deCOMPOSE » Christianity

Literary criticism tends to follow the spirit of its age. This is nowhere more evident than in the genre of horror. More recent literary interpretations of seminal works of horror like Frankenste...

https://www.mikeduran.com/2022/02/21/is-the-vampire-archetype-a-reaction-to-purity-culture-or-promiscuity/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-the-vampire-archetype-a-reaction-to-purity-culture-or-promiscuity

When asking Which Religions Would Have the Hardest Time Accepting Alien Life, it’s always Evangelicals who hedge at ETs. Of course, Catholics have their share of extraterrestrial problems too. ...

https://www.mikeduran.com/2015/06/11/on-baptizing-space-aliens/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=on-baptizing-space-aliens

This Summer, I’ll be teaching a workshop at Realm Makers entitled The Crossover Christian Novelist (you can find their Session Descriptions HERE). As part of my preparation, I asked a number of...

https://www.mikeduran.com/2015/05/25/the-crossover-christian-novelist-q-a/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-crossover-christian-novelist-q-a

I’ve encountered many Christians who argue that certain depictions of evil, violence, sex, or the occult should not be fleshed out in fiction. So while writers are commonly taught to “SHOW no...

https://www.mikeduran.com/2015/05/22/showing-vs-telling-should-christian-novelists-not-show-evil/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=showing-vs-telling-should-christian-novelists-not-show-evil

It’s been said, “The problem with Christians nowadays is that nobody wants to stone them anymore.” There’s much truth to that. I engaged in an online discussion this weekend about the Chu...

https://www.mikeduran.com/2015/05/18/if-youre-not-offending-someone-youre-not-preaching-the-gospel/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=if-youre-not-offending-someone-youre-not-preaching-the-gospel

The Museum of Biblical Art recently announced that it would be closing. MoBA’s mission was to examine Western art through the lens of the Bible and its influence in Christian and Jewish traditi...

https://www.mikeduran.com/2015/05/13/why-the-closing-of-the-museum-of-biblical-art-should-concern-christian-artists/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-the-closing-of-the-museum-of-biblical-art-should-concern-christian-artists

I read with interest a post in Relevant magazine that made the rounds yesterday. What Not to Say to Someone Who Has Been Hurt By the Church covers what the author suggests are “6 misguided resp...

https://www.mikeduran.com/2015/04/28/what-not-to-say-to-someone-who-has-been-hurt-by-the-church-a-response/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-not-to-say-to-someone-who-has-been-hurt-by-the-church-a-response

Theology is a defining characteristic of much Christian fiction. Which is why the proliferation of Amish fiction has always puzzled me. In The Thrill of the Chaste: The Allure of Amish Romance No...

https://www.mikeduran.com/2015/03/16/how-christian-is-amish-fiction/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-christian-is-amish-fiction

Film critic Jeffrey Overstreet, in his book Through a Screen Darkly, talks about the backlash he received from concerned parents after his favorable review of the film Harry Potter and the Chambe...

https://www.mikeduran.com/2014/12/11/finding-truth-in-pagan-art/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=finding-truth-in-pagan-art

The doctrine of the Fall and, consequently, the Atonement, are potentially the biggest areas of incompatibility between belief in God and extraterrestrials. If one believes what the Bible teaches...

https://www.mikeduran.com/2014/10/23/evangelicals-and-extraterrestrials-can-they-coexist-pt-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=evangelicals-and-extraterrestrials-can-they-coexist-pt-2