compromised. A film that begins with Batman stalking a gang of thugs and beating them to a bloody pulp ends with this same dark figure carrying an injured little girl to safety in the light of dawn. Bruce’s voiceover narration — a staple of the noir genre — explains that the Batman must become more than a symbol of vengeance and retribution if Gotham is to recover. He can no longer stand for revenge alone, but his true calling must instead be as a symbol of courage and hope. The unfortunate reality is that, by and large, this is a film that will be ignored by most Christians due less to its content than its tone. Because the modern American church has become ensnared by the quaint but sinister trappings of sentimentality, which promise goodness without context, atonement without sacrifice. This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Cole Burgett about his online-exclusive article, “The Batman and the Banality of Vengeance”.**Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for The Batman.** https://www.equip.org/article/the-batman-and-the-banality-of-vengeance/Locked articles are online exclusive content that are only available to subscribers. There are three subscription options to access our online exclusive content.1. Subscribe ($33.50) to the print edition of the Christian Research Journal which includes all online exclusive content.2. Pay a monthly fee ($4.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.3. Pay an annual fee ($24.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.For more information and to subscribe please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/Note online-exclusives are eventually made available to the public at regular intervals but to gain access to read it when it’s originally posted subscribing at the link above is the best option.When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts featuring this authorEpisode 276 Boba Fett’s Character Arc Actually Makes Sense ( A Review of The Book of Boba Fett)Boba Fett’s Character Arc Actually Makes Sense ( A Review of The Book of Boba Fett)Episode 271 Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Emotional Cheapening of the Modern BlockbusterSpider-Man: No Way Home and the Emotional Cheapening of the Modern BlockbusterEpisode 269 The Matrix Resurrections: Self-Awareness and Romance in the Digital AgeThe Matrix Resurrections: Self-Awareness and Romance in the Digital Age Episode 263: Free Will, the Power of Choice, and Skin in EternalsEpisode 261 Dune and the Future of the Science Fiction EpicDune and the Future of the Science Fiction EpicEpisode 259: All the Time in the World: No Time to Die and the End of an EraAll the Time in the World: No Time to Die and the End of an EraEpisode 251 Growing Up and Letting Go in CODAGrowing Up and Letting Go in CODAEpisode 242: Friendship and Fatherhood in Pixar’s Luca Friendship and Fatherhood in Pixar’s LucaEpisode 239: No Us Without Him: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Zack Snyder’s Justice LeagueNo Us Without Him: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Zack Snyder’s Justice LeagueEpisode 234: Star Wars Happy and Glorious in The High RepublicHappy and Glorious in The High Republic: A Review of The High Republic Era beginning with Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles SouleEpisode 227 Catharsis and the Power of Release in WandaVisonCatharsis and the Power of Release in WandavisonEpisode 222 Deconstructionism and the Gospel of Hope in LoganDeconstructionism and the Gospel of Hope in LoganEpisode 218: Wonder Woman 1984: The Truth Is Enough.Wonder Woman 1984: The Truth Is Enough.Episode 214 Star Trek’s Christopher Pike: An Old Fashioned Hero For Our Cynical TimesStar Trek’s Christopher Pike: An Old- Fashioned Hero for Our Cynical Time Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

Philosopher and Christian apologist William Lane Craig’s latest work, In Quest of the Historical Adam, is an impressive, bold interdisciplinary exploration into the historicity of Adam (and Eve). Analyzing key texts in the Old and New Testaments, Craig concludes that Scripture presents Adam as a historical person and progenitor of humanity who introduced moral evil into the] world through disobedience. Craig adopts an evolutionary perspective on humanity’s origin. To reconcile a human evolutionary history with the biblical account of humanity’s creation, he makes the case that Genesis 1–11 belongs to a genre called mytho-history (a sacred mythical origins narrative that also makes allusions to real people, places, and events). Craig holds the view that it is up to modern science to determine who Adam was and when he (and Eve) lived. Based on the evidence from anthropology, Craig provisionally concludes that Adam lived between 750,000 and 1,000,000 years ago as a member of the hominin species Homo heidelbergensis. Craig’s theological and scientific conclusions. This episode focuses on the scientific issues — in particular, how symbolic artifacts in the fossil record provide compelling evidence that Adam (and Eve) are best understood as modern humans, who alone display cognitive capacities that reflect the image of God.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Fazale “Fuz” Rana about his article in the current issue (March 2022) 44:4 edition of the Christian Research Journal entitled, “Who Was Adam? (Summary Critique of William Lane Craig’s In Quest of the Historical Adam)”. Available as your first issue if you subscribe in the Spring of 2022! Click here for information on subscribing. Click here for a Special limited preview of the article. https://www.equip.org/article/who-was-adam-a-book-review-of-in-quest-of-the-historical-adam-by-william-lane-craig-special-limited-preview/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles related to this subject: Misreading the Book of Knowledge and the Book of NatureJunk DNA: Evidence for Evolution or Design?Neither Human Evolution nor Theistic EvolutionLost World of John Walton a book review of The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and the Human Origins DebateThe New Theistic Evolutionists: BioLogos and the Rush to Embrace the “Consensus”Paul, Second Adam, and Theistic EvolutionAdam and Eve ReduxNo God-of-the-Gaps Allowed: Francis Collins and Theistic Evolution Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

Boba Fett is a Star Wars icon. A brutal bounty hunter first seen in the original Star Wars films with limited lines and on-screen presence, Boba Fett has been the center of fan adoration and speculation since the very beginning of the franchise. But how did we get from the rough-and-tumble bounty hunter to whom Darth Vader instructs, “No disintegrations” to the Boba Fett who intends to “rule with respect” as he reigns on the late Jabba’s throne as a crime lord on Tatooine? Has Boba Fett gone soft? Has the fan-imagined lore surrounding his character distracted us from a story that could be even more compelling? The Book of Boba Fett presents a much richer story than fan-imagined futures of Boba Fett. We see a story of lives changed: resurrection narratives, a life trajectory shifted through adoption, resulting in a recapturing of his morality and convictions.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Lisa Cooper about her online-exclusive article, ” Boba Fett’s Character Arc Actually Makes Sense ( A Review of The Book of Boba Fett)”. https://www.equip.org/article/boba-fetts-character-arc-actually-makes-sense-a-review-of-the-book-of-boba-fett/Locked articles are online exclusive content that are only available to subscribers. There are three subscription options to access our online exclusive content.1. Subscribe ($33.50) to the print edition of the Christian Research Journal which includes all online exclusive content.2. Pay a monthly fee ($4.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.3. Pay an annual fee ($24.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.For more information and to subscribe please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/Note online-exclusives are eventually made available to the public at regular intervals but to gain access to read it when it’s originally posted subscribing at the link above is the best option.When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts featuring this topic:Episode 234: Star Wars Happy and Glorious in The High RepublicHappy and Glorious in The High Republic: A Review of The High Republic Era beginning with Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles SouleEpisode 217: Thinking About Religion in The MandalorianThis is the Way…Or is It?: Thinking About Religion in The MandalorianEpisode 154: The Dead Won’t Stop Talking: A Review of The Rise of SkywalkerThe Dead Won’t Stop Talking: A Review of The Rise of SkywalkerEpisode 054: The Last Jedi: A Star Wars Movie for the Era of “the Nones”The Last Jedi: A Star Wars Movie for the Era of “the Nones”Episode 027: “Evaluating the Star Wars Worldview”May the Force Bewitch You: Evaluating the Star Wars Worldview”.Get “May the Force Bewitch You: Evaluating the Star Wars Worldview” in PDF format in:EnglishChineseSpanish

By giving Jesus and his disciples clear and discernable personalities, The Chosen rises above the traditional (some would say “wooden”) Christian adaptations of the gospel story to offer viewers a thoroughly engrossing series. Of course, this means creative licenses are taken when fleshing out the gospel characters. But the most intriguing character to get a refined personality is, of course, Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) himself. The Chosen picks through the gospels with a fine-toothed comb to find every trace of his personality and attempts to pull those thin threads into a cohesive whole. Consider, by way of example, Jesus’s interaction with the Pharisees in Matthew 12. The Pharisees see his disciples picking and eating heads of grain on the Sabbath and confront him for breaking the Law of Moses. In his response, Jesus leads with, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?” (Mt. 12:3). Theological points aside, look at the texture of Jesus’s response—asking Pharisees whether they have read about David! And this is not the only time in the gospels he poses this question to the same group. Obviously, the Pharisees have read about David—they are the religious leaders of the day. The question demonstrates the man’s cutting sense of irony, itself a form of humor. And this sense of humor is on full display in The Chosen. The ultimate result is a portrayal of Jesus that is actually quite believable. This is not to say that all other portrayals are faulty, because they certainly aren’t. However, where most other mainstream portrayals of Jesus lean into the ambiguity of his personality as depicted in the biblical canon (thereby make him seem distant or aloof), The Chosen gives him well-defined, multi-dimensional personality traits and marches forward with the story. The attention to context, both historical and immediate (for the characters), sets The Chosen apart from the usual Christian media fare. Yet these creative licenses, sure to provoke the ire of some, are what make The Chosen work as good contemporary television in ways that other adaptations, like History’s 2013 The Bible miniseries, simply cannot. If nothing else, The Chosen is worth viewing for Christians simply to see Jesus portrayed in a way that is achingly human. The show never shies away from his divinity but recognizes that this would be the most difficult characteristic of the man for his fellow humans to grasp. Rather than distance him and render him aloof as a result, the show leans into his human qualities to present a Christ who experiences real and complex human emotions; a Christ who is keenly aware of the fate that awaits him but is nonetheless capable of enjoying himself and others along the way.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Cole Burgett about his online-exclusive article, “King Laugh: Jesus of Nazareth In the Chosen ( A Series Review of The Chosen)”. https://www.equip.org/article/king-laugh-jesus-of-nazareth-in-the-chosen-a-series-review-of-the-chosen/Locked articles are online exclusive content that are only available to subscribers. There are three subscription options to access our online exclusive content.1. Subscribe ($33.50) to the print edition of the Christian Research Journal which includes all online exclusive content.2. Pay a monthly fee ($4.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.3. Pay an annual fee ($24.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.For more information and to subscribe please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/Note online-exclusives are eventually made available to the public at regular intervals but to gain access to read it when it’s originally posted subscribing at the link above is the best option.When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Related articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts Episode 012: Jesus FilmsJesus Films: Who Does Hollywood Say That I Am?Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

In a recent New York Times editorial entitled The Anti-Abortion Movement Could Reduce Abortions if It Wanted To, lawyer and journalist Jill Filipovic makes the case that an unhealthy preoccupation with birth control at the expense of limiting abortions exposes some ugly truths about the pro-life movement. According to Filipovic, pro-lifers are more interested in controlling women’s bodies than they are in pursuing measures that reduce the number of abortions, those measures being free access to long-term contraception and comprehensive sex education. Filipovic characterizes “many” pro-life individuals as mistakenly believing that contraception causes an abortion. These same people work to deny access to sex education and family planning, preventing the most vulnerable members of society, those most likely to experience unplanned pregnancies and seek abortions, the ability to use the most effective forms of contraception. The editorial is an oddly argued ad hominem attack. She condemns the prolife movement for not doing things to limit the number of abortions, which she believes are a fundamental right for all women and a good thing she has no interest in limiting. In an amazing coincidence, the measures most likely to serve the pro-life cause of reducing abortion happen to line up with the author’s own agenda for free contraception and progressive ideas on sex education. At our best, the pro-life community champions a clear message. Every human being ought to be treated with dignity and respect. Human beings are the imago Dei, the image-bearers of God. The embryonic and fetal humans are one of us and establishing a culture that protects their lives is better for us all. It elevates us to see the most vulnerable members in our community as worthy of our personal sacrifice. It gathers the community to seek creative solutions to life’s most difficult problems rather than seeking a minimally disruptive path that destroys human lives deemed inconvenient. The benefits of a clear and passionate call to respect life are obvious. If we can become convinced to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, the change will immediately protect those most at risk, the unborn, but also those who would destroy the unborn out of fear or selfishness. We endeavor to end abortion because any amount of abortion in our community hurts us all.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Jay Watts about his online-exclusive article, “Filipovic’s Confused Claim that the Pro-Life Community Must Champion Contraception”.https://www.equip.org/article/filipovics-confused-claim-that-the-pro-life-community-must-champion-contraception/Locked articles are online exclusive content that are only available to subscribers. There are three subscription options to access our online exclusive content.1. Subscribe ($33.50) to the print edition of the Christian Research Journal which includes all online exclusive content.2. Pay a monthly fee ($4.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.3. Pay an annual fee ($24.99) for Christian Research Journal online exclusive content. This does not include online versions of current print edition articles or receiving the print issues.For more information and to subscribe please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/Note online-exclusives are eventually made available to the public at regular intervals but to gain access to read it when it’s originally posted subscribing at the link above is the best option. When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts featuring this authorEpisode 249: Do Abortion Politics Hurt Women Enduring Miscarriage?Do Abortion Politics Hurt Women Enduring Miscarriage?Episode 230: Is it Ethical for Pro-Life Christians to Receive Covid-19 Vaccines?Is it Ethical for Pro-Life Christians to Receive Covid-19 Vaccines?Episode 190 Assessing the Confession of Norma McCorvey in AKA Jane RoeAssessing the Confession of Norma McCorvey in AKA Jane RoeEpisode 163 Merely Human: The Problem of Recognizing Chimpanzees as PersonsMerely Human: The Problem of Recognizing Chimpanzees as PersonsEpisode 134 Are Laws Restricting Abortion Forced Organ Donation? A Review of Beyond RoeAre Laws Restricting Abortion Forced Organ Donation? A Review of Beyond RoeEpisode 117-Unplanned: An Imperfect but Brave Film Unplanned: An Imperfect but Brave FilmEpisode 042: When Freedom of Expression and Emotions Collide on Campus When Freedom of Expression and Emotions Collide on CampusEpisode 032: On Chimeras and What It Means to Be Human On Chimeras and What It Means to Be Human Episode 013: Death with Dignity and the Imago DeiDeath with Dignity and the Imago Dei Episode 007: Rape and Sexual Violence on the College CampusRape and Sexual Violence on CampusDon’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

Revoice 2021 Together met in October 2021 in Dallas to encourage what they call “sexual minorities” within the church to obedience, to reach out evangelistically to LGBTQ people, and to minister to “sexual majority” Christians. The conference featured Eve Tushnet, Preston Sprinkle, Greg Johnson, Misty Irons, Greg Coles, and many other speakers, as well as panels on gender minorities, racial minorities, and women. With an emphasis on community support (reflected in the theme “together”), the speakers called the gathered assembly to be obedient to a biblical sexual ethic, as well as acknowledging the pain that the church has caused to those who identify as LGBTQ.Revoice 2021 positions itself in the theological mainstream, as if the controversies surrounding the conference and movement are purely semantic. The wider evangelical church, for example, by policing the language of people who identify as LGBTQ, are said to erect artificial barriers for entrance into the kingdom of God, akin to those of New Testament era Judaizers. Revoice, as a movement, is prepared to forgive and reach out to those in the church who are complicit in this grave sin, but the church should repent and move on from these kinds of debates for the sake of mission and the witness of the gospel.Rather than a purely semantic disagreement over whether or not to use the word “gay,” the language applied to self-hood and identity by Revoice points to underlying philosophical and theological assumptions that Christians should identify themselves by sexual behavior and inclinations, grounding this identification in a secular gender ideology rather than the Scriptures. Furthermore, by framing the semantic issues as Side A and Side B — referring to “Side A brothers and sisters” — they make the question of sexuality, both behavior and identity, to be adiaphora, a non-essential issue that Christians are free to disagree about. Rather than a “slippery slope,” both the ideology and language that Revoice is embracing will eventually take them over a spiritual cliff.*Note this description has been updated along with the article below on February 8th, 2022. *This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Anne Kennedy about her online-exclusive article, “Identity and Obedience in Revoice 2021”. https://www.equip.org/article/identity-and-obedience-in-revoice-2021/This is an online-exclusive from the Christian Research Journal. This in-depth primary research is made possible by our Journal subscribers and from tips by readers like you. Please consider tipping us $3 or $5 for this article. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Starting in 2021, most of our online-exclusive articles were only available to subscribers. Given the global importance of this subject, our editorial board decided to make this available to the public as soon as possible. Also consider this a free preview of the quality and in-depth research that goes into our online-exclusives. To learn more about subscribing and gaining early access to future online-exclusive articles, please see our FAQ section on Online-Exclusive Articles by clicking here and subscribing by clicking here.https://www.equip.org/early-access-to-online-exclusive-articles-faqs/ and https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast. Other articles featuring this topic:Homosexuality and Modern Ministry: Examining Old Approaches and Assessing New Ones Part One: A History of Missions and MisstepsIdentity, Terminology, and the Revoice Conference

A brief podblast update on what’s upcoming on the Postmodern Realities Podcast and the Christian Research Journal.As mentioned in the podblast, although getting a print subscription is the best value to get access to online-exclusives, we have launched two new options of a monthly or annual online exclusive content subscription that includes viewing to online-exclusive articles and select recent print articles. To see these new options please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/online-early-access-subscription-options/We’d also like to invite you to subscribe to the Journal. To subscribe to the Journal, please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/crj-subscription/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast. Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

In some ways, Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) represents the zenith of the modern pop-culture superhero craze. While it’s certainly better than any film of this sort has any right to be, it’s also not as good as that Rotten Tomatoes score would lead you to believe. There is a certain logic that is absent from the core mechanics of how the “multiverse” is supposed to work. But what Spider-Man sacrifices in the way of coherency, it more than makes up for in the way of generating pathos. The real draw of Spider-Man: No Way Home is the chance to see the three modern cinematic incarnations of Spider-Man all playing in the same sandbox at the same time. Perhaps the reason Spider-Man: No Way Home seems stale has to do with the fact that this story has already been told in a much more interesting fashion, and recently. There is little doubt that 2018’s Academy Award-winning animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse played a significant role in the trajectory the current live-action Spider-Man films are now taking. But where Sony’s hit wowed critics and audiences alike with the limitless flair of animation, Disney’s live-action version of the dimension-hopping Spider-Men looks like any of the other CGI-laden superhero blockbusters of recent years. And in the context of the previous narratives that Spider-Man: No Way Home tries to tie off, what results is something worse than cynicism — sentimentality, the reducing of complexity to trite cliché, preying on nostalgia, the trading on emotion for the sake of emotion, and that is the currency with which this film pays dividends. Spider-Man: No Way Home is a film just about anyone can sit down and enjoy. No one can accuse these kinds of films of being poorly made; studios throw too much money at them for that. But when it comes to substance, depth, texture, and contradiction, the thinking filmgoer will be left wanting.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Cole Burgett about his online-exclusive article, “Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Emotional Cheapening of the Modern Blockbuster.“ https://www.equip.org/article/spider-man-no-way-home-and-the-emotional-cheapening-of-the-modern-blockbuster/Please note this article will be fully accessible by the public in the future, to get early access to read it now, please see our FAQ section on Early Access to Online-Exclusive Articles by clicking here. https://www.equip.org/early-access-to-online-exclusive-articles-faqs/We’d also like to invite you to subscribe to the Journal. To subscribe to the Journal, please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/crj-subscription/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast. Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts featuring this authorEpisode 269 The Matrix Resurrections: Self-Awareness and Romance in the Digital AgeThe Matrix Resurrections: Self-Awareness and Romance in the Digital Age Episode 263: Free Will, the Power of Choice, and Skin in EternalsEpisode 261 Dune and the Future of the Science Fiction EpicDune and the Future of the Science Fiction EpicEpisode 259: All the Time in the World: No Time to Die and the End of an EraAll the Time in the World: No Time to Die and the End of an EraEpisode 251 Growing Up and Letting Go in CODAGrowing Up and Letting Go in CODAEpisode 242: Friendship and Fatherhood in Pixar’s Luca Friendship and Fatherhood in Pixar’s LucaEpisode 239: No Us Without Him: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Zack Snyder’s Justice LeagueNo Us Without Him: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Zack Snyder’s Justice LeagueEpisode 234: Star Wars Happy and Glorious in The High RepublicHappy and Glorious in The High Republic: A Review of The High Republic Era beginning with Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles SouleEpisode 227 Catharsis and the Power of Release in WandaVisonCatharsis and the Power of Release in WandavisonEpisode 222 Deconstructionism and the Gospel of Hope in LoganDeconstructionism and the Gospel of Hope in LoganEpisode 218: Wonder Woman 1984: The Truth Is Enough.Wonder Woman 1984: The Truth Is Enough.Episode 214 Star Trek’s Christopher Pike: An Old Fashioned Hero For Our Cynical TimesStar Trek’s Christopher Pike: An Old- Fashioned Hero for Our Cynical Time Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

For us to have a robust free will, there must be an amount of divine hiddenness, or what John Hick called “epistemic distance.” Divine hiddenness is the teaching that for humans to act out of free will, God’s existence (or presence) can’t be too obvious. Not surprisingly, this is a doctrine that many Christians misunderstand and over which skeptics howl. Many Christians ask, and even sometimes complain, that God should make His presence more apparent. Skeptics complain that if God really loved us (in other words, if God were really a good God), He would make His existence unmistakable.But the Lord absolutely doesn’t want to do that. Why? Because the Lord doesn’t want us to feign loyalty. As Clay Jones wrote in his book, Why Does God Allow Evil?, God could have designed the universe so that when we looked up, even if we were indoors, we would always see a Giant Flaming Sword, and if anyone rebelled against God, that Giant Flaming Sword would immediately cut him in half! Omnipotence could easily do such a thing. But how many people would be Christian in such a world? All of them! Everyone would, at the very least, feign loyalty. But how many true worshippers would you get in such a world? You don’t get true worshippers in that world. Worship, like love, must be uncoerced.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Clay Jones about his article in the 44:4 issue, entitled, “Four Types of Divine Hiddenness of God”.For a special limited preview of this print article please click here! https://www.equip.org/article/four-types-of-divine-hiddenness-of-god-special-limited-preview/To read the article in it’s entirety please subscribe to the print subscription and get it as your first issue now. (December 2021-March 2022) please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/crj-subscription/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast.Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and podcasts featuring this author:Postmodern Realities Episode 247: Is It True That There Are Good Non-Christians?Is It true That There Are Good Non-Christians?Postmodern Realities Episode 233 You Probably Aren’t Saved If…(This Is about Sex)You Probably Aren’t Saved If…(This Is about Sex)Postmodern Realities Episode 202 Symbolic Immortality Projects Can’t Save YouSymbolic Immortality Projects Can’t Save YouPostmodern Realities Episode 183 Immortal: How the Fear of Death Drives Us and What We Can Do About ItImmortal—Epicurus, Sam Harris, and Bart Ehrman Are Wrong: Death Is SomethingPostmodern Realities Episode 176 Our Fallen WorldHank Unplugged: Why God Permits Evil with Clay JonesPostmodern Realities: Episode 114 Why Did God Let that Child Die?Why Did God Let That Child Die?Postmodern Realities: Episode 068: Something Made: The Role of Form in ApologeticsSomething Made : The Role of Form in Apologetics Postmodern Realities: Episode 030: Evangelizing the Cultural Christian Evangelizing the Cultural ChristianKilling the Canaanites: A Response to the New Atheism’s “Divine Genocide” Claims Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.

In 1999, the world was in a different place. Y2K loomed, personal computerized technology was still coming into its own, and September 11 was just another day. And into this world the Wachowskis came running and gunning with their runaway Academy Award-winning hit, The Matrix, changing the landscape of what brainy, science-fiction, action-adventure movies could be, seemingly overnight. Now, more than two decades later, that original film still holds up as one of cinema’s most innovative and breathtakingly imaginative achievements. Now Neo and Trinity and the Matrix are back in this new film The Matrix Resurrections. One of the highlights of Resurrections is its overt self-awareness. In the age of Marvel and the quippy, breezy, ironic, self-referential blockbuster Resurrections takes the self-awareness to a whole new level, and then kicks it up a few more notches to make a point. In other words, all the pop philosophy that rattled the cage in the original has been exchanged for irony and self-aware storytelling — which itself is ironic considering the age of the blockbuster in which we currently live. Whether or not Resurrections scratches your mind-bending sci-fi itch, there is a certain brazen boldness to making a modern sequel in a way that calls attention to (and critiques) how modern sequels are made using the same techniques modern filmmakers use in the making of said sequels. But it would be a grave mistake to characterize Resurrections singularly as a “meta” movie. The film does interact with the current cultural climate in the way the original film interacted with the culture surrounding emerging technologies. Beyond the critique of modern blockbusters, Resurrections takes the messianic overtones the previous trilogy employed and brings Neo’s character arc more closely in line with the Christ narrative of Scripture. Make no mistake, Resurrections is a sequel, not a reboot — the story continues with Neo’s resurrection. This is in an in-depth conversation with JOURNAL author Cole Burgett about the new film The Matrix Resurrections.This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Cole Burgett about his online-exclusive article, “The Matrix Resurrections: Self-Awareness and Romance in the Digital Age.” **Editor’s Note: This article and podcast contains spoilers for The Matrix Resurrections. https://www.equip.org/article/the-matrix-resurrections-self-awareness-and-romance-in-the-digital-age/Starting in February 2021, all online-exclusive articles, have had a early access window for Journal subscribers only before being made public. Given the time sensitive nature and global importance of this subject, our editorial board decided to make this available to the public as soon as possible. Also consider this a free preview of the quality and in-depth research that goes into our online-exclusives. To learn more about subscribing and gaining early access to future online-exclusive articles, please see our FAQ section on Early Access to Online-Exclusive Articles by clicking here and subscribing by clicking here. https://www.equip.org/early-access-to-online-exclusive-articles-faqs/ and https://www.equip.org/product/crj-subscription/When you to subscribe to the Journal, you join the team of print subscribers whose paid subscriptions help provide the resources at equip.org that minister to people worldwide. These resources include our ever growing database of over 1,500 articles, as well as our free Postmodern Realities podcast. Another way you can support our online articles is by leaving us a tip. A tip is just a small amount, like $3, $5, or $10 which is the cost for some of a latte, lunch out, or coffee drink. To leave a tip, click here https://www.equip.org/product/pmr-jnl-tip/Other articles and Postmodern Realities podcasts: Our previous article on the original Matrix Trilogy. The Matrix: Unloaded RevelationsOther articles and podcasts with Cole Burgett: Episode 263: Free Will, the Power of Choice, and Skin in EternalsEpisode 261 Dune and the Future of the Science Fiction EpicDune and the Future of the Science Fiction EpicEpisode 259: All the Time in the World: No Time to Die and the End of an EraAll the Time in the World: No Time to Die and the End of an EraEpisode 251 Growing Up and Letting Go in CODAGrowing Up and Letting Go in CODAEpisode 242: Friendship and Fatherhood in Pixar’s Luca Friendship and Fatherhood in Pixar’s LucaEpisode 239: No Us Without Him: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Zack Snyder’s Justice LeagueNo Us Without Him: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Zack Snyder’s Justice LeagueEpisode 234: Star Wars Happy and Glorious in The High RepublicHappy and Glorious in The High Republic: A Review of The High Republic Era beginning with Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles SouleEpisode 227 Catharsis and the Power of Release in WandaVisonCatharsis and the Power of Release in WandavisonEpisode 222 Deconstructionism and the Gospel of Hope in LoganDeconstructionism and the Gospel of Hope in LoganEpisode 218: Wonder Woman 1984: The Truth Is Enough.Wonder Woman 1984: The Truth Is Enough.Episode 214 Star Trek’s Christopher Pike: An Old Fashioned Hero For Our Cynical TimesStar Trek’s Christopher Pike: An Old- Fashioned Hero for Our Cynical Time Don’t miss an episode; please subscribe to the Postmodern Realities podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Please help spread the word about Postmodern Realities by giving us a rating and review when you subscribe to the podcast. The more ratings and reviews we have, the more new listeners can discover our content.