Reviews

LifeTeen.com Presents: Matt Maher – “Every Little Prison”

Posted by podmandan on Nov 1, 2011 in Dan's Thoughts, Featured, Music | 0 comments

Check out this video that I saw today on the LifeTeen YouTube channel where Catholic-Christian recording artist, Matt Maher discusses his song “Every Little Prison,” one of his new songs from his most recent album. Share your comments on Matt’s song and thoughts on the message of the song in the comments of this post.

Review: Audrey Assad “The House You’re Building” album.

Posted by averyadmin on Oct 4, 2011 in Avery's Thoughts, Featured, Music, Reviews | 1 comment

A Live WTL Ministries review of Audrey Assad’s album “The House You’re Building”.

enjoy!

www.livewtl.com
www.audreyassad.com

Did Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons?

Posted by averyadmin on Aug 21, 2011 in Reviews, Uncategorized | 1 comment

Check out the video review of this great book by Matthew Pinto!

Today, we’re reviewing the book Did Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons by Matthew J. Pinto. It’s a great book written in Q&A style, and I definitely recommend it!

Here’s the link to purchase the book:
Aquinas and More ($13.99) :http://www.aquinasandmore.com/catholic-books/Did-Adam-Eve-Have-Belly-Buttons/sku/510

Amazon ($11.19): http://www.amazon.com/Did-Adam-Have-Belly-Buttons/dp/096592288X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313973750&sr=8-1

Owl City – Religious Music in Disguise? A Review

Posted by scott on Jul 30, 2011 in Music, Scott's Thoughts | 1 comment

This past June, Owl City, the synthpop artist who became well know for his hit song Fireflies, released a new album entitled “All Things Bright and Beautiful”. At first glance, you might not notice anything in the name but it is actually the same as a religious church hymn. In this album, the religious side of Adam Young (Owl City) has a very prominent focus. Young’s previous hit album, Ocean Eyes, has some subtle religious aspects that go unnoticed to many people and I only noticed them recently. For example in “Meteor Shower” he sings “I am not my own” which is a variation of 1 Corinthians 6:19 and inside of the cover of Ocean Eyes is a small and easily overlooked written dedication to Christ. So has this new album (All Things Bright and Beautiful) with a religious focus gone mainstream? According to the charts, yes, and this is a very unusual event, given the lyrics of the songs that often take up positions in the charts. While I wouldn’t classify “All Things Bright and Beautiful” as strictly a religious album, religion does play a big influence in the lyrics.

Review (By Track):

The Real World – Owl City’s back with his synthpop sound and escapist lyrics (Whether you liked that on Ocean Eyes or not), however this time around the music takes on a bit more of a dance feel. In this song, he emphasizes the large gap between fantasy and reality. Not really any religious theme on this one.
Deer in the Headlights – Adam Young’s experiences with love not returned and getting burned by it. No religious theme here either.
Angels – This is where the religious focus is first evident. Incorporating the escapist theme (Space travel), it states his belief in spiritual beings; “Among my frivolous thoughts, I believe there are beautiful things seen by the astronauts” and “I guarantee there are angels around your vicinity”
Dreams Don’t Turn to Dust – Young leaves reality for a fantasy perfect world.
Honey and the Bee – Love song, with female vocals.
Kamikaze – This one’s religious, and from listening to it I believe the characters in the lyrics represent the eternal struggle between good and evil (God and Satan). The Captain on a snowy horse would be God, and the terrible force Adam says he is fighting back would be Satan. When he says he is “…not afraid to die alone”, he is trusting in God’s assistance.
January 28, 1986 – Has sound clips from Ronald Reagan’s speech after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. He includes the line saying that the astronauts “…slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.”
Galaxies – It’s got much more of a dance feel and a definite Christian focus; “Dear God, you’re the only north star I could follow this far” and “For He is the saving grace of the galaxies.”
Hospital Flowers – Adam recounts a car accident he was in and how it was a turning point in his life, possibly toward being closer to God.
Alligator Sky – I couldn’t find any religious aspects in this one, but it’s a really well produced (In my opinion) pop and rap combo featuring rapper Shawn Chrystopher.
The Yacht Club – More about Adam’s love life (And cautiousness in it) and his thoughts of sailing in his perfect world “…when we join the yacht club.”
Plant Life – Adam wrestles with an internal emptiness at the beginning that is filled near the end of the track. This can be interpreted in a religious light.

Would I recommend this album? Absolutely. It’s well produced (If you’re an audiophile like me, you’d like this one), and the lyrics are great, if not on some songs tacky but they have a definite Christian aspect. It’s one of the few mainstream hit albums I’ve seen that build up the Kingdom of God, and it’s making its way onto millions of iPods, including to those who wouldn’t otherwise buy religious music.

Review: A Biblical Walk Through the Mass

Posted by averyadmin on Jun 14, 2011 in Books, Featured, Reviews | 0 comments

I recently received and have had the pleasure of reading Dr. Edward Sri’s new book, A Biblical Walk Through the Mass.

How many times have you sat in Mass saying the prayers and thought, “What am I really saying? Where is this really coming from?” This book invites the challenge of looking through that exactly. It also explains in plain english what we say and why we say it and when we say it and how we say it. In essence, it is a complete walk through the Mass. What I really liked about the book was how biblically based it was. So many Catholics do not know just how much our Mass comes from the Bible. But this book not only gives the verse and the reference. It gives the story. It doesn’t just say, “Oh hey. Look up Lamentations 3:41.” It gives you the story behind the verses that it shows, and it explains how they are connected to the mass.

As the switch to the new Translation of Mass approaches, this book becomes more relevant. Many people are going to be wondering why we are changing so much of the words in Mass, and this book does a great job of explaining it.

However, what I found to be the best part about the book was how real it was. A lot of times books dealing with highly theological concepts can leave us as readers (especially as teens) thinking that it is irrelevant. Like, many times the books are good and enjoyable and we learn a lot, but we don’t go away changed. That doesn’t happen here. A Biblical Walk Through the Mass comes from a great, real perspective that connects to life in this day and age. It gives such a great look at one of our forms of Worship through many lenses, and I really like that. It’s not WAY philosophical, it just takes a practical look at each and every part of Mass.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It’s a short 143 pages, and is easy to read as a teen. So if you’re looking to grow in your faith or knowledge of Mass, or just want some summer reading, who knows, this may be the book that changes it all as far as perspective. Enjoy!

Purchase the book here: http://www.ascensionpress.com/shop/Scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=159

(the Guide to the New Translation Booklet is also EXCELLENT! I would highly recommend spending the $1.95 to not be super confused when Advent rolls around.)