tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-202150672012-01-26T23:16:23.467-08:00Hello and welcome to my blog. Here I will post my thoughts, as I am sure you are anxiously awaiting.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.comBlogger1981100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-77552461855860065002010-03-21T10:15:00.000-07:002010-03-21T10:16:14.618-07:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-17922823869973511642010-02-02T11:38:00.000-08:002010-02-02T11:40:56.535-08:00

Hey guys, this little summary of sphere sovereignty and the basic cultural outlook of Abraham Kuyper is done very will in this video. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts. http://www.wscal.edu/resources/video/King_Kingdoms_Godfrey.phpIt is interesting that he criticizes Michael Horton from a Kuyperian perspective.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-69616477293471958502010-01-30T10:06:00.000-08:002010-01-30T10:09:18.636-08:00

It was another good year at Sundance. ......my blogs are getting so lazy.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-16836953610448746842009-12-02T09:42:00.000-08:002009-12-02T09:44:14.283-08:00

Today we are going to have the privilege of meeting with Gideon Strauss, head of the Center for Public Justice. I'm looking forward to talking to him. Here is a quote from his websight. "At the Center we stand firmly opposed to the public establishment of any religion, but we reject the idea of a sacred/secular dichotomy that would confine religions to a private sphere. Religions are ways of life

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-34614848344329551562009-11-27T19:11:00.000-08:002009-11-27T23:42:39.149-08:00

Picaso said, "'I don't loathe art, because I couldn't live without devoting all my time to it. I love it as the only end of my life.' "Thus works of art become surrogate gods, taking the place of God the Creator; aesthetic contemplation takes the place of religious adoration; and the artist becomes one who in agony of creation brings forth objects in absorbed contemplation of which we experience

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-71494515045513731002009-11-09T12:04:00.000-08:002009-11-09T12:37:15.832-08:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-23356260680772739752009-11-09T11:58:00.001-08:002009-11-09T11:59:01.422-08:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-83472285143519346292009-11-08T14:35:00.000-08:002009-11-08T14:41:34.983-08:00

Welp it looks like the Hitchens-Wilson debate is finally out. l've ordered a copy and hope to watch it soon so I can let you all know what I think of it. In the mean time, check out the interview with the director here:

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-46622106048168392162009-10-15T02:44:00.000-07:002009-10-15T02:47:34.991-07:00

So I read this somewhere, but I can't remember where now. But in case you are bored. Here are some thoughts on the nature of comedy. There are three types of "funny" guys. 1. The imposter. This is the fool. It is a stupid person who we actually laugh at. 2. The innocent. This is a simple person who gets by quite well from being passive and not reacting to adverse situations around them. Life

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-41669597517443986272009-08-15T13:53:00.000-07:002009-08-15T13:58:29.220-07:00

My old college classmate, Olivia Klaus, has been working on a documentary for a few years now called "Sin By Silence." It's been getting a lot of buzz and screening all across the country. I'm so proud of her! Listen to her interview on NPR here.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-930017658597065992009-07-23T16:27:00.000-07:002009-07-23T16:30:54.345-07:00

Our little film apparently is not done with it's festival run. We will be showing at the Nevada City Film festival at 7:30pm on Saturday, August 22nd. SO if you are in the area and want to drop by, you can share the remainder of my fifteen minutes of fame for this project.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-14819608607824931262009-07-09T10:57:00.000-07:002009-07-09T11:13:27.955-07:00

There are times in life that can only be described as a fiasco. In travel, the only way out, usually, is to throw money at it. Today’s fiasco started innocently at 3:30am, the hour I decided to get up, after being pestered by the high pitched whine of hovering mosquitoes in my hotel room (I don’t know why the invention of the screen has for the most part been absent from most of Europe). I had

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-2835827980371761772009-06-28T23:38:00.000-07:002009-06-28T23:57:03.289-07:00

Well the class is done and we all had a great time. As it turns out, I was so busy with the group activities and photography that I never followed through on my experiment in the post below. I'll try to do better for the rest of the trip. In the mean time, here is a little time-lapse video I shot in Orvieto. This is the kind of stuff the new digital SLR's can do. I really am blown away by the

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-46181532706427040022009-06-17T02:18:00.000-07:002009-06-17T02:42:51.242-07:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-79719290697391981542009-06-17T00:11:00.000-07:002009-06-17T00:22:39.523-07:00

Hello all! I'm here in Italy and I'm in class right now so I'll be brief. I'll start posting photos and stories from the trip soon.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-27075122135948000762009-04-16T20:46:00.000-07:002009-04-16T21:01:29.590-07:00

So I thought the talk tonight raised some interesting issues. The talk was on whether or not there is a "conflict" between science and religion. Plantinga basically argues along familiar lines, saying that there is no necessary conflict between theism and the theory of evolution, which is popular in science these days. However, if one holds to both evolution and naturalism, there is an

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-44253652599121555392009-04-16T11:51:00.001-07:002009-04-16T12:01:36.869-07:00

The conference this year at is on the philosophy of revelation. I'm looking forward to Plantinga's talk tonight entitled: "Religion and Science: Where the Conflict Really Lies." This talk may have relevance on some of the recent conversations I've been having here (on the blog). We shall see!I'm always a bit wary of blogging about what I hear a conferences ever since I posted something a while

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-87504510709829624542009-04-16T11:43:00.000-07:002009-04-16T11:51:01.884-07:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-24622401276592321082009-04-14T00:26:00.000-07:002009-04-14T00:28:06.311-07:00

...now that I've see the above video.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-85213900020284122112009-04-08T11:31:00.001-07:002009-04-13T11:34:10.946-07:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-3170858871222058142009-01-23T10:08:00.000-08:002009-01-25T19:41:37.424-08:00

Once again I am humbled. I have to be honest. I walked out of the romantic comedy, Arlin Faber, thinking that it was a little too formulaic and predictable. It had shades of As Good As it Gets, and other romantic comedies where the isolated but brilliant author who has quirky intimacy issues meets a woman who draws him out and instigates a change in him. But the more I think about it, the more I

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-44182109061824331452009-01-23T08:37:00.000-08:002009-01-23T09:38:21.751-08:00

Today we have a special guest out to talk to us, Cary Fukunaga, director of the Sundance film, Sin Nombre. Sin Nombre is a story about a fractured family from Honduras trying to make it through Mexico to America, riding on the tops of trains. Things are complicated by the introduction of a couple of young gang members, "Willy" and "Smiley" as they are struggling to belong in a gang community.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-78693217366742625432009-01-22T08:11:00.000-08:002009-01-22T10:20:16.804-08:00

A little short film called Short Term 12, directed by a Point Loma graduate, Destin Cretton, and produced by Michelle Steffes, a Taylor graduate, won best short film this year. Michelle and Destin met last year at the Windrider Forum. They collaborated on Short Term 12 and submitted it to Sundance this year. The film simply follows one hectic, chaotic, day in the life of a couple of characters

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-37279174547182658352009-01-21T08:28:00.000-08:002009-01-21T10:37:03.215-08:00

Yesterday I saw a couple of films and attended an "industry" party. In the morning we screened a couple of short films followed by discussion and then most of us went out to see a movie starring Kevin Bacon called Taking Chance. It is a true story following Lt. Col. Michael Strobl as he volunteers to take the body of a fallen soldier, Chance Phelps, home to his family. It becomes a kind of

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-72857728926266693712009-01-20T08:55:00.001-08:002009-01-20T16:26:43.227-08:00

It's going to be another great year at Sundance. I arrived in town yesterday afternoon and swung by Park City Vineyard Church to see how all the Biola, Taylor and Fuller students were doing. The sanctuary of the church was full of people. Tables were spread out and chairs were set up and people were eating food prepared by the members of the church for the students. Every year I come here I see

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-30986571654499658452009-01-04T01:03:00.000-08:002009-01-04T01:36:31.727-08:00

I'm reading an excellent book right now, mainly as research, called Fame Junkies. Jake Halpern starts his research of the fame culture looking at child celebrities and the industry of fashion, modeling and acting schools that foster the goal of stardom. "Over the following days I interviewed Lucinda Wells and virtually every other girl in attendance that night (at a school called "Personal Best"

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-20546471951345787022008-12-22T01:07:00.000-08:002008-12-22T11:22:26.067-08:00

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/174352/june-19-2008/bishop-n-t--wright

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-37187010469522257592008-12-10T14:31:00.000-08:002008-12-10T14:33:10.418-08:00

A New YesWalter Kaufmann notes that early on in his life Nietzsche was given to contrasting the Dionysian with the Apollonian, but later fell to contrasting the Dionysian with “the Crucified.” Struggling to deal with the implications of the death of God, Nietzsche saw the origin of the concept of the Christian God as initially an answer to the problem of suffering. The idea is that promises for

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-87242110468469694642008-12-10T14:24:00.000-08:002008-12-10T14:27:26.475-08:00

What Constitutes “Better” Post-Darwin? Nietzsche and the Revaluation of ValuesItalian philosopher Gianni Vattimo argues in After Christianity that Nietzsche’s famous announcement, “God is dead” was not an atheistic thesis (i.e. God does not exist) but is instead a comment on the process by which “the faithful” have driven God out of their thinking. God, Nietzsche asserts, has been “killed by the

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-92224898586458855742008-12-09T14:31:00.000-08:002008-12-09T14:35:44.600-08:00

"It is one thing to claim that God can and does bring good out of evil, that sin and death are constrained by divine providence to serve God's transcendent purpose; it is quite another to imagine that in the eschaton we will look back on some event of mindless cruelty in history and say: 'Now, in the total scheme of things, I can see why that had to happen.'...Disentangling beauty from

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-25929407401155815952008-12-09T13:09:00.000-08:002008-12-09T13:11:53.224-08:00

It has been well known that Charles Darwin feared criticism from the religious community as a result of his publications. We might think that these fears are rooted in the fact that his theory of natural selection, as an alternative explanation for the origin of humankind, seemed to conflict with the concept of creation, that it would undermine Christian theism. Daniel Dennett argues that the “

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-9881445414766786302008-12-09T12:54:00.000-08:002008-12-09T13:03:29.436-08:00

It is against this background and climate (see previous two posts) in which Charles Darwin wrote. Daniel Dennett notes that the effectiveness of Darwin’s message spread in large measure because of everything else that went on prior to his publication of The Origin of Species. Ideas like that of evolution had been around prior to Darwin, but they had not taken off. Why not? Dennett seems to think

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-31415159836753774612008-12-09T00:04:00.000-08:002008-12-09T00:10:17.073-08:00

I always write on slips of paperThen laterFind them in my pocketJust before putting the pants in the washThis one says "A bonfire of cell phones"And under that "Everyone has a documentary crew following them around" Who, I think to myselfAre these notes for? They are what I use to fightThe last enemyThe long sleep in which I will have no thoughtsExcept, perhapsThose that survive In the form of

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-68224522365151635672008-12-08T14:36:00.000-08:002008-12-09T13:07:13.141-08:00

Suzan Neiman in her book Evil In Modern Thought suggests that it was not until the concept of God began to fail as a solution to the problem of suffering that first of all deism, and then later atheism really became a legitimate and respectable position. She argues that the history of philosophy can be explained in part as driven by various attempts to answer the problem of evil. The failure of

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-30428863851093720412008-12-06T11:22:00.001-08:002008-12-08T14:18:04.148-08:00

So what should we think about the culture war currently going on between the evolutionists (lead by what some call the militant atheists, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens) and he religious community? Last year I had the privilege of taking a class on the history of Atheism from Nancy Murphy here at Fuller. I found it to be very interesting. I'd like to share a portion or two

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-37308023499497456482008-11-30T17:16:00.000-08:002008-11-30T17:58:52.300-08:00

I have been blessed this past year to do some traveling, which I love, which is a privilege, which is an answer to prayer, which is a fact for which I want to give thanks to God. This was my thought, as I rose early in the morning in Sorrento, Italy this summer and snapped a picture of my breakfast as I watched the sunrise over the sea, grateful to be alive, grateful to be breathing and grateful

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-4638277968793501612008-11-30T15:06:00.000-08:002008-11-30T15:23:38.515-08:00

It hit me a few weeks ago that I'd never picked up my diploma from Cal State Long Beach. So I called them up, thinking for a second that maybe I'd forgotten something. Well everything was fine and it came in the mail this week. Am I supposed to get a frame for it? File it away? What does one do with a diploma?

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-439807324757473972008-11-19T09:02:00.000-08:002008-11-19T09:22:24.734-08:00

Say... wouldn't it be great if Obama had a blog? I'd read it...

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-35446442340320285142008-11-18T18:32:00.000-08:002008-11-18T19:08:53.453-08:00

I just finished reading "Screen Christologies" by Christopher Deacy. It is a very interesting read. His argument is basically that the film noir genre offers a fertile ground for a redemptive reading against the backdrop of a Christian view of the world. Redemption for him, as far as I can tell, is the struggle to overcome and confront the sin and guilt that is inherent in the characters of the

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-88762199898684346492008-11-01T05:03:00.000-07:002008-11-01T05:27:25.969-07:00

After a tremendous week in Savannah, I'm now at the airport waiting to board my flight back home. Its time for me to return to my normal life in which I am no longer an honored guest. I will no longer be able to use my precious "F" pass (indicating that I'm a filmmaker at the festival) to bypass long lines at the theatre. I will not be able to flash that pass to get into the hotel dining area

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-2892805846465889612008-10-31T14:12:00.000-07:002008-10-31T14:29:25.183-07:00

Welp, it's Halloween here in Savannah and I've got one more film to watch before I head home tomorrow morning. All in all it has been a really great time. This festival treats its filmmakers very well. The fly us out, put us in the historic Marshall House in downtown Savannah, feed us three meals a day AND, get this, free drinks at the parties every night (if you are not a filmmaker, you pay 500

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-65676749375983519792008-10-29T11:36:00.000-07:002008-10-29T11:38:41.576-07:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-52061988989765796852008-09-13T10:15:00.000-07:002008-09-13T10:16:30.905-07:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-44642176778659387052008-08-16T22:02:00.000-07:002008-08-18T13:55:12.485-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us. I was surprised how good the film looked on a big screen projected in 35mm. There were elements of the short that didn't seem to work on the small screen that did this time. It's amazing what a difference the size of the screen makes. After the screening Ric and I along with David Hlebo (our composer) and two of our actors, Peter and Allen, sat down

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-47487920621326057302008-08-14T09:50:00.000-07:002008-08-14T10:50:48.059-07:00

So tomorrow is the big day of our screening at the LA Film Festival. I'm excited to see all the cast again (nearly a year after we shot) and to see how it fares in the midst of a bunch of other short films. There are 10 other films in the screening and ours is second-to last. I don't really know what to expect but whatever happens, I'm sure it will be good times. If you are planning on coming,

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-61016613434530286792008-08-07T00:35:00.000-07:002008-08-08T14:30:52.964-07:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-56760715939927229712008-07-29T17:06:00.000-07:002008-07-30T10:05:32.763-07:00

The other day I received a package in the mail. "More books," I thought to myself, "I don't remember ordering any books lately." But I shop on amazon a lot, A LOT, and so I figured that I must have ordered something and forgotten about it. I opened the package and found four binded copies of my MA thesis. So this is tangible proof that I DID indeed go through a master's program and finish

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-30760958319111868532008-07-24T10:01:00.000-07:002008-07-28T15:47:24.068-07:00

LA Actors will be premiering here in Los Angeles at the Sunset Laemmle theatre at the LA Shorts Film Festival August 15 at 5:15pm, shorts program three. The film has new music (composed by David Hlebo), and a new sound mix and will be seen on a 35mm print. Hopefully with the help of all of that technical quality the story will come through. Please come out and see it if you can!

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-33882607987097101322008-06-21T13:57:00.000-07:002008-06-21T14:33:14.349-07:00

I've noticed that when you are taking a class and traveling that you do not have as much time to blog because you are forever reading and writing the stuff you have to turn in. That's what it has been like this week. The work load was not that bad really, but slightly more than I thought it would be, and I may perhaps be writing more than the others. Either way, it's been taking some time. Anyway

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-62322632196000687652008-06-18T05:11:00.000-07:002008-06-18T14:08:56.031-07:00

Hello everyone! I am safe and sound here in Orvieto and we are on our second day of classes. I left Saturday night and, after stopping off in London just long enough to have a plate of fish and chips with mushy peas, arrived in Rome late Sunday evening. I ended up staying in a hostel right near the Termini, or the train station in Rome. Then I hopped on the train to Orvieto Monday afternoon. We

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-80576076754138424252008-06-14T00:23:00.000-07:002008-06-14T00:29:34.778-07:00

Friends... my apologies for the scarcity of posts over the last few weeks. It feels like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders (if you will allow me to be cliche for a minute) to turn in my last three papers and take my final final of the quarter today. And just like that I'm off to fly to Rome tomorrow. I'll arrive on Sunday night and stay somewhere in Rome (I'm not sure where yet) and

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-49396496571918334442008-06-03T16:48:00.000-07:002008-06-03T16:58:50.288-07:00

Helio has asked my permission to publish my post on "Nietzsche vs. Ecclesiastes" on his blog, after translating it to Portuguese. Why yes, I say, translate away. You can see his blog here.Good to see that there is a healthy interest in the philosophy of Nietzsche and the book of Ecclesiastes among the Brazilian Baptists.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-11816106830137973282008-05-21T10:19:00.000-07:002008-05-21T10:40:30.122-07:00

"It is the vocation of art, not merely to observe everything visible and audible, to apprehend it, and reproduce it artistically, but much more to discover in those natural forms the order of the beautiful, and, enriched by this higher knowledge, to produce a beautiful world that transcends the beautiful of nature." This, I would add, is grounded in the cultural mandate of creation. The

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-55453974947854804702008-05-13T09:03:00.000-07:002008-05-13T09:18:53.718-07:00

outside a hooka lounge/coffee shop smoking a cigar and drinking coffee in Old Town the other day reading "Natural Theology" the famous debate between Emil Brunner and Karl Barth. A backwards capped, low-pants wearing young man walked by and asked me what I was reading. "Natural Theology" I siad. "Natural What?" he asked. "Natural theology," I said. "it's a debate between one theologian and

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-5750207486730022722008-05-09T20:27:00.001-07:002008-05-09T20:38:08.974-07:00

Undoubtedly I'll post more on this later, but very quickly I have some news. Those of you who are familiar with the sordid tale of my little ten-minuter, the film, LA Actors, will know that it's had a rough go of things. We shot the thing back in September and really spared no expense and ran up a credit card or two. However, it was only accepted to the South African film festival (which, as much

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-64732215762999016492008-05-07T20:04:00.000-07:002008-05-08T11:59:12.136-07:00

for me to walk from my apartment to Fuller. I had an exam at three PM that required a pen and a blue book. Come 2:30 I said to myself, "Welp, it's time for me to stroll over to the Fuller bookstore, pick up a pen and a blue book and then maybe get a coffee, and then go to class." So I head over to the bookstore. Not it takes ten minutes, mind you, for me to make this walk. So that puts it at

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-6424534270277818262008-05-05T22:12:00.000-07:002008-05-06T01:13:50.168-07:00

I just got home from the talk by Mark D. Regnerus (see post below) and found it very informative. He is an evangelical but does not claim to be a theologian, just a sociologist. He provided a critique of the way the church typically counsels young people and talks about sexuality in light of sociological research. He makes a couple valid points: The first is that the church tends to preach on "

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-1890137939908867412008-04-29T15:59:00.000-07:002008-04-29T16:07:17.599-07:00

Well I've found a couple of interesting nooks on the web. Initially I stared on this websight. Wonderhowto.com. There you can find any number of "how-to" videos. Aaaand I happened across this sight that gives you a simple wine 101 education. I just thought I'd pass it along.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-38654693515812817522008-04-23T12:38:00.000-07:002008-04-23T12:57:52.062-07:00

I have been hearing about this for a while now and just saw that the St. Andrews websight has been updated to include a description of their new Master's Program. It is a one-year masters of literature in theology, imagination and the arts. I was just looking over some of the courses and I can't believe how perfect they are. Check it out here. I'll be visiting St. Andrews in Scotland the first

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-10734284284416961452008-04-18T19:36:00.000-07:002008-04-18T19:38:10.769-07:00

St. Augustine - "Grant what thou commandest and then command what thou wilt."

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-11460735963955967182008-04-16T20:40:00.000-07:002008-04-16T20:45:20.944-07:00

Check out this segment on NPR about the effects of on-line social networking sights and the blurring of what we typically think of as "public" and "private" space here. Will the next generation growing up have different notions of the public vs. the private?

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-29111156048022929702008-03-14T10:41:00.000-07:002008-03-14T12:49:32.894-07:00

To continue my paper-procrastination, I present to you: Jeremy Begbie, director of ITIA, Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts at St. Andrews speaking at Berkeley a few years ago. The video is a little long so you have to be patient, settle down and have a cup of tea or something.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-24961454506514788222008-03-14T09:59:00.000-07:002008-03-14T10:09:58.824-07:00

I got to talking about Wittgenstein last night and came across this video. Kind of hischool-play-esk but it illustrates a little of what I was saying in the previous post. I think he would have had a thicker German accent.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-87193819558095000682008-03-03T21:22:00.000-08:002008-03-03T21:47:29.537-08:00

So I was strolling down Colorado blvd. just about to pass the Apple Store when I was heralded by a Greenpeace guy. Greenpeace guy: "Sir, can you spare just a minute of your time?" Me: "Uh, yea." Greenpeace guy: "I'm from Greenpeace and we are here, hittin' the streets of Pasadena here."Me: "Do you want money." Greenpeace guy: "No, no, just wanna talk." Me: "Okay"Greenpeace guy: "We are trying to

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-32552459523164337442008-03-01T15:50:00.000-08:002008-03-01T16:25:36.786-08:00

I read on Andrew's blog that he likes a jin and tonic every once in a while and I figured I'd try it. I'm having one now (mostly tonic, not that much jin), eating a rasberry chocolate truffle that I got down at the cool little chocolate place (called "Temptations") two blocks over and watching Love Actually, and its raining out. I am rather struck by the strength of characters in the film. There

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-47023441400974349972008-02-28T14:13:00.000-08:002008-02-28T14:23:56.650-08:00

"Americans in 1995 devoted on average only two-thirds as much time to religion (both worship and religiously related social activities) as we did in 1965 - a steady decline from one hour and thirty-seven minutes a week in 1965 to one hour and seven minutes in 1995. It is not that sermons were getting shorter; rather, the fraction of the population that spent any time on religion at all fell by

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-31714234000289648802008-02-28T13:22:00.000-08:002008-02-28T14:10:29.246-08:00

Roughly two years ago we sat every Sunday in the same pew. Two of us, soon to be married, one of us discovering reformed theology for the first time, another of us planning to graduate from Biola and head down to Wesminster Seminary, one of us contemplating the possibility of a career in criminal justice, and I still struggling through my master's thesis at Cal State Long Beach. I was the only

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-46361582371214634122008-02-27T08:55:00.000-08:002008-02-27T09:31:25.039-08:00

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a movie about a man with "locked-in syndrome," based on a true story. Here is the trailor: I was really impressed with the cinematography actually. Very innovative and creative.I seem to be running across this idea of art as therapy more and more among filmmakers these days, the idea that making a movie can somehow help us deal with such things as the reality

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-59176160853085196252008-02-27T08:01:00.000-08:002008-02-27T08:52:41.063-08:00

I'm reading Robert Putnam's book "Bowling Alone" right now. Here is a little something from his chapter on religion and community, or, as sociologists put it, "social capital." Faith-based organizations are generally good social capital, he says. First of all, here are a couple quotes concerning the nature of social capital. "Social connections are also important for the rules of conduct that

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-27337650381555946732008-02-26T16:19:00.000-08:002008-02-27T07:49:30.917-08:00

I've posted some pics of my new place in Pasadena on my facebook, check them out here.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-4080210180510375832008-02-18T11:13:00.000-08:002008-02-18T11:23:16.383-08:00

"May God the Holy Spirit, the true Comforter, work in you mightily! Surely the God who gives food to ravens will not deny peace and pardon to seeking sinners. Try Him! Try Him at this moment! No, do not run away! Try Him now." - Spurgeon

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-19719454369908171072008-02-10T23:03:00.000-08:002008-02-10T23:42:13.780-08:00

It's time, dear readers, for me to say goodbye to the city of Long Beach, my home, lo these past four years. So goodbye old probably 1970's built kitchen. Even though your dishwasher didn't work and the sinks didn't drain water very well, I washed many a dish and baked many a store-bought frozen pizza in your oven. Goodbye 710 traffic. I will remember you well, and how the on-ramp always seemed

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-52123025886765625582008-02-08T10:20:00.000-08:002008-02-08T10:37:27.035-08:00

I'm currently listening to David Powlison's lecture series for his class, Dynamics of Biblical Change. I thought I'd mention a couple of his insights. We live in a world of sinners. Consequently we sin against others and they sin against us, we are both victims and victimizers. We develop two opposite reactions, each a distortion of love. Rather than love, we either "cower or tower." We play the

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-12041331457279320122008-02-07T22:13:00.000-08:002008-02-07T22:25:21.912-08:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-91357405657365444252008-01-28T13:28:00.000-08:002008-02-07T22:12:58.898-08:00

Well I'm back in So Cal finally. As it turns out Frozen River won the best picture award at Sundance, so we were all happy about that. Please, please get out and support it when it arrives at a theatre near you. On Saturday night the Windrider Forum guys invited a young Israeli filmmaker to the church to screen her documentary for us, To Die in Jerusalem. It made me think that all the writing I

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-90698157031525159262008-01-26T10:00:00.000-08:002008-01-26T10:19:17.568-08:00

Well it's been a really fun week. I've seen some absolutely great films and I've seen some really, really really bad ones. It's been fun to hang out with all the other Fuller, Biola and Taylor students, going to films together, having discussions and attending class every morning. If you want to hear a taste of what has been said, take a look at the Kindling's Muse podcast here. If you can get a

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-84198679381947177132008-01-21T21:34:00.000-08:002008-01-21T21:55:55.029-08:00

I saw a film this morning called The Last Word, about a troubled young youth who writes suicide notes for other people for a living. Somehow he falls in love with Winona Ryder, the sister of one of his clients. Of course he can't tell her what he really does for a living. In the end he ends up making friends and starting another business with another former client (who doesn't go through with it

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-70010958971668960682008-01-20T13:41:00.000-08:002008-01-20T14:29:23.760-08:00

Well folks, I am so very sorry but I've left the cable that connects my camera to my computer at home so I won't be able to post any pictures until I get back. We saw one film this morning, "The Wacknees" in which a troubled drug-dealing youth learns how to see the dopeness in life's situations instead of the wackness of them. In reviewing the films that I'll be watching here at Sundance, I'll be

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-25694344870337481752008-01-19T09:20:00.000-08:002008-01-19T09:23:36.599-08:00

Long Beach airport, I have to say, is the easiest airport I have ever flown out of. Parking is close, you just pull up and walk into the terminal. It only takes about 20 minutes to do everything, from getting your ticket to going through security. My only regret is that I left my house too early, for now I've got to wait for an hour before my plane leaves.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-12103530225525960832008-01-18T22:04:00.000-08:002008-01-18T22:11:21.410-08:00

Well I'm going to be taking a class for Fuller entitled "Engaging Independent Film" in Park City next week, mostly consisting of us watching a whole bunch of films together, discussing them, probably eating at some restaurants, and of course I plan to visit that brewery up at the top of main street in Park City like I do every year. Of course, in Utah, as I understand it, you can't call bars bars

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-14455088126248771602008-01-09T23:00:00.000-08:002009-08-01T15:14:16.833-07:00

At the risk of sounding, er, strange or something, I hope the reader can take the following list as written in good fun. I have always loved the humor in writing down lists. Calvin in Calvin and Hobbs, writes lists such as:" People who I hate." It's never clear exactly why he is writing the list other than the idea that he just has to get it down on paper. It is in that spirit and with that

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-8300149236238485102008-01-09T22:59:00.001-08:002008-01-09T22:59:50.062-08:00

I've had Peter Leithart's book, "Heroes of the City of Man" for a while now but never got around to reading it until this week. He's such a good writer that when you pick up one of his books you feel at home somehow. Just the introduction to the book is eye opening. In justifying the study of ancient pagan literature, he says that he seeks to understand "Athens" as "an author who resides

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-35392951085983778012008-01-04T22:31:00.000-08:002008-01-06T00:16:09.085-08:00

For those of you who missed the wedding, I thought I'd post my Dad's exhortation that he gave before he led Aaron and Emily in repeating their vows and exchanging rings. I found it to be quite solid, grace-based truth and very well said indeed. So here is to Aaron and Emily and a long a fruitful life and marriage!It’s both holy and fearful as well as wonderful and exhilarating to make the kinds

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-66484714360339016492008-01-04T16:35:00.000-08:002008-01-04T16:59:34.435-08:00

Today I was cleaning out my car and I found, buried under a pile of books, a crumpled-up note book. It was probably the note book I was using during the period of time when I was working on my MA thesis. In it I found the following letter I must have written about six months ago. I only vaguely remember writing it. I was probably going a little nutty from all the studying or something: Dear

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-66987295082465053602007-12-12T00:23:00.000-08:002007-12-12T01:24:24.183-08:00

Now remember, if you don't want the movie spoiled, then go watch it before you read the last of this post. This has to be one of the Cohen Brother's best films, right up there with Fargo and The Man Who Wasn't There, although "Man" is still my favorite of theirs. The novel on which which the movie is based takes inspiration from W.B. Yeats' poem , "Sailing to Byzantium". Here it is below: THAT is

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-73016074036531744122007-12-11T19:57:00.000-08:002007-12-11T20:04:52.773-08:00

Psalm 106To exchange glory For image To exchange rest For craving To soon forget EarnestlyTo play a deed Being harlotTo join To lifelessAnd yokeTo deathTo envy To sink lowTo get The wantedTo consider To believeTo trust To hearTo singNotTo murmurTo complainTo defileTo mixTo polluteTo angerTo provoke To test To kindleNevertheless yet AND indeedDear childTherefore To earnestly remember In spite To

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-24508844911015975172007-12-07T15:11:00.000-08:002007-12-11T18:56:44.468-08:00

I've got to get This off my chest. I will never, never, never... um, never... never never never. Issue a multiple choice test once I'm a real teacher, and here's why: 1. It does not provide an accurate indication of whether the student has actually learned the material or not. So much depends on the wording of the questions and whether or not there is an "all of the above" option. I venture to

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-68181565452427959532007-12-04T18:19:00.000-08:002007-12-04T18:46:13.564-08:00

After spending some time over the last couple of years in no less than five universities, I believe I'm in a position to note the following observation: People in different communities have their own authorities, their own trend-setters and usually, a group that they define themselves against. In other words, there is usually a rival group, a rival way of thinking that the leaders of the

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-56770773004229172872007-12-04T13:35:00.000-08:002007-12-04T13:45:37.364-08:00

“I am aware that the conclusions arrived at in this work will be denounced by some as highly irreligious; but he who denounces them is bound to show why it is more irreligious to explain the origin of man as a distinct species by descent from some lower form, through the laws of variation and natural selection, than to explain the birth of the individual through the laws of ordinary reproduction.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-1798958347950680852007-11-21T21:04:00.000-08:002007-11-21T21:22:04.302-08:00

I've been writing and thinking a lot about Nietzschean themes in art and the book of Ecclesiastes. Both say that we should enjoy life here and now. Both point to contradictions and puzzles in life. Nietzsche poses a thought experiment in his doctrine of Eternal Recurrence. What if, he speculates, the whole of history is cyclical, and you will be destined to live your life over and over again in

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-57758041039115423452007-11-13T13:05:00.000-08:002007-11-13T14:38:09.297-08:00

I've found an excellent book by Kevin J. Vanhoozer called "Everyday Theology." In it he outlines his method for "reading" a cultural text. This is more or less what I've been trying to do for the last several years now with movies. However, I've noticed that my series of posts on marriage and courtship fit his method as well. To practice "everyday theology," he says that you first deal with the "

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-45494562134148273272007-11-10T14:05:00.000-08:002007-11-11T00:53:18.401-08:00

Abraham Kuyper says that in Christ we see a movement "...from the depths of scorn to the most beautiful harmony of glory." This, he says, is the paradigm for beauty. In this fallen world we notice that it is a fact that moments of the experience of beauty are fleeting and that everything tends towards decline. Like the young Alve Singer in Woody Allen's Annie Hall, we know that the universe is "

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-77858295882199038662007-11-02T23:21:00.000-07:002007-11-02T23:25:10.152-07:00

"For his neighbours' sake if for no other reason, the Christian should beware of becoming a person of so few earthly interests that he cannot sustain a conversation, let alone a friendship with anybody outside his religious circle. To have a genuine and discriminating pleasure in some human pursuit is to be halfway toward deserving human confidence and without confidence people cannot be led

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-13456655771629062022007-10-31T00:20:00.000-07:002007-10-31T13:19:45.929-07:00

IsolationEntertainment gadgetsAnd reductionUtility of the immediateAnd that's all you getThat thing and no moreA payment and an exchangeA polite smileIt's good for businessI say this and you say thatCuz I'm looking right pastA consuming robotOr a selfish pigSomehow I'm bothMeanwhile we waitWaste or kill timeAnd you know where it ends

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-63244734362469299512007-10-28T01:39:00.000-07:002007-10-28T04:13:54.721-07:00

Let me throw in a couple more quotes from this certain theologian that I've been reading. So far we have only had one guess. So let's see if I can make it a little more clear by quoting a little more. "The chief point in my Speech is now uttered. This is the peculiar sphere which I would assign religion-the whole of it, and nothing more....Your feeling is piety, in so far as it expreses, in the

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-89430148043332485012007-10-26T17:50:00.000-07:002007-10-26T17:53:45.123-07:00

Thiis is just a quick note of excitement. We had a screening with the finished version of LA Actors today at Panavision for about 40 people. I am happy to report that we got laughs...AND applause at the end. So I think we have something. We submitted the DVD to the Sundance institute today and now we wait to see if we got in! I have a couple DVD copies and I'm thinking about an OC screening of

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-83223738607414986012007-10-23T19:24:00.000-07:002007-10-24T01:34:34.004-07:00

I'm reading a certain theologian right now and I thought I'd present a couple quotes to see if you guys can guess who he is. This, to me is the start of this whole, "I'm spiritual but not religious" business that is so popular nowadays. "...turn from everything usually reckoned religion, and fix your regard on the inward emotions and dispositions, as all utterances and acts of inspired men direct

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-46809145865191861662007-10-18T18:23:00.000-07:002007-10-18T18:36:03.227-07:00

Well I'm back. And I've realized that I hate it here. No just kidding. I could have never stayed over there too long, too much seafood. I have to have mexican food in my diet. Now, for old times, sake, here are a few more pictures from the trip.

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-87954537359903700602007-10-17T23:02:00.000-07:002007-10-23T19:23:54.396-07:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20215067.post-83944527972639953462007-10-17T22:05:00.000-07:002007-10-17T23:01:12.447-07:00

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04206293637717914337noreply@blogger.com0