The average American spends 5 hours a day watching TV, and the nation spends $30 billion on movies each year!
Pastor and culture writer Mike Cosper reflects on what we’re seeing and what these stories say about our lives. How do the themes of the Bible keep finding their way into the world of film and television? It’s a discussion of Mike’s new book The Stories We Tell: How TV And Movies Long for And Echo the Truth.
In our hearts we continue to ask deep questions that only the Bible has the answers to, and we see those questions continually asked in our media. We see so many Biblical themes like creation, a fall, redemption & completion in our culture’s stories.
We long for a perfect world, and that longing is evident in our hearts & in the stories we tell. The extraordinary popularity of the superhero genre shows a yearning for a savior. Yet we know we only need one man to fill that role, and He’s already done so.
How are we supposed to tell stories about the darkness in our world? A great model is in the Bible itself. There is great pain and violence detailed, but redemption is everywhere too.
“We find ourselves as characters in the big story of God’s redemptive power.”
How can we tell good & true stories that also depict the fallen nature of mankind? To walk this line need to be in touch with God’s Word & the church. There’s a contrast in the way Christian story tellers have tackled this conundrum. In the writings of someone like C.S. Lewis you see a more direct presentation of the Gospel whereas his friend J.R.R. Tolkien is more subtle. Yet both men took their faith very seriously.
We touch on the science fiction genre & how it explores concepts dear to our faith.
