Columns

CHANCELLOR | The Godless University

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You probably do not remember the opening scene of the movie God’s Not Dead — made by Pinnacle Peak Pictures, a Christian production company. In the scene, a philosophy professor stands before his new class of students and quotes the German thinker Friedrich Nietzche’s famous thesis, “God is dead.” The professor then tries to get each student to agree with the statement so the class does not have to waste time thinking about God. A Christian student then refuses to comply with the professor, and the rest of the movie ensues. I recommend watching the movie — I enjoyed it — but alas this is not a film review. 

Columns

JOHNS | One Nation Under God

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Christians at Cornell and across the world this month observe the season of Lent — a religious tradition that calls upon adherents to re-embrace their faith through commemoration of the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the Judean Desert following His baptism. Lent is a solemn season, and an important time for Christians to examine their own religiosity and the state of the church more broadly. This Lent, at least at a glance, the church appears troubled and on the defensive. The unfortunate truth is that Christian churches, like most religious institutions in the United States, have been a diminishing feature of public life for some time. The Pew Research Center notes that 20 percent of Americans are “religiously unaffiliated,” a number that has increased by five percent over the last five years.

Arts & Culture

Powerful, Personal, Pretty and Petty: Kanye West’s The Life Of Pablo

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Kanye doesn’t want his fans to be able to pick and choose. He wants them to love it all and to see all the pieces — his music, his outfits, his fashion line, his Twitter account, his family and their celebrity status — as part of one unified art project. He makes art for the age of social media celebrity, when persona and work are more inextricable than ever. He doesn’t want the art separated from the artist, because he is part of his art. His desire to synthesize was on full display at the bizarre event called Yeezy Season 3 that he threw at Madison Square on Thursday.