Beast and Bible

The Problem of Pain: Is God a Moral Monster? Part 1 (with John Peckham)

The problem of pain is the horror that haunts people of faith most. The presence of suffering often scares people away from a picture of a loving all-powerful God. How can we hang on to religious hope living in a reality with monstrous miseries? Dr. John Peckham, research professor of Christian theology and philosophy at Andrews University, and author of Theodicy of Love and Why We Pray, joins Dr. Pierce to examine the never-ending nightmare of why bad things happen to good people.
Show Notes
Website | John Peckham - https://johncpeckham.com 

Monster Book of Monsters Part 2 (with Brandon Grafius)

We can't ignore frightening pictures of God or scary stories in sacred texts. How should we approach works that push against our worldviews in ways that make us nervous? Seth and Brandon continue the conversation around Esther Hamori's book God's Monsters and gives pracyical advice for how to approach texts of terror.
Show Notes
Article | "But the Snake Told the Truth!" | AdventistToday - https://atoday.org/but-the-snake-told-the-truth/
Brandon Grafius | https://sojo.net/biography/brandon-grafius
Book | Reviewed in this series | God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible by Esther J. Hamori - https://a.co/d/818uyKN
Book | Reading the Bible with Horror by Brandon Grafius - https://a.co/d/90CLkH4

Monster Book of Monsters Part 1 (with Brandon Grafius)

The Bible is a book of monsters - and God is the biggest one of them all...
At least, that's the contention of a popular new book entitled "God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible." To help unpack this challenging text, Dr. Brandon Grafius, associate professor of Hebrew Bible at Ecumenical Seminary, and horror and theology expert, joins Seth on the podcast. The issues challenge, and possibly horrify, people of faith...
Show Notes
Brandon Grafius | https://sojo.net/biography/brandon-grafius
Book | Reviewed in this series | God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible by Esther J. Hamori - https://a.co/d/818uyKN
Book | Reading the Bible with Horror by Brandon Grafius - https://a.co/d/90CLkH4

The Dark Side of Disney 4: Light in the Shadows (with Terry Lindvall)

Making merry with the macabre is a Disney hallmark. It may seem inapproriate to some to make silly that which is scary. However, as we conclude our interview with Dr. Lindvall, we see there is a reason to deal with death in a way the de-fangs it. This episode reaffirms some forgotten concepts from the Christian faith when dealing with the "enemy" of death.
Show Notes
CW Lewis Institute | Terry Lindvall
Book | Disney Gothic Shadows

The Dark Side of Disney 3: Haunted Mouse (with Terry Lindvall)

Was Walt Disney a Christian? If so, how does that help explain the dark elements in Disney's media? Dr. Terry Lindvall, C.S. Lewis Chair of Communication at Virginia Wesleyan, draws on his background in Tolkien, Lewis, and communication to set the stage for how we might engage Disney's Dark side.
Show Notes
CW Lewis Institute | Terry Lindvall
Book | Disney Gothic Shadows

The Dark Side of Disney 2: Welcoming Foolish Mortals (with Jeffrey Weinstock)

Are Disney Parks haunted by unseen forces? Well, sort of. In this second episode of Dark Disney, Seth and Jeffrey explore the iconic Haunted Mansion, what actually lurks in the shadows of Disney's haunted atraction, and what it can teach us about life and faith this side of the grave.
Show Notes
Central Michigan University | Jeffrey Weinstock   - https://www.cmich.edu/people/JEFFREY-A-WEINSTOCK   
Book | Disney Gothic: Dark Shadows in the House of Mouse by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock - https://a.co/d/3t7no3g 
 

The Dark Side of Disney 1: Gothic Behind the Goofy (with Jeffrey Weinstock)

Is Disney in league with the Devil? That's an accusation that is heard in some Evangelical corners. While it can't be denied that Disney has some dark content, is it in the service of Satan or something else? In this first of four episodes exploring Dark Disney, Dr. Pierce interveiwes, Dr. Jeffrey Weinstock, one of the editors of a new book entitled Disney Gothic: Shadows in the House of Mouse. Dr. Weinstock is a professor of English language and literature at Central Michigan Univeristy, associate editor for horror for the Los Angeles Review of Books, and and a specialist in the gothic.
Show Notes
Central Michigan University | Jeffrey Weinstock   - https://www.cmich.edu/people/JEFFREY-A-WEINSTOCK   
Book | Disney Gothic: Dark Shadows in the House of Mouse by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock - https://a.co/d/3t7no3g 

It's Showtime! Beetlejuice, the Bible, and Things that Go Bump in the Night (with Kutter Callaway) - Part 2

Are you strange and unusual? That seems to be the case not only for the heroine of Beetlejuice but for anyone, especially a Christian, who has an interest in the darker things of life and faith. This episode continues the discussion of horor and faith with Kutter Callaway, taking a special look at the film Beetlejuice in light of the upcoming sequel. What, if anything, is there for religiously minded people to learn from bizarre horror-comedies such as this?
 
Listen to Kutter Callaway's podcast from Christianity today, Be Afraid!
https://www.kuttercallaway.com