“Where is Your God Now?” (Or, That Brief Horrible Moment When We All Thought Justin Bieber Was Robin) #CaPC

“Where is your God now?” accused one of my friends. “I’d have to rethink the problem of evil and God’s goodness, if it were true” said another. I, who usually am not thrown off in situations of theological doubt in the face of pain, stood there, silent, unable to muster up a response in the face of such pointless evil.

What horror could throw my friends and I into such deep, existential and theological instability? This:

102332-bieber-robin-hoak-screenshot-from-instagramIn case you weren’t aware, over the weekend Justin Bieber threw up pic on Instagram and Twitter, of himself holding a copy of what appears to be a personalized script of Zach Snyder’s upcoming Superman/Batman movie. He hashtagged it ‘robin’ sending the world into a tailspin of insanity and fear. 

Read the rest of my ordeal and post-horror reflections over at Christ and Pop Culture.

Justin Bieber: On the Dangers of Being Famous Too Early (CaPC)

That happened.

That happened.

Back when my wife and I used to watch American Idol with her family every week, I had a staunch policy of not supporting any contestants under the age of 18, regardless of talent or the competition.  My gut feeling was that 16 is just too young for most people to have that much attention focused on them.  If they were good, take a shot at it in another couple of years.

A few years on, a couple of years of college ministry later, my gut hasn’t changed. (Well, my inner gut. We’ll pass over my waist size in silence.) I still think being too famous too early is an unfortunate turn of events.

My evidence? Justin Bieber and Anne Frank.

You can go read the rest of the article over at Christ and Pop Culture HERE.