The God in Film Podcast

Superman - A uniquely Jewish superhero?

For our brand new series, we focus on superheroes, kicking off with Superman (1978). We look at the wonder that is Christopher Reeve's performance, Superman's Jewish origins and the messiah parallels with the last son of Krypton. Why not give it a listen?

 

Finding the Faith in the Film begins at 28:18.

Easter Special: The Chosen Season One

For this very special Easter episode, we’re looking at The Chosen. Giles is joined by writer and RS teacher, Natalie Minaker, the lovely literary editor, Claire Gough. We spoke to Sam Hailes, editor of Premier Christianity who got to interview the cast and creators of the show over in Texas. We talk about the significance of the name Lilith, Jesus before his ministry began and why we should seriously rename 'Doubting Thomas'. 

 

Finding the Faith in the Film begins at 21:37

 

To read Sam Hailes' coverage on season three of The Chosen, check it out here: https://www.premierchristianity.com/features/the-chosen-exclusive-behind-the-scenes-of-the-tv-show-aiming-to-reach-one-billion-for-christ/14069.article

The First Film Ever

For this very special episode, we’re looking at La Sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon. Or, ‘Workers leaving the Lumiere factory’ the 1895 classic produced and directed by Louis Lumiere. Often referred to as the First Film Ever. We interview a Very Special Guest and look at the many varied interpretations of this seminal text. 

To see the original film, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEQeIRLxaM4

Finding the Faith in the Film begins at 9:53.

 

...

...

...

 

APRIL FOOLS!

Bonus episode: God in Gaming - teaser

Our God in Gaming episode has dropped on our Patreon Page!

Featuring writer and RS Teacher Natalie Minaker and CBT therapist and Finger Guns reviewer, Kat Bullock, we look at 6 games with compelling faith parallels in them.

We thought we'd give you a little taster of the show here, and if you’d like to hear more, just go over to patreon.com/godinfilmpodcast and subscribe to our Bishop Waller-Bridge tier to hear the full episode.

Bonus episode: Giles’ Premier Christian Radio Interview

For this special bonus episode, we thought we'd give you a taste of our Patrons only content! 

Back in November, Giles was interviewed by Chick Yuill on Premier Christian Radio. We talked about how I became a Christian, how I think church should engage with wider culture and of course, we talked about the genesis of the excellent 'God In Film Podcast'. 

To support us, just go to https://www.patreon.com/godinfilmpodcast and choose from our 3 membership tiers, named 'Father Jim Cameron', 'The Very Reverend Kevin Smith' and the most popular and my personal favourite; 'Bishop Waller-Bridge'.

To learn more about Chick, check out: www.premierchristianradio.com/presenters/chick-yuill/

or to buy one of his many books click here: https://instantapostle.com/author/yuill-chick/

 

Miracle on 34th Street – What’s the historic evidence for Jesus?

For our 2022 Christmas special, we're looking at the 1994 version of 'Miracle on 34th Street'. We interview Vaughn Joy, a PhD candidate at UCL who specialises in Christmas films. We spoke to Emma Barclay Watt about CAPs 'Job Club' and we got jumped by a surprise guest who insisted on telling us about the history of Father Christmas.

In our Finding the Faith in the Film section, we look at separation of church and state, and the historicity of Jesus.

For those who want to learn more about CAP job clubs. Check out:

https://capuk.org/get-help/cap-job-clubs

Or if you're in the Trafford area: emmabarclay-watt@capjobclubs.org or call on 07419 219 547.

 

Finding the Faith in the Film begins at: 31:33

 

*Apologies for the variable audio quality*.

The Sandman – Where actually IS the devil?

For our fifth and final episode of the series, we're looking at Netflix's adaptation of ‘Sandman’, Neil Gaiman’s classic comic book of the same name. We’ll be looking at the devil’s current location, representations of rebels, and asking which TV version of the devil is the most troubling.

 

Finding the Faith in the Film section begins at 19:38.

Midnight Mass – What is spiritual abuse?

For the fourth episode of our mini-season looking at horror, we’ll be looking at ‘Midnight Mass’, Mike Flanagan’s supernatural drama released on Netflix 2021. We’ll be looking at transubstantiation, what is spiritual abuse, different models of church leadership and why God will forgive pretty much anything.

 

Finding the Faith in the Film begins at 16:39.

 

*Apologies for the dodgy audio quality. We got it fixed for the next episode.

 

***

***

***

***

 

The English translation of the Latin credits is..."tell Phil, by writing it out long hand in a letter. That seems the most sensible way to do it after all".

Constantine – What does the bible say about suicide?

TW: Discussion of suicide.

 

In this episode, we're looking at 'Constantine' the supernatural thriller starring Keanu Reeves & Rachel Weisz. We'll be looking at the idea of God and the devil making a wager, the spear of destiny, and christian attitudes to suicide. 

Finding the Faith in the Film begins at 26:30.

If you need to skip the discussion on suicide, it is between 48:01 and 1:13:52.

Organisations who can help if you're struggling with thoughts of suicide or mental health:

Samaritans: 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can call 116 123 (free from any phone), email jo@samaritans.org or visit some branches in person. You can also call the Samaritans Welsh Language Line on 0808 164 0123 (7pm–11pm every day).

 

SANEline. If you're experiencing a mental health problem or supporting someone else, you can call SANEline on 0300 304 7000 (4.30pm–10.30pm every day).

 

National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK. Offers a supportive listening service to anyone with thoughts of suicide. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK on 0800 689 5652 (open 24/7).

 

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). You can call the CALM on 0800 58 58 58 (5pm–midnight every day) if you are struggling and need to talk. Or if you prefer not to speak on the phone, you could try the CALM webchat service.

 

Shout. If you would prefer not to talk but want some mental health support, you could text SHOUT to 85258. Shout offers a confidential 24/7 text service providing support if you are in crisis and need immediate help.

 

The Mix. If you're under 25, you can call The Mix on 0808 808 4994 (3pm–midnight every day), request support by email using this form on The Mix website or use their crisis text messenger service.

 

Papyrus HOPELINEUK. If you're under 35 and struggling with suicidal feelings, or concerned about a young person who might be struggling, you can call Papyrus HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141 (weekdays 10am-10pm, weekends 2pm-10pm and bank holidays 2pm–10pm), email pat@papyrus-uk.org or text 07786 209 697.

 

Nightline. If you're a student, you can look on the Nightline website to see if your university or college offers a night-time listening service. Nightline phone operators are all students too.

 

Switchboard. If you identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, you can call Switchboard on 0300 330 0630 (10am–10pm every day), email chris@switchboard.lgbt or use their webchat service. Phone operators all identify as LGBT+.

 

C.A.L.L. If you live in Wales, you can call the Community Advice and Listening Line (C.A.L.L.) on 0800 132 737 (open 24/7) or you can text 'help' followed by a question to 81066

 

The Omen – What was the ‘Satanic Panic’?

In our second episode of our horror mini-series, we look at 'The Omen', the 1976 end times horror directed by Richard Donner. We'll be looking at the Biblical origins of the figure of the anti-christ, the significance of 666 and some of the ramifications of the satanic panic. 

 

Finding the faith in the film section begins at 23:37.

 

T/W - PLEASE NOTE: Whilst we don't go into it in any depth on the subject, we talk about the hysteria surrounding child-abuse. If anything related to that is tough for you, please skip between 37:58 and 50:42.