Westminster John Knox Press Radio

WJK Radio 33: Elaine A. Heath Explores Women, Sex, and God in Twilight

What better day to talk about vampires and werewolves than Halloween? Elaine A. Heath is here to discuss her new book, The Gospel according to Twilight: Women, Sex, and God. Does Stephenie Meyer's blockbuster series offer any theological insight? Could the Twilight books be sending dangerous messages to young girls? Heath offers her take just in time for the release of Breaking Dawn, Part One. 

Elaine A. Heath is Associate Professor of Evangelism at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. An active participant in the emerging church conversation, she is an ordained United Methodist minister.

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Related Resources

Connie Neal, The Gospel according to Harry Potter, Revised and Expanded Edition

Ralph C. Wood, The Gospel according to Tolkien

Additional titles in the Gospel according to. . . series

 

Music Credit

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 25: Michael J. Gilmour on the Spirituality of Bob Dylan

Since the early 1960s, music fans have found Bob Dylan’s spirituality fascinating, and many of them have identified Dylan as a kind of spiritual guru. Scholar and longtime fan Michael J. Gilmour discusses Dylan’s spiritual mystique in this month's episode. His new book, The Gospel according to Bob Dylan: The Old, Old Story for Modern Times, is now available, and can be purchased at 40% OFF from The Thoughtful Christian. 

Michael J. Gilmour is Associate Professor of New Testament and English Literature at Providence College in Manitoba, Canada. He is the author of Gods and Guitars: Seeking the Sacred in Post-1960s Popular Music and editor of Call Me the Seeker: Listening to Religion in Popular Music.

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Related Resources:

Rodney Clapp, Johnny Cash and the Great American Contradiction

Greg Garrett, We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel according to U2

Steve Turner, The Gospel according to the Beatles

Jeffrey B. Symynkywicz, The Gospel according to Bruce Springsteen 

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 15: Walter Brueggemann paves the way toward the common good

Respected author and theologian Walter Brueggemann joins us today for a penetrating look at today’s most pressing issues, including terrorism, health care, and the recent economic collapse. He offers guidance for navigating through these challenging times through neighborliness, covenanting, and reconstruction. His new book, Journey to the Common Good, is now available from Westminster John Knox Press. 

Walter Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary. He is the world’s leading interpreter of the Old Testament and is the author of numerous books, including Westminster John Knox Press best sellers such as Genesis and An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination. For more information, visit http://brueggemann.wjkbooks.com.

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Related Resources:

Jim Wallis, The Great Awakening: Seven Ways to Change the World

Walter Brueggemann, Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 12: Craig Detweiler Offers his Expert Take on Video Games – and Religion!

Hot on the heels of James Cameron’s award-winning blockbuster film Avatar, Craig Detweiler joins us today for a serious look at a fun subject—video games!  Detweiler is the editor of the first exploration of video games and their theological dimensions: Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God. 

Craig Detweiler is Director of the Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture at Pepperdine University in Malibu. His cultural commentary has appeared on ABC's Nightline, CNN, Fox News, NPR, and in The New York Times. His comedic documentary, Purple State of Mind, won Best Spiritual Film at the 2008 Breckenridge Festival of Film and the Audience Award at the 2009 Tallahassee Film Festival. For more information, visit http://detweiler.wjkbooks.com. He also blogs at craig.purplestateofmind.com.

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Related Resources:

David Dark, The Gospel according to America: A Meditation on a God-blessed, Christ-haunted Idea

Gabriel McKee, The Gospel according to Science-Fiction: From the Twilight Zone to the Final Frontier.

 

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 9: D’OH! It’s Mark Pinsky on Spirituality in The Simpsons

Since being introduced to American television audiences over two decades ago, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson have become one of the most well-known, beloved, and irreverent animated families of all time. Yet even in The Simpsons one can find elements of faith and morality. Here to discuss the ways in which spirituality and religion are reflected in this longest-running comedy in television history is Mark Pinsky, author of the newly revised edition of the best-selling book that Booklist calls “seriously funny,” The Gospel according to The Simpsons.

A completely revised study guide for this volume in the popular WJK Gospel According to… series has just been released.

Mark I. Pinsky is the author of The Gospel according to The Simpsons, The Gospel according to Disney, and A Jew among the Evangelicals. He is a former religion reporter for the Orlando Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times.

Running Time: 33:27 minutes

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Related Resources:

Greg Garrett, The Gospel according to Hollywood

Robert L. Short, The Parables of Dr. Seuss

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 7: Greg Garrett on the spiritual journey of U2

Who among us has not experienced hearing a song that moved us deeply, that spoke to us in a truly spiritual way, despite the secular nature of the song itself? Millions of fans around the world have found that inspiration in the music of U2, arguably the biggest band in the world today. Now, on the heels of U2’s latest studio album No Line on the Horizon, Greg Garrett, author of We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel according to U2, joins us for an engaging and informative discussion about the spirituality that drives the band and its music.

Greg Garrett is Professor of English at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, a licensed lay preacher in the Episcopal Church, and Writer in Residence at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. He is one of America’s leading authorities on religion and culture. A frequent media guest, he regularly speaks and leads workshops and retreats across the US and overseas. 

Running Time: 32:33 minutes
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Related Resources:

Michael J. Gilmour, The Gospel according to Bob Dylan: The Old, Old Story for Modern Times

Jeffrey B. Symynkywicz, The Gospel according to Bruce Springsteen: Rock and Redemption, from Asbury Park to Magic

Steve Turner, The Gospel according to the Beatles

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte