By Denton Josey, Student Reporter
The first time he saw the movie Crash, Steven Moore was moved by the issues it brought up.
“It raised questions about race in a new, different, fresh way,” said Moore, assistant professor in the Department of English. “It really speaks to so many people.”
Discussions about Crash are only part of the forums called Gospel and Culture Coffee House that will take place at 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday in the Bean Sprout.
For four years the Gospel and Culture Coffee House has been “an attempt to bring the Gospel and our culture into dialogue,” said Dr. Mark Love, director of Ministry Events.
Love said Gospel and Culture Coffee House discussion can be interesting and fascinating.
“I think we bring great content every year to campus. Students should be drawn to lectureship in general,” Love said.
Each night, themes and aspects of popular culture will be discussed. Sunday’s line-up will feature the band Homer Hiccolm & the Rocket Boys covering six songs by rock legend U2, with a conversation to follow.
Monday, clips from the Academy-Award-nominated movie Crash will be shown, and Moore will lead a panel discussion with five students.
Bob Dylan will be the subject of conversation Tuesday. Love will share his thoughts about Dylan’s music and his role as a modern prophet in society.
The last of the Gospel and Culture Coffee House events will be Wednesday night and will feature graduate students presenting a Gospel presentation of the Sabbath.
“The Gospel has something meaningful to say to our culture, and we understand the Gospel better when we pay attention to what is happening outside the world,” Love said.
Love said he expects the Bean Sprout to be packed, especially when Homer Hiccolm plays and when Moore speaks.
“They won’t think this is boring or irrelevant,” Love said about students and Lectureship attendees.
Moore said he looks forward to leading the discussion about Crash.
“We live in a culture where people are fascinated with movies,” Moore said.
Crash was chosen, Moore said, because “it really got people talking. When a movie sparks discussion like that it is such a success.
“Especially at a Christian campus, it’s interesting to see how we deal with movies from the world,” Moore said.
Moore, who is working on his doctoral dissertation titled “The Cry of Black Rage,” said some of the themes of Crash deal with cultural rage and race issues.
“I would love to see conversations about race continue on,” Moore said. “I would love for discussions to start about how the church should respond to the issues of race. We need things to challenge the way we think and talk about race.”
