The Religious Treehouse

Jodie and Matthew take a winding journey full of numerous tangents as they discuss Sister Act, starring Whoopi Goldberg. Ranging from the state of current Christian music to the presentation of Catholicism in the media, Jodie and Matthew discuss all the chaos that is Sister Act, and are pleasantly surprised by the  representation of Christianity and religion. Listen along to our episode and send u...

Jodie and Matthew dive into a brief introduction to the Gospel of John and analyze the famous story of the adulterous woman (sometimes referred to as the Pericope Adulterae) found in John 7:53-8:11. The only problem with this passage is that it isn’t in many of the earliest manuscripts of John. So, Jodie and Matthew discuss what is going on in this passage and why it may not be considered original...

Jodie and Matthew jump back in time to a famous black-and-white Yiddish film, “The Dybbuk.” Based on a play by S. An-sky, the Dybbuk explores a forbidden love between two lovers across social classes despite being pledged to each other by their fathers before their births. So, Chanan dives into Kabbalah to win Leah over, but dies, becomes a Dybbuk, and possesses her. It’s a brilliant film that use...

Jodie and Matthew talk about the canonization of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. Sadly, there was no single time in history where someone just decided that the books in the Old Testament were settled as definitive scripture for Jews or Christians. Rather, it was a process that occurred over time with debates on what makes the canon and what misses the cut. Regarding this process, Jodie and Matthew...

Jodie and Matthew investigate the 2003 Disney movie “Brother Bear” and discuss the potential religious themes that it gives the audience to ponder over. Whether it be themes of family, forgiveness, love, grief, empathy, or Othering, Brother Bear provides a good starting point for discussing theological issues for children for many religious traditions. Through tangents and other topics Jodie and M...

Jodie and Matthew dive into 2 Kings 2:19-25 to discuss the infamous story of Elisha sending 2 female bears to maul 42 children. It’s your classic Bible story with all the warm fuzzy feelings you’re familiar with, right? Wrong. It’s a weird story with no meaning we can be really certain about, but it provides a great context for Jodie and Matthew to introduce the books of Kings, explore the nature...

Originally released on April 27, 2025 in honor of the passing of Pope Francis, Jodie and Matthew discuss the Oscar award winning movie, Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes. If you haven’t seen it yet, you definitely should, because we touch on all the spoilers, following each character and how this movie portrays catholicism in all of its beautiful and problematic forms. Take a listen and let us know...

Street theater in the Bible may be more common than you think! Jodie and Matthew introduce the book of Ezekiel and then look at one of the things he is most known for: Prophetic Sign acts. Especially in Ezekeil 3-5, Ezekiel acts out the siege of Jerualem, eats a scroll, and lays on his side for over a year to mediate prophecy for those in exile with him. Is God being an abusive leader or is Ezekie...

Jodie and Matthew return to the cinema to discuss Mona Fastvold’s recent materpience: The Testament of Ann Lee (2025), starring Amanda Seyfried. This biopic explores the life of Ann Lee as she becomes the leader of the Shaker movement, an offshoot of the Quakers, started in the 1700s. The Testament of Ann Lee explores her fascinating life while also raising questions of femininity, motherhood, exi...

Jodie and Matthew dive into the Minor Prophets and discuss the short, but beautiful, book of Habakkuk. After introducing the Biblical prophets as a whole, Jodie and Matthew talk the critical study of the Bible and how it relates to Habakkuk. They also look at modern interpretive lenses such as performance theory to understand how Habakkuk could be performed, reperformed, interpreted, and reinterpr...

In this week’s TRT movie review, Jodie and Matthew discuss Evan Almighty (2007) starring Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, John Goodman, and Lauren Graham. On the heels of Bruce Almighty (see TRT episode #55), Evan Almighty imagines if God asked a modern person to build an ark for a flood, just as God did in Genesis 6. But with these biblical themes, is this enough to make this a religious film, or do...

Looking at the Vile of the Bible, Jodie and Matthew discuss one of the famous villains in the Bible: Goliath. Found primarily in 1 Samuel 17, the Goliath story acts as one of the introductions of David to the biblical narrative. Jodie and Matthew discuss some text critical issues examining how multiple sources were combined together to introduce David: One of which has David as a musician, and the...

Woah, woah, woah. Has TRT switched it up and started watching TV instead of movies? Yes!!! (at least for this week’s episode). Jodie and Matthew review Season 1 of “We Are Lady Parts” created by Nida Manzoor, which explores a feminist, Muslim, punk band and their interpersonal dramas as they search for their identity and their place in the world. This show was hilarious and poignant, and brought u...

Jodie and Matthew return to Biblical Studies to discuss Psalm 104. Often described as a psalm of praise, creation psalm, or perhaps even an historical psalm or wisdom psalm, Psalm 104 is one of the most well-known and beautifully written psalms in the Bible. Jodie and Matthew discuss everything from redactional criticism to potential connection to Ancient Egyptian poetry such as the Hymn of Aten t...

Movie March Part 4 is a 2004 film called “Saved!” featuring Macaulay Culkin, Mandy Moore, and Jena Malone. While both enjoyed it, Jodie and Matthew disagreed on the extent to which they thought they should enjoy it. Was it an amazing movie that accurately critiqued early 2000’s Evangelical Christianity, or did it create a caricature of Christianity from this era? Let us know your thoughts on both...

Movie March continues with the cult classic 1922 film Häxan, written and directed by Benjamin Christensen. Jodie and Matthew discuss the film’s portrayal of medieval witchcraft and its successes and pitfalls by addressing witchcraft through lenses of feminism, psychoanalysis, and filmmaking of the early 1900s. While the costuming and filmmaking was superb, the content may have fallen short in a fe...

Movie March Part 3 treats us to Ryan Coogler’s SInners. Note this was recorded before the Oscars, so let us know if the Academy thinks this was as good as we did. Jodie and Matthew analyze the various themes put forth in this film and discuss the consequences of assimilation, African American spirituality, Christianity, colonization, music, community, and other topics that this film tackles. By us...

Movie March part 2 gifts us with the presence of Jack Black in the pop culture phenomenon that is Nacho Libre (2006). Or maybe it curses us. Jodie and Matthew disagree on the quality of this movie but agree that it acted as an interesting portrayal of Catholicism. They consider the ways that Christianity influenced the reception and creation of the film and ask questions regarding the potential co...

It’s Movie March!!!! The first movie of this marathon discussed by Jodie and Matthew is Netflix’s Christian musical “A Week Away” where a troubled teen is sent to a Christian camp to turn his life around. This was a light and fun movie, albeit poorly written, exploring how Christian camp and evangelical Christian culture creates a space for members to feel included and part of something bigger. Jo...

We’ve all heard of Jonestown. But do we all know what actually happened? Do we know the story behind the massacre? And perhaps more importantly, do we know the story about after the massacre? Jodie and Matthew discuss the history behind Jonestown and the events leading up to its infamous last moments, followed by a conversation on how Jonestown has been framed by the media and others, and pontific...

Everybody cut Footloose! Jodie and Matthew examine the hit classic Footloose (1984) and how it relates to religion. In a small town dominated by a local pastor, Jodie and Matthew examine how the small town politics related to overbearing religious authority and how religious authority is based on tradition and changes with times and culture. But this was overall a fun and great movie full of great...

We’re back and discussing Chapter 6 of Mark Jurgensmeyer’s Terror in the Mind of God where we discuss Buddhist extremism and violence. How can a religion so stereotypically known for peace and nonviolence commit horrible acts of violence? Jodie and Matthew look at a few Buddhist outliers such as the Aum Shinrikyo movement to analyze what happens when Buddhism goes wrong Works Referenced and Recomm...

Jodie and Matthew review 2011 Documentary Koran by Heart, which explores an annual Koran recitation competition for children and young people around the world, held in Egypt. The documentary follows a few children and their respective journeys, presenting a variety of ways Islam is practiced around the world and how the memorization of the Koran is important for many Muslims. In western society, p...

It’s time for a Biblical Studies podcast episode - this time talking about Cain and Abel, found in Genesis 4 and 5. Listen along to hear Matthew try to pronounce fun words like antediluvian and hendiadys as he and Jodie discuss the children Adam and Eve, along with their relevant genealogies. Who knew genealogies could be so fun?!Follow our socials and reach out to us with thoughts or questions! B...

Jodie and Matthew return to the Akedah, or the binding of Isaac, but this time by analyzing a recent movie produced by Christian production company, Angel Studios. His Only Son looks at the binding of Isaac, and other scenes of Abraham’s life. However, Jodie and Matthew discuss how the movie falls short by taking itself too seriously, not having the ability to see the story as anything other than...