The 2000 film Gladiator follows the story of a fictional Roman general, Maximus (Russell Crowe), in the 2nd Century AD of the Roman Empire. He is betrayed by Emperor Commodus and catapulted into the life of a simple, but exceptional, gladiator. We follow his journey from defeat to fame, and along the way one scene bears a chilling resemblance to our current climate of entertainment. In one of the smaller arenas that will eventually take…
According to People Magazine, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers expounded on his religious views last month during an interview on the Pretty Intense podcast with his girlfriend Danica Patrick. Rodgers told Patrick that he has gone down a path to a “different type of spirituality” that is more meaningful to him than what he experienced as a child. What was he talking about? Raised in a Christian home, Rodgers once said he trusted Christ as his Savior when…
In November Beto O’Rourke dropped out of the Democratic field without much fanfare. But not before swiping aggressively at some of America’s most revered and protected Constitutional rights, including religious liberty. You’ll recall that at an October 10 LGBTQ town hall, CNN anchor Don Lemon asked O’Rourke if churches should be stripped of their tax-exempt status if they refuse to support same-sex marriage. O’Rourke immediately responded, “Yes.” The crowd applauded, and O’Rourke elaborated, explaining that…
It’s been a week since Greta Thunberg made her impassioned plea at the UN, jabbing her finger at the leaders, blaming them for her “lost childhood,” and declaring “how dare you!” She immediately gained some atta-girls and some criticism. And in the passing week she has been vilified by some and nearly sainted by others. But in all of that, I have noticed that there hasn’t been much said about the thing that, it seems…
Last week the editors of GQ.com published a piece called “21 Books You Don’t Have To Read.” They wrote the blog in response to the long-held idea that some books are “great books” which everyone should read. But they excised these 21 books from their list of great books because, the editors sniffled, “Some are racist and some are sexist, but most are just really, really boring.” For the moment, we will pretend like we…