Tag Archives: Christianity

Religious tensions expressed again in The Strain

September 12th, 2015 | Posted in Christianity, Guillermo del Toro, religion, vampire

I’m a little behind on watching episodes of The Strain, but one which aired a couple of weeks ago caught my attention because of the conflicting ways in which it portrayed Christianity. Previously I’ve commented on the way the series engages the Christian faith, particularly in its Roman Catholic expression. This is due to Guillermo […]

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Contagious Vampires and Impotent Religion in “The Strain”

August 2nd, 2014 | Posted in Christianity, Guillermo del Toro, religion, vampire

I finally had a chance to watch the first three episodes of The Strain after recording them. I am a big fan of Guillermo del Toro, including the material he produces. The television series is, of course, based on the 2009 novel by del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It incorporates  some of the vampire conceptions […]

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NOAH discussion at Cinefantastique’s Spotlight Podcast

March 31st, 2014 | Posted in Christianity, Cinefantastique, Judaism, podcast, religion

I was fortunate to be a guest at Cinefantastique Online with their Spotlight Podcast 5-13.1 with the discussion of NOAH. I commented on the film as a piece of cinema, and was also able to provide some thoughts on interpreting biblical texts and how this relates to religious communities and film artistry. Listen here.

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Robertson: Watching Horror Films Can Lead to Demonic Possession

March 11th, 2014 | Posted in Christianity, demonic, horror

Pat Robertson is known for theological gaffes over the course of his televangelist career. In this video he warns about the possibility of demonic possession by watching horror films. I must admit I’ve had some conservative Christians accuse me of suffering from this malady given my interests in the fantastic and the macabre, but I’m […]

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Dom Augustin Calmet: Biblical Scholar and Vampire Researcher

May 24th, 2013 | Posted in Christianity, folklore, vampire

Previously I discussed Sabine Baring-Gould, a Christian minister who also maintained a research interest in the paranormal and the horrific. I recently came across another individual like this when reading a paper from the 2010 conference of the Center for Studies of New Religions. In “Vampires and Alternative Religions,” co-authored by J. Gordon Melton and […]

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Sabine Baring-Gould: Hymns and Werewolves

January 4th, 2012 | Posted in Christianity, folklore, werewolf

I sometimes think I am a strange phenomenon. I work in the area of theology and cultural studies on the one hand, and yet also have this interest in the fantastic and bizarre in popular culture, including horror, science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal. From time to time, however, I discover that there have been, […]

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Black Death Podcast: Peg Aloi, Medieval Horror, and Religious Dialogue

June 13th, 2011 | Posted in Christianity, horror, occult, Paganism, podcast, Wicca, Witchcraft

  TheoFantastique Podcast 2.2 for 2011 is now available. In this edition my special guest is Peg Aloi, a religion scholar and film critic and who maintains her own blog at The Witching Hour, who engages me about the film Black Death directed by Christopher Smith. In this interview and dialogue, Peg and I discuss […]

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Avril Hannah-Jones on Faith and Fantasy: Behind the Scenes in the Church of Latter-Day Geeks

May 1st, 2011 | Posted in Christianity, fantasy, geek cultures, science fiction, The Inklings

In a recent post I commented on an Australian news item that went global, along with a certain level of controversy, as Pastor Avril Hannah-Jones combined her love for science fiction and fantasy with a service in her local church. Now that the controversy has died down, and her busy Easter service is behind her, […]

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Church of the Latter-Day Geek Stirs Controversy Down Under

April 5th, 2011 | Posted in Christianity, fantasy, science fiction

I recently came across an interesting couple of news items related to a church in Australia that has scheduled a fantasy and science fiction service. The idea is the brainchild of the Uniting Church’s pastor, Avril Hannah-Jones, who is a fan of the fantastic in popular culture. From the Unsettled Christianity website: What started as […]

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Arts & Faith: Top 25 Horror Films

February 15th, 2011 | Posted in Christianity, horror, religion

Arts & Faith has published their list of the top 25 horror films. The top 10 include: 1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 2. Vampyr 3. The Exorcist 4. Nosferatu 5. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1922) 6. Let Me In (2010)/Let the Right One In (2008) 7. Psycho 8. Night of the Living Dead […]

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