Christianity Today

A collection of 78 posts

On Movies & Media

The Top Ten Films of 2006, According to Christianity Today

The film critics of Christianity Today Movies have voted. And these are the Cream of the Crop ... the Top 10 Films of 2006. Quite a few critics contributed here, and we all had strikingly different opinions, so it's interesting to see how it all worked out. And hey,

Christianity Today

From Christianity Today's Review of "Through a Screen Darkly"

So... tonight I learned that Christianity Today reviewed Through a Screen Darkly three weeks ago, and I didn't know about it until today! How did I miss that? Kind of strange, considering I write for them. But, well... wow! Cool! Many thanks to Eric Miller for this generous,

On Movies & Media

"The Nativity Story": Gritty realism? Or sentimental, romantic iconography?

Christianity Today's David Neff, in the new issue: The Nativity StoryThe Passion of the Christ. UPDATE: Here's the link to the whole article, which is, in fact, a very positive review. I posted this excerpt because Neff's point here seems to contrast with others

Christianity Today

Christianity Today on Wendell Berry

One of my favorite writers, Wendell Berry, is getting some well-deserved attention today from Christianity Today.

"Christian" is a Bad Adjective

Phil Keaggy Speaks the Truth

Here's a revealing interview with Phil Keaggy, where he's saying some of the things about the Christian music industry that I've been saying at Looking Closer for a decade or more. This is just a piece of that article... Keaggy: I don't

On Movies & Media

"The Gospel of Judas" is just an old, stupid heresy...

... and yet, my local newscast jumped on the hype bandwagon tonight, heralding it as "the discovery that is rocking the Christian world." Right. Rocking so quietly as to be almost imperceptible. Rocking so ineffectively that most of the Christian blogs addressing the subject today found the whole affair

On Movies & Media

There He Goes Again: Ted Baehr Slanders Christianity Today On the Air.

Yesterday during the James D. Kennedy Coral Ridge Broadcast, Ted Baehr once again slandered Christianity Today and my colleagues in Christian film criticism. And in the meantime, he either got the facts wrong, or he lied... you decide. From a friend who heard the broadcast: Ted Baehr (who starts the

On Movies & Media

Brokeback Mountain - Reviewed by Christianity Today

Christianity Today Movies has just published a review of Brokeback Mountain. And that's just what it is... A REVIEW. It's not a protest. It's not someone spewing bile about Hollywood's "homosexual agenda." It doesn't include any slurs like

On Movies & Media

I've Got a Golden Ticket to Narnia!

Woo hoo!!! I've just been informed that I have the enormous privilege of covering The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for Christianity Today. And since I'm enormously skeptical about the whole affair, rather than a blindly loyal "Narniac" who's already calling

Christianity Today

Christianity Today Book Awards 2005

The Christianity Today Book Awards 2005 heap even more praise upon Marilynne Robinson's Gilead. And they also honor Unveiling, a novel by a new friend of mine, Suzanne Wolfe, who I met at the recent Over the Rhine concert at Seattle's Tractor Tavern. Congratulations, Suzanne!

Christianity Today

CT on Over the Rhine, the album, the tour, the marriage

Another interview... this time with just Karin ... about saving the marriage, the music, and Over the Rhine.

On Movies & Media

Film Comment Critics Agree with Christianity Today Critics for #1 Movie of 2005

What a strange new world I live in. The critics at Film Comment have voted Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as the #1 film of 2005. That's the same movie voted #1 by the critics at Christianity Today! In fact, the two groups agree on FIVE of

On Movies & Media

Danny Boyle: The Looking Closer Interview (Feb. 2005)

As Danny Boyle's new film Slumdog Millionaire is cleaning up at this year's various surveys of film critics, perhaps it's a good time to revisit the conversation I enjoyed with Boyle in February 2005 at the release of Millions, which is my favorite of

On Movies & Media

Christianity Today's Readers Pick... Well, Duh....

No surprise here. And, for those who like to play Guess the Oscars, you can compare your picks and preferences with me and my CT colleagues....

On Movies & Media

More Mail for CT's Top 10, and My Visit to an SPU Classroom

A couple of days ago, I posted some of the complaints that have come in to CT Movies about the year-end Top Ten List that they posted. And I replied to those complaints. I also used them as material to enliven my presentation when I guest-taught a class for Dr.

On Movies & Media

Feedback: The good, the bad, and the ugly

CT Movies is getting some feedback on the movies chosen by their critics as the Best of 2004. Here are some examples that editor Mark Moring has posted on the site. I'd encourage you to offer your own thoughts on the list. Send feedback to ctmovies@christianitytoday.com.

On Movies & Media

Christianity Today Movies' Critics Pick the Best of 2004

Man, the CT Movies mailbag is about to fill up. They'd better put on some gloves and masks before they open it. The Cream of the Crop.

On Movies & Media

Peter T. Chattaway on Kinsey

Mainstream reviews of Kinsey are commenting on the “hysterical, right-wing, Christian protest” of the film. There's nothing hysterical whatsoever about Peter T. Chattaway’s review of the film. It’s thoughtful, fair, and professionally written. It’s a model of excellence in film reviewing. Check it out.

On Movies & Media

ClearPlay: A Very Bad Idea

[This article was originally published at Christianity Today on June 1, 2004.] When I was in the sixth grade, some of our school library books had words crossed out with black markers — words that teachers thought would harm children who read them. Even Mark Twain received this treatment. To me,

On Movies & Media

The Notebook, F 9/11, and White Chicks: CT's Film Forum

This week's edition of Film Forum is the liveliest in many months, featuring a wide range of opinions on Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Notebook, plus euphoric raves over Spider-Man 2 and admiration for Two Brothers. Oh, yeah, and then there's White Chicks... Here’s the

On Movies & Media

CT Movies Gets Buried in Pro-F9/11 Mail

I’m already anxious to be done talking about this movie, but this is worthy of note. CT Movies has been swamped by a tidal wave of mail ranting about Peter Chattaway's review of F9/11.

On Movies & Media

Ron Reed celebrates a list of spiritually significant films

Film critic Ron Reed considers the Arts & Faith Top 100 Spiritually Significant Films today at CT. In a time when nearly the entire history of cinema is available through the web or at your local cinemaniac video store, and when so much of the cultural dialogue seems to center

On Movies & Media

After the Backlash: Some Support from CT Readers

After the lashings I received from Christianity Today readers for my film commentaries there over the last few months, I can only take it as a gesture of support from the folks at CT that they posted these letters this week. But I can’t say I'm not

On Movies & Media

Reel News. (That isn't a typo.)

🔗This post was updated with corrected links on November 28, 2025. I’m now writing the new movie-news blog at Christianity Today, which they've titled Reel News. This mini-blog made its debut today.

On Movies & Media

Now You Can Edit the Violence Out of Movies!

CT Movies posted a point/counterpoint today regarding the new "U-Edit-the-movies" ClearPlay DVD Player, which can be set to filter out cussing, violence, and nudity. There’s one article about why it's a good idea. And then there's my article. You may want to