By Will Rose Let me honest and transparent right up front–I love The Rise of Skywalker. It may even be my favorite of the newest Star Wars trilogy. Yea, the movie hyper-speed skipped all over the place, but from my point of view, it had a lot of places to explore, and a lot of…
Call for Papers: Theology and Tolkien
No proper list of the greatest works of English literature in the twentieth century can exclude the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. His works are not only much-read and beloved, but also Hollywoodized (Peter Jackson), and have launched (or, perhaps, re-envisioned) an entire genre of fiction. As a result, they have made an indelible…
Suits: Salvation through Sin?
By George Tsakiridis Recently, I was a guest on the Protagonist Podcast and had the opportunity to discuss one of my favorite protagonists, Harvey Specter from Suits. The show just finished last year, and is part of the USA Network’s plethora of shows ranging from family friendly to almost family friendly. Suits blends comedy and drama with…
Call for Papers: Theology and H.P. Lovecraft
Cosmic horror writer H.P. Lovecraft is the paragon of atheistic nihilism in fiction. For many, Lovecraft is diametrically opposed to everything most fundamental to Christianity, and the only way we might fruitfully engage with Lovecraft’s thought would be to categorically reject it. What hath Arkham to do with Jerusalem? But this volume will explore Lovecraft’s…
The Good Place & Human Intervention
By Dr. Meredith J.C. Warren Unsurprisingly, I have *thoughts* about Netflix’s The Good Place, human intervention in divine modes of judgement and a little old text called The Testament of Abraham (Some spoilers for season 4). GIF: Judge Gen from The Good Place giving two thumbs-down gestures. If you’re not familiar with The Testament of…
Spider-Man: Far from Home – Nature, Truth, and the Distortion of Reality
By John Tuttle 2019 was a year in which the cinemas were full of tales of superheroes and supervillains, one of which was our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Tom Holland reprised his famous role in Spider-Man: Far from Home, the second installment in Holland’s series of films. In it, he attends a high school field trip,…
Rime Regnant: Arendelle’s Sisters as Church and State in Frozen 2
By Raymond Lam [SPOILERS for Frozen 2 below!!] Ever since Disney captured lightning in a bottle with Frozen (2013), its protagonists Elsa and Anna have been interpreted as a sisterly Yin and Yang, as opposites of one kind or another. What warms the hearts of children and adults alike is how different Anna and Elsa seem, yet…
The Exilic Community and a Better Way in the Mandalorian
By Jake Doberenz The first live-action Star Wars show, The Mandalorian, debuted on Disney+ last November and has mostly received positive reviews. The show follows a Mandalorian, who is nicknamed “Mando” at first, in his bounty hunter endeavors and then in his journey to protect The Child, a cute 50-year-old baby alien dubbed by the…
Doomsday Clock and the Triumph of Hope
By Matthew Brake [Beware Spoilers!] In 2016, DC Comics, particularly writer Geoff Johns, made a bold move and tamped with one of the most sacred cows in comic book fandom—Watchmen. After the initial success of the New 52 reboot, which saw DC Comics do away with years of complicated backstory in order to draw in…
Evil and the Bat: Part Two: Free Will’s Confrontation with Time and Destiny
By Raymond Lam (Read Part One of this blog series here) In my first entry, I attempted to explain how the theology of the DC Universe came to be (over a decade between 2008 and 2018) defined by the metaphysical conflict between Batman, DC’s ultimate human archetype or ideal, and Darkseid, who serves as not…
Pop Culture and Theology 