Masters of Divinity

This week, JP, Father Chuck and Matt have a good ol' fashion RIFF-SESH. If you're not familiar, a riff-sesh is when the gang doesn't have a specific topic in mind but would rather share what's been digging in their craws and speak candidly and off-the-cuff. This week JP is feeling a little down about not being able to find the motivation to follow through on creative projects, something a lot of creatives struggle with, right? Listen in to see how the Masters of Divinity endeavor to follow through on artistic pursuits!

We did it! 200 episodes, baby! 

In this episode, we celebrate our 200th episode by covering Peter Jackson's latest opus, the hit Disney+ documentary THE BEATLES: GET BACK. Jackson's documentary is an exhaustive, fly-on-the-wall look at The Beatles during the recording of their album LET IT BE. As some of you know, all three of us here are big Beatles fans, and the documentary is not just an ode to their latest process, but also lays bare the bands experiences during the stressful recording session, which brings to light all kinds of new discoveries that challenges many notions that fans have had for decades. Join us as we explore these notions, and celebrate THE BEATLES and their creative process in our 200th episode extravaganza. Also, Matt's here! Rejoice!

And we're BACK, BABY!

After a lengthy hiatus, Father Chuck and JP have returned to talk about translating and interpreting the Bible. They not only go into the history of translating scripture, but also talk about their own experiences and frustrations with translations, as well as with people who are die-hard devoted to one translation over the other. Father Chuck also gives his advice on how to find the right translation for you, if you're curious about that kind of thing. LISTEN UNTIL THE END!!! We've got somethin' for ya!

This week, with an increasing interest in exploring the more fantastical and mystical side of the Christian faith, Father Chuck and JP talk about angels. They go over the hierarchy of angels, dispel some myths about their depiction (thanks in large part to Renaissance art), and develop a new class in the heirarchy: The Shoulderheim. What exactly is the Shoulderheim? You'll have to listen to find out!

Well, it's been a minute, hasn't it? Fear not, because we're back, and unlike most media outlets, JP and Father Chuck have some thoughts on DUNE! Dune is the latest iteration of the Frank Herbert sci-fi classic, directed by Denis Villeneuve. It's taken a LONG time, but we think that we finally have an adaptation of the novel that's worthy of praise! Even though JP really likes Lynch's Dune. Anyway, sorry for the little unannounced break, we hope you enjoy our in-depth discussion of DUNE!

So for the last couple of months we've talked about every Jaws movie, tackled Christian Hedonism, recounted our favorite Seinfeld episodes about religion, defeated Capitalism, and brought you one spooky-ass playlist for your Halloween parties. So, we're a little pooped, and we thought this week we'd take 'er easy and have ourselves a good ol' fashion riff-sesh. You remember these, right? No planned topic, just us speaking our minds on whatever we feel like. One thing we focus on a lot in this particular riff-sesh is the fascination with the 60s, a thing that we are very annoyed with. So hit play, and let it riff. 

Whether you've got a Halloween party around the corner to host/attend, or you're just looking for some All Hallow's Eve vibes, you're gonna need some spooky tunes. So this week, Father Chuck and JP have curated their own playlists filled with all kinds of Halloween music goodness. Whether you're looking for a vibe like Planet Claire by the B-52s, or something more on the nose like Wolf Like Me by TV On the Radio, or classics like Thriller, you've come to the right place!

This week, JP and Father Chuck go in on that mode of production based on private ownership of the means of production: CAPITALISM. We give our thoughts, our critiques, our experiences, and also take the time to highlight the current struggle over wages in Hollywood. We don't normally get political on this podcast, mainly because we're not super interested in being one of those divisive, hot-topic, firebrand shows that serve just to outrage our audience and drive them to yell at family members on Thanksgiving. Personally, this might be one of the more gentler critiques of Capitalism you'll find on the web. We hope you'll listen, we hope you'll like, we hope you'll think long and hard about the ideas that we present, and join us in pondering whether or not Capitalism is absolutely necessary for a society to thrive (spoiler: it isn't, it's evil, it sucks).

JP and Father Chuck are massive, devoted fans of the hit sitcom Seinfeld. And if you haven't heard the news, that joint's on Netflix as we speak. So we went ahead and watched some episodes centered on religion, yadda yadda yadda, you got this episode to listen to. Enjoy!

So we all know that Father Chuck's the Sci-Fi Guy and JP is the Horror Guy. But what happens the two are combined for Halloween? You get an in-depth look at the Atomic Age Sci-Fi & Horror of the 1950s, baby! While people are planning their lists of horror movies to watch during October, people tend to lean toward the gothic, the spooky, and the straight-up uncanny. But most people seem to forget that there's a place in the Halloween Canon of Movies for films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, War of the Worlds, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and so much more. Listen to JP and Father Chuck talk about some of their favorites, the historical context and meaning behind these films, and they even wander into "comeuppance horror" that was popularized by EC Comic titles like Tales From the Crypt, which was running concurrently with the Atomic Age. So let the Masters of Divinity guide you through some must-watch movies you'll want to add to your Halloween movie marathon this year.