Part One of the conversation with UK evangelist Vince McCann is now posted (see below). I explain in the podcast why I decided to divide it into two parts. I hope to post Part Two in a couple of weeks from now, all being well.
Blessings, Julian.
Previous Programme
For the 17th TMR Movie Roundtable we welcome back our good friends Frank Johnson, Antony Rotunno and Mark Campbell for another four-way discussion, this time on the cult British supernatural horror film The Appointment (1981/2) starring Edward Woodward and directed by Lindsey C Vickers.
"An evil and enigmatic entity throws a family into turmoil in Lindsey C. Vickers' much sought-after cult horror. Unable to attend his daughter’s violin recital, suburban father Ian—played by Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man)—is haunted by a series of prophetic nightmares that seem to foresee a looming tragedy. Are dark forces gathering to be unleashed upon him?"—BFI.org.uk
After initial screenings at film festivals in the early 1980s, The Appointment wasn't released in cinemas or on television (for various unfathomable reasons) but only on home media, although it did eventually get broadcast on UK regional television in the 1990s—a showing that, ironically enough, its director missed! Ever since, many have searched for the film—religiously scanning TV schedules and hunting in second-hand shops in the hope of tracking down one of those old VHS or Betamax video tapes—but it was not until 2022 that the film became widely available once again thanks to the British Film Institute and the film's director Lindsey Vickers (who was extensively involved in the project). The Appointment is now available on Blu-ray Disc as part of the BFI Flipside series (see show notes).
Join us as we discuss the production and reflect theologically/philosophically on the themes and meanings of this almost-lost cult British movie.
[Images (here and slide show image) courtesy of The British Film Institute. Copyright © BFI/Lindsey C. Vickers, all rights reserved, used by TMR with kind permission.]
Upcoming Programmes
We shall be joined again by our good friend Antony Rotunno for another of our one-to-one chats that have been a feature of TMR for several years now. This time we intend to discuss something that, at first sight, might seem to run the risk of being a little hackneyed, but which, we believe, has the potential to lead to a very fruitful conversation. We shall use the film The Matrix (hold on, keep reading!) as a springboard (not a review!) for discussing the "truther" phenomenon—not "the truth movement", given that neither of us is persuaded that there is such a movement, per se—and consider ways in which popular interpretations of themes in The Matrix have helped to mould people's experiences of "taking the red pill" in response to various epistemological shocks in the real world.
(As to the claim that The Matrix has always been a hidden trans allegory, as the Wachowskis maintain, we shall largely put that aside and treat the film as a cultural artefact in its own right.)
It is with great pleasure that we welcome back to the programme the UK evangelist Vince McCann—host of the Chenzo1969 YouTube channel—for Part One* of a relaxed and unstructured conversation on his long-time ministry speaking to Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons (and others) on the streets of UK towns and cities in the prayerful hope of reaching people for Christ.
Drawing upon his extensive experience of such street ministry, Vince shares with us some practical advice that might help us in our own conversations with people caught up in New Religious Movements that claim the Bible as a foundational text.
Future Programmes
We expect to be joined again by the theologian and historian Dr Martin Erdmann for a series of interviews on the subject of his major book The Spiritualisation of Technology (2022).
"Dr Martin Erdmann studied theology at Columbia International University in the USA (Master of Divinity in Missiology and New Testament Studies), at the University of Basel in Switzerland and at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland (Master of Theology in New Testament Studies and Patristics). In 1996, he founded Online Communication Systems, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio. In 1999, he was awarded a doctoral degree in Modern Church History at Brunel University London in England. From 2000-2001 he engaged in post-doctoral studies in New Testament and History of Theology at the Séminaire Libre De Théologie À Genève (Free Seminary of Theology, Geneva, Switzerland). From 2003 to 2010 he was an Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies (distance education) at Patrick Henry College, Virginia. For four years Dr Erdmann headed up the NT department of the Staatsunabhängige Theologische Hochschule Basel (State-independent Theological Seminary), Switzerland. In his position as Senior Scientist at the University Hospital in Basel, he was involved in researching the ethical implications of Nanotechnology. In 2017 the Károli Gáspár-University in Budapest, Hungary awarded him the Dr. Habil. degree in Systematic Theology. Since 2003 he has directed the Verax Institute (Christian apologetics). Dr Erdmann is married to Joy and has two children, Estelle Chérie and Johannes Luc."
Results from TMR survey
Format: Everyone who responded said that they particularly appreciate the interviews (and other types of one-to-one conversation) and asked that these remain at the core of TMR's programming. They also generally prefer in-depth conversations.
Subjects: The majority of respondents are happy with the types of subjects covered on the podcast. (Some aren't keen on subjects that are specifically Christian, while others aren't keen on subjects that are not specifically Christian. Given that this mix is central to TMR's philosophy, such difference of opinion is only to be expected.)
Frequency: Very few asked for the podcasts to be posted at any regular interval (such as weekly or fortnightly), but instead stressed the importance of quality over quantity.
Conclusion: I shall therefore continue in much the same way, but prioritise the in-depth conversations, even though that may impact the frequency with which I post podcasts.
Many thanks to those who contributed.
Julian.
Other arrangements (tentatively) in the pipeline. I am currently working on the following projects (in no particular order): a follow-up interview with Jacob Hornberger on the Zapruder Film Mystery; an interview in the area of "A Christian approach to health and medicine" with a recently qualified Cambridge University PhD graduate; an interview in the area of the Philosophy of Miracle; an interview on the Orality of Scripture; (possibly) a half serious, half tongue-in-cheek, roundtable on the subject of "Skience" (my word for "The Science"); (possibly) a TMR Roundtable on the 2014 film "One by One" starring Rik Mayall; and (possibly) a series of interviews with Dr Martin Erdmann on his book The Spiritualisation of Technology.
