Idol Chatter

When Hollywood goes looking for someone to helm a new feature film on the Virgin Mary and her life with Joseph prior to the birth of Christ , who do you think is considered to be the most qualfied? Mel Gibson? Nah. Too obvious. Perhaps Ralph Winter ( X-Men), who’s overtly Christian and a super-successful…

Why is it that James Legend thanks God for his Grammy and it fits him like his Valentino tuxedo, while Kelly Clarkson awkwardly sputters something about “Jesus, God and everybody who has supported me” and it sounds like a parody of someone who just won best casserole at the church fair? It’s got to be…

Trivia time: Guess where these words about current events came from: • “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty.” • “You can’t convict people by rumor, hearsay, and innuendo.” • “We can not defeat terror abroad without confronting it here at home.” • “We must remember always that accusation is not proof, and that conviction…

Although there was an all-star lineup of performers at last night’s Grammy Awards, there was little surprise—for me, anyway—when the winners were announced. For those who read my blog entry yesterday, you’ll allow me a moment to gloat that that four out of my five “Who will win” picks were on target. (I was off…

“Death by Suburb,” a new book by David Goetz, is written as a wake-up call to Christians who have become defined by the size of their house, dress, car and megachurch. It’s a bell worth tolling, even if his vision of the suburbs is a little clichéd. And while his eight toxins of suburban life…

I love Grammy time. Although, I usually care less about the winners than I do about the performances, I decided this year to make some predictions for selected categories that are relevant to Beliefnet (or that I just wanted to sound off on). Please keep in mind, this list is non-scientific and not based on…

Can movies change how we behave as a society? An opinion piece by Maria Dibattista in Sunday’s L.A. Times argues that they can–except for the movies that set out to do that. She adds the Oscar-nominated “Brokeback Mountain” to a lineup of “problem films” like “Gentleman’s Agreement” (anti-Semitism), “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (racism), and…

I blogged recently about rediscovering NBC’s long-running sitcom Scrubs. I have enjoyed connecting once again with goofy resident J.D. and the caustic Dr. Cox as they face each day’s ups and downs with a great deal of wit and, occasionally, a little wisdom. Last night’s episode reaffirmed that this show, now in its fifth season,…

Last night’s “The Bachelor: Paris” had a truly jaw-dropping moment. For those of you who haven’t watched one of the last seven seasons, when the eponymous bachelor gets down to four ladies, he goes to spend some time with their families. Ostensibly, this is to observe the girls in a more comfortable setting, informing his…

The worldwide conservative Catholic group, Opus Dei–famous for its supposed secrecy and the practice by some of its members of self-flagellation–has been incensed ever since the publication of Dan Brown’s bestselling novel “The Da Vinci Code,” which features Silas, an albino monk and assasin who belongs to Opus Dei. In the article “Catholic Group Says…

More from Beliefnet and our partners