In this special "after hours" episode, I dive deep with my friend Chase Willett into the surprising abundance of religious and spiritual themes running through the New York Times' list of the 100 greatest films of the 21st century. We explore how our relationship with spiritually-charged cinema has transformed over the years—from Chase's evangelical need to connect every movie back to Paul's letters, to my own journey of embracing ambiguity and transcendent moments that don't require tidy theological conclusions.

I share one of the most formative spiritual experiences of my life, involving a chance encounter in Stockholm and Richard Linklater's Boyhood, that reshaped how I understand human dignity and God's perspective.

We also discuss spiritual technologies, the nature of transcendent experiences, and begin examining the first category of our 23-film analysis: "Mythic, Fairy Tale and Fantasy Spiritual Allegories," setting up what promises to be a rich exploration of how cinema grapples with questions of meaning and faith.

In the patron-only second half, we dive deeper into The Lord of the Rings and other films in this category, commit to watching The Tree of Life and Grizzly Man before our next conversation, and hint at how our discussion may inevitably touch on contemporary geopolitical events.

NY Times | 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century

Episode #307 | Disability, the Beatitudes & “Changing the World”

Religious/spiritual movies from the NYT list in no particular order:

Interstellar

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship

Past Lives

The Tree of Life

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Spotlight

The Master

Lady Bird

A Serious Man

A Prophet

Arrival

Spirited Away

No Country for Old Men

Children of Men

There Will Be Blood

Melancholia

Pan’s Labyrinth

Mulholland Drive

Mad Max: Fury Road

Grizzly Man

Yi Yi

Her

Zone of Interest

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