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A pastor, a Trekker, and a Star Wars fan walk into a recording session... That’s the set-up for this series which explores the intersection of religion and science fiction. The three hosts -- Drew, Dan, and Pastor Dave -- discuss a particular theological topic as it morphs through the sci fi realm. Well, Pastor Dave tries to keep Drew and Dan focused on one particular topic. He really tries. Their mothers should have warned him.
Episodes
Thursday Feb 01, 2024
Episode 44: The Jedi - Religion, Cult, or Parlor Trick?
Thursday Feb 01, 2024
Thursday Feb 01, 2024
In which the 3-Ds finally realize that a podcast about science fiction and religion should talk about the Jedi in Star Wars. Is following the Force a religion? A cult? Or just magic tricksters? And how would that answer apply to the Sith?
Is the Force a farce?
From Shaolin monks to Medieval battle bishops, human history has plenty of priestly warriors. Listen in to determine if the 3-Ds have an answer. But don't get your hopes up.
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For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Twitter! We're @churchnspace.
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Credits:
Editor Extraordinaire: Cathy Rinella of Merodi Media
Co-Producers & Co-Hosts: Dave Kamphuis & Drew Nelsen
Producer & Plucky Sidekick: Dan Mushalko
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"Your ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
- Qui-Gon Jinn (probably after listening to his first Church in Space podcast)
Saturday Jan 13, 2024
Episode 43: Ethical Dilemmas in Sci Fi
Saturday Jan 13, 2024
Saturday Jan 13, 2024
In which the 3-Ds make their brains hurt pondering some of the unponderable ethical issues in popular science fiction. Star Trek, of course, did this almost weekly -- especially on Voyager with such memorable examples as the Tuvix conundrum, or the right to suicide for Quinn. (Trigger Warning: Quinn's example leads to an extended discussion on the secular and religious quandary on taking one's own life.) And in our age of emerging AI, Next Gen gives us the debate on whether Data (or any machine) can have the same rights as any human.
Terminator, The Matrix, Star Wars: ethical issues abound, and the 3-Ds stumble through them all. Or at least all they could think of in 45 minutes!
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For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Twitter! We're @churchnspace.
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Credits:
Editor Extraordinaire: Cathy Rinella of Merodi Media
Co-Producers & Co-Hosts: Dave Kamphuis & Drew Nelsen
Producer & Plucky Sidekick: Dan Mushalko
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"Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do."
- Potter Stewart
Sunday Nov 26, 2023
Episode 42: Conference Realignment - A Sci-Fi & Religion Huddle
Sunday Nov 26, 2023
Sunday Nov 26, 2023
In honor of college football championship week, the 3-Ds honor the untimely demise of the PAC 12 by talking about conference realignment. Not the football kind, though; that would totally confuse Dan. Instead, it’s all about realigning sci-fi franchises and religion: which Biblical characters could combine with aliens and modern humans to make even more exciting adventures among the stars?
Could Jonah cope with space whales?
Could fans ever accept Star Wars and Star Trek in the same universe…or would it be the NFC and AFC all over again?
No safety here as we hit the end zone having passed on organizing our thoughts, so it’s one fumble after another.
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For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Twitter! We're @churchnspace.
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Credits:
Editor Extraordinaire: Cathy Rinella of Merodi Media
Co-Producers & Co-Hosts: Dave Kamphuis & Drew Nelsen
Producer & Plucky Sidekick: Dan Mushalko
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"Mathematics is an interesting intellectual sport..."
- Richard Hamming
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Episode 41: An Old Hope - Optimism in Sci Fi
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
In which hope springs Eternals as the 3-Ds discuss their reasons for optimism, in real life and in sci fi. It's a counter to today's popular doomsday attitude of "Everything is awful; we're all going to die." Even when it's overtly pessimistic and dystopian, sci fi still maintains an undercurrent of optimism. But Pastor Dave is hopeful humanity will be "Saved by science and Jesus."
Then a game of sci fi "what if" ensues. For example, what if Hogwarts were real? Britain's SAS special ops teams would have raided the place and arrested everyone in there. Which really doesn't sound very optimistic after all.
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For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Twitter! We're @churchnspace.
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Credits:
Editor Extraordinaire: Cathy Rinella of Merodi Media
Co-Producers & Co-Hosts: Dave Kamphuis & Drew Nelsen
Producer & Plucky Sidekick: Dan Mushalko
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“When it comes down to it, the reason that science fiction endures is that it is, at its core, an optimistic genre. What it says at the end of the day is that there is a tomorrow, we do go on, we don’t extinguish ourselves and leave the planet to the cockroaches.”
Sunday Oct 08, 2023
Episode 40: When SciFi Gets Religion Wrong
Sunday Oct 08, 2023
Sunday Oct 08, 2023
In which the 3-Ds discuss the times science fiction gets the portrayal of religion wrong. From H.P. Lovecraft to Doctor Who, even the most legendary sci-fi sometimes stumbles when it comes to the faith journey. And what would an episode be without Dan doing a diatribe dissing poor world-building? It'd be about 15 minutes shorter, that's what.
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For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Twitter! We're @churchnspace.
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Credits:
Editor Extraordinaire: Cathy Rinella of Merodi Media
Co-Producers & Co-Hosts: Dave Kamphuis & Drew Nelsen
Producer & Plucky Sidekick: Dan Mushalko
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"I’ve come to view Jesus much the way I view Elvis. I love the guy but the fan clubs really freak me out.
- John FugelsangSaturday Sep 02, 2023
Episode 37: Is God a Dragon?
Saturday Sep 02, 2023
Saturday Sep 02, 2023
In which 2-Ds try to convince 1-D that the Bible hints God is a dragon. While Pastor Dave admits no one knows God's true form, his skepticism over Drew and Dan's thesis is unwavering. Kind of like the unwavering stubbornness of a...dragon?
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For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Twitter! We're @churchnspace.
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Credits:
Editor Extraordinaire: Cathy Rinella of Merodi Media
Co-Producers & Co-Hosts: Dave Kamphuis & Drew Nelsen
Producer & Plucky Sidekick: Dan Mushalko
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"Speak politely to an enraged dragon."
- J.R.R. Tolkien
Thursday Aug 10, 2023
Episode 36: The Big Apple-calypse
Thursday Aug 10, 2023
Thursday Aug 10, 2023
In which the 3Ds are in a New York state of mind. They wax romantic about the end of humanity, and realize most sci-fi movies and fire-and-brimstone preachers have it wrong when they portray the Apocalypse. History has proven that most people will simply go about their business as usual. New York City proved it earlier this summer; as the thick haze of wildfires blanketed the Big Apple...nothing changed. New Yorkers put on masks and did their usual thing.
How else do sci fi (and preachers) misjudge human resilience? Bend an ear and find out in this episode!
Oh, lest we forget: the game for this episode is to describe a Star Trek episode in five words. Here's a rare one: "Lieutenant Leslie has speaking lines."
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For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Twitter! We're @churchnspace.
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Credits:
Editor Extraordinaire: Cathy Rinella of Merodi Media
Co-Producers & Co-Hosts: Dave Kamphuis & Drew Nelsen
Producer & Plucky Sidekick: Dan Mushalko
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"Don't wake me for the end of the world unless it has very good special effects."
- Roger Zelazny
Sunday Jul 02, 2023
Episode 35: Get Thee Back, DCEU -- New Franchises from Old SciFi
Sunday Jul 02, 2023
Sunday Jul 02, 2023
In which the 3Ds hold The New Cinematic Universe Draft. As DC continues struggling to create a viable movie franchise, and Marvel's formula grows tiresome, we dive into past sci fi to find fertile ground for new franchises. Amongst the many possibilities, Dave, Drew, & Dan discuss resurrecting Alien, Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Futurama, Kings, Lost in Space, and a seminal work from Robert Heinlein (most decidedly NOT Starship Troopers).
How would you freshen up movie and TV screens? Let us know in the comments below!
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For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Twitter! We're @churchnspace.
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Credits:
Editor Extraordinaire: Cathy Rinella of Merodi Media
Co-Producers & Co-Hosts: Dave Kamphuis & Drew Nelsen
Producer & Plucky Sidekick: Dan Mushalko
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"You're supposed to be a brilliant tactician. Be more brilliant."
- Superman to Batman...or to James Gunn as he launches the new DCEU (Batman/Superman #29)
Sunday Jun 18, 2023
Episode 34: The Half-Baked Show
Sunday Jun 18, 2023
Sunday Jun 18, 2023
In which the 3-Ds come up with half-baked ideas for both science fiction and religion -- ideas which it's very clear neither Dave, Drew, nor Dan have thought through. In other words, you hear them in their natural state.
Their ideas are all over the map: from a Star Trek series about the Earth-Romulan War (okay; that one's pretty decent) to a hard-hitting drama based on Church in Space (uhm...). Listen in and gloat. After all, your ideas are way better than these. It's easy to build your self-esteem when you compare yourself to the 3-Ds!
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For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Twitter! We're @churchnspace.
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Credits:
Editor Extraordinaire: Cathy Rinella of Merodi Media
Co-Producers & Co-Hosts: Dave Kamphuis & Drew Nelsen
Producer & Plucky Sidekick: Dan Mushalko
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"For who could hate or bear a grudge
Against a luscious bit of fudge?"
- Oompa-Loompas (via Roald Dahl)
Sunday Jun 04, 2023
Episode 33: When Good AI Goes Bad
Sunday Jun 04, 2023
Sunday Jun 04, 2023
Politicians and pundits paint Artificial Intelligence as an existential threat to humans. It's just a bunch of sophisticated code right now: programmed to seem intelligent, but what happens when the programmed fakeness becomes genuinely sentient? At what point should AI have rights?
The 3-Ds debate. Along the way, they discover the ethical flaw in the Star Wars franchise when it comes to droids; realize that the biggest existential threat to the Empire is R2D2; and reveal to the world the awesome might of the Force Tickle.
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For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Twitter! We're @churchnspace.
-------------
Credits:
Editor Extraordinaire: Cathy Rinella of Merodi Media
Co-Producers & Co-Hosts: Dave Kamphuis & Drew Nelsen
Producer & Plucky Sidekick: Dan Mushalko
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"...he used those special parts to make his robot friends. Robot roll call:
Cambot! Gypsy! Tom Servo! Croooooow!"
- Joel Hodgson (MST3k Theme Song)