Recently, I posted my Spider-Man Bible Study / Discussion Guide. Simultaneously, I dropped a few comments on some blogs that referenced a different Spider-Man Bible Study produced by Fuller Theological Seminary's professor Craig Detweiler.
Some GodBloggers have been critical of the whole "movie-based Bible study" enterprise. Not surprising, really: using Hollywood movies to teach Biblical truth is a little like using dance to teach worship, or wine to serve Communion. There may be a place for it, but it's going to generate controversy somewhere.
I've been asked before to justify how I could write a Bible study with a movie as its context. After all, if I'm writing a
My Spider-Man 3 movie-based Bible Study is here, at long last! I have permission from CTI to provide the study here on my site. Over the next few days or weeks, I'll post the previous combo-study I wrote for Spider-Man 1 and Spider-Man 2 as well.
Warning: the following contains spoilers! Stop now and do not read below this paragraph if you hate knowing anything beyond what the trailers reveal.
Spider-Man 3
The greatest battle lies … within
The first two Spider-Man films established Peter Parker and his super-heroic alter-ego as a popular and profitable theatrical draw: Spidey is loveably unstoppable and Peter Parker is the nice boy everybody wants to see "get the girl."
But Spider-Man 3 severs those silky threads of comfortable niceness, dumping Peter Parker and Spider-Man into a dark abyss where evil infects the
Update: The Spider-Man 3 study can be found here.
Yesterday I caught a premier press-screening of Spider-Man 3 and I'm officially here to tell you that this movie rocks! And, yes, before you criticize me, that is official trade lingo for a movie that … well … rocks!
It may not be appropriate for a kid still in kindergarten, which is why I didn't take AJ, even though I could have (I was allowed one guest), but it's primarily because there is violence (what heroic actioner doesn't feature violence) and a really scary Venom. :: shudder :: But if it weren't for the fright factor I'd take AJ tomorrow. As it is he's already wanting to see the movie and begging me to take him. (I had no idea he'd already watched the first two
Update: The Spider-Man 3 study can be found here.
In early 2005 I wrote a Bible study for the Spider-Man 1 & 2 movies, currently only available via ChristianityToday.com. Last week I stopped by the offices of Christianity Today International and "volunteered" to freelance the Bible study for Spider-Man 3, as well, opening May 4 in a theater near you. (Here's the official site. Here's the IMDB site.)
So, this coming Tuesday, thanks to CT Movies editor, Mark Moring, I will attend a screening of Spider-Man 3 at 10 AM in downtown Chicago. Wahoo! After that, I will put on my thinking cap, review my extensive notes, think hard and start writing about the many redemptive themes from the film to weave into a Bible study useful for small group discussions and
Articles
- Church Rentals: Have Space Will Worship (Christianity Today Library, September 6, 2007 [via CTI])
- Cyber-Sexuality: Maintaining Real Purity in a Virtual World (Christianity Today Library, August 29, 2007 [via CTI])
- Involuntary Self-Denial and Relationship Breakdown (Christianity Today Library, June 13, 2007 [via CTI])
- Apostasy: Rejecting Ideas (Christianity Today Library, 04/11/2007 [via CTI])
- Misplaced Love: On Greed, Addiction, and Bad Affection (Christianity Today Library, 02/14/2007 [via CTI])
- Video Games: Violence In, Violence Out? (Christianity Today Library 08/09/2006 [
If you haven’t seen this site, yet, you should. If you ever refer to the Greek or Hebrew texts in your Bible studies or sermon prep, then you really owe it to yourself to check out this website:
zhubert.com
For Fellow Students of the Bible in the Original Languages
When you get there, just check out your favorite passage in whichever language you prefer. Once you see the passage in all its glorious original language splendor, you can click on a word and get the lexical root, it’s basic meaning, and a bit more. You can suggest additions (or “fix”) definitions, the related words, etc., and your entry will be considered. You can also see the word frequency count of both the inflected form of the word you’re studying, and all its appearances in the root form, and by clicking on the graphs, you can go directly
Recently, I posted my Spider-Man Bible Study / Discussion Guide. Simultaneously, I dropped a few comments on some blogs that referenced a different Spider-Man Bible Study produced by Fuller Theological Seminary's professor Craig Detweiler.
