Donald T. Williams

Julie Miller

Annie Crawford

Donald W. Catchings, Jr.

Annie Nardone

Zak Schmoll

Jason M. Smith

Christy Luis

Megan Joy Rials

L.B. Loftin

John L. Weitzel

The imago Dei: Man as God’s Image Bearers “Let us make man in our image,” so begins the relationship between God and his image bearers, beings made in his own image. What does it mean to be God’s image bearer? In this issue on the imago Dei, we explore the ways man reflects God’s light. Contributors: Donald W. Catchings, Jr.: "Stained-glass Man," a poem on man's own image. Annie Crawford: "Gender and the Imago Dei: Together We Reflect the Image of God," an essay on marriage's divine purpose. L.B. Loftin: "Goodness, Truth, and Beauty," a poem on the glory of humanity. Christy Luis: "My Favorite Things" a short story on coming out of and into the fire. Annie Nardone: "Deepest Wonder, Remarkable Beauty: Sonnets in Praise of Life and the Imago Dei," an essay and sonnet on the miracles of life. Julie Miller: "Transhumanism and the Abolition of the Human Person," an essay on transhumanism's materialistic shortcomings. Megan Joy Rials: "Do You Long for Having Your Heart Interlinked?: The Imago Dei and Our Need for Relationships in the Blade Runner Universe," an essay on love, authenticity, and reality. Zak Schmoll: "A Silent Genocide: Disability and the Ongoing Consequences of Social Darwinism," an essay on the tragedy of eugenics. Jason Smith: "Worth Reading" an introduction to a new column coming to AUJ. John L. Weitzel: "Thorin and Bilbo: Image Bearers," an essay on heroism, the Old Testament, and God's will. Donald T. Williams: "Matrix of Meaning: Five Theses on Christianity and Culture," an essay on the relationship between human nature and creativity. Cover Illustration by Virginia De La Lastra Spring 2021 Volume 4, Issue 1 250 pages

An exploration of the imago Dei: Man as God’s Image Bearers

An Unexpected Journal: Image Bearers

James W. Baker

Seth Myers

Clark Weidner

Jason Monroe 

Cherish Nelson

Joseph Holmes

James M. Swayze

John P. Tuttle

Superheroes captivate our cultural imagination. From reading comic books in our childhood bedrooms to watching the latest blockbuster on the silver screen, we long to see the champion defeat the villain and ultimately rescue the world from certain destruction. Though the stories may be fantastical, our desires are not. Our hearts are drawn to superheroes because we want someone to triumph over evil and save the world. This issue of An Unexpected Journal proposes that just maybe our desires have already been fulfilled. Contributors Jesse W. Baker: "The Power of Weakness" on Questions of Violence Donald W Catchings, Jr.: "He Will Rise" on Nolan's Salvific Themes Annie Crawford: "Super-Women and the Price of Power" on Gendered Superheroes Joseph Holmes: "Superheroes and Worship" on the Attraction of Superhero Movies Christy Luis: "Ex-Cult Member Saved by Grace" on the Dangers Of False Heroes Jason Monroe: "Answering Joker’s Dark-Knight-Defying Anarchy" on Competing Worldviews Seth Myers: "Global Superheroes from the Disneyverse and Studio Ghibli" on Heroism Manifested around the World; "Once a Prince or Princess: MacDonald’s Moral Superheroines and Heroes in the Princess Tales" on Ordinary Heroic Actions; and "Planets, Poetry, and the Power of Myth in Halo and Destiny" on the Apologetic Power of Video Games Annie Nardone: "Just a Sidekick?" on the Importance of Support Cherish Nelson: "Person or Persona: What's Inside the Spider-Verse?" on Plantinga's Conception of the Multiverse Megan Joy Rials: "Diana Prince, Apologist? Salvation and the Great Commission in Wonder Woman" on an Unlikely Apologist Jason M. Smith: "Worth Reading" on Some Good Starting Points James M. Swayze: "Superheroes, Saviors, and C.S. Lewis" on Epic, Myth, and Human Longings John P. Tuttle: "Humility Contra Pride as Represented in Thor (2011)" on the Superiority of Virtue Clark Weidner: "Faith on Trial in Frank Miller’s Daredevil Comics" on Questions of the Greater Good About the Cover We are all looking for a hero, someone to battle monsters that threaten. A hero can battle the monsters without, but only the Superhero can conquer the monster within. An Unexpected Journal Summer 2021 Volume 4, Issue 2 300 pages

Why We Look for Superheroes Everywhere

An Unexpected Journal: Superheroes

Josiah Peterson

C.M. Alvarez

Laurie Grube

Sean C. Hadley

Douglas LeBlanc

Alicia Pollard

Venturing to Worlds Unknown Science fiction writers are our modern seers of sorts. Creating worlds that are not our own, they inspire us to look beyond and imagine “what if?” The summer edition of An Unexpected Journal explores the impact these world builders have had on our culture. From the classic science fiction book The First Men in the Moon to modern sci-fi favorites from Brandon Sanderson, explore the what these stories say about us as a society and individually. Contents "The Spiritual Borders of Sci-Fi: C.S. Lewis and A Voyage to Arcturus" by Jason Monroe. "Ghost" a science fiction short story by Alicia Pollard "Illustrating Faith" by Josiah Peterson on Christian faith in The Ransom Trilogy by C.S. Lewis “Gender, Not Sex: Presentation of Gender Roles in Lewis’s The Ransom Trilogy” by Annie Nardone on the harmonious relationship of masculinity and femininity. “Spacemen without Chests? Virtue and Technology in Star Trek and Dune” by Seth Myers on the relevance of C.S. Lewis in popular science fiction. “Gremlins and the Second Way” by C.M. Alvarez on creation and causation. "To Infinity and Beyond" by Douglas LeBlanc on how science fiction can improve our understanding of God. "Time Travelers." a science fiction poem by Laurie Grube "The Autumn People" an essay by Megan Joy Rials on the way science fiction illustrates goodness, sacrifice, and community illustrated in Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. “Materialism and Midichlorians: Pantheism, Naturalism, and Hope in Star Wars” by Zak Schmoll on the apologetic value of a galaxy far, far away. "Imagining Morality" by Sean Hadley on moral development in speculative fiction. "Excerpt from Note to Self" by Donald W. Catchings, Jr. An exclusive preview of a chapter of his upcoming time travel science fiction novel. "Starsight Review" by Christy Luis on the need for philosophical depth found in the work of science fiction writer Brandon Peterson. “Ethics of The Matrix” by C.M. Alvarez the dangers of relativism illustrated in The Matrix. "What Makes Us Human?" A reflection and poem by Annie Nardone. "Personhood in Altered Carbon" by Cherish Nelson on the dangers of diminishing bodies." "To Save a Life" by Zak Schmoll on finding resolution in Ender's Game. Summer 2020 Volume 3, Issue 2 230 pages About An Unexpected Journal An Unexpected Journal is the endeavor of a merry band of Houston Baptist University Master of Arts in Apologetics students and alumni. The Journal seeks to demonstrate the truth of Christianity through both reason and the imagination to engage the culture from a Christian worldview.

The Seers and Philosophers of Sci-Fi

An Unexpected Journal: Science Fiction

Christy Luis

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