Divine Film Comedies creates a meaningful dialogue between stories in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament and comedies spanning the history of film. The text lies at the intersection of three disciplines: humor/comedy studies, film studies, and theology. Drawing on films from the silent era to the 21st century, the book highlights parallels between comedic sub-genres and sacred narratives, parables, and proverbs, illuminating a path to seeing and understanding both Scripture and film through a comic lens. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of theology and film, media, and communications.

Divine Film Comedies creates a meaningful dialogue between stories in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament and comedies spanning the history of film. The text lies at the intersection of three disciplines: humor/comedy studies, film studies, and theology. Drawing on films from the silent era to the 21st century, the book highlights parallels between comedic sub-genres and sacred narratives, parables, and proverbs, illuminating a path to seeing and understanding both Scripture and film through a comic lens. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of theology and film, media, and communications.

This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched. Catherine O'Brien draws on the structure of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy to explore Martin Scorsese's feature films from Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967-69) to Silence (2016). This is the first full-length study to focus on the trajectory of faith and doubt during this period, taking very seriously the oft-quoted words of the director himself: 'My whole life has been movies and religion. That's it. Nothing else.' Films discussed include GoodFellas, The Last Temptation of Christ, Taxi Driver and Mean Streets, as well as the more recent The Wolf of Wall Street. In Dante's poem in 100 cantos, the Pilgrim is guided by the poet Virgil down through the circles of Hell in Inferno; he then climbs the steep Mountain of the Seven Deadly Sins in Purgatory; and he finally encounters God in Paradise. Embracing this popular analogy, this study envisions Scorsese as a contemporary Dante, with his filmic oeuvre offering the dimensions of a cinematic Divine Comedy. Drawing on debates at the heart of religious studies, theology, literature and film, this book goes beyond existing explorations of religion in Scorsese's work to address issues of sin and salvation within the context of wider debates in eschatology and the afterlife.

Catherine O'Brien draws on the structure of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy to explore Martin Scorsese's feature films from Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967-69) to Silence (2016). This is the first full-length study to focus on the trajectory of faith and doubt during this period, taking very seriously the oft-quoted words of the director himself: 'My whole life has been movies and religion. That's it. Nothing else.' Films discussed include GoodFellas, The Last Temptation of Christ, Taxi Driver and Mean Streets, as well as the more recent The Wolf of Wall Street. In Dante's poem in 100 cantos, the Pilgrim is guided by the poet Virgil down through the circles of Hell in Inferno; he then climbs the steep Mountain of the Seven Deadly Sins in Purgatory; and he finally encounters God in Paradise. Embracing this popular analogy, this study envisions Scorsese as a contemporary Dante, with his filmic oeuvre offering the dimensions of a cinematic Divine Comedy. Drawing on debates at the heart of religious studies, theology, literature and film, this book goes beyond existing explorations of religion in Scorsese's work to address issues of sin and salvation within the context of wider debates in eschatology and the afterlife.

This informative guide helps readers combine their love of movies with their desire to grow closer to God. Foremost experts on faith and film, all connected with the Reel Spirituality Institute at Fuller Seminary, explore forty leading movies from the last four decades to encourage movie lovers and small groups to reflect critically and theologically on their film choices. God in the Movies introduces and analyzes the spiritual content of top films from the 1980s through the 2010s, opening viewers up to a conversation about life, faith, and God. Following a format similar to Barsotti and Johnston's successful Finding God in the Movies, this completely new book covers different films spanning four decades. This engaging resource contains production notes and film synopses, relevant Scripture texts, theological reflection, discussion questions, film stills, recommended film clips, and more, serving as a treasure chest for hours of film viewing, discussion, and ministry. Clips from the movies referenced in each chapter are available online.

The PARADISO is considered the most perfect part of the hereafter where the souls are permitted to live eternally if they can successfully complete the very difficult Celestial Examination process engaging the intellectual and personal guilt and forgiveness requirements system. Many celestial citizens take years, decades or centuries to complete. The Celestial Trial of Josephus, the Annual Lantern Parade and Romano’s awakening from his dream nightmare at the ending are the major subjects in this Book. This Celestial Trial of the ancient Jewish General and Roman writer, propagandist and collaborationist Flavius Josephus in discovering the real Spiritual Truths at the Celestial Supreme Court headed by the Biblical prophets Noah, Abraham and Moses is portrayed. Josephus is defended in Court by a late 19th century mortal American Barrister named Darryl Buchanan from Philadelphia who just successfully defended John D Rockefeller before Almighty GOD Himself in God’s Personal Supreme Peoples Court. The goal of the Celestial Trial of ‘Josephus verses the Celestial Kingdom’ is to discover the Holy Secrets and Spiritual Truths of his writings as to determine whether he did or did not fabricate and/or conceal the Biblical truths and steal the Prophecy that the next Ruler of the Roman Empire was destined to come from Judea to save his own body and soul? The Annual Lantern Parade at the Celestial Circus Maximus on Christmas Day has been a tradition since Jesus died on the Cross in the first century AD. The theme this year is called the Ancient & Divine Mysteries of the Universe. BOOK FOUR ends with the Devil and his Three Crown Princes still trying to manipulate, dominate and overthrow the Kingdom with a Final Curtain Call where the Tragic End Game occurs and the Mise-en-Abime shows the hero Journalist Romano home awoken immediately after his dream in his basement apartment at a New York City Catholic Church.

The Purgatorio is the celestial afterworld where all people who die on Earth first immediately arrive to be purged and processed in their after-life by the Angels and Wise Prophets. The Journalist Romano as Adam & the ancient Prophet Zarathustra arrive to attend the Annual Lantern Parade in the attached Paradiso but will experience all the aspects of the Purgatorio before moving onto the Paradiso. The Café Graeco-Roman is the largest public café in the Celestial Kingdom where souls gather to discuss their personal, recreational and theological concerns amidst conspiratorial undercurrents led by the diabolical Devil and his tough-talking Three Crown Princes arriving as both undercover comedians and Garcons. The World’s main religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity and Islam and the Primitive Religions as well are explored by both the Young French Professeur and the Extraordinary School Children. The Conspiracy Theorists are introduced while Celestial Tour Announcements about Guided Trips to Earth are permitted to those who qualify are given all day. A Literary Intermezzo is offered to display the literature greats forming their Literary Collective which include souls like Chaucer, Charles Dickens, the Grimm Brothers, Christopher Marlowe, Mary Shelley, Lady Murasaki, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, Shakespeare, the Russian existentialists & others. Theological and Intellectual debates are also offered with the ancient Greek philosophers of Socrates & Plato & Aristotle to the modern thinkers Darwin, Richard Wagner, Friedrich Nietzsche, George Bernard Shaw, Voltaire, Rabelais & others. Ideologies and Faiths are also explored in Chapters with the subjects of the True Authorship of the Christian New Testament & the Higher Criticism of the Bible. GOD also has approved an Interstellar Scientific Project designed to explore the Universe with celestial physicists, mathematicians, bio-chemists, bio-technologists, behavioral scientists, political economists, philosophers, existentialists, theologians etc. all assisted by Albert Einstein among others.

The PARADISO is considered the most perfect part of the hereafter where the souls are permitted to live eternally if they can successfully complete the very difficult Celestial Examination process engaging the intellectual and personal guilt and forgiveness requirements system. Many celestial citizens take years, decades or centuries to complete. The Celestial Trial of Josephus, the Annual Lantern Parade and Romano’s awakening from his dream nightmare at the ending are the major subjects in this Book. This Celestial Trial of the ancient Jewish General and Roman writer, propagandist and collaborationist Flavius Josephus in discovering the real Spiritual Truths at the Celestial Supreme Court headed by the Biblical prophets Noah, Abraham and Moses is portrayed. Josephus is defended in Court by a late 19th century mortal American Barrister named Darryl Buchanan from Philadelphia who just successfully defended John D Rockefeller before Almighty GOD Himself in God’s Personal Supreme Peoples Court. The goal of the Celestial Trial of ‘Josephus verses the Celestial Kingdom’ is to discover the Holy Secrets and Spiritual Truths of his writings as to determine whether he did or did not fabricate and/or conceal the Biblical truths and steal the Prophecy that the next Ruler of the Roman Empire was destined to come from Judea to save his own body and soul? The Annual Lantern Parade at the Celestial Circus Maximus on Christmas Day has been a tradition since Jesus died on the Cross in the first century AD. The theme this year is called the Ancient & Divine Mysteries of the Universe. BOOK FOUR ends with the Devil and his Three Crown Princes still trying to manipulate, dominate and overthrow the Kingdom with a Final Curtain Call where the Tragic End Game occurs and the Mise-en-Abime shows the hero Journalist Romano home awoken immediately after his dream in his basement apartment at a New York City Catholic Church.

A Divine Comedy is a compilation of the author’s novels True and its sequel One. This book is also available for purchase by Kindle device and app users in the Kindle Store on Amazon.com.