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The eyes of the robot are upon you. In this extremely prescient episode of America's greatest television show WALKER, TEXAS RANGER, a supercomputer named Art keeps a watchful eye on his boy master, a brainchild named Chad who has powerful psychokinetic abilities. Portrayed by 7TH HEAVEN's David Gallagher, Chad is being held captive by the evil science lab Futures R&D, who force him to do grueling psychokinesis displays until his nose starts bleeding. To rescue Chad from his STEM career are our heroes, Walker (Chuck Norris) and his faithful sidekick Trivette (Clarence Gilyard). Walker and Trivette chat with the boy on an online chess website, eventually triangulating his location to Futures, and in the process locate Chad's genius mother, who built Art to protect the child she was told was dead. The amazing thing to know about the comedy of WALKER, TEXAS RANGER is that Walker and Trivette do not bat an eye whatsoever about this young boy using telekinesis to steal bacon from the breakfast table. The style guide of the show seems to state that Walker and Trivette should never once seem to be losing in combat, nor should they ever be intimidated by paranormal forces. These silly creative rules lead a lot of people to believe that WALKER is a substanceless show. While it was definitely slop in its day, revisiting episodes in big 2026 is a revelatory experience, because every episode is packed with interesting sets and a fully bespoke soundtrack. The care and love that went into chud chungus TV in the 90s puts even our prestige efforts of today to shame. BRAINCHILD is one of the best episodes of a genius television show, predicting the rise of AI agents and wowing us with paranormal plots while throwing in some good old fashioned Christian prayer. WALKER, TEXAS RANGER does an amazing job of keeping us surprised, even though its titular character doesn't even know what the word surprise means. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

The capstone of our 7TH HEAVEN September series shows the Camdens, in a bizarre later-series arrangement, taking on powerful social issues. This is "Got MLK?" the irreverently named racial reckoning episode in season ten, where Martin (an "accessory Camden" who used to live with the pastor's family) becomes the victim of a hate crime despite being a white man. The crime? A slur painted on his car, probably by his baseball team cohort Brad, but we don't know for sure. It all starts in class with a report on Martin Luther King. Alex (a black student) wants to do one, but his teacher Mrs. Porter rudely asks him to wait for the next MLK Day. She relents when Martin makes a comment that baseball is more important than MLK, proving the importance of additional focus on black history. Unfortunately, students have to redo their reports, causing resentment that may have led to the "racial remarks" painted on Martin's car. What follows is an insane dialogue tree of arguments and consequences, where no character handles the potential helter-skelter situation gracefully. In typical 7TH HEAVEN fashion, the writers seem to be asking -- how does this impact white people? But this is a special episode for us -- we get an inside scoop into the filming of "Got MLK?" via our friend Jarred Endres, who "starred" in it as "Student #8." Jarred, of popular re-edit Instagram account and YouTube channel Grimy Ghost, was a teen actor at the time and nailed his audition to read a report on Thurgood Marshall to end the episode. Finally, with the inside scoop on the Camden hijinks once and for all, we can rest on our laurels and take the lessons we learned from the Camdens (mainly Protestant guilt and anxiety) into our next life -- as soon as we can escape samsara. Grimy Ghost! on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegrimyghost/ Grimy Ghost! on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFhsSc8ZYXfFkj5URtG-WaQ View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

The Camden family of 7TH HEAVEN are preoccupied with a lot of things. Their spiritual and social anxieties generate most of the show's drama, and the interesting ways they trigger each other in various combinations creates the intrigue that keeps us coming back week after week. SIN AND EXPIATION, a gripping two parter with character arcs for almost everyone in the family, is 7TH HEAVEN at its best: a pressure cooker of Protestant anxiety. Youngest son Simon begins the episodes completely in the dog house because he's caught extending the middle finger at school in an effort to be "one of the guys". His older brother Matt is feeling guilty about wanting to move out of the family home at age 18 despite that being the most normal feeling a legally adult teenager could ever feel. Lucy is the star of her high school's fascist Student Court. Ruthie is alienating everyone with her armpit farting (called "underarm honking" in this Christian household.) Mary (Jessica Biel) has it the worst -- after her basketball team is suspended for the season for bad grades, they vandalize the gym, causing Mary to be arrested and almost ruin her life forever (a story arc 7TH HEAVEN fans consider "the beginning of the end" for her character.) Lastly: patriarch Eric is recovering from a heart attack and matriarch Annie is just plain annoying and bipolar as usual. It's no wonder that the second part of this two episode storyline features Simon and Ruthie visiting various churches of all different major world religions trying to alleviate the guilt they feel inside. This family seriously needs a break from Protestantism. Camdens: have you ever heard about a silent Buddhist meditation retreat? It seems like you guys could really use the peace and quiet, and some space from each other. However, if they ever got that, 7TH HEAVEN would never be the same. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

The Y2K era was a golden age for Christian pop culture in the United States, especially on television. On our podcast, we've enjoyed the several weeks we get to review TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL episodes, a TV series so quietly bizarre that it basically invented its own spinoff of Christianity. But that wasn't the only long-running show exploring religious themes for mainstream, primetime audiences: enter 7TH HEAVEN, a show exploring the day-to-day drama of a Pastor's family. Airing weekly on The CW, eventually becoming one of the network's first majorly successful shows, the plot follows the Camden family -- Rev. Eric Camden, his wife Annie, and their five children; Matt, Mary (Jessica Biel), Lucy, Simon, and Ruthie. The family grows when twins Sam and David are born in season 3; in season 6, the family takes in Mary's ex-boyfriend Robbie as a kind of adoptive son. In s6e9 "Lost," Robbie becomes involved in solving a kidnapping plot by uncovering evidence of his girlfriend's brother's disappearance. Also, eldest daughters Mary and Lucy ask their parents to play matchmaker by setting them up with boyfriends. Jealous of this tactic, Matt and Simon also employ family-friendly tactics to get girlfriends. 7TH HEAVEN is fixated on relationships, and the Camden family is unusually open about the dating lives of their devoutly Christian, virginal teens. It's supposed to be a celebration of open, honest family communication, but the parents' encyclopedic knowledge of who all their kids have kissed feels more invasive than wholesome. It's also insane just how many partners the Camden kids have -- each Camden teen has intrigue with multiple potential or ex-partners in this one episode alone. Basically, the Camdens are the sluttiest virgins of all time, and the borderline incestuous dynamic of their sexual openness becomes a theme throughout the entire series. We plan to spend all of September with the Camdens, and we really hope some of their "game" rubs off on us. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

Ray Comfort is just like us! Why? Because he is also doomscrolling and completely at the mercy of his algorithm. You can tell what Comfort has been watching online because it becomes the inspiration for his daily sermons, posted on the Living Waters website and YouTube channel. Right now, Ray Comfort is clearly being haunted by none other than Rowan Atkinson and his extremely famous comedy alter ego, Mr. Bean. The first Comfort video we noticed about Mr. Bean, featuring the charming clickbait title "After Mr. Bean Horribly Mocks God, This Immediately Happened," takes aim at an Atkinson stand-up special in which he takes some frankly unoriginal potshots at Christianity in general. But it must have stirred something deep within Comfort, who only a few weeks later uploaded a new one called "Mr. Bean's AMAZING Skit on Hell. He Got so Much Right." This tactic of feigning support for an enemy's message is typical of Comfort's usual rhetoric; in this case, Comfort ironically praises Atkinson's accuracy in depicting the biblical portrayal of hell, feeling the facts are bleak enough that Christians can use Atkinson's skit as a warning. Comfort also criticizes comedians, asking why they mock Jesus yet stay silent on the Muslim prophet Mohammad. It's a bizarre callout: not only were several employees of French humor magazine Charlie Hebdo famously murdered for making inappropriate jokes about Islam, there are also several high-profile shows that have taken aim at Islam, such as South Park. Ray shows that his media awareness is laser focused on his own biases. But he's also focused on something else: in a stunning lore drop, Ray Comfort reveals that he is deeply fixated on the historical tragedy of the Titanic. In his words, there is an entire room in his "mind palace" devoted to the Titanic, the enormity of which "clouds even his sunny days." It says a lot that Comfort, who takes pains to remind us that hell will be "eternal conscious torment," is also fascinated by the doomed expedition of the Titanic. His fascination with Mr. Bean will surely die down soon, but for the Titanic, Ray Comfort's heart will go on. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

This movie about a famous, successful rapper who takes a career risk by giving his life to Christ feels like it was written by someone who has never listened to a rap song before. That writer is Jason Campbell, one of the most prolific auteurs currently active in the Christian movie scene. Campbell has produced 88 films since 2013, and per iMDB has 29 upcoming. When you make that many films, the adage "write what you know" can't apply anymore, because you have too many ideas and need to do something new. Maybe that's why Campbell decided to take on the world of hip-hop despite knowing little about it, even basic terms. In the first scene of DROP THE BEAT, rapper Ace Jay is in the studio laying down some conscious rap when his producer says "You need to hit the beat harder," and the rapper replies "What beat? I hit all of them!" This is not how any rapper has ever thought about music, and it's a fundamental misunderstanding of music itself. But Campbell persists, writing a script about Ace Jay's disillusionment with the industry that made him rich. Ace goes back to his roots, touring the performing arts school whose scholarship was his ticket out of "the hood" and into the big time. Meanwhile, his record label schemes against him, planting a rumor that his delayed album stems from drug trouble. The problem with DROP THE BEAT is there's no story or atmosphere in the script or design that supports the plot. We meet Ace Jay at the start of the film saying he's disillusioned, but why? We see nothing of his former life that gives motivation for a redemption arc. Also, Ace simply has no swag; he looks put together, but not like the most famous rapper in the world should look. Fortunately, frequent Campbell collaborator Dean Cain shows up to inject some life into the film, stealing the show for one scene. Per an unsourced iMDB trivia item, Cain was paid $15,000 for his tiny role. This begs the question: how much money is DROP THE BEAT actually making, and did it turn a profit? It's a mystery, but one thing is for sure: Jason Campbell is an absolute machine of Christian movie making, it's just too bad the films themselves feel cold and mechanical. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

Gramps is finally clapping back at the haters and losers! Donald James Parker breaks the fourth wall in his newest feature BEAUTY AND THE ATHEIST. It's a shocking turn for a Christian film auteur, the first Christian film we've ever made fun of on our podcast, with a plot about a Christian film being made fun of on a podcast. Does your head hurt yet? It gets even more meta than that: BEAUTY AND THE ATHEIST is a film about a real event in Donald's life, when he felt (to use his words) an "inaudible message" that compelled him to reach out to atheist activist Forrest Valkai to debate him about the idea of evolution. Forrest accepted Donald's invite and hosted Donald on YouTube to the tune of 500k views. In Donald's own estimation, the debate didn't go very well for him, but it did yield creative inspiration. BEAUTY AND THE ATHEIST is the story of a Christian filmmaker (played by Donald himself) who debates an atheist podcaster, whose hatred of God is finally softened by the love of a Christian woman. Donald James Parker's character is called Douglas Connors, an obvious 1:1 fictional version of himself. In BEAUTY AND THE ATHEIST, the titular "beauty" is Douglas's own daughter Jeweli Connors (yes, spelled like that). She's a hardworking nurse and outspoken Christian who finds solace in a local coffee shop called Common Grounds. It is there she meets the atheist: podcaster Trey Crawford, who loves evolution so much he wears a Charles Darwin shirt every single day. The unlikely pair develop a verbal rapport that turns into weekly discussions about spirituality vs. secularism during workouts at the local gym. But their convivial relationship is turned upside down when Jeweli discovers Trey's podcast is one of the many "chuckleheads" who mock her own father's cinematic evangelism. Fortunately, God has a way, and the blossoming relationship in BEAUTY AND THE ATHEIST shows that love is possible on the battlefield. It's fascinating to see Donald James Parker make art in conversation with the ecosystem that gets likes and views at his expense; we're very curious to see where this conversational thread takes Mr. Parker in the near future. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

Welcome to a new Boys' Bible Study side project called "The DharMann Bums," which is what we're renaming the show whenever we cover an episode of Dhar Mann, the inspirational YouTube filmmaker who racks up hundreds of millions of views making dramaslop with a questionable moral compass. We've covered Dhar Mann before, enjoying his decadent world where archetypes like "nice guys" and gold diggers duke it out, usually over money, and the evil party gets punished for their hubris. Since it's time for our annual Christmas in July episode, we decided to delve into two Christmas-themed Dhar Mann videos: "Foster Mom Won't Let Kids Have Christmas Presents" and "Adopted Kid Finds Out Mall Santa Is His Dad." Notice both plots center on orphans; the orphan is a common Dhar Mann archetype, probably popular because his audience of primarily children empathizes with downtrodden kids stuck between adults who don't have their best interests at heart. Another common trope is the evil foster parent, who only wants kids for the money they bring in through abuse of government handouts. In "Foster Mom," an evil Russian-coded foster mom makes her kids ask for Amazon gift cards for Christmas and blocks adoptions, since losing kids means losing income for her orphanage. In "Mall Santa," an evil foster mom hides her adopted son from his real dad, a humble mall Santa, again because he's her source of passive income. In both videos, Dhar Mann exists as an aspirational God-like figure representing both God and Santa Claus. Only by contacting Dhar Mann, and through the goodness of his own heart, are these orphans relieved of their evil caretakers. By frequently critiquing misuse of government resources while establishing himself as the source of grace and charity, Dhar Mann seems to imply a kind of YouTuber autocracy where the dignity to live comes from one Mann alone. This bizarre quasi-religious undertone, where there is no God but Dhar Mann, makes him fascinating for our podcast about religious megalomania. As long as Dhar Mann keeps making reactionary anti-human art, The DharMann Bums will be here to document it. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month! $5 pledge gets you bonus episodes and $20 enters you in our monthly handmade DVD mailing program "Bootleg Bible Study"!   http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy While cattle were loading into IMAX theaters all over the country to catch THE ODYSSEY, intellectuals and patriots alike found themselves seated for a different kind of hero's journey. YOUNG WASHINGTON is the story of American mythology, and its founder George Washington, when he was but a twink and the empire he was about to preside over was but a twinkle in King George's eye. Production company Angel Studios -- the A24 of conservative propaganda -- pumped this one out as a July 4 special, and the film features Gollum actor and frequent Angel Studios collaborator Andy Serkis. Serkis recently helmed an animated version of ANIMAL FARM, with a star-studded cast, produced by Angel Studios. YOUNG WASHINGTON is not without its celebrities; Kelsey Grammer cameos, and Mary-Louise Parker (WEEDS) phones in a terrible performance as Washington's mother, Mary. The film chooses to depict a section of Washington's life entirely from when he was a subject under British rule -- a choice that proves to be one of the film's biggest weaknesses. We go to the movies on July 4 to ponder the majesty of America, not hear a bunch of guys with confusingly disparate accents say "God Save the King" over and over again. Not one action taken in the film is pro-America, so who cares? Military history buffs may appreciate the attention to detail that comes with faithfully depicting more obscure pre-Revolutionary War events, but YOUNG WASHINGTON would have fared better as a meme movie with less accuracy. We want the cherry tree. We want the wooden teeth. We want to cross the Delaware. We got none of that. Angel Studios needs to think hard about what it means to produce actually good propaganda and put it into action, quick -- or else they choose to alienate their most annoying and least loyal fans (us). View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

This strange genre combination of "end times film," "pro-abstinence film," and "time travel film" will give you whiplash. 2080 is a 40 minute long film by Joshua Wright, a Christian social media influencer successful online for his Instagram Reels content, now breaking into a filmmaking form that rewards a slightly longer attention span. The title 2080 hints at a not so far off future, but the film begins in the present day with the story of high school athlete Jacob. Having been accepted into many colleges due to his football prowess, he seems like a man with a bright future ahead of him. Unfortunately, he had one problem: the sin of lust with his girlfriend Lida, who he touches "in a way that only a married woman should be touched." God jump scares Jacob one night after falling asleep – when Jacob wakes up, he is in dystopian 2080, where flying cars fill the skies and a deadly pandemic called Chronovirus has killed 25% of the world's population. (Sound familiar?) Even worse, the Chronovirus vaccine is mandatory and requires a microchip implant, similar to pop culture depictions of the "Mark of the Beast" from Revelation. How will Jacob escape this dark future and return back to the comfort of 2025, where everything is great? And does the girl he meets in the future, Ari, who bears a striking family resemblance to him, hold the key? 2080 is laudable because it combines common Christian movie tropes in a genuinely unexpected way that surprised us even after years of dedication to watching this genre. However, the combo really could have used some editing, and the protagonist Jacob could have used some humility that would have made his path to salvation more relatable. It's also very unclear what the correlation is between the COVID parallels and Christianity in this movie. Is the vaccine a sin, or is that just world building? These hints at hard theological topics with no resolution make 2080 a messy and ultimately unsatisfying watch. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month! $5 pledge gets you bonus episodes and $20 enters you in our monthly handmade DVD mailing program "Bootleg Bible Study"!   http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy The 2000s marked a huge shift in the methods available to DIY outsider filmmakers. Internet connectivity became a necessity for the average person instead of just a hobbyist pursuit, and powerful consumer softwares offered new ways of making stories come to life and be distributed directly to a global audience. Case in point: CHRISTIAN PRINCESS AND THE MUSLIM PAUPER, a religious-themed webseries by animator AZAD669, created using mods of The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 allowing for custom animations, and edited using Sony Vegas software. Episode 2 of this webseries has accrued over 600,000 views since it was first uploaded, a testament to the democratization of film distribution typical to the era. Not much is known about AZAD669 -- their website no longer exists online -- but we speculate they are ethnically Pakistani, in part because the series contains Urdu subtitles, which is the national language of Pakistan. Also, the series uses some Pakistani music. Indeed, CHRISTIAN PRINCESS AND THE MUSLIM PAUPER is a musical -- each episode contains an extended animation sequence where characters sing and dance to pop songs, including Disney and Barbie ballads. There is one original song, "Inshallah," the main title of the webseries, which is actually just a singer repeating the word "Inshallah" (Arabic for "If God Wills") over Aerith's Theme from FINAL FANTASY VII. This blending of IP from popular works is typical of 2000s fan animations, showing DIY filmmakers using artistic ingredients from their favorite franchises to add to the atmosphere of their own story. In this case, that story is of rival fictitious Christian and Muslim nations of Jameland and Abustan. Princess Rosa of Jameland yearns for freedom from her royal duties, the answer to which could be switching places with Mariah, a humble Muslim girl who looks so similar to Rosa she could be her identical twin. Can a mischievous swap between the two young ladies prevent a Holy War brewing between the two lands, instigated by an evil atheist ironically named Stephen the Trustworthy? CHRISTIAN PRINCESS AND THE MUSLIM PAUPER is as weird and stilted as you would expect of an enthusiastic amateur animation made on The Sims 2, but its wholesome message of unity between Christians and Muslims against the scheming atheists is one we can all agree on. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

America's 250th birthday is coming up this weekend (unc much?) so we decided to celebrate with another film taking place within the hallowed halls of the barracks. COUNTER COLUMN is a story of three teenagers who, for different reasons, sublimate themselves into US military basic training while growing spiritually in the process. Unfortunately, the film is very confusing, and just seems to be a reimagining of FULL METAL JACKET from memory but without any of the artistry. The military is a somewhat common backdrop for Christian films for a few reasons – most obviously, it signals the contemporary conservative value of trust of government systems, demonstrating tribal distance from those nasty leftists. But also, purification of the self in basic training, where a guy with a hat yells at you a lot and you have to run a few miles, is a metaphor for spiritual purification through Christ. In COUNTER COLUMN, Anthony Mendoza is a juvenile delinquent who joins basic training to clean up his act and get away from the drugs, but his destructive impulses manifest in making life hard for his fellow trainees, Chris Wright and Jason Neil. The two Indiana boys are childhood friends and devout Christians, faith that is put to the test in basic training, where their peers and officers denigrate them for praying in public. This is confusing – is Christianity suddenly not tolerated in the military? Also, why is Mendoza, depicted as a violent thug who threatens his fellow recruits with loaded weapons during exercises, tolerated whatsoever? For a film that signals knowledge of military life through terms like "counter column," the film earns no trust in the viewer's mind that it is reliably depicting the army, completely killing its messaging. COUNTER COLUMN suffers from major narrative inconsistencies, making the final dramatic payoff of Mendoza's journey from dope dealer to model citizen seem random instead of inspiring. Instead, watch LAST OUNCE OF COURAGE, RED BIG FIRE TRUCK, and THE SABER, three excellent Christian films about military life, with the volume turned up loud enough to distract your dog from the fireworks happening outside. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month! $5 pledge gets you bonus episodes and $20 enters you in our monthly handmade DVD mailing program "Bootleg Bible Study"!   http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy   This historically important film with an all black cast takes a unique narrative approach in its depiction of the Christian afterlife. THE BLOOD OF JESUS was directed by Spencer Williams, an accomplished black actor and filmmaker with a prolific media career in the 1920s-40s before starring in the television adaptation of AMOS 'N' ANDY. The highly-rated show featured black actors in starring roles, but was eventually cancelled in part due to pressure from the NAACP objecting to its stereotypical depictions of African-Americans. Nonetheless, Spencer Williams should be considered a trailblazer in black American media. In fact, THE BLOOD OF JESUS could be considered the most commercially successful "race film" (low budget independent films meant for black audiences at segregated movie theaters). Watching today, it's easy to understand why it was a success, because even 85 years later, the film's confident narrative and resourceful low budget effects make it engaging. Williams also stars in the film in addition to writing and directing; his character Ras Jackson is a spiritually apathetic man who undergoes a transformation when, returning from a hunting trip, he accidentally shoots his wife Martha, a recent and enthusiastic convert to Christianity. Most of the action depicts Martha's soul retrieved by angels and forging a path to the afterlife. THE BLOOD OF JESUS is refreshingly different from almost every other Christian film we've watched because it portrays the path from death to heaven as a purgatory-like obstacle course where dream logic reigns and the deceased Christian has one more chance to succeed or fail at getting to the gates of Zion. Most Christian films portray deliverance or damnation as instant — say the wrong words before death, and you're plummeted to hell. THE BLOOD OF JESUS is a way more forgiving and imaginative take on the trope. Scored by recordings of a black choir singing hymns and spirituals, the film is evocative and atmospheric, capturing a period of black American history with the confidence of a media craftsman. It's a rewarding and essential watch for anyone interested in film history, black history, or religious studies. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

This Christian-leaning film directed by a martial arts expert preaches a confusing mix of liberal pro-science atheism and Christian deism that would be way more interesting if the fight scenes weren't such a slog. It's too bad because ABSOLUTE DOMINION has so much good going for it. Director Lexi Alexander has a genuinely interesting career and an obvious expertise and passion for combat sports. Her most notable film is possibly PUNISHER: WAR ZONE (2008), a commercial failure at the time that has since become a cult classic. She was notable for being the first female director of a Marvel franchise film, but the gritty and hyper-violent take on PUNISHER didn't land well with critics or audiences. Alexander had some famous defenders though -- comedian Patton Oswalt has repeatedly gone on record praising the film. It's probably not a coincidence that he and fellow celebrity fan Alex Winter both appear in ABSOLUTE DOMINION in supporting roles. We hypothesize that both jumped at the chance to support a new Lexi Alexander project with an interesting script. In ABSOLUTE DOMINION, Oswalt plays a fictional influencer/streamer named Fix Huntley who goes viral in the year 2085 AD pitching the idea for a worldwide martial arts tournament where the major world religions each send a champion to fight for religious dominance. In the war-torn dystopian future of 2085, society jumps at the chance for a civil Mortal Kombat-style tournament instead of scattered warfare and bloodshed. The three major world religions, Celestians, Pentotities, and Dashafaris, all send champions, but a last-minute rogue entry named Sagan Bruno steals the show. Sagan represents the Institute for Humanism in Science -- a perfect fighter born of a eugenics project, to a scientist mother and athlete father, neither of which have a relationship with him. Bruno quickly jumps to the top of the competition, but his worldview is rocked when blessings from a supernatural force begin to guide his combat. Could this force be none other than capital "G" God? Or is it just a miracle of logic and reason? It's too bad ABSOLUTE DOMINION couldn't stick the landing because it is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air in a sea of Christian movies with the exact same stereotypical evangelical perspective. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month! $5 pledge gets you bonus episodes and $20 enters you in our monthly handmade DVD mailing program "Bootleg Bible Study"!   http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy From director Darren Wilson, the mind behind one of our least favorite films we've ever watched for the podcast (HEAVENQUEST: A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS), comes a similarly off-putting documentary about an enthusiastic band of faith healers causing chaos all over the world. The thesis of HOLY GHOST is basically that most preachers underemphasize the Holy Ghost aspect of the trinity -- the invisible force of God that is capable of doing miracles on earth. There's even a term for people who believe that biblical miracles ended after Jesus ascended into heaven: cessationists. The pastors in HOLY GHOST are the opposite -- continualists -- who believe that through prayer they can cause miracles to happen on command. They "prove" this over and over in the documentary by using really obvious social coercion tactics so their prayer subjects will say for the camera that they are healed. In one particularly uncomfortable example, they heal a young man's metal joint by having him bend it many times. It looks painful for the man who is playing along, and watching it happen is an empathy nightmare. The discomfort continues when the preachers take their show on the road to India, saying over and over again that their main goal is to film inside a holy Hindu temple. Why is this a win for Christianity? Because it's impolite? Fortunately, the documentary does end on a high note with about 30 minutes spent at a Korn concert with the members of Korn themselves, healing Korn fans -- many of whom are suffering from various ailments, which isn't really surprising given they are Korn fans. HOLY GHOST is a funny and at times painful watch, a peek into the mind of a brand of Christian narcissism that feels like it's going extinct now that media Christians are more brand savvy. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy