Every week, Richard Clark and Ben Bartlett sit back and discuss the posts of the previous week on Christ and Pop Culture, acknowledge and respond to the big issues in popular culture, and give a sneak peak at the week ahead. This week: Rich and Ben discuss the cultural phenomenon known as Black Friday, argue over a canceled TV show as metaphor for Romans 7, and discuss the implications of living in an iPod Culture. -------------------------------- We love feedback! If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com, or go to our contact page. We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now! Subscribe to us in iTunes by clicking here. While you’re at it, give us some good iTunes feedback! We’ll love you forever!

Every week, Richard Clark and Ben Bartlett sit back and discuss the posts of the previous week on Christ and Pop Culture, acknowledge and respond to the big issues in popular culture, and give a sneak peak at the week ahead. This week: The new Bond movie, The Secret Life of Bees Bible Study, losing an election, and Heroes. --------------------------------- We love feedback! If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com or best yet you can leave a voice-mail at 206-350-8475 (seriously this time. It works now). We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now! Subscribe to us in iTunes by clicking here. While you’re at it, give us some good iTunes feedback! We’ll love you forever!

Ben Bartlett and Richard Clark return triumphantly with an in depth discussion about pop culture's nihilistic tendencies, which attempting to avoid talking too in depth about the philosophy of nihilism itself. It turns out, nihilism is all over the place in popular culture, and it may not be such a bad thing. Tune in and find out why! Plus, Richard and Ben give really lame reasons for not having done a podcast in forever and they also count down their Top 5 Nihilistic Moments in Popular Culture. You don't want to miss this! Then again, what's the point? ------------------------------ We love feedback. If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com or best yet you can leave a voice-mail at 206-350-8475 (seriously this time. It works now). We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now! Subscribe to us in iTunes by clicking here. While you’re at it, give us some good iTunes feedback! We’ll love you forever! The music in this episode is by SoberMinded and awesome rap duo featuring our own writer and co-founder,Alan Noble. Check them out!

Over the past few weeks, a discussion has been taking place in the Christian blogosphere. Here's how it went:

• Christianity Today published a review of Sex and the City.
• Christianity Today got lots of feedback.
• Christianity Today defended their review.
• Ted Slater of Boundless.org (a website of Focus on the Family) accuses Christianity Today of "Relishing Sexual Perversion."
• Everyone else picks a side.

Other noteworthy links: Jeffery Overstreet posts a long defense of the review. On the Boundless Podcast, Tim Slater discusses the issue. Tim Slater from Boundless clarifies his Open Letter. Jeffery Overstreet responds to Tim Slater's clarification.

We didn't really want to pick a side, so we blogged an aside which generated quite a bit of discussion. And today we publish a podcast in which Ben and I... well, we don't really pick sides.

In this episode, we discuss why Christianity Today was right, why Boundless was wrong, why Christianity Today was wrong, and why Boundless was right. If it all sounds a bit confusing, wait until you hear us try to say it in audible words!

Also, we count down our top 5 guidelines Christians should use when deciding whether to see a film. Combine the two lists, and you'll never see a film, ever! Guaranteed!

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We love feedback. If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com.

Subscribe to us in iTunes by clicking here. While you’re at it, give us some good iTunes feedback! We’ll love you forever!

The music in this episode is by SoberMinded and awesome rap duo featuring our own writer and co-founder, Alan Noble. Check them out!

The hype has calmed down a bit for Iron Man, one of the most wildly successful movies of the summer so far, which makes this a perfect time to sit back and have an in-depth discussion about what many assume to be a morally neutral action film. Is it? Or is it something more? Listen as Ben and Rich discuss that, plus our top 5 Sci-Fi Elements.

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We love feedback. If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com or best yet you can leave a voice-mail at 206-888-2471. We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now!

Subscribe to us in iTunes by clicking here. While you’re at it, give us some good iTunes feedback! We’ll love you forever!

The music in this episode is by SoberMinded and awesome rap duo featuring our own writer and co-founder, Alan Noble. Check them out!

After having seen the latest installment in the Narnia series, Ben and Rich have a round-up discussion about its merits as a movie, as an adaptation of the book and as a spiritual allegory. They also count down their top 5 Stories that Sparked Our Imagination! You don't want to miss it!

We love feedback. If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com or best yet you can leave a voice-mail at 206-888-2471. We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now!

Subscribe to us in iTunes by clicking here. While you’re at it, give us some good iTunes feedback! We’ll love you forever!

The music in this episode is by SoberMinded and awesome rap duo featuring our own writer and co-founder, Alan Noble. Check them out!

About three weeks ago, Ben and I sat down and discussed American Idol, including the morality of American Idol's infamous audition episodes, whether or not Christians should embrace and support Idol Gives Back, and more. Also, we give out our Christ and Pop Culture Awards for Voting Shows.

We love feedback. If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com or best yet you can leave a voice-mail at 206-888-2471. We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now!

Subscribe to us in iTunes by clicking here. While you’re at it, give us some good iTunes feedback! We’ll love you forever!

The music in this episode is by SoberMinded and awesome rap duo featuring our own writer and co-founder, Alan Noble. Check them out!

If there's one thing that most of us can agree on, it's that popular culture has gone too far in the area of sexuality. For the sake of freedom of speech, showing off beauty, and putting to use "what God gave ya'", men and women have bared it all. And we all know what this is really all about.

So where do we draw the line? How far should they go, and how much of it can we take? If you thought the last episode was awkward, wait until you hear Rich and Ben attempting to discuss Pop Culture's Startling Lack of Restraint: Sexuality and Nudity.

Also, we offer up our Top 3 Best Love Stories and our Top 3 Worst Love Stories.

We love feedback. If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com or best yet you can leave a voice-mail at 206-888-2471. We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now!

Subscribe to us in iTunes by clicking here. While you’re at it, give us some good iTunes feedback! We’ll love you forever!

The music in this episode is by SoberMinded and awesome rap duo featuring our own writer and co-founder, Alan Noble. Check them out!

We all have something to say about the upcoming presidential election and all of the issues surrounding it. The problem is, we don't all know what we're talking about. In this episode of Christ and Pop Culture (which features possible the most awkward opening to the podcast yet!), Ben and I talk about the best way for Christians to engage in political discussion. The debates will only heat up in the future, so this one's important!

Also, we count down out Top Five Craziest Things Heard in a Political Conversation, and debut brand new music from Soberminded.

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Subscribe to us in iTunes by clicking here. While you’re at it, give us some good feedback! We’ll love you forever!

We love feedback. If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com or best yet you can leave a voice-mail at 206-888-2471. We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now!

From the Roman Coliseum to present day film, Christians have struggled with the question of violent entertainment. What can we see, and how should we think about violence? Ben and Rich discuss these questions, answer some listener feedback, and give out the first ever Christ and Pop Culture Awards in the area of violence. You'll love it!

Note: There are some graphic descriptions of violent content in this podcast. You should probably just know that.
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Subscribe to us in iTunes by clicking here. While you’re at it, give us some good feedback! We’ll love you forever!

We love feedback. If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com or best yet you can leave a voice-mail at 206-888-2471. We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now!

The music in this episode is by SoberMinded and awesome rap band featuring our own writer, Alan Noble. Check them out!

Oprah has become a true force in American pop culture, and her talk show is just the beginning. Oprah has her own magazine, cable channel, and as of Sunday her own prime time network television show. Of course, none of that is nearly as valuable or important as the influence she has on a good percentage of Americans. Forget the presidential race, Oprah is our real president.

Is this really such a bad thing? How did it end up like this? How should Christians respond to such a phenomenon? In this episode of Christ and Pop Culture, Ben and Rich discuss these questions and more.

Plus, they count down their "Top 5 Ways Oprah Touched My Life."

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We love feedback. If you’d like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com or best yet you can leave a voice-mail at 206-888-2471. We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now!

The music in this episode is by SoberMinded and awesome rap band featuring our own writer, Alan Noble. Check them out!

**WARNING** THIS PODCAST HAS SPOILERS.

The Christ and Pop Culture Podcast is back. This week, we introduce our new host, Ben Bartlett, a long-time listener and writer for the Christ and Pop Culture Website.

After that, we discuss There Will be Blood. With tons of critical success, you'd think this film would be perfect. So why do so many regular people hate it? Is it worth sitting through the whole thing? And does P. T. Anderson had Christians?

We'll discuss these questions, plus list our Top Five Depressing Movies in this twentieth episode of Christ and Pop Culture!

We love feedback. If you'd like to respond you can comment on the website, send an email to christandpopculture@gmail.com or best yet you can leave a voice-mail at 206-888-2471. We would love to respond to feedback on the show, so do it now!

MTV isn't really known for profound thought about life, death, God and philosophy, but Fall Out Boy has brought those concepts to the braindead masses. In this episode, David and Rich discuss the implications of such a surprisingly profound band, and also share their top 5 most profound rock songs.

The concept of spending time with and getting to know people is as old as humanity, but recently that concept has been turned on its head. All of a sudden, it is claimed, we have the ability to relate to one another without even being in the same country. With the advent of various communication devices, most notably the internet and its accompanying breakthroughs, the concept of "virtual community" has become a commonly acceptable notion.

But is it really possible to have quality time, make friends, build relationships or fall in love over the internet? And if not, what is all of this good for, anyway? We'll address these questions, plus list our top five "virtual communities" in today's episode of the Christ and Pop Culture Podcast!