The Religious Treehouse

Jodie and Matthew are back again to ruin Christmas (sorry) by looking at Mary, mother of Jesus, from a historical-critical perspective to figure out if Mary was likely a virgin or not when conceiving Jesus. With Mary's virginity only mentioned in Matthew and Luke, the podcast explores why those authors would have included the virginal conception of Jesus, what other biblical authors included (or didn’t include) regarding the bi...

#57 A Charlie Brown Christmas: A TRT Movie Review

Christmastime is here! So Jodie and Matthew are looking at one of the most iconic Christmas movies of all time, and one of the most explicitly Christian scenes in all of Christmas media. But is that enough to make this a religious movie? And does this movie, whose central message is anticonsumerism succeed in its goal? See what we have to say about these things, and we'd also love to...

Jodie and Matthew continue the series going through Mark Juergensmeyer’s book “Terror in the Mind of God” as they discuss Islamic extremism. By looking at case studies of Extremist and Terrorist organizations such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Hamas, and those that support them, Jodie and Matthew try to follow the logic on why these organizations create terror and why the vast majority of Muslims across the world condemn these organizatio...

Who doesn’t love Jim Carey?! This week, Jodie and Matthew look at the 2003 film, Bruce Almighty, and analyze how it presented an American view of religion that parallels Christianity without ever actually using explicitly religious terminology. How does Bruce Almighty depict religion and western depictions of a deity in a way that is appealing to the religious and non-religious alike? Let us know your thoughts on this and how this ...

Jodie and Matthew delve into the topic of Jewish Extremism as they discuss Chapter 3 of Mark Jurgensmeyer’s “Terror in the Mind of God” (TITMOG). Much of modern Jewish extremism and violence is related to Zionism in one form or another. Without getting into too many details about Zionism (that’s a topic for another time), Jodie and Matthew discuss Jewish extremists such as Meir Kahane, Yoel Lerner, and Baruch Goldstein to try to un...

In a fun change of pace, Jodie and Matthew review Jeff Baena’s “The Little Hours” starring Allison Brie, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, and Dave Franco, which is a comedy based on a story from The Decameron about a 14th century convent who lust after a new groundskeeper who is pretending to be deaf and mute. Shenanigans occur as the movie hilariously delves into human flaws and fascinating characters under the backdrop of a 14th centu...

Jodie and Matthew delve into the topic of Christian Extremism as they discuss Chapter 2 of Mark Jurgensmeyer’s “Terror in the Mind of God” (TITMOG). They look at some case studies of religious violence in extremists such as Anders Brievik, Timothy McVeigh, and Michael Bray and then discuss some of their justifications and reasonings behind committing these horrible acts of violence, briefly touching on topics of Just War theory, Do...

Boo! It's a spooky season and that means Jodie and Matthew get to review a religious horror movie: Midsommar. Matthew’s advice is to never watch this movie, but that’s mainly because he doesn’t like horror movies. Jodie’s advice is to follow us on social media, but that’s unrelated. But Jodie and Matthew discuss some of the religious themes and tropes that pop up throughout Midsommar and discuss anthropological concerns such as...

Jodie and Matthew begin their discussion on religious violence and extremism by offering a brief introduction to religious violence. Following Mark Jurgensmeyer’s book: Terror in the Mind of God, Jodie and Matthew will explore various care studies of religious extremism before delving into the logic and justification of these horrific acts of violence.

Works Referenced and Recommended Readings:

Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in t...

Jodie and Matthew delve into a sensitive topic as they review a PBS Frontline Documentary about how religious faith changed in the aftermath of 9/11. While this is a relatively unknown documentary, it acts as a great introduction to religious extremism and hopefully will act as a good starting point as The Religious Treehouse starts an extended series on religious extremism, fundamentalism, and violence, starting next episode. 

W...

This week, Jodie and Matthew delve into the New Testament to discuss Jesus’ parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard… if that’s what we want to call it. As with most parables of Jesus, historical and modern interpretations have vastly differed, but how would Jews that Jesus was speaking to have understood the parable? To address this, Jodie and Matthew set off to explore the variety of ways it has been interpreted, for better or for...

Jesus Camp is an Oscar-nominated documentary from 2006 that looks at a Pentecostal children’s summer camp and the conflation between this branch of evangelicalism and the Republican party. Jodie and Matthew discuss why the leaders of this camp act the way they did, why the children reacted the way they did, and how Jodie and Matthew’s personal experience in religious circles similar to this parallel the documentary.

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This is a re-release of episode 8, Jonah and Satire. Jonah is a well-known story for kids, but why do people stop talking about it after they’ve grown up? Jodie and Matthew attempt to strip away the Veggietales-ification of this fascinating story to get into the fascinating Biblical satire that is the Book of Jonah. And no, it’s not a whale. It’s a fish. Last week we released a review of the Veggietales version of Jonah, so this is...

Perhaps one of the most well-known pieces of Christian media is Veggietales, and Jodie and Matthew are delving into the Veggietales retelling of the story of Jonah. Whether you grew up with Veggietales or not, you should enjoy this conversation as Jodie and Matthew discuss the interpretive choices that may occur when adapting a text for a children's movie. Likewise, how does an explicitly Christian production company make choic...

The Bible has some pretty freaky creatures in it, and that is certainly the case for Seraphim. Burning, 6-wings, human-snake hybrids should certainly sound scary, and that is the point of these creatures: to be intimidating and deadly. Listen along as Jodie and Matthew discuss seraphim and how they appear in the Bible - especially in Numbers 21 and Isaiah 6. How are they used, what is their role, and what do we do with such creepy ...

Jodie and Matthew watch (what they learn to be an absolutely amazing movie/musical) Fiddler on the Roof, and how it portrays Russian Judaism at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Likewise, how does the theme of “Tradition” transcend this small community and present a universal message that is relevant to all religions and all cultures? Please, let us know in the comments what you would do if you were a rich ma...

Jodie and Matthew AND Faith (That’s right! We have a special guest this week) get together to talk about one of the best, if not the best, stories in the Bible: the binding and attempted sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. There is a lot to unpack here, so instead of trying to unpack it all, we talk through the drama and story of Genesis 22, appreciating it as a text, immersing ourselves into the narrative and only occasionally (ok, oft...

The Passion of Joan of Arc is often included on lists of the best movies of all time, and often tops the lists of best religious movies of all time. This silent French film condenses Joan’s trial and death into a single day and by using famously beautiful cinematography and acting, it depicts the harrowing final few hours of her life. Listen along for a brief discussion on the historical figure, and Jodie and Matthew’s thoughts on ...

This week Jodie and Matthew delve into the New Testament to discuss Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed. It’s a short parable that is only a couple verses long in each of the synoptic gospels, but much like a mustard seed, it packs a punch. However, it’s brevity can make it difficult to interpret, so Jodie and Matthew set off to explore the variety of ways it has been interpreted, for better or for worse.

Works Referenced and Reco...