It's All Connected

In this episode Adam talks about the opening scene of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 4, The Whole World Is Watching. This scene is a powerful illustration of salvation as liberation from the powers that enslave us!

In the episode I discuss this excellent book from Josh McNall, The Mosaic of Atonement. Check it out here.

Adam talks about the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as, among other things, a study in the power of symbols (similar to Batman Begins in that way) and how that plays into Christian theology by way of the sacraments. 

On this episode Adam talks about the value of side characters in superhero stories, how they often offer greater perspective on a story than the more unrelatable superheroes, and how this models the right way to relate to biblical narratives and especially royal psalms. 

In this episode, Adam talks about the philosophical debate between Vision and White Vision in the WandaVision finale, connecting that to discussions about what constitutes the identity between our present selves and resurrected selves. 

Adam talks about that incredible line in WandaVision episode 8, "What is grief if not love persevering?", drawing in themes from Iron Man, Plato, and the gospel. 

Adam talks about the shocking difference between Thor as we find him when Rocket and Hulk catch up with him in New Asgard in Avengers: Endgame, where he is lazy, overweight, and depressed, and how we had seen him in all the Thor and Avengers movies before that. He discusses how this shocking difference reflects something of the shocking things the Bible has to say about what humanity is.

This week Adam talks about Thor's journey of self-discovery, especially between Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, and how that relates to how Christian theology might set us on a peculiar kind of path toward understanding our identity. 

Adam discusses how WandaVision adds to our current cultural conversations about false narratives, the American dream, and justice. He gets into how our construction of a pleasant present by repressing horrific memories is countered by the Christian disciplines of scripture reading and confession. And beyond talking about how WandaVision ties into all that, he also throws in the Matrix, the Truman Show, Loki, the MCU Spider-Man movies, and the excellent Christopher Nolan feature debut, Memento!

In this episode, Adam uses Doctor Strange, as well as other fantasy type movies/stories like Harry Potter, the Hobbit, Star Wars, a few other MCU movies, to explain why the doctrine of the Trinity matters for Christian life and faith. 

Adam introduces himself and the show, talking about how watching and discussing things like the Marvel Cinematic Universe help us become better readers of scripture.