You don’t have to include faith or belief when writing fiction, so why do we see religious themes crop up again and again in our most popular pop culture? The God Forbid panel goes to infinity and beyond to find the links between fantasy, the future and faith.
In this episode:
Tales of great heroes saving humankind aren't new, but the golden age of comic books began in 1938 with Superman. Created by two Jewish men, Clark Kent and his alter ego were based on the story of Moses. The link between superheroes and Judaism has never been severed.
Aside from the Bible, Harry Potter by JK Rowling is the best-selling series of books of all time. Its dedicated fanbase has made Potter-themed art and music — and some even draw moral guidance and comfort from the books. Harvard scholars Vanessa Zoltan and Casper ter Kuile apply sacred reading practices to the Harry Potter series as if they were the Bible or Quran. But is Harry Potter good for your soul?
CS Lewis was a master of fantasy, science fiction — and Christian apologetics. His friend JRR Tolkien practically founded the genre of high fantasy with his ground breaking series The Lord of the Rings, but many don't realise the deeply Catholic themes he wove into the fabric of Middle Earth.
Advances in robotics, artificial intelligence and the internet were all predicted in science fiction well before they became a reality, so does that make sci-fi a form of prophecy? For a genre all about the extremes of science, sci-fi contains a lot of religion. But the predictions authors make about the future aren't always bright.
More Information
Hear the full interview between Amanda Smith and Lazarus Dobelsky on Artworks: Superheroes and Schlemiels.
Special thanks to Harry Potter and the Sacred Text for Casper ter Kuile's reflection on Harry Potter from their first episode, Commitment: The Boy Who Lived (Book 1, Chapter 1).
View the full transcript of Rachael Kohn's interview with Stratford Caldecott at The Ark: The Religion of the Lord of the Rings.
Guests:
Dr Justine Toh, senior research fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity. She is one of the presenters of For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined.
Father Richard Leonard SJ, Jesuit priest and director of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting. He's the author of Movies that Matter: Reading Film through the Lens of Faith.
Presenter:
James Carleton
Producer:
Rohan Salmond