Boys' Bible Study - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

Touched by an Angel s7e21 "The Sign of the Dove" TEASER Apr 27, 2025

Show notes

Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month!

www.patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

We're back with coverage of TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, the television series that may hold the key to understanding the American psyche once and for all. The popular 90s and 2000s era show uses an "angel of the week" format as each story is about different angels inflicting themselves upon the lives of hapless humans. This week we focus on SIGN OF THE DOVE, a dueling angel experience which interweaves stories of Andrew (angel of death, portrayed by John Dye) and Monica (the show's protagonist, played by Roma Downey) helping two humans whose life paths have woven for generations. Andrew tells us the story of a human family he's been taking to heaven since the 1200s, including delightful time travel skits in period costumes (such as Revolutionary War-era powdered wigs.) Ben Mason is the last of this family; unfortunately he doesn't know he's about to perish in a bombing by his neighbor Nick Freeman, who doesn't mean harm to Ben but wants to collect insurance money and will kill Ben by accident. The history of a freed African American slave could be the key that unlocks Nick's humanity and prevents him from setting the fateful bomb. While we're waiting at the edge of our seats, we ponder the angel logic of TBAA. Why don't angels drink alcohol? Why do they make themselves visible to some humans but not all? What is it they can really do? TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL reviews have become our favorite fodder for podcast episodes because they are so dense with insane moments and inconsistent world building. Hopefully our review of "The Sign of the Dove" will be one you write about in your family Bible to remember forever.

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy

The Book of Eli (2010) Apr 20, 2025

Show notes

This stylized post-apocalyptic thriller is a unique example of a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster with overtly Christian themes, even if it stops just short of a true Christian message. Directed by the Hughes Brothers (MENACE II SOCIETY, DEAD PRESIDENTS, FROM HELL) and starring beloved leading man Denzel Washington, THE BOOK OF ELI depicts the Bible as a source of tremendous power in a fallen world. Eli (Denzel Washington) is a survivor of a nuclear holocaust, wandering westward on a mysterious mission with few possessions except for a large book that he treasures. When Eli crosses paths with local warlord Carnegie (Gary Oldman), Carnegie suspects that Eli's book may be the Bible, which Carnegie himself has been seeking because he believes reading it will give him the power to control large groups of people. Carnegie is perhaps a metaphor for hypocritical conmen religious leaders who use Christianity as a way to acquire power and money, whereas Eli could represent Christ or even just a true honest believer who has made it his mission to spread faith into the world. This metaphor becomes even more clear when Eli's quest is revealed to be delivery of the Bible to an enclave of secret archivists who will reprint and preserve it forever. The authenticity of Eli's faith becomes even more clear when Carnegie does steal the Bible, only to be upset to find it is written in Braille, revealing Eli to have been blind the whole time. Despite being mortally wounded by Carnegie, Eli makes it to the archivists in time to speak the entire Bible to them as an oral tradition, ensuring its preservation. In the final scene of the movie, we see the archivists putting the newly reprinted Bible on a shelf alongside the Torah and the Quran. This ending, which is obviously inspired by the novel FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury, shows that THE BOOK OF ELI is not a truly Christian genre film — few faith-based films would equate the Bible and the Quran. To view THE BOOK OF ELI through the lens of faith-based film criticism is to see it as a religious cop out; hinting that the Bible is the source of spiritual truth but ultimately dismissing it as "just another book on a shelf."

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy

Salomé (1923) Apr 06, 2025

Show notes

We dip into cinematic classics of the silent age (before people learned how to talk) with 1923 classic SALOMÉ, co-directed by married couple Charles Bryant and Alla Nazimova. The latter stars as the titular SALOMÉ, a Bible character who has achieved historical infamy despite not being officially referred to by her first name. The story is provocative: a teenage princess dances seductively for her stepfather King Herod who promises her anything in reward; she picks the head of prophet John the Baptist, who is summarily executed and presented to her on a platter. Bryant and Nazimova's SALOMÉ takes cues from the Oscar Wilde play on the subject, adding extra-historical depth to the characters to portray Herod's throne in the throes of self destructive decadence. Male characters are simpering and devilishly gay (note that Alla Nazimova herself was openly bisexual, so this feels like intentional camp rather than homophobia.) Fashions are extravagant and imaginative, seeming both historical and futuristic. Physical acting is taken to extremes: SALOMÉ is a truly exciting watch, showcasing how much depth of character is possible from a silent film. To watch SALOMÉ is to not only experience an avant-garde take on Bible story, but also to see human ingenuity on full display with no boundaries to self expression despite limitations by emerging technology. Unrelated, in this episode the Bible Boys also discuss our new obsessions in ultra contemporary media: Harmony Korine's BABY INVASION and teen orthodox Jewish influencer Flynn Goldstein.

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy

Touched by an Angel s7e22 "The Face of God" TEASER Mar 30, 2025

Show notes

Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month!

www.patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

If we had to nominate one piece of broadcast media to be "the best episode of television of all time", in the shortlist would be this compelling TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL episode about human cloning, with a cameo by (an actor portraying) the legendary Albert Einstein. TBAA (as our listeners are well aware by this point) is a famous y2k era TV drama where a Greek chorus of angels inflict themselves upon humans going through moral crises. In this episode, a genetic scientist named Dr. Conover (portrayed by Annabella Sciorra who notably plays Gloria Trillo in THE SOPRANOS) is desperate for a child to call her own, so she fuses her personal longings with work and decides to give birth to a baby cloned from Albert Einstein. This doesn't sit right with our favorite angels, Monica, Tess, and Andrew, who see human cloning as sacrilegious means for humans to "play God." Monica becomes a bioethicist to monitor the doctor closely; meanwhile Andrew and Tess go back in time to tend to the dying Albert Einstein in his final days of life, to show Dr. Conover that even a brilliant man like her idol Einstein would be conflicted by the harmful effects caused by his life's work. Like most TBAA episodes, "The Face of God" takes a hard ideological stance using incredibly convoluted evidence written by humans and delivered by fictional angels as a means to completely eschew narrative continuity and moral consistency. But UNLIKE most TBAA episodes, this one is the origin of the character Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli) who is by far our favorite angel and is created by God out of thin air in this episode as a "flex" by humans for wanting to make cloned animals. Get good!

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy

Face the Beat (2024) feat. Pretty R1cky Mar 23, 2025

Show notes

This Christian feature film about an aspiring DJ feels like a remake of the 2015 Zac Efron-fronted EDM movie WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS, but unfortunately is lacking a lot of substance both in its spiritual and musical themes. FACE THE BEAT is the story of Zack aka "ZDJ Grey", a teenager who wants to escape the rat race by kickstarting his career as a DJ and music producer. The film uses a lot of EDM stock music to represent Zack's creative output, which confusingly runs the gamut from chill house to lo-fi hiphop. Zack's support system includes his divorced parents (a working-class nurse mother and a father who works in the music industry), his rich playboy friend Cooper who books him for gigs, and his vocalist girlfriend Ava who is played by notable Christian singer V. Rose. Zack feels discouraged in realizing his dream as a successful DJ, but eventually his dedication (and some crucial financial support from his father and Cooper) pay off to being discovered by a "music influencer" and artist representative at his first big gig, hinting toward a successful future in Christian music. You would think a movie like this would explore the sacrifices one must make to preserve personal faith in a secular industry, but it really doesn't do anything like that at all. However, the film did inspire us to ruminate on what it takes to actually be a career DJ. Our DJ friend Pretty R1cky (@sobasedsopretty) joined us in the studio to discuss Los Angeles DJ politics, music as a force that comes directly from God, and their viral crucifixion tattoo that has earned them internet infamy.

Stream "DJ" by Pretty R1cky feat. Ash Nerve on Spotify

Follow Pretty R1cky on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sobasedsopretty/

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy

Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible: Sodom and Gomorrah (2003) TEASER Mar 16, 2025

Show notes

Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month!

www.patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

We were very intrigued to find out just how deep this cartoon anthology series of Bible stories would go into the story of Sodom. GREATEST HEROES AND LEGENDS OF THE BIBLE is a y2k era animated series of biblical stories tied together by live action segments hosted by none other than the legendary Charlton Heston. Heston is well known for his portrayal of Moses in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, one of the most famous Bible adaptations in American film history, so he's the closest thing we have to a primary source for life in Bible times. Heston delivers his narrator lines with the poise of an aged Hollywood legend, but the cartoons themselves are unremarkable and low budget, clearly cutting on key frames to save time and money. The low quality animation does a huge disservice to the tale of Abraham, one of the most notable characters in biblical history, who rejected idol worship and did the first circumcision. But all would have been redeemed if the cartoon were brave enough to condemn Sodom directly for the sin of homosexuality. Unfortunately, it does not — the most wickedness we see in Sodom is a man laughing at another man being whipped (non-sexually.) But the director of this series, William R. Kowalchuk, has a sexy secret: his only feature film credit is on an obscure Canadian soft core porn comedy called SUMMERLUST, which looks extremely stupid and is about two men going on a sexy fishing trip (finding hot babes, not fucking each other.) When will God destroy Canada for its sins of lust and pornography?

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy

Mindreader (2022) feat. Brad Roelandt Mar 09, 2025

Show notes

Veteran Christian film director Rich Christiano is back with a riveting parable about a magician named Dexter whose life story is obviously meant to represent the life of Jesus. Dexter is a stage performer specializing in mentalism, drawing huge crowds with his special trick where he guesses audience members' secret words and then gives them extremely specific life advice. Dexter's advice is so good that audiences have started to believe he is a miracle worker. This draws the ire of the Pharisee-like Magicians' Association, an elite club trying to maintain the sanctity of stage magic, who believe Dexter is tainting the art form by refusing to deny claims of his own supernatural ability. The Association ambushes Dexter with a public test, which he passes, but is punished anyway in a shocking plot twist. We recommend fans of Rich Christiano (and his brother Dave) tune into this genuinely entertaining new drama to enjoy the surprise for themselves, but we at Boys' Bible Study will reveal that Rich Christiano is still in top form after over three decades of regular output in the faith-based movie space. We were a bit disappointed with 2020's PLAY THE FLUTE but thought MINDREADER was an exciting new entry in the virtuoso director's catalog. Joining us to review MINDREADER is our friend Brad Roelandt, a longtime associate of ours in the Los Angeles found footage comedy scene, whose feature-length found footage film IMG0000 (2023, co-directed with Collin Lapinsky) creates thrilling associations between thousands of unrelated unlabeled YouTube videos uploaded from phone cameras with default titles. Fast-paced editing weaves together the self-documented life stories of thousands of ordinary people, finding joy and order in the hilariously mundane chaos of human existence, the way a magician might reach into an empty hat and find a rabbit.

Watch IMG0000: https://bradroelandt.com/img-0000

Watch JOEY EARNS REWARDS USING THE MCDONALD'S MOBILE APP: https://www.nobudge.com/videos/joey-earns-rewards-using-the-mcdonalds-mobile-app-megh-and-clev-discuss-their-future-together

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy

Barbara Sundstrom short film roundup! TEASER Mar 02, 2025

Show notes

Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month!

www.patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

THE GUARDIAN (2012) & FOSTER CARE (2013)

Inspired by our rediscovery of one of our favorite Christian directors on our episode last week with guest Louise Weard, we decided to spend this week immersing ourselves once again in Barbara Sundstrom's work, getting a few notches closer to having watched her entire catalog. Barbara Sundstrom is a Texas-based former youth film ministry director with a career spanning several features and shorts, primarily focused on empowering a youth cast and crew by giving teens real film production experience. Each one of Sundstrom's Cross Wind Productions films has a very unique story but tends to focus on "social realism" themes of sin and suffering among ordinary people. Sometimes, they dip into the supernatural: for example, 20 minute short film THE GUARDIAN, which is written by a film student of Sundstrom's, portrays a miracle that occurs when a "hobo" might be an angel in disguise. Christian teen Tara loses her father in a car crash but gets a second chance to say goodbye when she meets the homeless Leroy who coincidentally received Tara's father's eyes in a cornea transplant after the fateful accident. Faith also brings an orphaned teen to unlikely protectors in FOSTER CARE, a story by Sundstrom about how Christians' good intentions need follow-through to make a positive impact. When teen Bridgette is suddenly orphaned by her mother's intentional drug overdose, she is taken in by a family at her local church who aren't ready for the commitment they agreed to when housing a troubled teen. Bridgette fortunately is able to find herself with yet another more suitable couple in church, which has got to be one of the luckiest stories about the foster system ever told. Blurring the line between stark realism and complete fantasy, Barbara Sundstrom remains the kind of compelling voice in faith-based film that keeps us as Christian film podcasters hunting for the next big thing.

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy

In the Mirror Dimly (2007) feat. Louise Weard Feb 23, 2025

Show notes

This dark, gripping teen drama about a girl suffering from an eating disorder begins with a surreal carnival dream sequence where protagonist Nicole sees herself distorted in a funhouse mirror, seemingly instigating a pattern of binge-eating candy and purging. Stuck traveling in between the houses of her divorced parents, Nicole's disorder becomes life-threatening after an electrolyte imbalance causes her to faint while horseback riding on her father's remote ranch. Director Barbara Sundstrom is a lesser known but accomplished Christian film ministry director whose work we've celebrated for years on our podcast, especially her 2007 magnum opus THE SABER (about a marine recruit battling porn addiction.) Sundstrom does not shy away from intense themes in her work, which primarily stars the teenagers who work with her as a part of her film ministry project Cross Wind Productions. Teens deal with intense emotions, so Sundstrom must feel that teens can handle powerful artistic truths. The dark subject matter of IN THE MIRROR DIMLY combined with its forays into the surreal, sometimes intentionally and other times unintentionally through bizarre visual storytelling, make the film an essential watch for anyone who appreciates unique film experiences. Joining us for this week's review is another singular filmmaker, but from a very different realm: Canadian edgelord auteur Louise Weard, whose star is rising with the recent success of her crowdfunding campaign for upcoming feature CASTRATION MOVIE PT. II. This will be a sequel to CASTRATION MOVIE PT. I, which last weekend drew two nights of sold out crowds at screenings in the Los Angeles area. Taking a break from her touring schedule to join us in the studio, Louise discussed the parallels between IN THE MIRROR DIMLY and her own work (mainly, tons of vomit sequences) and also dropped hints that Christian influences might creep into her upcoming CASTRATION MOVIE sequel.

Download Louise Weard's films CASTRATION MOVIE and COMPUTER HEARTS on Gumroad: http://louiseweard.gumroad.com

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy

Promised Land (TV, 1996-1999) TEASER Feb 16, 2025

Show notes

Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month!

www.patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

We're getting deeper into our exploration of popular American TV with Christian themes, now scraping into this seemingly forgotten spinoff series of TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, also created by TBAA executive producer Martha Williamson. PROMISED LAND launched with a "backdoor pilot" in the third season of TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL where audiences met their new favorite family: the Greenes (Dad Russell, mom Claire, son Josh, daughter Dinah, mother Hattie, and roguish redheaded nephew Nathaniel.) Recently homeless, the family decides to nomadically drive their trailer around America after being told by an angel that their purpose is to help others. The American promise is a major theme of PROMISED LAND, leaning more heavily into an explicit endorsement of American values than TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL ever does. In fact, pilot episode "The Expatriate" centers around the Greene family helping a man who is moving from America to New Zealand after suffering a spinal injury from gun violence. It seems reasonable that a man who suffered a traumatic injury might want a change of scenery, but the Greenes (and thereby the logic of the show's writers) seem to think it's a sin to abandon America. It's "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" taken to an extreme and delusional degree, with the Greenes adding value to America by inflicting themselves on average people's lives who hold reasonable opinions. To get a broader sense of the vibe of PROMISED LAND, we also watch a late series episode where the show has completely abandoned the trailer-roaming angle of the show and the Greenes have settled down in Denver, CO. In the episode "What's in a Word?" Nathaniel overhears cool black teenagers saying the "soft 'a' n-word" among themselves and, innocently not understanding the racial context, repeats this word to his own black friend in school the next day. This causes a massive stir within his community and ignites a conversation, poorly handled by the show's writers, about racial dynamics in America. The conclusion? America is the greatest country on earth, no matter the cost.

View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com

Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy

Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Boys’ Bible Study

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected