Speaking on first-person shooter video games and zombie apocalypses, three Christian thinkers dug into faith in the digital age at Redeemer鈥檚 Beyond Worldview lecture series. Redeemer staff, students and supporters and educators from the Edifide conference packed a lecture hall on October 26, as the Redeemer Centre for Christian Scholarship hosted three headliners, James K.A. Smith, Alissa Wilkinson and Kevin Schut, as part of its annual fall conference.
This year, in a nod toward Redeemer鈥檚 new Media and Communications Studies program, the focus of the conference was on media and culture. Hence the video games and zombies.
鈥漌hat鈥檚 Up With the Apocalypse?鈥
, associate professor of English and humanities at The King鈥檚 College (New York City)
Alissa Wilkinson, staff film critic at Vox, dove straight into our fascination with and fear of the apocalypse in her lecture 鈥淲hat鈥檚 up with the Apocalypse?鈥 In her book How to Survive the Apocalypse, co-written with Redeemer鈥檚 own Dr. Robert Joustra, Wilkinson explores not only our current age鈥檚 fascination with end times of all kinds but also teaches Christians how to understand and respond to that fascination.
鈥淒oes Jesus Love Headshots?鈥
, professor of media and communication, Trinity Western University
Kevin Schut, an educator, author and avid gamer, took on the provocative question: 鈥淒oes Jesus Love Headshots?鈥 Schut鈥檚 talk built off his theological approach to games in the book Of Games and God, explaining how Christian ethics can be applied to the medium.
鈥漎ou Might Not Love What You Think鈥
, professor of philosophy, Calvin College
James K. A. Smith, a professor, public intellectual and cultural critic, talked the spiritual power of habit in his keynote, 鈥淵ou Are What You Love鈥, titled after his book of the same name.