A tour is on the calendar, a new book is brewing, and our inbox lit the fuse: what happens to your faith when you step off social media and start searching for unspun news about Gaza, empire, and the stories we’re told? We open the year by taking a hard look at propaganda, grief, and how easy it is to let a nation define “we” for the church.
Then we head to the movies, where a whodunit surprised us. Wake Up Dead Man puts two versions of Christianity on display: a combative, us-versus-them posture that bleeds people, and a pastoral presence that stops the action to pray, receives confession, and announces forgiveness.
*** SPOLIERS IN THIS EPISODE***
We push back on TGC's review of the movie contrasted with their review of the animated movie: David, which stays close to the text yet leans triumphalist and one-noted, raising a bigger question: do we want art to be good, or branded as “ours”?
Here’s our take: art is not a sermon. Common grace means truth can surface where you don’t expect it, and excellence matters more than labels. If the New Testament church could live under empire and still sing, confess, and forgive, then we can learn to watch and create stories that widen our empathy and sharpen our hope without compromising conviction.
Articles/Links mentioned:
Jake Randolph's Knives Out: Wake Up Deadman Review
Terrible Tweets:
Trump's Unhinged Letter to Denmark
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