spiritual | Two Handed Warriors

Story Failure: Why We ‘Lose it’ in High Stress Environments, Like Hollywood

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The stories we develop to survive life’s most painful experiences are usually the same stories that fail us in high stress environments (Follow Up to Spiritually Thriving in a High Stress Environment, Like Hollywood!) “People who are caught up in the pursuit of excellence are particularly vulnerable to stress-related disorders.” - Psychologist Archibald D. Hart Like [...]

Series Intro: How Millennials Who Gave Up on Church are Redefining Faith and Re-engaging Community

Sunday, April 1, 2012

What looks like the death of religion in America, may in fact be the birth pangs of one of the greatest spiritual awakenings in history. by Gary David Stratton, PhD For nearly 400 years American churches have counted on Easter Sunday as the day of their largest attendance. But if you’re watching carefully, attendance at [...]

The Greco-Roman Liberal Arts: When Education Meant Friendship and Heart

Friday, March 23, 2012

Whereas Plato and Aristotle called their students friends, today’s students are often little more than numbers. The liberal arts vision of generating a steady stream of truth-seeking leaders to flood our culture with virtue has clearly fallen on hard times.

It’s a Wonderful Life and the Courage to Live (and Create Art) Idealistically

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Few of us will ever get an invitation to an early screening of our life’s work like George did. Yet we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. To be a two handed warrior is to live for that heavenly red carpet affair, not its pale imitation at the Kodak theatre.

Capra’s Tale of a Depressed Idealist: It’s a Wonderful Life, Part 2

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) provides a wonderful expression of the complicated interplay between modern Physicalism and Idealism as life-interpreting stories in the life of its main character, George Bailey.

It’s a Wonderful Worldview: Frank Capra’s Theistic Masterpiece, by Gary David Stratton

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais’s atheism joke and his holiday message in the Wall Street Journal, “Why I’m An Atheist,” provide a perfect backdrop for examining one of Hollywood's most famous attempts to defend Theism–It’s a Wonderful Life.

The Greco-Roman Liberal Arts: When Students Were More Than Just Numbers

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Whereas Plato and Aristotle called their students friends, today’s students are often little more than numbers. The liberal arts vision of generating a steady stream of truth-seeking leaders to flood our culture with virtue has clearly fallen on hard times.

Emmy Magazine Interview with Emmy-winning Producer Kurt Schemper (Intervention), and Korey Scott Pollard (Lie to Me, Monk, House)

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

NEW SERIES: Soul-Nourishing Practices for a Soul-Deadening World: Finding the Voice of Your Own Gladness in Hollywood and Beyond To help launch our new series on spiritual formation in Hollywood, I thought I would repost the Emmy Magazine article that helped spark my thinking on the subject. At the time of the interview I was [...]

The Golden Globes, Ricky Gervais’ Atheism and Sentimental Hogwash: It’s a Wonderful Life, Part 1

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais’s Atheism joke and recent essay in the Wall Street Journal “Why I’m An Atheist,” provide a great background for examining an all-time great Christmas movie and one of the best defenses of Theism in Hollywood history–It’s a Wonderful Life.