Trains Jesus And Murder

"Saints and sinners, all jumbled up together." That's the genius of Johnny Cash, and that's what the gospel is ultimately all about. Johnny Cash sang about and for people on the margins. He famously played concerts in prisons, where he sang both murder ballads and gospel tunes in the same set. It's this juxtaposition between light and dark, writes Richard Beck, that makes Cash one of the most authentic theologians in memory. In Trains, Jesus, and Murder, Beck explores the theology of Johnny Cash by investigating a dozen of Cash's songs. In reflecting on Cash's lyrics, and the passion with which he sang them, we gain a deeper understanding of the enduring faith of the Man in Black.

The T&T Clark Handbook of Jesus and Film introduces postgraduate readers to the critical field of Jesus and/on film. The bulk of biblical films feature Jesus, as protagonist, in cameo, or as a looming background presence or pattern. The handbook assesses the field in light of the work of important biblical film critics including chapters from the leading voices in the field and showcasing the diversity of work done by scholars in the field. Movies discussed include The Passion of the Christ, The King of Kings, Jesus of Nazareth, Monty Python's Life of Brian, Son of Man, and Mary Magdalene. The chapters range across two broad areas: 1) Jesus films, understood broadly as filmed passion plays, other relocations of Jesus, historical Jesus treatments, and Jesus adjacent cinema (privileging invented characters or “minor” gospel characters); and 2) other cinematic Jesuses, including followers who imitate Jesus devotionally or aesthetically, (Christian) Christ figures, antichrists, yet other messiahs, and competing Jesuses in a pluralist world. As one leaves the confines of Christian theology, the question of what a film or interpreter is doing with Jesus or Christ becomes something to be determined, not necessarily something traditional.

The pieces are in place. The curtain rises for the final act. God is about to die. An unprecedented conspiracy of injustice, cruelty, and religious and political interests sentenced a man guilty of no crimes to the most barbaric method of execution ever devised. The victim was no mere man. Jesus was God in the flesh. The Creator of life died. How did such a thing come to be? Who were the onlookers, the players, the fakes, frauds, and heroes? What was it like in the Upper Room that night, in the shadows of Gethsemane, or in the Praetorium awaiting Pilate's verdict? What is the meaning of the last words Jesus uttered as He gasped for breath on the cross? What if all the facts you now so well could come alive in your ind and heart as a living story, rather than as a 2000-year-old ancient account? By piecing together the narrative from the perspective of the participants, John MacArthur invites you to relive the most awesome injustice in the history of man, the unparalleled triumph of the sovereignty of God, and the passion of Christ.

Christian identity is in moral and political crisis, scandalized by the many ways in which it has been coopted and misrepresented. Addressing this painful reality, Lee Camp writes that Christianity in America has been made into a bad public joke because of “our failure to rightly understand what Christianity is.” From this provocative claim, Camp’s manifesto makes the convincing case that a renewed Christian politic is more essential than ever, one that is “neither left nor right nor religious,” but a prophetic way of life modeled after Jesus of Nazareth. Camp’s robust vision exposes modern parodies of faith—the American concept of “Christian values,” for one—and challenges Christians to rethink who they are and how they participate in the modern world. Authentic gospel truth is a scandal to the American myth, he argues, and we are called to be scandalous witnesses.

Spiritually engaged readers commonly look towards fiction to better understand the depth of a faithful life, and Christians are no exception. Many followers of Jesus value beautifully written, deftly characterized and pulse-quickening literary art that seems more satisfying than dry, tedious doctrinal textbooks. This book surveys 12 pieces of historical fiction that feature notable Christian thinkers. They include an illustrated children's book about St. Irenaeus of Lyons, a novel about Martin Luther's Reformation, a screenplay focusing on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and even a story about Pope Francis narrated in popular manga style. Rather than arcane literary analyses, this book provides thoughtful and sometimes painful interviews with the authors of the covered works. Most interviewees are little known or emerging writers. Some have published their work with a church or denominational press, others with a major publishing empire or popular print-on-demand platforms. Storytellers reflect on their literary choices and the contexts of their writing, sharing what modern Christians can learn from historical religious fiction.

Interest in the Man in Black has grown since his death in 2003, with increased record sales, cover videos by groups like Nine Inch Nails, and the 2006 biopic Walk the Line cementing his fame. This book honors Cash by examining the many philosophical issues and concepts within his music. From the gender confusion of “A Boy Named Sue” to the ethics of "shooting a man just to watch him die,” philosophers who are fans of Johnny Cash explore the meaning and continuing importance of his work and legacy.

This is a discussion on why Jesus had to die, and compares the traditional Christian view of the atonement to the Great Controversy-Demonstration view.