About the Book
Since the first century, Christians have detected “seeds of the Word" in the surrounding culture. No matter how charred or distorted the fragments, we can always uncover inklings of the Gospel, which can then lead people to God. Through this evocative collection of essays, Bishop Robert Barron finds those “seeds" in today's most popular films, books, and current events.
How do Superman, Gran Torino, and The Hobbit illuminate the figure of Jesus? How does Bob Dylan convey the prophetic overtones of Jeremiah and Isaiah? Where can we detect the ripple of original sin in politics, sports, and the Internet culture?
Finding the “seeds of the Word" requires a new vision. This book will train you to see.
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FOREWORD VII
PREFACE IX
IMAGO DEI: GOD IN FILM
1
Kierkegaard, Woody Allen, and the Secret to Lasting Joy
Angels, Demons, and Modern Fantasies about Catholicism
The Stoning of Soraya M. and the Figure of Christ
District 9 and the Biblical Attitude Toward the other
The Coen Brothers and the Voice from the Whirlwind
The Dangerous Silliness of Agora
Eat, Pray, Love
True Grit and the Everlasting Arms
Why Exorcism Films Still Fascinate
The Remarkably Bad Theology of The Adjustment Bureau
Of Gods and Men
Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the Dangers of Consequentialism
Moneyball and Spiritual Leadership
The Ides of March and the Danger of Idolatry
The Hunger Games: A Prophecy?
Viva El Cristo Rey!
Spider-Man, Iron Man, Superman, and the God-Man
Still Another Cinematic Christ
Woody Allen, Moralist
Victor Hugo's Retelling of the Gospel
The Preachings of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Superman, General Zod, and God
World War Z and the Council of Trent
Noah: A Postmodern Midrash
The Fault in Our Stars and the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Hercules, N.T. Wright, and the Modern Meta-Narrative
The Giver and the Fading Memory of Christianity
TAKE AND READ: GOD IN BOOKS
The Pathos of Liberal Catholicism
What Should Catholics Make of Eckhart Tolle?
Ends and Means and The Audacity to Hope
The Apocalypse of Robert Hugh Benson
A Catholic Reads The Shack A Tale of Two Hitchenses
The Last Acceptable Prejudice Rides Again
One More Swing at the Catholic Straw-Man
The Gospel According to The Hobbit
The City Upon a Hill and an Almost Chosen People
Why Faith is Indeed a Light
Debunking the Debunker
Why Jesus is God: A Response to Bart Ehrman
CITY ON A HILL: GOD IN POLITICS
Tolerance, Choice, Argument, and Religion
Seeing Political Corruption with Biblical Eyes
The Fetishism of Dialogue
In Whom Do We Place Our Trust?
Why It Matters That Our Democracy Trusts in God
A Nation Under God, a Nation That Keeps the Sabbath
"Reduction to a Singleton" and the Sovereignty of Choice
Why It's Okay to Be Against Heresy and for Imposing One's Will on Others
The Great Both/And of Catholic Social Teaching
Gay Marriage and the Breakdown of Moral Argument
Why Anti-Catholic Prejudice Ought to Bother Everyone
RAYS OF TRUTH: GOD IN THE CULTURE
We Have Here No Lasting City
The Task of the Next Generation
Allowing the Mask to Slip
Where are the "Nones" Coming From?
Covering Up the Name of Jesus
A Secular Europe and the Mission of the Church
Why Is Everyone Crazy About Vampires?
Judge Judy, Simon Cowell, and the Lord God
Reading the Scandal with Biblical Eyes
Biblical Wisdom for Troubled Times
Creative Nonviolence
The Spiritual Value of the BP Oil Leak
Muslims, Christians, and Secularists Kenneth Clark and the Danger of Heroic Materialism
Bob Dylan in China
Celebrating the Death of bin Laden?
Why Are So Many Atheists on the CNN Belief Blog?
The Acts We Perform, the People We Become If You Want to Be a Good Person, It Does Matter What You Believe
Why I Loved to Listen to Christopher Hitchens
Andrew Sullivan's Nonthreatening Jesus
How to Solve the Bully Problem
Savvy Headhunters and the Hookup Culture
Sex, Love, and God: The Catholic Answer to Puritanism and Nietzcheanism
The Adventures of Classical Morality
Sympathy for the Devil
Your Life Is Not About You
Hannah Arendt's Moral Lesson
Cosmos and One More Telling of the Tired Myth
Bill Maher and Not Understanding Either Faith or the Bible
Attack on Christians in the Middle East
The Modern Areopagus
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
