Culture
The second president talks about religion
Remembering Roger Williams and the Younkers Building
I opened the piano lid and saw a name scrawled on the frame: Roger Williams.
Yesterday, I played piano at the 2nd Annual Catholic Men’s Conference which took place at St. Francis Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines.
As I set up for the Benediction at 8AM, I learned that the piano I’d be playing had been given to the church by the great pianist, Roger Williams. It was his practice piano, and he even autographed it …
Noah: "A bowel movement on celluloid"
The verdict is in: I won’t be seeing “Noah.”
I’ve done my homework. The majority of reviewers I respect have made a compelling case that “Noah” suffers from a fatal case of bad theology and lousy cinema.
Political commentator, Steve Deace, characterized it as a “bowel movement on celluloid” …
Is the new "Noah" movie worth seeing?
By Tom Quiner “The utter embarrassing mess of ‘Noah’ and why everybody is lying about it.” How’s that for the headline for a movie review on ‘Noah’ which opens today? Let me pass on excerpts from this review, written by Catholic screen writer and critic, Barbara Nicolosi: “Everything is politics. And nowhere is that more…
Read MoreMorality isn't dictated by liberal elites
By Tom Quiner The quote above is particularly relevant today. The Supreme Court is hearing a watershed case to determine if liberal elites can force their morality, their religion, on Christians, Muslims, and Jews. You know the story. The president, in another of his deceitful maneuvers, imposed the HHS Mandate on businesses. Under the Obama…
Read MoreLiberal intolerance continues to flourish on college campuses
The latest victim of the Thought Police of the Left is the “Communicating Values” conference that Stanford University has disallowed to take place on their campus. They have labeled the content of the conference as “hate speech.”
What in the world could be so bad that the content is called hate speech? Were they advocating Nazism or a return of slavery? No … it was something much worse in the eyes of campus liberals …
The challenge of making "Jesus" movies
Good Christians have intensely personal relationships with Christ.
My evangelical Christian friends talk about the necessity of establishing this personal relationship, this friendship, with God’s only Son. Catholics pursue this relationship through the Church’s sacraments which are profoundly personal.
In other words, Christians see Christ a little bit differently, even though they are friends with the same Man-God. You can see the challenge filmmakers face when creating movies about the life of Christ …
Understanding liberal values
Top 15 religious movies for Lent
Lent is a good time to revisit some of the great religious movies made down through the years.
I have a number of favorites, which I’ve listed below. My list this year has been expanded to fifteen movies (from 13 last year) to accommodate a couple of new entries: “Son of God,” which is in the theaters right now, and “Faustina.”
"The Son of God" movie review
What a scene: Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane; Caiaphas prays in the temple to the same God; and Pontius Pilate and his wife pray to their ancestors.
The juxtaposition of these simultaneous events was sheer cinematic drama, and a very creative way for Son of God director, Christopher Spencer to contrast this epic clash of religions. The scene was given added heft by the formidable performances turned in by Greg Hicks as the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, and Adrian Schiller as Jewish high priest, Caiaphas. “Son of God” is a movie worth seeing …