Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture–4/24/15

Each week I hope to send out the latest version of “Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture,” with the intention of touching on a variety of the latest topics from the world of pop culture. But one man can only watch/read/listen to so much on his own, especially a husband and father who wants to spend time with his family, so please feel free to forward anything my way that you think may be worthy of attention. Because chances are, I may have missed it.

Two shows last Monday had some interesting themes throughout all their different plots and subplots that are definitely worth pointing out. Several months ago, I wrote about my love/hate relationship with Gotham, and the latest episode, “Under the Knife,” is another example of why I hate that I love (some of) this show. With Ed Nygma, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepot, and others, the resounding theme of this latest episode dealt with going “under the knife” and seeing who someone truly is on the inside.

As wretched as these people and their secrets may be, they are merely acting out of their sinful nature, which the apostle Paul tells us is in all of us: “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me” (Romans 7:18–21).

But the heart of Gotham is about Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon going to battle in their city in order to bring redemption to it, including the crimes these characters are hiding from, just like the war Jesus is battling for us that Paul described a few verses later: “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (vv. 24–25). Yes, if we were to also go “under the knife,” the world probably wouldn’t like what they saw. But Jesus came to save even that!

I’m still unsure what’s going on in The Returned. Why are the returned always eating? Does its meaning have anything to do with the multiple stories in the Gospels of the resurrected Jesus eating, even immediately asking for food upon seeing his disciples in the Upper Room? Are there any parallels to make concerning the dead rising from the grave upon Jesus’ crucifixion or during his still-to-come second coming? How about the baptism metaphors from this past week? Finally someone dug up the grave of one of the returned, and the only thing found in the coffin…was water. As in, their dead bodies were lowered into water, baptism style, and now they’re alive. And there were multiple instances this week where the returned were telling their loved ones that they’re not the same person they used to be, reminding us of 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” I don’t know where this show is going, but I’m loving wearing my God goggles while watching it.

Last week I mentioned the new CW show The Messengers that was teasing having to do with the end of the world, Satan . . . yada, yada, yada—all the same kind of Hollywood apocalypse stuff. After the first episode, I didn’t cancel the season pass . . . yet. Don’t get me wrong—it’s way off from any kind of accurate end-times representation. It begins with someone shouting, “And his name was death, and hell followed with him,” before shooting someone in a parking lot. Okay . . . This random quoting of Revelation 6:8 pretty much represents everything else in the show too, just picking and choosing things from Revelation that might make a cool show. After the murder, the show fast-forwards seven years (See what I mean? Seven years. Oh, aren’t they clever?) when basically the devil falls down from the sky and at the same time several strangers across the globe seem to have been turned into angels who all want to go to Houston for some reason. I know it seems a little crazy, but two reasons why I will at least watch one more episode: 1) the preacher who died and came back to life claiming to preach a new message, something different from the all-smiles-and-hugs health-and-wealth gospel that his father preached; and 2) this first episode was actually extremely clean as far as content and language goes. So we’ll see how it goes from here. And if all it does is produce clean entertainment and point people to Revelation, that’s still a great thing.

It is almost Avengers week!!! I for one will be rewatching the first one this weekend to help pass the time until next Friday. Have you ever noticed that the Avengers sure do fight amongst themselves a lot? Everyone’s got an ego problem. Everyone thinks their way is the best way. No one likes to admit when they may be wrong. I don’t know about you, but that sounds a lot like many churches and people within the church that I’ve crossed paths with during my lifetime. We all think our way is the best way. Our egos can get as inflated as anyone’s. Certainly my church is not wrong on that issue, right? Just like the Avengers can’t ever get around to saving the world until they learn to work together, the church today, too, fails to be the light of the world it’s called to be when all it does is bicker amongst itself. In the first Avengers, they ended up rallying around the dead body of Agent Coulson. The church needs to spend less time bickering about buildings, music, and Calvinism, and just rally around the risen body of Jesus.

And don’t forget episode 4 of A.D.: The Bible Continues, airing Sunday at 9:00 EST. Once again I’ll be live-tweeting during the episode and would love to hear from you during it. You can find me (@GodFamilyNoles) using hashtags #ADtheSeries and #BibleInPopCulture. Finally we are into the events found in the book of Acts. I know longer have to keep going back and forth between four different Gospels to see what is what. And look for my write-up on the new episode on Monday. See you then.

Kevin Harvey is the author of two books, his latest entitled All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture, which is now available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Walmart, and Sam’s Club.

Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture–4/17/15

Each week I hope to send out the latest version of “Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture,” with the intention of touching on a variety of the latest topics from the world of pop culture. But one man can only watch/read/listen to so much on his own, especially a husband and father who wants to spend time with his family, so please feel free to forward anything my way that you think may be worthy of attention. Because chances are, I may have missed it.

It would be inexcusable for me to not begin this week’s list with the new preview for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I was recently asked in a radio interview about any thoughts I had regarding Star Wars and biblical parallels from the saga. Unfortunately I had to say that I hadn’t prepared any thoughts on that recently but was definitely planning on doing so before the new movie came out in December. But how about this? At the root of the original trilogy is a young man who was basically wandering through life aimlessly, not knowing his purpose for being on earth—uh, I mean, Tatooine—until he learns who his father is. And this sudden sense of identity sends him on a path that changes his life and the world around him. Chapter 3 of my book All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture deals with this very issue of learning who we are as children of God and what that means for our individual lives. No, it doesn’t mean we can call upon the Force to blow up the Death Star without any computer guidance, but we will have access to a God who created the universe out of nothing and can bring the dead back to life. I think I’ll go with the latter.

The first season of the new Marvel show Daredevil dropped on Netflix last week, and after two episodes it’s quickly making me like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter just a little bit less. While those two shows are definitely more family friendly, Daredevil shows us a grittier, more troubling, side to the Avengers’ universe, and so far that’s a great thing. With an inspiring father-son storyline plus lines like: “But you can’t see.” “There are other ways to see” (a reminder of 2 Corinthians 5:7—“Walk by faith, not by sight”), I see great reason so far that my “God goggles” will be working overtime while watching this show. But in the end, the blind attorney who puts on a mask and fights crime at night (with absolutely no strings lifting him up or computer animation helping him leap around) is an advocate for those who cannot defend themselves, just as the Bible asks us all to be. As a lawyer, Matt Murdoch looks to defend only innocent people whom no one else believes and may not even have the money to pay him. But he is acting out King Lemuel’s plea in Proverbs 31:8–9 to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” And as the masked vigilante, at least in the first two episodes, Matt has taken up the cause of stopping the human trafficking ring that the rest of his community has chosen to ignore. I applaud Netflix, Marvel, and the creators of Daredevil for helping to bring to light the unfortunately increasing practice of slavery and human trafficking still going on under our noses today, with not nearly enough attention being brought to it by media, politicians, law enforcement, and the church. Perhaps Matt’s example of being an advocate can affect us in a way similar to the way it influenced Rosario Dawson’s character in episode 2, who said, “I found a man who needed help, so I helped him.” If only we could all think as simply as she.

What’s wrong with the world today when the first Batman v. Superman trailer we get is filmed on a cell phone in a theater in a foreign country? I’m sorry, are these not America’s superheroes? Can we not get these released on the Internet in HD quality? And between the time I first wrote this and then went back to upload the trailer, it had been taken down. So let me just quote these three lines from it: “Is it really surprising that the most powerful man in the world should be a figure of controversy?” “We as a population on this planet have been looking for a savior.” “We’re talking about a being whose existence challenges our very own sense of priority in the universe.” Wow. As though Zach Snyder’s Man of Steel wasn’t blatant enough in its Savior parallels (of which I wrote on in the opening chapter of All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture), the sequel looks to top even that. There’s so much to dig into there, but unfortunately, I think it’ll best have to wait until everything is put into context when the film is released next March 25. But keep preaching, Zach Synder. Keep preaching.

Have you heard of this new show on the CW called The Messengers? The preview made me at least want to record the first one and give it a try. Whether there is any bit of gospel truth to be redeemed from this show dealing with the end times or not is up in the air. Most likely it is yet another show (Dig, anyone?) that has no idea what the Apocalypse and Armageddon and Antichrist really mean, but there could be some good opportunities for conversation for anyone who has day-to-day interaction with the young audience that seems to keep the CW afloat.

And don’t forget episode 3 of A.D.: The Bible Continues, airing Sunday at 9:00 EST. Once again I’ll be live-tweeting during the episode and would love to hear from you during it. You can find me (@GodFamilyNoles) using hashtags #ADtheSeries and #BibleInPopCulture. Finally we are into the events found in the book of Acts. I know longer have to keep going back and forth between four different Gospels to see what is what. And look for my write-up on the new episode on Monday. See you then.

Kevin Harvey is the author of two books, his latest entitled All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture, which is now available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Walmart, and Sam’s Club.

Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture–4/10/15

Each week I hope to send out the latest version of “Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture,” with the intention of touching on a variety of the latest topics from the world of pop culture. But one man can only watch/read/listen to so much on his own, especially a husband and father who wants to spend time with his family, so please feel free to forward anything my way that you think may be worthy of attention. Because chances are, I may have missed it.

Tuesday nights are not the best nights for marriage on A&E. Two shows, Married at First Sight and Surviving Marriage, though with extremely different premises, treat the covenant of marriage as a choice rather than a commitment, a sad representation of what has become all too common in culture today. To be honest, I was originally drawn to give Surviving Marriage a try because it sounded like the bizarro Bachelor. Instead of putting gorgeous strangers in mansions and honeymoon-like scenarios, this show takes people who look like you and me and have been married for several years already, with kids, who are having relationship struggles, and place them in Survivor-like conditions. Awesome. Call me intrigued. At least, I was until I discovered that at the end of the four days alone in the woods that the couple has the choice to call it quits on their marriage. (Which indeed happened this past week.)

I don’t minimize the completely real struggles that come with marriage, but this show saddens me to hear these couples talk about how this “experiment” is the last attempt to save the marriage. That if this doesn’t work, then nothing will. You know what I say? Talk to Job and his wife. In a span of a few days, they lost all their children, all their cattle, all their means to support themselves, and Job was struck with boils on this skin from his feet to his head. After all this, Job’s unnamed wife tells him to “Curse God and die.” But did they then sign up for some psychological reality experiment to base all their hopes on? No, they stuck with their covenant, relied on God, and in the end God gave them twice as much as before. Surviving marriage? How about surviving your wife telling you to curse God and die. Look to Job, not the TV cameras.

And to the young couples getting married upon first meeting each other in Married at First Sight, you too can look to the Bible for precedent. Though I don’t agree with the lack of respect the show has for the marriage covenant, they’re not the first ones to marry off strangers. Genesis 24 shares the story of Isaac and Rebekah, a marriage union decided by some thirsty camels. A few hours later two strangers were married. And if God can bless their marriage, he can bless the ones on A&E too.

The sci-fi shows Heroes, X-Files, and Twin Peaks are all coming back sometime within the year. Okay…why? Don’t get me wrong; I’ll watch them all, but that’s just me—I’m a sucker for those kinds of things. But X-Files got so far off track in the end, they couldn’t even remember to talk about aliens in the movie they made a few years ago. The original Twin Peaks audience is almost too old for the coveted 18-49 age group the networks care so much about. And Sheldon Cooper of The Big Bang Theory summed it up best concerning Heroes: “They can’t just cancel a show like Alpha, you know. They have to help the viewers let go. Firefly did a movie to wrap things up. Buffy the Vampire Slayer continued on as a comic book. Heroes gradually lowered the quality season by season til we were grateful it ended.”

But when we think back on shows like these, we typically remember the good, don’t we? The amazing first season of Heroes with the tagline “Save the cheerleader, save the world.” The mystery of who killed Laura Palmer that drove us crazy during Twin Peaks’ first season. And the irresistible chemistry and dialogue between Mulder and Scully that brought us back to the X-Files every week, even when the answers were few and far between. This is how God remembers us, his children. Why would he want me around still? we tend to think. Like once-great TV shows that have gotten off track, we rarely have any good answers, when we forget why we were created we go off on crazy tangents, and people who once loved us start calling for our cancellation. But when God sees us he sees his creations who were made in his image. He sees the children he sent his Son to die for and who we desires to be in relationship with for all eternity. He sees the best in us, because the worst has been covered up by Jesus’ sacrifice.

And as long as you’re reminiscing fondly of old favorites, ABC, could you please bring us a LOST spinoff? How about something about the DHARMA Initiative over in Michigan where Daniel went off to for a bit in season 5? Call me if you need some other ideas. I pick up the flashing red LOST phone 24/7.

And don’t forget episode 2 of A.D.: The Bible Continues, airing Sunday at 9:00 EST. I was quite impressed with the first episode. If somehow Mark Burnett and Roma Downey can find a way to buy the copyrights to all Bible stories, that could only be a good thing. (See Noah and Exodus: Gods and Kings for two reasons why.) Once again I’ll be live-tweeting during the episode and would love to hear from you during it. You can find me (@GodFamilyNoles) using hashtags #ADtheSeries and #BibleInPopCulture. My guess is we’ll get to see some of Jesus’ forty days on earth after the resurrection, ending with his ascension to heaven. (Please don’t be cheesy-looking, please don’t be cheesy-looking…) And look for my write-up about it on Monday. See you then.

Kevin Harvey is the author of two books, his latest entitled All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture, which is now available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Walmart, and Sam’s Club.

Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture–3/27/15

Each week I hope to send out the latest version of “Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture,” with the intention of touching on a variety of the latest topics from the world of pop culture. But one man can only watch/read/listen to so much on his own, especially a husband and father who wants to spend time with his family, so please feel free to forward anything my way that you think may be worthy of attention. Because chances are, I may have missed it.

Bill O’Reilly’s bestselling book Killing Jesus hits the small screen this Sunday on the National Geographic channel. I have not read the book myself, but am interested in seeing how the movie is portrayed. From interviews I’ve heard by O’Reilly, it sounds as though he based his book purely on all of the indisputable facts about Jesus’ life and death. And by indisputable, I believe he refers to what scholars define as indisputable, not Christians. I can respect that. Certainly I think there are probably many uneducated skeptics out there who might be surprised with what is actually considered fact, not myth, about the life of Jesus. But something O’Reilly said this week really caught my attention (I’m paraphrasing here): “This story tells us all the reasons why Jesus was killed. All the conspiracies and plots and enemies against Jesus that led to them killing him.” I don’t know what O’Reilly’s spiritual beliefs concerning Jesus are, but if we stick with simply the idea that “he was killed,” we’re missing the true, beautiful story of the gospel. Jesus wasn’t simply killed; he came to earth so that he could give his life up for us. Nobody “killed” Jesus. He allowed his life to be taken.

Is there nothing we can depend on to last for a satisfyingly long time in Hollywood and other areas of pop culture today? In one week, we received news of Downton Abby coming to an end after its sixth season; One Direction member Zayn Malik is leaving the band, which led to tweens crying all over the world; director Sam Taylor-Johnson is leaving the 50 Shades of Grey franchise after just one film, reportedly due to disputes with the book author; and Kim Kardashian went back to brunette after only a few days of living life as a platinum blonde. With all this unsettling change, how are we supposed to find any kind of joy and refuge in the world today? I guess I could get a little preachy here if I wanted, but I can still remember hearing the news of the end of Seinfeld upon returning from my honeymoon in 1997. Dark day, I tell you. Dark day. But with God’s help, I persevered. Thirteen-year-old girls of the world, you will too. Zayn isn’t dead; he’s just trying to “find his music.”

March Madness began last week, bringing with it all the many matchups that are inevitably compared to “David versus Goliath.” This year, teams stepping into the role of David included Hampton, New Mexico St., Wofford, and Georgia St. Georgia St. actually pulled off the David over Goliath upset, beating Baylor with an unforgettable late comeback. But no matter how many commentators and analysts use the David and Goliath reference to describe the matchup, it’s just not a true comparison unless the Georgia St. players, after the game, went over and cut off the heads of all the Baylor players. I don’t think that happened. I believe I would’ve heard about it if it had. But, yes, it did happen in the true David versus Goliath story. Check it out in 1 Samuel 17 if you don’t believe me.

In the March 23 episode of Scorpion there were a number of things that caught my attention. I don’t know normally have my “God goggles” on while watching this lighthearted, fun Homeland Security show about super-geniuses, but maybe I’ll have to start doing so. In this most recent episode, we have one character (Happy) refusing to accept the love and protection being offered from Toby, whom she can’t comprehend why he loves her so much, not unlike any of us who have difficulty understanding how God could still love us as he does despite all of our resistance. Math genius Sylvester can no longer pull the crippled pilot behind him to safety, and the pilot tells him to leave him alone, that there is no way Sylvester can save both of them, so he needs to leave the pilot to die. But when Sylvester surprises the pilot with the strength to carry him on his shoulders, I was reminded instantly of Ephesians 3:30: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…” And FBI agent Cabe Gallo refuses to give up the search for his team, despite all around him trying to convince him of the danger of staying near the forest fire. Gallo believes in his team and that they will make it back, just as the father of the prodigal son faithfully believed each day that his son would return home to him.

When stories like these pop up in movies and television shows, I don’t necessarily believe that the writers were intentionally trying to make comparisons to the gospel of Jesus, but as I continue to say over and over in recent conversations and interviews concerning my new book, I hold firm to my thesis that pop culture loves the Bible. Whether the writers know it or not, the stories of self-sacrifice, of finding strength they never knew existed, of incomprehendible love offered to someone undeserving, is what the gospel of Jesus is all about. These stories move us the way they do, because the One who has led the way in living out these stories for us intended them to not only move us but change us.

 

Kevin Harvey is the author of two books, his latest entitled All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture, which is now available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Walmart, and Sam’s Club.

Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture–3/20/15

Each week I hope to send out the latest version of “Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture,” with the intention of touching on a variety of the latest topics from the world of pop culture. But one man can only watch/read/listen to so much on his own, especially a husband and father who wants to spend time with his family, so please feel free to forward anything my way that you think may be worthy of attention. Because chances are, I may have missed it.

How could I not start off this week with the live-action feature film Cinderella that came out last week? At the risk of losing my man card, let me say I thought it was an exceptional film. And the Cinderella of this movie, or rather “Ella,” is one I am more prone to lift up as an inspiring example than the Cinderella I referred to in my recent article “Which Disney Princess Are You?” who flocked to the prince out of wanting mere rescue from her deprived life. Though there are multiple things worth mentioning (Did anyone else think of Matthew 25:40—“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”—when Ella gave food to her fairy godmother when she was disguised as the pauper?), what really struck me was the powerfulness of Ella introducing herself as “Cinderella” for the first time, upon presenting herself to the king at the end. That was the only time in the movie that she gave credence to this demoralizing nickname her stepsisters had given her, but she had decided that she was going to present herself to the king just as she was, hoping he would still love her despite her humbled circumstances. This is a perfect picture of how our King asks us to come to him—not hiding any of our faults or putting on some kind of front—and he promises to lavish us with the royalties of his kingdom too, just as Ella received in the end as well.

The second episode of The Returned still has me intrigued. One of the characters who has risen from the dead and been given an especially warm welcome home has a jealous sister who has been at home the entire time. In one scene, the jealous sister tells her mom, “Your favorite daughter’s back from the dead. Why not throw a #@%& party?” Knowing this show is from Carlton Cuse, one of the writers for the extremely biblically inspired show Lost, I am positive this was meant to remind us of the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, when the older son becomes jealous of all the attention his once-lost brother was now receiving upon coming home, and says, “When this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”

The next movie in the Divergent series comes out today. A couple of weeks ago I finally got to see The Maze Runner, plus last week I bought my Blu-ray copy of Mockingjay Part 1. There are suddenly a bunch of similar movies involving attractive young people taking a stand against an oppressive government. Which came first? Who is copying who? I’m not sure, and I’m positive all three authors would deny any kind of inspiration from the others. But you know what they might be surprised to know? This idea of attractive young people taking a stand against their government isn’t just an idea; it actually happened many years ago, as told to us in the Old Testament book of Daniel. Daniel and his three friends who would later come to be known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were described as “youths without blemish, or good appearance and skillful in all wisdom.” And these four young men ended up turning the kingdom upside down because of their refusals to give in to the king’s laws. So take that, Divergent Maze Runner Games!

The faith-based movie Do You Believe? opens this week. What I find most interesting about this is the star-studded ’80s cast in it: Ted McGinley from Happy Days, Love Boat, and Dynasty; Sean Astin from The Goonies; Lee Majors from The Fall Guy; Cybill Shepherd from Moonlighting, and ’80s bad boy football player Brian Bosworth. This should give us great hope that in 2045 we might see a Christian film starring Chris Pratt, Zac Efron, Nathan Fillion, Jennifer Aniston, and football bad boy Ndamukong Suh—and probably still with Ted McGinley.

Kevin Harvey is the author of two books, his latest entitled All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture. It is available for pre-order now on Amazon, or hard copies can be found at Wal-Mart and other bookstores on March 24, 2015.

Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture–3/13/15

Each week I hope to send out the latest version of “Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture,” with the intention of touching on a variety of the latest topics from the world of pop culture. But one man can only watch/read/listen to so much on his own, especially a husband and father who wants to spend time with his family, so please feel free to forward anything my way that you think may be worthy of attention. Because chances are, I may have missed it.

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Now, I’m not saying that the new A&E show The Returned has to do with the second coming of Christ, but I definitely find interesting this sudden interest in dealing with the idea of dead people coming back to life, similar to the ABC show Resurrection. The Returned is the American version of the French show Les Revenants, which was based on the 2004 French film They Came Back. My French begins and ends with “Je m’appelle Kevin,” and I grew bored with the soap opera of Resurrection. But I’m definitely willing to keep The Returned on my DVR, for three reasons, two of which have to do with the greatest show ever—Lost (of which you can read an entire chapter dedicated to it in my new book, coming out March 24): 1) The Returned stars Mark Pellegrino, a.k.a. Jacob, the God-like figure in Lost. 2) The first episode (and hopefully more) was written by Carlton Cuse, the writer/producer from Lost who is said to have been one of the reasons for the show’s great spiritual storylines. 3) To join in with culture’s fascination with the dead coming back to life. Is it related to the end times? Perhaps not. But do people think about life after death? Constantly. And believers in Jesus Christ know the truth and can join in these dialogues.

As I said last week, May 1 is all about The Avengers: Age of Ultron. But after I see it twice that day (yes, you read that right), consider me psyched and ready for Tomorrowland. Just listen to some of the dialogue in the preview: “What if there was a place, a secret place, where nothing was impossible?” “There’s one way in… Follow me.” Those familiar with the New Testament might be reminded as I was of verses from Jesus like: “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26); “I am the way…. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6); and “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19). Or maybe those parallels won’t truly be there once we see the movie in its entire context, but there is still the idea and hope that there must be something better for us beyond this earth. Yes, for believers in Jesus there is. Though I am not certain from biblical “descriptions” of heaven what is literal and what is not, what is most important is told us in Revelation 21:4–5: “He [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne [Jesus] said, ‘I am making everything new!’”

Speaking of The Avengers, too often we are quick to point out the sinfulness and depravity in Hollywood and its stars. But I believe in pointing out the times when, whether they know it or not, they are loving others with the love of Christ, just as Robert Downey Jr. did in the above video. Jesus healed the maimed and crippled and loved all without bias; King David showed great kindness to Jonathan’s crippled son Mephibosheth; and Tony Stark changed the life of a boy by helping to give him the coolest arm ever. “Let the little children come to me,” Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, “and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

And for a quick recap of recent TV shows I’ve mentioned not knowing if I would like… I’m back on the Last Man on Earth bandwagon. This might just end up being a great study piece on marriage, and how two very different people can make a relationship work. A new twist came at the end of the third episode, which will obviously make for great comedy. But I’m also hoping it makes for great moments in faithfulness and overcoming temptation. I’m rooting for marriage, and I have a suspicion it might just win. And lastly, that’s a big fat no on Dig. Sorry, but this show looks to be yet another reason why I included a chapter in my book explaining the true origins and meanings behind terms pop culture loves to throw around recklessly—in this case, Armageddon. No, the site of the final battle between man and Jesus has nothing to do with a religious cult raising up a 13-year-old boy in doors so that he never “soils” himself by walking on dirt.

Oh, and could I recommend to Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams to check out the Song of Solomon for potential song lyrics that they can use? Have at it. There are an additional 150 songs in the book of Psalms.

 

Kevin Harvey is the author of two books, his latest entitled All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture. It is available for pre-order now on Amazon, or hard copies can be found at Wal-Mart and other bookstores on March 24, 2015.

Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture–3/6/15

Each week I hope to send out the latest version of “Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture,” with the intention of touching on a variety of the latest topics from the world of pop culture. But one man can only watch/read/listen to so much on his own, especially a husband and father who wants to spend time with his family, so please feel free to forward anything my way that you think may be worthy of attention. Because chances are, I may have missed it.

The third and definitely best full trailer for The Avengers: Age of Ultron was released this week. May 1 can’t get here soon enough. I love the times we’re living in. For geeks like me, having all these great superhero movies to see at the movies is like Charlie taking a swim in the Chocolate River. In the first chapter of All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture, I make the comparison of many recent superheroes to the ultimate superhero, Jesus Christ. But there’s one line in this new preview that definitely doesn’t draw on this comparison. Rather it’s the complete opposite. Captain America says something along the lines of, “I’m tired of other people paying for our mistakes.” For Jesus, it is the other way around: the Superhero paid the price for our mistakes. And he only had to do it once. All debt has been paid, even for the mistakes I will make tomorrow…and the next day…and the next day…

The new USA show Dig started Thursday night, which has intrigued me since they began showing the teasers last year. But as I’m too old to stay up for television that doesn’t even start until 10:00, it’s on my DVR to see tonight. However, the premise scares me a bit. Knowing that it takes place in Jerusalem and that supposedly someone uncovers a secret “2,000 years in the making,” I can’t help but roll my eyes and think of The Da Vinci Code and other made-up stuff that too many unchurched people put actual credence in. Plus, the creators of Dig shared that much of the story is rooted in actual biblical prophecy and beliefs, which is even more of a red flag. Because last time Hollywood trying interpreting biblical prophecy, we got:

But I will give it a try and maybe it’ll make next week’s list as something to pay attention to.

But going back to television programs that I did actually see, The Last Man on Earth premiered on Sunday. I’ll be honest: I watched the first episode and loved it. I saved the second episode until the next day, and…not so much. But in that first episode, when Phil was all by myself, I loved that he dialogued with God and prayed that he would send him a woman. I kept thinking of Genesis 2:18, when God says shortly after creating Adam, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” And then of course he created Eve because he intended from the beginning for us to live in community with others. Just like Phil told the mannequin he finally gained up the courage to talk to, “Having others around is what makes life worth living.” But then, of course, the woman he prayed for arrived, and…well, she was no Eve.

CNN began airing last Sunday a series called Finding Jesus, which initially I was interested in. But then I saw the topics of each episode: Week 1) The Shroud of Turin that may show us an image of Jesus imprinted on it. Could this be the linen cloth that Joseph of Arimathea wrapped Jesus in? Week 2) A possible bone from the finger of John the Baptist. Week 3) Does an ancient codex answer why Judas betrayed Jesus? Week 4) A burial box that may contain the bones of James, Jesus’ brother. Week 5) Are pieces of the cross Jesus died on still in existence? Week 6) And finally, on Easter Sunday, of course everyone wants to know more about Mary Magdalene and her “true” relationship with Jesus… I’m pretty sure a better title for this should would be Using Well-Worn, Unproven Stories and Conspiracy Theories to Get a Piece of the Bible Miniseries Ratings. If you want to find Jesus, he didn’t leave “clues,” as CNN says; he left the gospel, communicated by both his followers and his Book.

 

Kevin Harvey is the author of two books, his latest entitled All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture. It is available for pre-order now on Amazon, or hard copies can be found at Wal-Mart and other bookstores on March 24, 2015.

Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture–2/27/15

Each week I hope to send out the latest version of “Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture,” with the intention of touching on a variety of the latest topics from the world of pop culture. But one man can only watch/read/listen to so much on his own, especially a husband and father who wants to spend time with his family, so please feel free to forward anything my way that you think may be worthy of attention. Because chances are, I may have missed it.

On the 2/19 episode of Backstrom, I found myself blown away in the final scenes. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that the new Rainn Wilson crime show has a good Christian character to take note of, played by Dennis Haysbert (from 24 and the All-State commercials). And in this recent episode, when the police had exhausted all efforts to find a kidnapped girl, Haysbert’s character recommended they all join hands and pray. And when the girl was finally found, along with a previous kidnapped victim the atheist lead character had long since believed was dead, Backstrom collapsed in disbelief, having just witnessed a miracle and answer to prayer.

“Are you seeing this?” another character said while witnessing the prayer. “Backstrom is in a prayer circle.” That was pretty much my sentiments too. I’ve seen countless episodes of Castle, Bones, CSI, and many other similar shows. And not once have I witnessed the characters turning to prayer for help with the case. Believe it or not, this show starring a despicable alcoholic who mocks all faiths and lives with the gay son of a former prostitute he once had a “relationship” with just might be one that Christians should pay attention to. Perhaps the creators of the show have made a character so in need of redemption like Backstrom in order to slowly show how God’s grace can change even the worst of people. Though the ratings don’t look good for a second season, I am really pulling for this show and would encourage all to give it a chance.

Emma Watson, the actress who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, made some headlines this week, involving her possible dating relationship with England’s Prince Harry. I am definitely not interested in any Us Weekly–type are-they-or-aren’t-they kinds of rumors; however, I do love something Watson put on Twitter in response to some of the discussions. She wrote, “Marrying a prince not a prerequisite for being a princess.” And then she posted the below scene from the movie A Little Princess. I don’t know anything about this movie whatsoever, but this may be my new favorite movie scene. Indeed, children of God are all princesses and princes, set to be co-heirs of the kingdom of God along with his Son, Jesus.

It was announced this week that the Kardashian family has signed on with the E! Network for another four years. While researching for my book I actually watched a few episodes of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, to be included in my chapter on reality television shows. After watching this show and others like it, I came to the conclusion that the Kardashians don’t own the copyrights to bizarre family squabbles. That honor goes to the first family ever on earth. As much as Khloe, Kim, and the others do incredibly unloving and selfish things toward each other, no one has murdered anyone yet—something Adam and Eve can’t say about their family. No matter how dysfunctional some of these reality television families appear to be, the family is still God’s design. Even the Kardashians.

One of my favorite sitcoms ever, Parks and Recreation, ended this week. Ron Swanson is undoubtedly the greatest television character ever created, in my opinion, and I will forever smile whenever I see actor Nick Offerman show up in other roles. But another thing I found uniquely special about this show were all the marriages in it between the different characters. Andy and April, Leslie and Ben, Ron, Donna, even Jerry/Larry/Garry—all with loving, healthy, supportive marriages. No trashing each other. No keeping secrets. No adulterous relationships. Just the types of marriages we all wish to have and want for our kids as well.

Finally, I simply have to find room to add here at the end that Ellen Ripley is returning to the Alien franchise. Yes, 65-year-old Sigourney Weaver will be going head-to-head with aliens again, and I can’t wait. That may seem a bit old to be taking on monsters, but I’m pretty sure some heroes of the Old Testament have her beat. Men like Moses and Joshua were swinging swords until the swords weighed more than them. The return of Ripley can only be a good thing. Now if only they can find a way to bring back Bill Paxton’s character from the dead. I might just have to buy my tickets today if they do.

Kevin Harvey is the author of two books, his latest entitled All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture. It is available for pre-order now on Amazon, or hard copies can be found at Wal-Mart and other bookstores on March 24, 2015.

Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture–2/20/15

Each week I hope to send out the latest version of “Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture,” with the intention of touching on a variety of the latest topics from the world of pop culture. But one man can only watch/read/listen to so much on his own, especially a husband and father who wants to spend time with his family, so please feel free to forward anything my way that you think may be worthy of attention. Because chances are, I may have missed it.

On the 2/12 episode of The Blacklist, my new favorite TV hero/villain Raymond Reddington gave us a great line in his conversation with a man who continually lashes himself and confesses to a priest over the same sin that he once committed when making a shady deal with an oil company: “It’s the confession, not the priest, that gives absolution.” This distraught man was looking for forgiveness from the priest, adding his own penance with the self-lashings, when all he needed was to be reminded of 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” So if Raymond meant that it was the confession…to God…that gives us absolution, he’s absolutely right again. And more than absolution, our confession to God brings us his grace, which this Blacklist episode reinforced with its purposeful choosing of the song in the final scenes, “Every Step,” by Mavis Staples, which continually repeats the lines “Every step of the way I found grace. If I lead or follow, change my pace, I get tired and lonely, lose my way, my Lord he knows me every step of the way.” And no one seems to need more grace during his journey than Reddington. What is he doing, and why does this murderer love and protect Agent Keene so much?

Middle eastern artist Saint Hoax has created a series of pictures called “Save Yourself,” in which he replicates iconic Disney happy endings, with the prince removed. For example, instead of Prince Charming kissing Snow White to save her, Snow White is showed kissing herself. The intro to the series on his website reads: “I have waited too long to be saved, felt like a book left on a shelf. But why wait to be saved, when I can simply save myself.” In the first draft of my book coming out next month, I had originally included a chapter about all the Disney princess movies, and I made points agreeing with Saint Hoax that girls shouldn’t be looking for a knight in shining armor to save them. But saving ourselves? That is going to the opposite extreme. Jesus didn’t tell us in John 14:6 that we each are the way and the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through ourselves. It’s Jesus, and only Jesus in whom we can find our salvation.

Nineties rapper Vanilla Ice was arrested in Florida this week for home burglary. He is currently filming a home renovation show for the DIY Network called The Vanilla Ice Project, but has been charged with stealing numerous items—including furniture, a pool heater, and bicycles—from the home next door. So instead of furnishing his fixer upper with new furniture, he’s stealing his neighbor’s in order to do so?! This really sounds like it should be a parable of Jesus’ somehow—perhaps the Parable of the One-Hit Wonder Who Can’t Even Come Up with His Own Home Design, Let Alone a Second Hit Song.

Mars One, the group that plans to send humans on a one-way trip to Mars, narrowed its candidates list to 100 this week. They plan on narrowing the list down to 24, with the intention of sending six crews of four every two years beginning in 2024. So from 2024-2026 there will be only four people living on the planet. I hope things go better for them than the first four people living on planet Earth. And so does Cain’s brother Abel.

Finally, the Oscars are this weekend. Of the eight pictures nominated for Best Picture, American Sniper has grossed so far an estimated $304 million. The other seven movies have combined for an estimated total of barely half that—$173 million. Which begs the question: Would you rather your movie become a box office hit or win awards? I’m sure the winner of the award (assuming it’s not American Sniper—and it won’t be) would lie and say the latter of the two, but wouldn’t that be like God saying that his Book was written to gain literary acclaim, not reach the masses?

Kevin Harvey is the author of two books, his latest entitled All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture. It is available for pre-order now on Amazon, or hard copies can be found at Wal-Mart and other bookstores on March 24, 2015.

Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture–2/13/15

Each week I hope to send out the latest version of “Redeeming the Week in Pop Culture,” with the intention of touching on a variety of the latest topics from the world of pop culture. But one man can only watch/read/listen to so much on his own, especially a husband and father who wants to spend time with his family, so please feel free to forward anything my way that you think may be worthy of attention. Because chances are, I may have missed it.

Jupiter Ascending, the latest movie from the makers of The Matrix, opened in theaters last week. This line taken from the IMDb.com plot summary caught my eye when reading it: “Jupiter [Jones] encounters Caine Wise . . . who came to Earth to reveal that her genetic signature makes Jones royalty and heir to Earth.” That’s a pretty cool surprise for a young lady to suddenly learn one day, isn’t it? That she is actually royalty and will one day inherit the earth. But how about we go one better? Romans 8 tells us that “we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” Heirs of what? Not this broken, fallen earth that the heroine of Jupiter Ascending is destined to receive. She can keep that for herself. Those saved by Christ are set to be co-heirs with the Messiah of the coming kingdom of God, the new earth. The one without sin, without sorrow, without war, without crummy movies. I’m holding out for that one.

Sticking with movies, today’s big release is Fifty Shades of Grey. Oh boy. There are a ton of directions people could go concerning this movie based on the bestselling book, but in this short space, let me just go here: Men, don’t be dismayed. No matter what mixed messages they seem to be telling you, women don’t want you to be Christian Grey, billionaire playboy who only cares about dominance/submission games and not true love. And they don’t want you to be Edward Cullen from Twilight either—doggie-eyed, dark and brooding vampire who sparkles in the sunlight. Although I can’t understand the lure of these two book and movie series with young women today, many of whom are supposedly happily married, I want the men in their lives to remember that despite their odd attraction to these movies, these women just want their husbands to love them. To love their children. To be home with them. To not place an overemphasis on more and more money, but instead on more and more family time. To lead the family and their relationship the way God designed. Men, you can’t ever be Christian Grey or Edward Cullen. And that’s a great thing!

The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue arrived this week. Including in my mailbox, despite my having canceled my subscription at the end of its year last month. I guess SI is trying to tempt me into continuing with them. Not gonna happen. For the second year in a row, it went straight from the mailbox (covered by mail) and into my wife’s hands, who put it in the trash. Men, it’s not easy, and it’s certainly not popular, but we must not send the message to our wives that those women are what we want. Just as much as we hate all the male characters in Nicholas Sparks movies that make us look bad as we watch the movie with our wife while picking our nails and falling asleep on the couch, it’s no different with them when they see us go gaga over Kate Upton and the other SI girls.

In a series of smaller things that popped up this week, I loved the line from the February 5 episode of Backstrom where the full-time detective/part-time preacher played by Dennis Haysbert (24’s President Palmer!) says of a screaming religious nut, “Christianity is about forgiveness. This lady doesn’t represent.” Though many television shows and movies try to portray these types of people as typical examples of Christians, I am thankful that Backstrom had the decency to remind us that someone like this speaking without love is just a “noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). Pop singer Christina Perri was on Live with Kelly and Michael on Monday morning. When asked which of her more than 70 tattoos was the most painful, she said the ones on the backs of her feet, which she had inked on the message “Hold good.” I don’t know what this phrase means to her, but I couldn’t help but wonder if there was any connection to all the multiple instructions in the Bible to “stand firm,” including Ephesians 6:13: “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Like Perri, I could use this reminder every day also, but I think just a note card in the mirror will do. No tattoos for me, thank you. And singer Sophie B. Hawkins is pregnant at the age of 50. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, reportedly tweeted out in heaven upon hearing the news, “That’s nothing. Talk to me in another 40 years.”

Kevin Harvey is the author of two books, his latest entitled All You Want to Know about the Bible in Pop Culture. It is available for pre-order now on Amazon, or hard copies can be found at Wal-Mart and other bookstores on March 24, 2015.