Popcorn Theology

Richard and David got to make it to a showing of the newest offering in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2! What did they think of the new flick, and how did it stack up against the beloved first Guardians film? What ideas does this movie prompt an engaging Christian viewer to consider? Exactly how cute is Baby Groot?  Get all of these answers and more! We hope you enj...

Richard and David were thrilled to be joined by Jonathan Pifer, an actual missionary to Ecuador, to chat about the 2005 film 'End of the Spear.' -- Have you ever wondered what has happened since the conversion of many of the Waodani people? We chatted about the movie itself and got to catch up with Jonathan, as he caught us up on the work going on in that area to this day. We learned a lot about t...

Though Richard was unable to record an episode this week, David was joined by his wife Mandy for a chat about the story of Johnny Cash, the power of honest music, his vices, and his redemption.    We hope you enjoy this episode!    Please take a moment to check out our sponsor, MissionalWear - Awesome T-Shirts, Posters, and more... Let them know Popcorn Theology sent you!   Want to leave us a voic...

What was intended to be a conversation about the film version of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe becomes a more broad conversation regarding the Narnia series in general (though with a focus on this flick.) Conversation such as the question of to whom our debt was paid when Christ died -- did Christ die to ransom believers from Satan, or to satisfy the wrath of God toward them? - We also cha...

This week, we took a look at another one of Christopher Nolan's awesome movies - The Prestige! Starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and many other awesome cast members - this flick is definitely a must-see! We chatted about the casting and the movie in general, and then we used the movie as a discussion prompt to talk about a number of other subjects. Self-Deception, our own longing for resurrec...

This children's flick provided Richard and David with plenty of conversation fodder! The movie can prompt us to talk about things such as God's sovereignty, His use of means providentially, His use of what might seem like storms for His good purposes, and a lot more. We hope you enjoy this episode, we certainly enjoyed making it!    Please take a moment to check out our sponsor, MissionalWear - Aw...

Richard and David return from their two-week hiatus to talk about Mel Gibson's newest film, Hacksaw Ridge! This movie provides conversation prompts for a range of topics including: Remaining true to our unpopular convictions, the biblical case for just war and/or pacifism, the nature of the Biblical worldview over and against other worldviews, and a lot more.  We hope you enjoy this episode, we ce...

Richard and David got to see Logan on opening night and were excited to chat about it for Episode 77. What themes are important in the movie? Why is isolation such a bad thing for human beings as image bearers of God? And a bunch of other stuff too. We hope you enjoy the episode!    Please take a moment to check out our sponsor, MissionalWear - Awesome T-Shirts, Posters, and more... Let them know...

We have arrived! The guys at Popcorn Theology talk about Arrival, starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker. Conversation bounces to and fro on the timeline, covering subject matter from language as a tool or a weapon (as well as contrasting Babel with Pentecost), the sanctity of life, the problem of pain, determinism and foreknowledge, and probably a bunch of other stuff too.  We hop...

The Book of Eli is a flick that is rich with themes that are just begging for the Popcorn Theology treatment. This week, Richard and David discuss this film and subjects such as the importance, authority, and power of Scripture, the proclivity by some people and groups to use the Word of God for their own selfish ends, and more.  Also, do the hosts of Popcorn Theology think this movie promotes rel...

Richard and David jump into M. Night Shymalan's newest flick Split, starring James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy. What is Shymalan trying to say with this newest movie? What is the logical conclusion of the idea that our identity is as more highly evolved animals, and that alone? What role does suffering play in our own stories?  Please, please, please do not go past our 'spoiler warning' moment in t...

Richard and David take a look at the Oscar winning film, Room! This movie is very unexpectedly pro-life (despite the filmmaker and author apparently not intending that message to come through), and provides many other interesting ideas for discussion as well. We hope you enjoy listening in! You can watch Room as a part of your Amazon Prime subscription.    Please take a moment to check out this we...

Richard and David were joined this week by Dallas Jenkins, the director of the new Christian film  The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.  We had a great time chatting with Dallas about his new film and what sets this movie apart from the rest of what has been available in the category of Christian media.  If you've been somewhat interested in the movie but find yourself skeptical of Christian media, we...

Richard is joined by Eric Skwarczynski of EngagingCulture.co (who is also an admin of our Facebook group) to talk about the amazing film, Spotlight!  This award winner deals with issues of abuse within the church, systemic corruption and 'code of silence' tactics, Roman Catholic theology, and much more. We hope you enjoy listening to our discussion!  Spotlight can be viewed as a part of your Netfl...

A few weeks ago, David and I sat down to chat about S3E1 of Netflix's original show, Black Mirror! This episode (titled Nosedive) really gets into the negative effects of social media and the problem with finding our value in what others think about us. We hope you enjoy the conversation!  Please take a moment to check out this week's sponsor, MissionalWear - Awesome T-Shirts, Posters, and more......

This week, we had the huge honor of being joined - once again - by Dr. Jason Lisle in order to talk about this year's offering in the Star Wars universe! We had a blast chatting about the movie and got into some real deep discussions. Is there very a time when 'lying' is justified in the eyes of God? Is it possible to deceptively work from within an evil in order to dismantle it? Why is it so hard...

Merry Christmas, Cornheads! This year, we decided to chat about the newer Holiday classic, Elf! We hope you enjoy the conversation.    Please take a moment to check out this week's sponsor, MissionalWear - Awesome T-Shirts, Posters, and more... Let them know Popcorn Theology sent you! Please visit our other sponsors as well! Olive Tree Bible Software - Amazing resource, and now you can save 20% of...

Did you guys like Firefly? We liked it so much we decided to chat about it this week!  Don't let the episode title confuse you, by the way - we are talking about the show pilot (titled Serenity), not the film that would be released later by the same name!  Please take a moment to check out this week's sponsor, MissionalWear - Awesome T-Shirts, Posters, and more... Let them know Popcorn Theology se...

Zootopia is on the menu this week, and we talk about the good and bad messages behind the film, thus exploring why it can be controversial. The movie deals with subject matter that is much deeper than your typical children's movie - racism and prejudice, for instance. There are also a number of points that could be less than helpful, depending on how one views the story.  Maybe you have a strong o...

Richard and David celebrate Thanksgiving by looking at the awesome John Hughes' film, 'Planes, Trains, and Automobiles'  Conversation bounces around between work/family priorities, anxiety over circumstances, needing to be in control, viewing others (even those who annoy us) as valuable image bearers of God, strategic truth telling and whether or not that can be okay, and more! We also did a drawi...

You won't need the use of your hands to listen to this episode! We talked about Doctor Strange this week. - What movies have shown 'magic' in the coolest way? - The absurdity of an atheistic worldview, and its logical consequences - Are faith and knowledge at odds with one another?  - How did Christ deal with the sins of His people on the cross in a small period of time while those apart from Chri...

What was the Protestant Reformation all about? The 2003 film, 'Luther' takes a really awesome look at the life and controversies surrounding the person of Martin Luther. What was it that prompted Luther to nail his 95 Theses and spark such a movement? What were some of the principles laying at the heart of this reformation? And more.   We're no church historians by trade, but we enjoyed the movie...

Richard and David sat down this week to talk about the pilot episode of NBC's new hit show, 'This Is Us.'   You can access this pilot episode for free here .    Please take a moment to check out this week's sponsor, MissionalWear - Awesome T-Shirts, Posters, and more... Let them know Popcorn Theology sent you! Please visit our other sponsors as well! Olive Tree Bible Software - Amazing resource, a...

Richard and David were joined this week by James Harleman of Cinemagogue to talk about one of his favorite comic book characters of all time - Luke Cage, who is now starring in his very own Netflix series. We hope you enjoy this conversation! We also announced our first ever fundraiser campaign. If you'd like to support the podcast financially and receive a sweet Popcorn Theology T-Shirt, please c...

This week, we jump into another TV Show episode by looking at one of the most iconic episodes of Doctor Who (Or, at least, New Who.) -- Blink, from Season 3, Episode 10.  We discuss the idea of a character being outside of time and how that is viewed by folks Christian or otherwise, we talk about foreshadowing as it is used in Doctor Who as well as how it is used similarly in the Scriptures, and m...