The Theology of Christmas Movies

White Horse Inn

Sola Media

Grace, Scripture, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality, God, Knowledge, Christ, Gospel, Jesus, Faith, Belief, Religion, Christian, History, Theology, Bible, Reformation, Horton, Discipleship

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2021

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What’s the true spirit of Christmas? That’s the question at the heart of countless Christmas movies that clutter the airwaves and cable listings at this time of year. But the answer one typically receives from films of this genre is not merely a departure from the biblical narrative, but rather is a kind of anti-gospel that turns our attention completely away from the redemption provided by the incarnate Son of God. The hosts will discuss this topic by walking through memorable lines from movies such as A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and many others(originally aired 12-11-16).

__________

For a gift of $50 or more, request your copy of Michael Horton’s new book, Recovering Our Sanity - How the Fear of God Conquers the Fears That Divide Us, go to whitehorseinn.org/fearofgod.

__________

Sign up for our newsletter and receive our free digital download collection on Justification - whitehorseinn.org/newsletter.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Homellown two is also another dazzling piece.
0:04.8	Kevin McAllister has this dialogue with a homeless woman.
0:08.4	She says, did you know that a good deed can erase a bad deed?
0:12.1	Kevin says, I don't know if I'll have enough good deeds to erase all my bad ones.
0:17.0	Well, good news, she says, is that it's Christmas Eve in good deeds count extra tonight.
0:23.0	Just follow the star in your heart.
0:25.4	Wow!
0:26.4	And the real Christmas story is, actually, no, follow another star
0:29.4	that's going to lead you to an objective savior. in an actual place called Bethlehem.
0:35.3	Yeah.
0:36.5	Five centuries ago in taverns and public houses across Europe, the masses would gather for
0:45.4	discussion and debate over the latest ideas sweeping the land.
0:50.0	From one such meeting place, a small Cambridge inn called The White Horse, the Reformation came
0:55.7	to the English-speaking world.
0:58.0	Carrying on the tradition, welcome to the White Horse Inn.
1:08.0	Hello and welcome to another edition of the White Horse Inn. As we are taking a look at something that we have never done before, the theology of Christmas movies.
1:17.0	So go get some popcorn and sit back.
1:19.4	We're going to take a look at what it means to celebrate Christmas these days. No one has to be
1:23.7	reminded really how secular Europe has become, but when I was living in England
1:28.6	experiencing three Christmas times there I was struck by the contrast with how it celebrated in America.
1:35.0	Santa Claus is a pretty small part of the whole thing.
1:40.0	No spin-off myths about reindeer, snowmen, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sola Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Sola Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.