This is the fifth in a series of six posts, which was first published as an article in Anvil journal, Volume 28 No 3 (November 2012), and is published here by kind permission of the editor. Celebrate the good1 Image from iStockPhoto.com If the ideas actually make sense, we need to acknowledge that fact, even […]

This is the fourth in a series of six posts, which was first published as an article in Anvil journal, Volume 28 No 3 (November 2012), and is published here by kind permission of the editor. Image from iStockPhoto.com Worldviews in film and literature While not wishing to over-emphasise this aspect of responding to art […]

This is the third in a series of six posts, which was first published as an article in Anvil journal, Volume 28 No 3 (November 2012), and is published here by kind permission of the editor. Five aspects of responding to art If, then, art and media are the product of people made in the […]

These are my slides from a day of teaching on worldviews and cultural apologetics for Care's Leadership Programme. You can download the pdf from Slideshare. Related posts: Understanding teen culture Perspectives on Media Responding to Media Culture Now Using Film in Christian Communication - downloads

It's taken me a while to get round to it, what with holidays and teaching in Norway, but I've now produced pdf and epub versions of my recent series of posts on films and worldviews. Related posts: Using film in Christian communication - part 2 Using film in Christian communication - part 6 Using film in […]

A little while ago I was filmed for version 2 of Glad You Asked, a DVD-based series of 8 sessions exploring the big questions of life, produced by the excellent Innovista. The first version was excellent, so I was delighted to be involved in version 2. It will be on sale very soon, but samples […]

Read the rest of this series. Why use film in Christian communication? Although aspects of the Christian worldview still do hang on in western culture, it’s all too obvious that very few films communicate much of it clearly. As I have already noted, films are primarily about telling a story, and often the worldview aspects […]

Worldview dimensions, continued Morality Some of the issues which I raised in the previous post, in relation to human nature are profoundly moral questions. What does it mean when we say that darkness and evil reside in the human heart, and that genuine goodness can be found there too? What makes for a good person, […]

Worldview dimensions, continued Humanity The second key aspect of worldviews is the nature of human beings. What does it mean to be human? This is closely bound up with the question of reality, of course. Are we simply physical beings – very clever animals or biological machines – or are we also spiritual beings? What […]

In the third part of this series on using films in Christian communication, we start looking at the five key dimensions of worldviews. Worldview dimensions There are five key dimensions of any worldview map to which we we need to pay very careful attention. They may seem a little abstract or theoretical at first. In […]

In the first post in this series, I reflected on life in the mediasphere, and the influence which films can have on us. In this post, we begin to get into the subject of worldviews. Film and worldviews While films tell stories and may have all kinds of things to say about love or politics […]

Life in the mediasphere Sean Penn’s wonderful film Into the Wild (2007) tells the true story of a young man who abandons normal middle class life, gives everything away and hitch-hikes to Alaska where he plans to live in the wilderness. He wants to be surrounded by a beautiful landscape, not a cityscape. Most of […]

It's very good to see Lars Dahle joining the blogosphere. Lars is Principal of Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication in Kristiansand, Norway, where I am now an adjunct lecturer. He's heading up the media and technology stream for Cape Town 2010 (3rd Lausanne Congress). A couple of his early posts have focused on the […]

At the risk of being seen as a shameless self-promoter, I would suggest that my own book, Focus: The Art and Soul of Cinema, is a key read for any Christian who wants to think about film and worldviews.

Some other books I recommend highly (in alphabetical order, by author, not in terms of merit):

Peter Fraser and Vernon Edwin Neal, ReViewing the Movies: A Christian Response to Contemporary Film (Focal Point) (Crossway, 2000).
Brian Godawa, Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom & Discernment second edition (IVP, 2009)
Jeffrey Overstreet, Through a Screen Darkly: Looking Closer at Beauty, Truth and Evil in the Movies (Regal, 2007)
Nick Pollard, Evangelism Made Slightly Less Difficult: With Study Guide (IVP, 1997)
William D. Romanowski, Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture, second edition (Brazos Press, 2007)
James W Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalogue (InterVarsity, 2004)

I will update this page with further recommendations and some comments when I get chance.

Once more good intentions of keeping up with blogging have gone the way of most good intentions. Anyway, the book, Focus: The Art and Soul of Cinema was officially published last Friday. My copies arrived on Monday - always an exciting moment to see the results of so much hard work nicely printed (11 pt […]