I’m jumping into a new podcast — it’s called Cinematic Theology.  It’s something in addition to, not in place of, the Naked Bible Podcast.

A friend of mine in Bellingham, WA —  Rich Baker, who’s my co-host — decided it would be fun to start a small group that discussed the theological messaging of science fiction movies. We’re going to meet once a month (it’s open to the public, but we’ll no doubt start with people from church or work). We just had the first meeting. Everyone watched Star Wars (at least the original episode 4) and then we met to talk about it. I posted a few short readings related to the film and encouraged people to read those, too. When we met, I recorded the discussion. I just posted that audio file on the site.  You’ll see it on the landing page, but it also lives here (with some notes and one picture).

Here’s the official “About” explaining what we’re doing:

Cinematic Theology discusses the theological and religious worldview messaging articulated by word and image in science fiction motion pictures and television series — the “scientific mythologies” of a modern, technological culture.

The episodes derive from recorded meetings of a group of Christian science fiction enthusiasts in Bellingham, WA. There will normally be one meeting/episode each month.  Discussions take place on the scheduled date and recorded. The audio is subsequently posted in podcast form on the site.

Before each meeting, the movie or television episode that will be discussed is posted. Reading material is occasionally included for discussion. Meeting times and topic information can be found on the “Next Episode” page, linked in the upper right-hand corner of the podcast homepage.

Let me be clear about this idea: it’s an experiment. Don’t expect the audio quality that you get with the Naked Bible podcast if you subscribe via RSS or iTunes. Why? Because I’m doing it. I don’t have an experience person like Trey on this one. I don’t really know much of what I’m doing. It just seemed like a fun idea and something I should do.

So check out the site. Our next meeting time isn’t posted yet. It’ll likely be in early June. We’ll be talking about the Avengers and Jack Kirby’s influence/theological messaging.