Something Wicked This Way Comes…

Is There A Christian Upside to Halloween?

by Craig Smith, Ph.D.

It’s that time of year again:  time for Hollywood to crank out the horror fests, TV series to run spooky specials and retail stores to plumb the financial depths of our fascination with the macabre.

Halloween is a strange time of year.   Otherwise normal neighbors suddenly transform their homes into celebrations of the ghoulish and gruesome.  Sweet-faced little children dress up as ancient hags or painfully departed spirits.  And it all centers around getting sugary confections in enough quantity to keep the dental industry afloat for another year.  Can you imagine a …

The “Shining Ones”

One of the interesting things about being a pastor and Christian speaker, especially one involved with an organization like Shepherd Project, is that I get asked all kinds of fascinating questions.  Here’s an answer I sent off this morning to a woman asking for information about “The Shining Ones” that a friend has recently gotten interested in:

As I understand it, the “shining ones” are beings/persons thought to appear in many ancient cultures, often associated with mystical knowledge or key historical developments in culture.  As the story goes – mostly in New Age books and websites –  these beings have been …

The Last Airbender – Movie Review

The Last Airbender – Movie Review

By: Stacey Tuttle

Highly entertaining, full of action and beautiful scenery, artfully done, The Last Airbender has been a top box office draw (currently 5th), bringing in $16.6M in its first two weeks of release—and it’s no wonder. Whether or not people have seen the cartoon it is based on, parents and children alike are flocking to see it, and they’re all being equally entertained.  But here is my question, are we just being entertained, or are we pausing to filter through the messages and beliefs that the movie is based on?  The movie …

Eat, Pray, Love: Quotes and Concepts for Discussion

Eat, Pray, Love:  Quotes and Concepts for Discussion

Book By: Elizabeth Gilbert; Excerpts selected by: Stacey Tuttle

Note:  With 5 million copies in print and a movie coming out August 13 (starring Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem and James Franco), Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Eat, Pray, Love, (a New York Times Bestseller released in 2006) is sure to see a resurgence of popularity and interest.  Eat, Pray, Love is Gilbert’s beautifully written memoirs documenting her journey not just across the world, but more importantly through her exploration of faith. 

Shepherd Project Ministries does not agree with …

Eat, Pray, Love: Book Summary

Eat, Pray, Love 

By: Elizabeth Gilbert; Summary by: Stacey Tuttle

 Note:  With 5 million copies in print and a movie coming out August 13 (starring Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem and James Franco), Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Eat, Pray, Love, (a New York Times Bestseller released in 2006) is sure to see a resurgence of popularity and interest.  Eat, Pray, Love is Gilbert’s beautifully written memoirs documenting her journey not just across the world, but more importantly through her exploration of faith. 

Shepherd Project Ministries does not agree with many of her spiritual views, but does …

Eat, Pray, Love Interview

Elizabeth Gilbert’s New York Times bestseller, Eat, Pray, Love, will soon be appearing on the big screen. The book (and presumably the movie) explores the author’s spiritual journey of discovery, along the way attempting to mesh together a variety of worldviews and religious traditions. An engaging writing style and obviously genuine desire to experience God make Eat, Pray, Love sure to resonate with millions, especially as a major motion picture staring Julia Roberts.

While some of the ideas in Eat, Pray, Love are admirable, the a la cart approach to Truth fails to give readers a grid through which to evaluate …