Wow, Mike Spaulding does one of the best jobs of reviewing my book The Imagination of God: Art, Creativity and Truth in the Bible.
If you haven’t decided yet to buy the book, you must read his review here.
It’s brief, but thorough.
Then go buy the book at Amazon!
I got an OpEd piece published in the Washington Times about the 1956 film The Ten Commandments, with Charlton Heston.
Can you say anything new about such a well-known and well-discussed classic on its 60th anniversary?
Oh yeah. I gave it a try here.
Thanks to Matthew Faraci for the connect.
This is the Biblical and historical research behind the Best-selling series, Chronicles of the Nephilim.
“As someone Brian has tapped as a resource, I can tell you his focus is on peer-reviewed biblical scholarship. His sources are not his own opinions.”
Dr. Michael S. Heiser
PhD, Hebrew Bible and Semitic Studies
Academic Editor, Logos Bible Software
Had a great time with this interview on Hollywood movies and worldviews as well as “God Against the gods: Storytelling, Imagination and Apologetics in the Bible.”
Clear Lens website:
http://aclearlens.libsyn.com/hollywood-worldviews-with-brian-godawa
iTunes:
Hosted by Dr. Mike Heiser, author of the game-changer in supernatural theology, The Unseen Realm. This episode features co-hosts Brian Godawa (hey, that’s me!), Natalina (Beyond Extraordinary podcast), Trey (Naked Bible podcast), Doug Overseer (Seers See Ministries), and Pastor Doug Van Dorn (author, Giants: Sons of the Gods).
We talk about respectable peer-reviewed analysis of this phenomena that is one of the more sensational elements of paranormal shows like Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventurers, and Ghost Worshippers (Okay, just kidding on that last one). But we do deal a bit with the Biblical prohibition of talking to the dead, which is what this phenomenon is actually a modern day version of.
But are the claims of EVP real, artificial or something else?
I was interviewed about Hollywood and Christian influence for SkyWatch TV.
Watch me at the 8:20 mark here,
or manually go to the 8:20 mark on this embedded video…
Click here to find out all the information and to register.
Thanks to the Greenhouse Arts & Media hosting this upcoming seminar of mine on adapting your screenplays into self-published novels.
I share everything you need to know to tackle this new world of self-publishing, as well as lessons I’ve learned along the way as I adapted and published my own screenplays. I address a number of topics, including adaptation of screenplays into novels, production, publishing, distribution and marketing of self-published novels adapted from screenplays.
But even normal writers will find this presentation immensely helpful in navigating the labyrinth of self-publishing with their novel ideas.
By the end of this class, you’ll know how to:
The Date: Saturday, July 23, 2016 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PDT)
Location: CBS Studio Center – 4024 Radford Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 91604
Cost: Only $35
Click here to find out all the information and to register.
I had a great interview with Off the Grid Radio about my latest novel, written with Charlie Wen of Marvel Studios fame.
I explain:
You can see the novel at Amazon here.
See the cast of characters and Charlie Wen’s artwork on the Dragon King website here.
A fictional drama of Jesus during his 40-day fast in the desert. He meets a family with one male son and a sick dying wife, and makes a wager with the devil to try to help them through their family problems. Starring Ewan McGregor as Jesus and Ewan McGregor as Satan.
In my book Hollywood Worldviews I write about how the depictions of Jesus in movies throughout the decades often reflect the zeitgeist of the era. I wrote: “A survey of the portrayal of Jesus in the movies yields an interesting mixture of both historical and mythical, human and divine, sinner and saint. In fact, one might say that the history of Jesus in the movies is precisely a history of the theological struggle between Christ’s identity as God and his identity as man.”
In HW, I called the Jesuses of the movies by their social constructs as depicted in the films:
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965): Leonardo-DaVinci’s-humanistic-Renaissance Jesus.
King of Kings (1961): Youthful-blue-eyed-Aryan-WASP-moviestar Jesus.
Jesus of Nazareth (1977): Hypnotic-eyed-possibly-drug-addict-Jesus-who-never-blinks.
Jesus Christ Superstar (1972): 70s-nonviolent-peace-demonstrator scapegoat-for-the-military-industrial-complex Rock n Roll Messiah.
The Last Temptation of Christ (1982): Confused-epileptic-temper-tantrum-sinner Jesus.
The Gospel of Matthew (1995): Smiley-faced-California-surfer-dude Jesus.
Jesus: The Epic Miniseries (2000): Politically-correct-lovey-dovey-pacifist-television Jesus.
Judas (TV 2004): Dr.-Phil-Scooby-Doo-Shaggy-Malibu Jesus.
Look, I realize how impossible it is to portray the God-man in any way that everyone will approve of. That ain’t gonna happen. (It would take a – a miracle! And then most people wouldn’t believe it anyway)
My definition of the Jesus of The Last Days in the Desert as being a “Boring-Arthouse-Existentialist Jesus” is certainly no disappointment with the very weighty performance of McGregor (The Satan part is addressed later). His acting was profound and very human. He really brought it with this portrayal of Jesus being tempted by the lust, the flesh, the eyes, and the pride of life without being a sinner. Fair enough. A Jesus who, like many holy men, fasts in order to draw close to the God he feels out of touch with. A Jesus who wrestles with existentialist issues of presence and purpose, most akin to the Gethsemane scene of the dual natures in conflict.
Or is it?
The director, Rodrigo Garcia, who claims to not be a Christian, said that he could only understand Jesus’ human side. He questioned how could one portray the divine side anyway? Again, fair enough. At least he didn’t try to subvert Jesus into his opposite like the most recent abominable Noah and Exodus movies do with God and their human heroes.
Or did he? Continue reading
The brilliant and very friendly Brett Kunkle interviewed me on the Stand To Reason Podcast here.
We talked about some heavy stuff. Guaranteed to fascinate you. The need for Christian artists to be theologically informed and the need for theological Christians to be artistically informed from the Bible. Art, aesthetics, beauty are not merely acceptable, they are necessary to knowing God properly. But also, did you know God used artistic imagination to defend the faith? Did you know God used subversion to redeem pagan imagination and pagan art?
This is the book we talked a lot about: God Against the gods.
Here is the video presentation of God Against the gods.
