‘His Dark Materials’ Imagines a Church Without God

The new HBO take on Phillip Pullman's trilogy explores the brutality of a church’s power without the gospel.

Imagine a world where the church exists without Jesus. Where a hierarchical church authority controls society, but lacks the genuine faith to guide it. His Dark Materials, a new HBO show based on the trilogy of the same name by Phillip Pullman, takes viewers into this oppressive world where the “Magisterium,” a fictional church, rules with fear and brutality.

His Dark Materials, which premiered Nov. 4 and airs on Mondays, intentionally offers viewers a picture of a powerful institutional church without Jesus or the gospel. The show’s narrative follows so-called heretics as they fight the ruthless Magisterium, which demands allegiance to its traditions and its mysterious “Authority,” without offering the hope of a Savior in exchange.

Anything that challenges the Magisterium’s authority is labeled heresy—and the merciless church will do anything to protect its power. His Dark Materials is less a story about belief and more about power, and how religious organization can distort and manipulate faith in God.

The overarching conflict of the show is between the freedom to choose and the church’s control. His Dark Materials isn’t shy about parallels to the Garden of Eden story. A key portion of Genesis is read aloud in one classroom scene: “eyes will be opened...and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

The Magisterium offers “scholastic sanctuary,” or academic freedom—but it’s a loophole with limits. Scholars are warned against “blasphemy” and spies are present even in private conversations, with the authorities ready to mete out punishment. This world lives under fear of the church.

Pullman describes himself as an atheist. ...

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John Crist, Failure, and Warnings to Heed for Christian Leaders

Heed the warning. Run toward holiness. Rest in Christ.

Like many Christians, I’ve tweeted my share of John Crist videos. He has an ability to hone in on evangelical eccentricities through parody that is just biting enough to cause reflection yet light-hearted enough to force us to not take ourselves so seriously.

With this in mind, I’m beyond disappointed to hear of the sexual harassment and manipulation accusations coming against him, and his confession to engaging in what he terms as reckless behavior that “violated [his] own Christian beliefs, convictions and values.”

Disappointed yes, but unfortunately my ability to be surprised by these stories ran out long ago. Apparently, there is no end to the public failures of Christian leaders and influencers.

And, what Crist admits to is a failure, but there is also more to that story. There are victims here, and our concerns should first go to them.

Simultaneously, we can see that Jesus seems to be doing a good house cleaning of his church. For that part, I am glad. As I wrote in an article in April 2018, “Christ is purifying his church, and it hurts. And there is more to go.”

Yet, it is painful.

Taking Accusations More Seriously

To start, I am glad that we are beginning to take seriously the stories of those who have been wounded and abused at the hands of those who claim to follow Christ. My friends now are telling me this was known a while ago about John Crist. It’s not that women who were damaged by his behavior have been hiding somewhere or sweeping this under the rug. They were speaking up, but very few people were listening. It is crucial that we listen now.

In this way, as painful as it is, I am glad that our sins in darkness are being brought to the light. Yes, I am sorry the world is ...

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Comedian John Crist Cancels Tour Over Sexual Harassment Allegations

The viral entertainer confesses "sexual sin and addiction" following Charisma investigation.

Comedian John Crist, known for his viral videos and jokes satirizing Christian culture, has canceled upcoming tour dates after reports he has harassed and manipulated multiple women to pressure them into sexual relationships.

According to a Charisma magazine investigation, Crist used his celebrity to exploit at least five women over the last seven years.

“The allegations include, but are not limited to, individually sexting multiple women during the same time period,” reporter Taylor Berglund wrote, “initiating sexual relationships with married women and women in committed relationships, offering show tickets in exchange for sexual favors and repeatedly calling these women late at night while drunk.”

Five women shared their stories with Charisma, and the magazine independently verified substantial portions of their accounts. The women believed that sharing their stories could protect others from Crist’s manipulative behavior.

Crist turned the Christian-ese phrase “check your heart” into a punchline, but now faces serious allegations. He said in an official statement to Charisma that he is not guilty of everything he’s been accused of, but did admit to “sexual sin and addition troubles.”

“I have violated my own Christian beliefs, convictions and values, and have hurt many people in the process,” Crist wrote in his statement. “I am sorry for the hurt and pain I have caused these women and will continue to seek their forgiveness. I have also hurt the name of Jesus and have sought His forgiveness.”

Crist is currently on a comedy tour titled “Immature Thoughts.” On Wednesday night, tickets were still for sale on his website, but several ...

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My ‘Mom Rage’ Is Understandable. But It’s Not Excusable.

In my fury, I’m invited to repent and be restored at the foot of the cross.

I am the mom who tries to have it all. I work a full-time job from home with two kids ages two and under. As a result, my life is very tightly wound. One sleepless night, one cancellation from the nanny, or one last minute trip to the doctor can collapse my carefully crafted plans and provoke me to anger.

Recently, I’ve found myself in a protracted battle with my youngest daughter over breastfeeding. When she arches her back and refuses to comply with my feeding plans, rage courses through my veins.

Yesterday, I looked into her eyes and said the words, “Shut up.” I was tired of her whining and constant grunting in dissatisfaction, so in a moment of desperation, I uttered words that I could never have imagined saying to a baby. I didn’t even know I was going to say them until they came out of my mouth. Then in sheer terror I remembered: “Out of the heart speaks the mouth” (Matt. 12:34), and “whoever hates his brother in his heart commits murder” (1 John 3:15).

These days, a lot of mothers (and fathers) struggle with anger. Various Facebook groups for moms—including those I’m part of—often discuss strategies for dealing with “mom rage.” Major magazine publications, too, are giving voice to women’s experiences of rage. They’re providing space for vulnerable and brave conversations and stories of women who struggle in their relationships with their kids.

Though it’s largely assumed that mothers have natural, self-giving love for their children (and we do), being a mom does not preclude real, powerful darkness from growing in our hearts. As Minna Dubin shared recently in The New York Times, “Mother rage can change you, providing ...

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Effective Leadership Is Dynamic and Empowering

Bill Gates thinks successful leaders will be those who empower others. I believe that this applies to church leadership as well.

Years ago, I served a short stint as a church planting professor and ended up being a church revitalization pastor.

I was young, but still had a few years of church planting experience and was ready to dedicate my time to teaching others how to do the same. During my time there, however, I got a call from an established church, asking me to be their interim pastor. Not ready or able to dedicate myself to serving as their full pastor, and learning that their church was looking for someone to revitalize what had become a dying congregation, I stepped into a role as a transitional teaching pastor.

Essentially, I was walking alongside 35 (mainly senior adult) people helping them consider how to bring their church back to life. Their church used to have over 200 members, but it had dwindled down and they were open (and even ready) for change.

The bigger issue, however, was that their church had been declining for a long period of time, which meant that it could take an even longer period of time to bring it back to life. We had to really analyze what had been going on in the church, identify areas of potential change, and find ways to actively change the habits and routines of the church.

It quickly became the hardest job I’d ever had— harder than church planting, I think. In a humorous way, this made sense, of course: It’s always easier to birth something than to bring it back from the dead.

The reason that it was such a challenging job was because it required consistent and effective leadership. We had a good portion of the church people committed to being leaders, and we quickly formed smaller leadership groups that were assigned different tasks, all with the goal of revitalizing the church. The process of determining ...

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Died: Phillip E. Johnson, Lawyer who Put Darwin on Trial

With landmark book, he became “chief architect and guiding light” of the intelligent design movement.

Phillip E. Johnson, a law professor who helped launch the modern intelligent design movement, has died at home in Berkeley, California. He was age 79.

Johnson’s landmark book, Darwin on Trial, argued that Darwinian evolution didn’t have real evidence or good arguments, but was instead “another kind of fundamentalism.” When it was published in 1991, Darwin on Trial galvanized a group of Christians who opposed the theory of evolution, but also wanted to distance themselves from Bible-based creationism, which could not be taught in public schools.

“It was necessary to put aside all questions of biblical interpretation or veracity and to concentrate entirely on the claims of Darwinism,” Johnson wrote for Christianity Today in 1994. “What was needed was to press questions that are legitimated within the context of mainstream academic thinking, questions about what has been proved about evolution and what has merely been assumed.”

The focus on debating the evidence for Darwinism made Johnson the “chief architect and guiding light” of the intelligent design movement, according to William A. Dembski, who was a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute until 2016.

“Phil helped us focus on the right questions,” said John Bloom, professor of physics and the director of the science and religion program at Biola University. “Whatever the details, was God involved in creation or did mindless particles come together to make us? What conclusion does the actual evidence support? Sometimes we don’t see the forest for the trees: Phil reminded me to focus on the big picture.”

Johnson wasn’t always interested in the “big picture,” though. He ...

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When You Are Persecuted in One Place, Flee to Another. But Not to America.

Both US policy and Middle East wisdom discourage suffering Christians from resettling in the West.

Zero.

The United States did not resettle a single refugee in October.

According to 30 years of records from World Relief, last month was the first time a calendar month went empty. For the past five years, the October average was 4,945 refugees resettled.

Among those impacted: persecuted Christians.

The humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals tracked the number of arrivals from the 10 countries identified by the US State Department as Countries of Particular Concern for violating religious freedom. The 5,024 Christians whose cases were accepted in fiscal year 2019 is a decrease of two-thirds from the 15,341 who were accepted in fiscal 2015. A maximum of 5,000 is allotted for victims of religious persecution in fiscal 2020—for all religions and countries.

Resettlements of non-Christians are also declining. For the same time period, Yazidi refugees from Syria and Iraq have declined 91 percent. Jewish refugees from Iran have declined 97 percent. And Muslim refugees from Burma have declined 76 percent.

“This isn’t just heartbreaking—it’s unjust,” stated Scott Arbeiter, president of World Relief, noting the State Department announced a limit of 18,000 refugees for fiscal 2020.

“I urge the administration to reconsider its approach and set a cap that better represents the compassion and hospitality of the American people.”

But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the policy.

“Addressing the core problems that drive refugees away from their homes helps more people more rapidly than resettling them in the United States,” he stated, pointing out an estimated backlog of one million asylum cases.

“Helping displaced people as close to their homes as possible,” ...

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