Jason Albertson

A Reconciled Life… Paul’s message in 2 Cor. 5:14-21 exhorts us to be reconciled to God through Christ. It’s easy for me to truncate that reconciliation—to think of it only in terms of my guilt being taken away, and not to consider what kind of life flows from that reconciliation. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. What is it like to live that new kind of life? How could you describe it? From my own experience, I would describe a reconciled life with God as deeply satisfying. There are a bunch of things that go into that satisfaction. For example, The experience of walking in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-25). We get a hint that this is a little bit like life with God in Eden (Gen. 3:8), which is just astounding to me. Living without the shame of unconfessed sin. I don’t thin...

Humans seem to be fascinated with superheroes.  Nowadays we have the Flash and Captain America, but it's bigger than America—think of Finn MacCool in Irish folklore or the Greek demigods delivering humanity from monsters. And it's not just comic books: consider Sherlock Holmes from detective fiction or the many “long-prophesied chosen one” characters in fantasy, like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. By superhero, I mean a character who is both human and gifted with superhuman ability to solve the problems regular humans can't solve.  Sherlock Holmes is good at noticing stuff. Hercules is really strong. The Flash is the fastest man alive (except when his latest nemesis steals his speed). Why so many superheroes? I think it's because we recognize that humanity faces problems too big for us on our own. I think it's because we long for a Savior, someone like us but better than us, too. But here's the weird thing: when we tell stories about superheroes, people equipped...

Frozen II (2019) is an animated Disney movie and the sequel to Frozen , whose praises I sang last post because of its potential to lead kids toward life with God in the church—that is, its potential to lead kids toward a good life. Frozen II did not disappoint me as a sequel. In Frozen II , Disney made a movie that teaches kids how to have a good life, and they did so well that they painted a picture of the Holy Spirit and His work through His people on His fallen earth. I write to parents who are uncertain about whether to show their kids Frozen II , because I don’t want you to miss the helpful messages in this film. Wealth and power attract the worst elements of humanity, yet despite Disney’s wealth and power, they’re teaching kids wisdom for life. I write to grandparents who are concerned that the society their descendants will inherit is becoming more wicked, because I want you to know that God’s grace still shows up, even in the most popular kids’ movie of last year. And I writ...

In my last post , I argued that when an artist makes something, they can intend it to mean something, but they can’t keep it from meaning something other than they intended. I also said that when I engage with art, I don’t actually care what the artist intended to create; I care more about what they did create. When Disney released Frozen  in 2013, some Christians and Mormons  protested what they saw as a gay agenda concealed within a nice story. They may be right; the artists who made Frozen may have wanted to communicate a pro-gay message. If that’s the case, I would argue that they didn’t do a great job. In fact, Frozen is a fantastic story about how Christian discipleship addresses our fallenness. The Gospel of Trying Harder A quick review of Frozen ’s essential characters (in case trivia about pop culture from last decade isn't your thing): Elsa: a princess who has magical cold, ice and snow powers ( cryokinetic if you want to impress somebody) Anna: a pr...

In a 1999 interview with journalist Bill Moyers, George Lucas said that Star Wars is “a thin base for theology.” Lucas never intended for  Star Wars  to have a coherent theology; he didn’t want to evangelize anyone to some Force-based religion. Instead, he says, his intention was for  Star Wars  to have a theology in which anyone could see their beliefs represented. In another interview , George Lucas called himself a Buddhist Methodist. I know people who won’t watch  Star Wars  because its theology is fuzzy. For them, the author’s intentions (to portray an ideal religion as a sentimental mix of ideas about compassion and working together against oppression) spoil the whole thing. I want to provide another way of approaching art and authorial intent. I think Christians can get a lot of good from art even if the artist's intended message contradicts Christianity. Here’s the assertion I want to defend:   In general, artists have control over what their...

Kung Fu Panda 3 (KFP3) is a 2016 movie from Dreamworks Animation. It’s the third movie in the Kung Fu Panda series (surprise!), a continued story about a panda bear, Po, who learns kung fu. KFP3 has three villains. Only one of them gets a “villain” name tag (and music cue ); the other two look like good guys, but are abusive authority figures in Po’s life. That’s what this movie is about: how to recognize abusive behavior and how to escape an abusive relationship. One of the nice-guy villains is Po’s adoptive dad, Ping. He’s a goose. When Po’s long-lost biological dad, a panda, shows up early in the movie, Ping is jealous. Because he’s a smaller animal and looks nothing like Po, it’s easy to imagine feeling inadequate in his shoes. It’s easy to relate to his jealousy. Instead of considering what will be best for Po, Ping uses every means he can to prevent Po from going back home with his biological dad to the hidden village of the pandas. It’s more important to Ping to kee...