WT03.06 Breaking the Waves (1996)

Watching Theology June 17th, 2009

God's Silence Series: no. 4. When Bess married Jan, it united an outsider and an insider, an oilworker and a member of a strict religious community. Their marriage was a happy one: sensual, fun, passionate. All that ended when Jan returned to his oil platform and Bess was left alone. She resumed prayers to a talkative God, a being who once was her only confidant. When Bess asked God to bring Jan back home to her, she took a significant step to a time of trial and atonement, losing her digni … (Read More)

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WT03.05 Mean Streets (1973)

Watching Theology June 6th, 2009

God's Silence Series: no. 3. [NOTE: Explicit Content] Sometimes God is silent. Sometimes he's shut out of the conversation. In Martin Scorsese's breakthrough film Mean Streets, Charlie is trying to find his own way to stay out of Hell. He is the saint of Little Italy, just not the kind of saint anyone would canonize. Although God offers him absolution, Charlie prefers real atonement. He is the savior of the dregs, but his first priority is to save himself without losing anything. … (Read More)

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WT03.04 Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Watching Theology May 7th, 2009

God's Silence Series: no. 2. In part two of the "God's Silence" series, Watching Theology considers the profound link between ethics and God's existence. If God exists, He must care, and if God cares, He must punish. So if Martin Landau were to, say, kill Anjelica Huston, you might expect a lightning bolt or two, right? Not according to Woody Allen's masterpiece of tragedy, comedy, existentialism, and literary binaries. Join this episode for a look at Allen's C … (Read More)

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WT03.03 Winter Light (1962)

Watching Theology April 19th, 2009

God's Silence Series: no. 1. Ingmar Bergman's films have become synonymous with existential terror. In 1962's Winter Light, Bergman explores what could be a typical Sunday for a struggling pastor, except that this pastor may not believe in God. Winter Light is the first episode in a 5 part series on religious doubt, specifically on how "God's Silence" is explored in movies.

(Note: this episode references Arthur Gibson's book Silence of God.) Future episodes in … (Read More)

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Take This Bread - Sara Miles on SBE

Erik Guzman July 25th, 2008

Sara Miles was a passionate atheist, but early one morning curiosity got the best of her and she walked into the open doors of St. Gregory's Episcopal Church in San Francisco. She was offered a piece of bread and some wine, she took it and walked out of the church a Christian.

Use one of the options below to hear Sara and Steve talk about her radical conversion and what happened next.

Sara is a journalist who has written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Out, The Progressi … (Read More)

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