Every since they announced that they would be stringing The Hobbit out over three feature-length films, I’ve been wondering how they were going to accomplish that remarkable feat. Now, thanks to The Onion, we finally have an inside look into how they managed to extend at least the first movie:

“According to early reviews, the highly anticipated new film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which opens in theaters Friday, features an extended 53-minute-long scene in which the protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, decides on what to pack for his trip to defeat the evil dragon Smaug.”

No wonder they were able to get three movies out of one book. And apparently it gets even better later in the movie where movie-goers are treated to

“a nine-minute interlude…in which Baggins, concerned about the possibility of having to attend a formal occasion during his journey, tries on a variety of outfits in the mirror.”

And that sets the movie up for the obvious sequel chronicling ”Bilbo’s return to the Shire after he realizes he forgot his toiletries bag.”

You’ll have to read the whole article to get all of The Onion’s juiciest insights. But for now, the mystery of the 3-part Hobbit has been solved.

Western Seminary is giving away a FREE copy of Logos 5. Although the Starter Edition lacks some of the better tools that you’ll get with higher-level packages, it’s still a $249 value and a great place to start building your digital library.

Here are the details for the giveaway. They’ve made it very easy to enter, so make sure you enter soon for a chance to win!

Thank you for showing your support for Western Seminary by Liking and following us on Facebook and/or Twitter! We are so excited to have finally reached 1,000 Likes and are eager to reach our next goal of 1,500! To help us get there, we are giving away a FREE copy of Logos Bible Software to one lucky winner. To enter, all you have to do is Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. If you do both, your name will be entered twice! If you’ve already Liked or followed us, you will automatically be entered to win.

The contest will close when we reach 1,500 Likes.

……….Logos Bible Software
……….Starter Edition, v. 5
……….Valued at $294.95 (not redeemable for cash value)
……….Compatible with Mac and PC operating systems

Winner will be notified through their Facebook or Twitter account and must respond to claim the prize within two weeks of the close of the contest. If the winner does not respond, they will forfeit the prize and another winner will be selected.

[Western staff and faculty are not eligible to participate.]

Repent.

For many of us, that’s a rather nasty little word. It conjures images of fire-and-brimstone preachers holding their thick, black Bibles over their heads with one hand while pointing the other menacingly at the shell-shocked crowd and yelling:

“Repent, ye depraved sinners bound for the depths of hell. Repent before the fires of heaven consume the earth. Repent if ye can. Because the Dread Pirate Roberts is here for your souls.”

Wait, I may have gotten a little Princess Bride mixed in there at the end. But you get the point. Repent rarely gets good reviews.

But the biblical authors don’t seem bothered by it at all. Actually, they seem to like it. Jesus, Peter, and Paul, all identify repentance as one of the fundamental ways in which we should respond to the gospel (e.g. Mt. 4:17; Acts 3:19; Rom 2:4). All of them seem to think that we need to repent before we can enter the Kingdom.

Bummer.

But wait. Doesn’t that cause a bit of a problem. We often tell people that the good news of the gospel means that they don’t need to do anything to earn salvation. We make a pretty big deal out of that point: salvation by grace means no required works before salvation. If we require repentance before salvation, then, aren’t we breaking our own rules? If you have to do something before God will save you, then it seems like some kind of legalism has slipped in through the back door (or maybe the front door!).

This is the beginning of my latest post over at the Transformed blog. You can read the rest there.

One of the greatest theologians of the early church, John of Damascus is often viewed as the last of the church fathers. Born in Syria as Yuhanna ibn Mansur ibn Sargun, John of Damascus was one of the earliest Christian thinkers to live and write under Muslim rule. He wrote extensively in theology, law, and philosophy, but is probably best known for his defense of religious icons on the face of those who wanted to eliminate all icons from Christian churches (i.e. the “iconoclasts”).

The details of his life are hard to come by, and even the date of his death is questionable. But the traditional date of his passing in December 4, 749. So today’s prayer comes from him.

Continue Reading…

It’s been Karl Barth month around here as I’ve begun blogging my way through a paper I wrote on Karl Barth and universalism. So it’s no great surprise to see that two of the top five posts in November are on that theme. The top spot, however, goes to one of the funnier infographics I’ve run across lately on writing. And I think this is the first time a book review has made the list, so apparently people are interested in biblical theology these days. And the final spot goes to one of the posts in my series on the Holy Spirit.

Top 5 Posts in November

• How to Write a Research Paper (infographic)
• Was Karl Barth a Universalist? (Evangelicals & Universalism, part 2)
• An Evangelical and a Universalist Walk into a Bar
• Understanding Biblical Theology
• Inflatable People: The Holy Spirit and Creation

Some people with autism have difficulty processing intense, multiple sensory experiences at once. This animation gives the viewer a glimpse into sensory overload, and how often our sensory experiences intertwine in everyday life.

This fascinating video from the Interacting with Autism Project does an excellent job showing how people with autism struggle with sensory overload in even the most “ordinary” situations.

HT David Murray

The English poet John Milton is almost certainly best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. And that alone would probably have earned him the reputation as one of the greatest English authors of all time. But, as one of the leading Puritan writers during the English civil war, Milton was also famous for his political writings and his many other poems. Despite having a number of somewhat less orthodox theological positions, Milton’s Paradise Lost has had a tremendous impact on the Christian imagination in the English-speaking world.

Milton died on November 8, 1674. So this week’s prayer is in his memory. It comes from Book V of Paradise Lost and is part of Adam and Eve’s prayer of praise to God when he created them.

Continue Reading…

October has already begun fading into the fog of memory as we speed our way into the holiday season. And it was a busy month at Western Seminary as we hosted a regional accreditation visit (which went very well!). And we managed to have some fun around here with a couple more posts in the image of God series, an interesting look at people who drink too much coffee (like me), and a couple of random posts on the brain and metaphorical language. Sounds like a good mix to me. Enjoy!

The Top 5 Posts in October

• Image of God at the Kitchen Table
• The 15 Professions that Drink the Most Coffee
• My Church Is Too Small
• Storytelling and Your Brain
• Beating My Dead Horse with a Double-Edged Sword

Henri the Existential Cat shares some sobering thoughts on Halloween. Today of all days it must be tough being a depressed, black, French cat.