parables of a prodigal world

It's been quite a week for me. You wouldn't know it from checking in here, as its been mostly silent since the I Am Legend / Gospel of Jesus thing. Speaking of that, congratulations to Michael, who wins a free DVD of I Am Legend. By the way, he has a pretty good site of his own. Check it out . Michael, e-mail me your info and I'll get that right out to you. As for me, I would have answered the question in three words: He is Risen. In other news, the 4 or 5 of you read this blog regularly will know that (1) I'm a huge N.T. Wright fan, and (2) I've written a book , a testimony that is largely colored and shaped by N.T. Wright's theological vision. A few months ago, I sent a copy of the manuscript to Bishop Wright, along with a letter asking for his blessings for the project. This physical body, as Paul called it, knew perfectly well that the good bishop was far too busy, and I was far too unknown, to give the thing more than a passing glance. After all, that has...

This is the story of a special man. He lived in a world where humankind was infected by a disease that stripped people of their humanness, causing them to love the darkness and hate the light. He was gripped by a calling to save humankind from the disease. He himself was immune from the disease, and he knew that the answer to the world's woes was located in his own person, in his body and in his blood. Having chosen to live in the midst of his infected brethren, he came to the painful realization that he would have to die at their hands in order to deliver to them the salvation of his blood. The gospel of Jesus Christ? No, the story of Dr. Robert Neville, the character played by Will Smith in the movie I Am Legend , which I watched on DVD last night. The movie purposely attempts to echo the salvific theme of the gospel, from the "I Am" in the title to its Passion-esque conclusion: I wasn't aware of this theme in the movie before watching it, so it kind of took me by...

Amid much fanfare and fireworks, the $400-million retail juggernaut that is The Americana at Brand opened for business this weekend in Glendale, CA, complete with its 75 retail outlets, about a dozen eateries, hundreds of ridiculously overpriced residential units and its brazen-image-of-gold statue as its glorious centerpiece, appropriately emerging from the waters of the man made lake at the nucleus of the place. About a mile from my home. If I were a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, I would be being hauled off in handcuffs for standing amidst the legions and telling anyone who would listen about the madness that is this temple of modern Western consumerism. I would urge anyone who would listen, in tears, to consider the billion men and women who survive on less than a dollar a day, and the billion more who do not have even that luxury. I was not hauled off in handcuffs. I was there with my family. It really is a beautiful place. Open-air strolling. Large grassy area and sand-...