ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

culture

Trump v Biden Debate; Ravi Zacharias Scandal

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your sunday drive podcast

We respond to this week’s (crazy? disheartening?) “debate,” asking questions about what leadership in this country looks like, and whether Christians need to be wary of the idol of politics.

We also discuss the allegations against the late Ravi Zacharias and how the church should respond when leaders fail.

Finishing the theme of leadership, we listen to a portion of Dr. Francis Collins’ recent Templeton Prize acceptance address, where he discusses what individuals can do to fight polarization, even without ideal leaders.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Black Lives Matter; Remembering Ravi Zacharias

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your sunday drive podcast

In this new episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we discuss the current unrest following the death of George Floyd, including conversation about Black Lives Matter vs. “All Lives Matter,” protests vs. looting, the role of social media and politics, biblical examples (including Jesus flipping tables) and frameworks for understanding justice, value, etc.

We then take a brief moment to reflect on writer/speaker Ravi Zacharias, who passed away recently, sharing some takeaways and highlights of Ravi speaking.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Super Bowl, Kobe Bryant: Questions & Reflections

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your sunday drive podcast

Should Christians “celebrate” secular “holidays” like the Super Bowl? What risks and opportunities are there when we participate in such cultural events?

How can we respond to the sudden death of a celebrity like Kobe Bryant? Can we find context and insight and comfort from the Bible at times like this?

Reflections on these and other questions in Your Sunday Drive Podcast Season 2, Episode 2.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive



Snarky Faith for Crazy Times

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snarky faith on your sunday drive

How can Christians “keep it real” and avoid the “Christian crazy?”

In this episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we try to discover what it means to have an authentic faith in these times, welcoming our second-ever guest, Stuart Delony, host of the Snarky Faith radio show and podcast.

Stuart tells us about his faith journey, we discuss some of the unfortunate ways Christians are currently seen in our culture and how we might temper that, as well as “Snarky faith” and why it’s important to have.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Trump may save truth for us yet

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what i’m about to
say may seem naive;
hopeful, at least;
and it’s certainly so
that it’s nothing new;
so i’m also going to
keep it neat and clean,
concise and pointed

here it is:

though so far the
“reality” show that is
Trump –
from his pre-politics life
and celebrity/star status,
to his candidacy
and presidency –
has been marked by
an extreme atruthiness
(a distinct disdain for truth,
a purposeful distortion of it for gain),
Trump may save truth for us yet

why/ how?

because:
by flaunting his atruthiness so,
by virtue of it becoming
so uniformly known,
so undeniably alarming,
truth itself is becoming
the topic of the day
in a unique and new way

and –
so hopes naive me –
maybe, hopefully,
this state of affairs
can’t help but
benefit, increase,
somehow vindicate truth,
no matter how
counterintuitive, how
unexpected it may seem

here’s another way
to think about this:
we’re all familiar with
Orwell and “doublespeak;”
we’ve always known that
politicians lie…….

but this new,
nearly unbelievable
“post-truth” world of “alternative facts”
so clearly calls truth itself
and caring about what’s true
into question
(see, e.g. “How Trump Is Trying to Govern America Like an Internet Troll”
where Katherine Cross quips,
“All of a sudden, one is a patsy for caring, a fool for believing in the power of truth telling.”),
that maybe,
maybe,
we’ll come out the other side,
ironically,
less jaded, less cynical,
more truth lovers and seekers

here’s another way
to think about this:
we’re all familiar with
the tactic of distraction
as a means to
mask the truth –
the “razzle dazzle”
sung about in the musical Chicago
that keeps people from hearing
“the truth above the roar” –
and how the mass media
helps mediate this method;
how it can itself become
just a tool in the hand
of a deceitful man……

but in Trump’s America,
the “opposition party” media,
the “fake news,”
insofar as they
have been positioned
as enemies of the state
precisely on this point,
have a real opportunity
to participate in,
to restore value to,
to help save
truth telling and truth itself

finally,
here’s another way
to think about this:
we’re (some of us)
familiar with the idea of
postmodernism –
that old-by-now position
that so smugly sees
truth as passe –
and maybe (some of us)
have considered
this president or that one
to be a “postmodern president”
(a quick Googling, in fact,
finds this term applied to, at least,
Clinton, Bush, Obama
and (of course) Trump himself
(see, e.g., the excellent “Trump is the ultimate postmodern presidential candidate – and he’s been a long time coming”))……..

but i submit that
Trump, truly,
is the end of postmodernism
in the sense that:
if one calls truth itself into question
for so long,
so casually,
allowing it to be replaced
with the muddy waters
of relativism and celebrityism
and meism (even nationalism,
conservatism, liberalism)
or any other kind of ism
except truthism –
that old-school, ancient,
passe version of truth;
you know:
objective, “capital-T Truth;”
that Bibley kind of truth even,
where when the question
“What is truth?” is posed,
there are actually answers
(see, e.g., John 14:6) –
what else could one expect,
but the ultimate ascension of
this person, this thing,
capital-T Trump:
the incarnation of,
the walking embodiment of,
the end of
this chosen path?

it’s like:
we asked for it
and now we’ve got it.
happy?

i’m saying:
maybe not.

maybe we’re not happy.

maybe, just maybe,
because this current
atruthiness is so atruthy,
maybe not

maybe, just maybe,
because this current
disdain for the truth is
such disdain,
maybe not

maybe, just maybe,
because truth’s distortion
is currently so distorted for gain,
perhaps,
perhaps,
maybe, just maybe –
so hopes naive me –
Trump may save truth for us yet

On Starbucks, Hollywood, & “Defending The Faith”

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starbucks

What do Starbucks, Seth Rogen, & Jesus have in common?

I’m all for apologetics, the “reasoned arguments or writings in justification of something, typically a theory or religious doctrine.” In their place and in their time. But why do people of faith find themselves hung up on apologetics when it comes to films made by those who don’t believe the same thing, or, as recently as this weekend, when it comes to the design of Starbucks’ holiday cups?

While there is a time to wrestle with issues of theology, I think that sometimes we get so carried away in society’s “us versus them” banter, that we lose sight of what we’re really doing here. We arrive at the point of faith with an understanding of how much we need Jesus’ grace and forgiveness through his death on the cross, and before long, too many of us think that Jesus needs us to argue for him, pontificate about him, and angrily protest in defense of his honor.

Puh-lease. Jesus died on the cross, crucified between two thieves when he could’ve hopped down, flown away, or blasted all of the Romans off of the planet. Do you really think he is offended by some people who doubt his existence?

Jesus loved – and we should, too. Jesus forgave, and we should, too. Jesus lived sinlessly, and we should (try), too. Jesus cared about and not or, but or instead of. Jesus brought grace into fragmented situations, to draw people to himself and together.

So, instead of apologetics, I would like to apologize.

-To Starbucks, who makes mighty fine coffee and decent chocolate croissants, but who has no ‘platform’ by which they’re expected to determine what is morally appropriate or theologically correct about the celebration of Jesus’ birth. I’m sorry we Christians turned all bull-like at the sight of those red cups. Sorry we tried to tell you how to run your megazillion dollar business… although I’m sure Howard Schultz will laugh this bonanza the whole way to the bank. You all stick to grinding the beans, and let preachers and pastors everywhere meditate and teach on the word of God.

-To filmmakers who make films that are “irreligious” or conflict with what the majority of people believe about Jesus and Christians (like The Night Before), thanks for sharing your story. [In the trailer and interviews I’ve seen about Seth Rogen’s new Christmas Eve film, a group of friends get together for their last Christmas Eve night together – expressing their loss of community but Rogen’s character throws up in church after he’s drunk. I can hear some folks sharpening their knives — instead of recognizing the opportunity to share what real community looks like.] I’m sorry that we Christians forget that film is storytelling, that not everyone thinks or sees things the same way. I’m sorry we fail to recognize the inconsistencies in the Gospels – even the synoptic ones – and the thoughts that don’t jive between the Old and New Testaments. You all stick to making films of quality that stretch our hearts and minds, and let …preachers and pastors everywhere meditate and teach on the word of God.

Hey, while I’m at it –

-To the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the marginalized, the forgotten about, the abandoned, the abused, the sold-into-slavery, the hopeless, the ignored, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that we, The Church, get so bogged down in defining who is not with us, that we forget we were once not with Christ, and that no matter what, there’s a spot at the table, at the barista line, at the cinema for each of you. Because there’s space here for us doesn’t mean that there isn’t space for someone else. You all keep fighting – and know that God loves you, even when The Church fails to. Know that God is bigger than prayer in school or “season’s greetings” or whatever nonsense the church makes it about because God cannot be kept out.

One day there’s a kingdom coming, where all of this will be wiped away, and there’ll only be ONE.

One God, one Lord, one Savior of us all.

Oh, wait, that’s what Christmas is really about.

Instead of being a Christian who boycotts Starbucks or throws a fit over the color of a cup, why not be the Christian who doesn’t flip out when your drink isn’t exactly like you hoped it would be? Or better yet, if you were the kind of Christian who overtips your barista? Christianity’s revolution isn’t in what it’s against but what it’s for.