VOXOLOGY Rerun: Unveiling Faith and Fear in Netflix's 'Midnight Mass' - with Kaitlyn Schiess

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 October 2023

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Discover how 'Midnight Mass' challenges our understanding of faith, community, and the allure of miraculous signs. Mike and Tim are joined by theologian Kaitlyn Schiess to delve into the profound themes of the Netflix series, exploring how horror reflects the broken and beautiful aspects of humanity and the church.

Key Takeaways:

• The Seduction of Miracles – How miraculous events can mislead and justify harmful actions within a religious community.

• Manipulation of Faith and Fear – Examining how fear motivates beliefs and actions, and the ease with which faith can be twisted.

• Perverting Sacred Symbols – The use of religious rituals and symbols for sinister purposes, revealing insights into real-world religious practices.

• The Voice of Doubt and Outsiders – Recognizing the importance of listening to skeptics and marginalized individuals who may perceive truths overlooked by insiders.

• Horror as a Mirror to Society – Understanding how 'Midnight Mass' and the horror genre serve as commentary on societal fears and issues within the church.

Guest Highlights:

Kaitlyn Schiess – Author of The Liturgy of Politics and theologian at Duke Divinity School. Caitlin offers deep analysis connecting the themes of 'Midnight Mass' to modern Christianity and political theology.

Resources Mentioned:

• 'Midnight Mass' on Netflix – Watch on Netflix
• Mike Flanagan's Works – Including The Haunting of Hill House, The Fall of the House of Usher
• Kaitlyn Schiess's Book – The Liturgy of Politics – Purchase Here
• The Mars Hill Podcast – Listen Here

Join us as we unpack the complex interplay between faith and fear portrayed in 'Midnight Mass'. Share your thoughts and be part of the conversation!

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome, welcome, welcome to a, I don't know, what do you want to call it?
0:04.6	A retread?
0:05.5	No, a repeat.
0:10.0	No, I'm a child of the 80s.
0:12.2	It's a rerun.
0:13.2	This is a rerun.
0:15.5	Of an episode we did, I think, two years ago, looking at the show Midnight Mass on Netflix by a guy named
0:27.6	Mike Flanagan, who I've come to appreciate quite a bit. He's got multiple shows on the platform,
0:34.7	including The Haunting of Hillhouse, the haunting of Bligh Manor.
0:38.9	Most recently, uh, the fall of the house of Usher, which is a play on the Edgar
0:44.6	Allen Poe story, as well as some other movies. Um, this show in particular, Midnight
0:52.1	Mass is one that we, I mean, I really, really enjoyed.
0:57.1	And I think that when we originally aired this episode two years ago, I talked a little bit about how, you know, as Mike has more than reiterated i'm a big fan of halloween big fan of horror
1:17.9	etc etc and on top of that i mean one of the reasons why is that horror was for a long time a medium
1:26.1	of commentary on social issues.
1:31.1	So the first big example of that was Night of the Living Dead,
1:38.5	was a commentary on race.
1:41.1	And then to take that to a more current example, Jordan Peel from Key and Peel fame,
1:48.0	that a little much of comedy on Hulu and other things is he did Get Out, Us, Nope.
1:57.0	And those are all movies that deal with social commentary through the lens of horror,
2:02.1	how horror the monsters, etc., are societal horrors, you know, as well as ways of like
2:09.8	reflecting on, you know, our own worries and insecurities and fears that we have kind of
	...

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