Posts by Mike Schramm

Two of today’s top shows – “Invincible” and “The Boys” – happen to be superhero-themed, derived from graphic novels, and produced by Amazon studios. They also are both uncomfortably centered around various daddy issues, as the following look at each demonstrates.

One of the most misunderstood “arguments” for the existence of God is popularly known as Pascal’s Wager.

Is “Euphoria” a Christian show? I mean, I guess not, but this third season gave some of the most powerful Christian themes one can find – on a TV-MA-rated, premium cable network, of all places.

Long considered one of the most influential, provocative, and beautiful works of literature in Western civilization, Dante’s “Divine Comedy” deserves even more attention for its profound spiritual and theological depth.

"Euphoria," the debauched but popular HBO show, appears to be leading one of its main characters ever closer to repentance and forgiveness through the God of the Bible. What gives?

One might be hard-pressed to find a Christian connection to this show of gratuitous sex and violence. However, like much of pop culture, the Christian connection may often show through in spite of its content.

Art has a habit of showing a mirror to society while also shaping it. Not every mirror is clear and not every reflection should be imitated. However, the image is often instructive.

The imagery of Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” especially “Inferno,” has captivated readers for hundreds of years. Even though it is set in the afterlife, its primary value is found in the wisdom it provides for readers willing to contemplate it in this life.

The slow ascent of technological progress has soared upward. We could only have such amazing results because of our infinite capacity for curiosity about the world. If this is true, then why could Thomas Aquinas call curiosity a sin?

According to Aristotle’s ethical framework, there are virtues that should guide a person’s actions, even an action that many consider morally neutral like choosing a friend.

Classical philosophy sees God as producing existence while creatures like us participate in existence.

“The Pitt” shows nuance and depth in its realistic presentations of traumatic medical treatment. Fortunately, it also succinctly and accurately provides a foundational concept in the ethical application of those treatments.

If evil cannot exist without good, then evil cannot be eternal. It also cannot be all-powerful nor the foundation for existence itself. Only Goodness is eternal, all-powerful, and the foundation of existence: what Christians know as “God.”

But even though everyone has an opinion about who is “good” and who is “evil,” most of us probably wouldn’t be able to define “goodness.”

If God is just another contingent being, even a very powerful one, then we can reasonably ignore God in the same way that we can reasonably ignore aliens. But if God is transcendent, then God is by definition beyond Creation. 

Faith and reason have been described as “two wings” that raise us to the contemplation of truth. Each is useless without the other. Our wings both need to be strengthened so that our spirit can fly more easily to the one who is Truth itself.

Believing in God’s omnipotence teaches us to trust His providence when our own strength fails. Believing in His omniscience assures us that our hidden struggles are seen and known. Believing in His goodness sustains us when we encounter evil and suffering.

God's existence is not obvious to everyone, but it is knowable through reason.