Light Shining in a Dark Place

Jeff Sellars

Description

In Light Shining in a Dark Place, Jeff Sellars has drawn together more than a dozen scholars around the theme of discovering theology through the moving medium of film. The varied contributors in this collection explore, through their particular lenses, how theological ideas might be seen in and considered through one of the most popular of modern art forms. From subjects of sin, grace, and forgiveness to violence, science fiction/fantasy, and zombies, Light Shining in a Dark Place assists the theologically interested film viewer in tracing the light that might be found in the filmic arts back to the source of all lights.
Contributors: Bruce L. Edwards, J. Sage Elwell, Michael Leary, Peter Malone, Kevin C. Neece, Simon Oliver, Kim Paffenroth, J. Ryan Parker, Travis Prinzi, Megan J. Robinson, Scott Shiffer, James H. Thrall, and Alissa Wilkinson

Sujets

• Denominations
• Christian Theology
• Group
• Christian Church
• Denomination
• Theology
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Wipf and Stock Publishers
• Date de parution: 04 juin 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781630875831
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Light Shining in a Dark Place
Discovering Theology through Film
edited by
Jeff Sellars


LIGHT SHINING IN A DARK PLACE
Discovering Theology through Film

C opyright © 2012 Wipf and Stock Publishers. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3 , Eugene, OR 97401.

Pickwick Publications
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3
Eugene, OR 97401

www.wipfandstock.com

ISBN 13: 978- 1-61097-309-0
EISBN 13: 978- 1-63087-583-1

Cataloging-in-Publication data:

Light shining in a dark place : discovering theology through film / edited by Jeff Sellars.

xx + 232 p. ; 23 cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 13: 978-1-61097-309-0

1. Motion pictures—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Sellars, Jeff. II. Title.

pn1995.9 s345 2012

Manufactured in the U.S.A.



Notes on the Contributors
Bruce L. Edwards  is Professor of English and Africana Studies, and Associate Vice President for Academic Technology and E-learning at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He has been a faculty member and administrator at BGSU since 1981. He has served as Fulbright Fellow in Nairobi, Kenya (1999–2000), a Bradley Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC (1989–90), and as the S. W. Brooks Memorial Professor of Literature at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (1988). His publications include: C. S. Lewis: Life, Works, and Legacy  (4 volumes);  Not a Tame Lion ; Further Up and Further In: Understanding C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ; A Rhetoric of Reading: C. S. Lewis’s Defense of Western Literacy ; The Taste of the Pineapple: Essays on C. S. Lewis as Reader, Critic, and Imaginative Writer . He is also a contributor to The C. S. Lewis Bible , and many other collections of essays about Lewis and the Inklings. 

J. Sage Elwell is Assistant Professor of Religion, Art, and Visual Culture at Texas Christian University. He is the author of Crisis of Transcendence: A Theology of Digital Art and Culture and the forthcoming artist’s book Viscera . Dr. Elwell holds an MA in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Kansas, an M.Litt in Philosophical Theology from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and a PhD in Religion and the Arts from the University of Iowa. He has published and presented on religion and suffering in modern art, theology in the digital age, and contemporary digital art. He also works as an artist in digital media, photography, and book arts.

Michael Leary teaches courses in religious studies and biblical studies at Fontbonne University and Emmaus Bible College/Sydney College of Divinity.

Fr Peter Malone , MSC, was the inaugural president of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, and is currently serving on its cinema desk. He is also Associate of the Australian Catholic Office in Film and Broadcasting. He is the author of Lights, Camera . . . Faith! A Movie Lover’s Guide to Scripture and the editor of Through a Catholic Lens: Religious Perspectives of 19 Film Directors from Around the World .
 
Kevin C. Neece is a writer and speaker in Fort Worth, Texas. He is currently a media and pop culture columnist for New Identity Magazine , a blogger for Art House Dallas and a contributing editor for Imaginatio et Ratio: A Journal of Theology and the Arts . An expert on Jesus films, he writes and speaks on the genre at www.jesusfilms101.com. He also writes and speaks on Star Trek at www.undiscoveredcountryproject.com. More information on his other work is available at www.kevincneece.com.

Simon Oliver is Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Nottingham. He is the author of Philosophy, God and Motion , Radical Orthodoxy: An Introduction and the editor (along with John Milbank) of The Radical Orthodoxy Reader . Simon Oliver’s forthcoming book is titled Creation’s Ends: Teleology, Ethics, and the Natural .

Kim Paffenroth is Professor of Religious Studies at Iona College. Kim earned his BA from St. John’s College, his MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and his PhD from the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of numerous books on the Bible and theology. His book Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero’s Visions of Hell on Earth won the Bram Stoker Award in the non-fiction category. Kim is also an author of horror fiction, including the novels Dying to Live: A Novel of Life among the Undead and Dying to Live: Life Sentence .

J. Ryan Parker is the founder and editor of and main contributor to Pop Theology (www.poptheology.com), a website that explores the intersections of religion and popular culture. He received his PhD in Religion and the Arts at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, where he focused on film and religion. His dissertation, “Ministers of Movies: Sherwood Pictures and the Church Film Movement,” chronicles the re-emergence of church-based, independent theatrical film production. Ryan received an MDiv from the Divinity School at Wake Forest University. His research interests include the history of Hollywood, the history of religious film, contemporary religious cinema, and filmmaking as spiritual/religious practice.
 
Travis Prinzi is a popular author and speaker on the intersection of fantasy and politics, myth and culture in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. He is the author of Harry Potter and Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds and editor of two essay collections on the Harry Potter series. Prinzi appears on The Leaky Cauldron’s PotterCast as a “Potter Pundit.” He has been a featured speaker and led panel discussions at five Harry Potter conferences and has lectured on everything from Harry Potter to religion to education to hit TV shows like The Office at university campuses and libraries in the United States and Canada.

Megan J. Robinson ’s academic interests integrate the disciplines of anthropology, sociology, philosophy, religion, and literature. Her undergraduate thesis explored the practice of creative writing at the intersection of ancient faith and contemporary culture. Megan’s developing interest in the use of digital media for spiritual discipleship and teaching inspired her recent move from the DC-Metro area of northern Virginia to Dallas, Texas to study theology and media arts at Dallas Theological Seminary. Megan is also the Associate Editor of The C. S. Lewis Review , an online journal reflecting on the life, work, and influence of Clive Staples Lewis and other Christian writers and thinkers in a similar tradition. She is somewhat obsessed with the color green, Pepsi, and C. S. Lewis—not necessarily in that order.

Jeff Sellars , PhD, teaches philosophy and humanities in Northern California and Southern Oregon. His creative endeavors include art, film, fiction, and music. His current academic research centers mainly on theological aesthetics and the study of music, literature, and film. He is the founder and senior editor of Imaginatio et Ratio: A Journal of Theology and the Arts .

Scott Shiffer is the leader of Pop-Culture and Faith Ministries, a group dedicated to helping believers engage culture through the lens of faith and ministering to those who create culture through prayer and support. Scott is currently completing a PhD in Systematic Theology at the B. H. Carroll Theological Institute and he teaches as an adjunct at Dallas Baptist University and Cedar Valley Community College.

James H. Thrall teaches religious studies at Knox College in Illinois, where he is the Knight Distinguished Assistant Professor for the Study of Religion and Culture. He earned his doctorate in Religion and Culture at Duke University, and holds a master’s degree in theology from Yale Divinity School. He studies religion primarily as a social phenomenon, especially as communicated through cultural products of literature, film, and other media. Most recently he has been studying representations of religion in postcolonial science fiction.
 
Alissa Wilkinson teaches writing and humanities at The King’s College in New York City and is co-editor of Comment , a journal of public theology. She earned her M.A. in humanities and social thought from NYU and is currently completing an M.F.A. in creative nonfiction at Seattle Pacific University. Her essays and criticism appear in a variety of publications, including Books & Culture , Paste , Christianity Today , The Gospel Coalition , and The Other Journal .

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all of the contributors in this volume for their creativity, time and help. It has been a pleasure working with all of you. I especially want to single out Kevin C. Neece for his help and dedication to the project. I would like to thank Dr. Simon Oliver for his help in forming the scope of this project, and I would also like to give a special thanks to Austin Roberts for his help and his conversations regarding this project. Finding the contributors for this project was certainly not done alone, and I would like to thank several people for helping me in this regard: to Dr. Bruce L. Edwards for helping me locat