Great Scott! Matt was pulled from his temporal loop and found himself in our reality once again. While he was away he was very frustrated that JP and Father Chuck were talking about time travel without him, so they decided to talk about time travel again! In this tangent universe, JP, Father Chuck and Matt talk about time travel, their favorite time travel films, methods of time travel, parallel universes, and share their own time travel theories and fantasies. What would you do if you could tra...
Mar 07, 2017•1 hr 6 min
Great Scott! Father Chuck and JP are here to bring you our first ever episode (out of infinite other probable episodes occurring simultaneously on parallel dimensions)about time travel! We geek out over time travel in movies, going over our favorite "rules" from movies like Back to The Future and The Terminator, Donnie Darko and even The Last Temptation of Christ. And how can you have a full on nerdy conversation about time travel without mentioning the concept of parallel worlds? That, true bel...
Feb 28, 2017•1 hr 12 min
This week Fr. Chuck is flying solo! So you get to hear him talk to himself (like a typical Tuesday night) and ponder about Valentine's options, what the rest of the gang is up to, and who might be our patron saint. Good times. This one's short and awkward. If you'd like to support the show, become a patron by visit our patreon! https://www.patreon.com/MastersOfDivinity Follow us on social media: http://instagram.com/mastersofdivinity https://twitter.com/mastersdivinity https://www.facebook.com/m...
Feb 15, 2017•17 min
Welcome back, MoD Squad! JP, Father Chuck and Matt are back again to discuss the evangelical “literary” phenomenon “The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life.” If you hung out in the evangelical community in the early 2000s, it’s a good chance that your church was blitzed by Bruce Wilkinson’s 80-page international bestseller. The Masters of Divinity certainly were, and since Christian subculture phenomenons are kind of our thing, we just had to talk about the book, its impact, an...
Feb 07, 2017•1 hr 19 min
This week, JP and Father Chuck are joined by Mei Lin, a friend of Chuck's who is also an animation student. Mei Lin shares her background in how she got started in animation and how she was inspired by Laika Studios' Coralina, among many others. There is also talk of the great animated shows that are airing today that deserve attention, and are exploring themes and ideas in a way that can't be explored in other mediums. They also talk about Mei Lin's experience at the Women's March in Washington...
Jan 27, 2017•1 hr 15 min
Hey, did you know that we like comics? If you didn't, JP and Father Chuck are here to remind you that WE LOVE COMICS. In this next installment of the Matt is Missing Saga (we're praying it turns out better than the Clone Saga), JP and Father Chuck get nostalgic over growing up in the 90s as comic book nerds (the 90s were The Dark Age of Comics. It was pretty traumatizing), discuss the rocky history of the church's relationship with the comic book industry, geek out over their favorite comics and...
Jan 20, 2017•1 hr 18 min
In Part 2 of our epic Social Media episode, Father Chuck explains why he left Facebook and Twitter, which leads to a discussion about the dark side of social media, its negative effects like Facebook depression, hive-mind thinking, reality distortion and conspiracy theories! Thanks for listening and don't forget to like us on Facebook! If you'd like to support the show, become a patron by visit our patreon! https://www.patreon.com/MastersOfDivinity Follow us on social media: http://instagram.com...
Jan 13, 2017•57 min
Hello 2017! The Masters of Divinity are here to kick off your year with an epic two-parter. JP and Father Chuck discuss at great length about growing up with computers, the internet, and the evolution of online interaction that ultimately became social media. From Prodigy to Everquest to AOL chatroom roleplaying (yeah, weird, right?). Remember, this is a two-parter, so be sure to listen to second part of the episode! It's available now on your iTunes machine so you don't have to wait. If you'd l...
Jan 13, 2017•46 min
JP, Father Chuck and Matt band together with reoccurring co-hosts Father Fun and Keelan to usher the end of 2016! The gang compiles their favorite movies of the year, reflect on TV shows that they discovered, and look back on some of their most memorable experiences on the podcast. They also acknowledge with heavy hearts the passing of Carrie Fisher. It was a rough year, but we made it. We enjoyed our podcast's first year of existence, and we thank all of you for listening. See you in 2017! If y...
Dec 29, 2016•1 hr 21 min
JP, Matt and Father Chuck went out and saw ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, and loved it so much that there was no way they weren't going to dedicate an entire episode to it. As a Christmas treat to all of our nerdy listeners, we review the first standalone Star Wars film, and with great glee. We absolutely loved Rogue One, and we talk about our favorite characters and moments, THAT SCENE, and what we would like to see in other standalone "Star Wars Stories." Enjoy the episode and remember, the For...
Dec 21, 2016•1 hr 32 min
In this episode, JP and Father Chuck are joined once again by Keelan as they discuss World's Greatest Mom, The Blessed Virgin Mary. Father Chuck reveals his latest feelings and experience in understanding of Mary, and the gang talk about her influence in Christianity as well as in pop culture. JP is just hours away from seeing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story so, of course, the conversation dips into Star Wars territory pretty quick. And of course, Shmi Skywalker. We talk a lot about Shmi Skywalker....
Dec 16, 2016•57 min
JP, Father Chuck and Matt kick off the holiday season and deck the halls in preparation for The Most Wonderful Time of The Year! The guys discuss their favorite Christmas movies, which Beatle had the better Christmas song, favorite Christmas memories, JP's hatred toward A Christmas Story, how Star Wars is becoming a new Christmas tradition, and a very illuminating history lesson on the Christmas holiday and the origins of Santa Claus. And would it be Christmas without Last Christmas by Wham!? We...
Dec 09, 2016•1 hr 14 min
We're back! After a long Thanksgiving break, JP and Father Chuck return to talk about their favorite interpretations of God in various films, TV shows and even comic books. They also get into unforgettable tangents about tea, rare sodas, JP's struggle with The Simpsons 600 marathon, and what they would do if either of them were suddenly blessed with religions brain tumor powers. Listen to the episode, it'll make sense. If you'd like to support the show, become a patron by visit our patreon! http...
Dec 02, 2016•1 hr 3 min
In this week's episode, JP, Father Chuck and future Officer Matt discuss the importance of communication and language in today's society. The gang is a little dismayed by how communication has broken down in recent years and how it has surely caused the division we are currently experiencing in our country. They also talk about the impact words can have on one's life, and how we better communication and use of language can bring humanity together. If you'd like to support the show, become a patr...
Nov 18, 2016•1 hr 5 min
In this episode, the Masters of Divinity have finally reunited with Matt's return, and together they react to the results of 2016's Presidential Election. JP, Father Chuck & Matt share their unique experiences during the days following the election, and come to the same conclusion about the importance of empathy, unity and peace. Can we achieve these things? We sure as hell try in this episode. If you'd like to support the show, become a patron by visit our patreon! https://www.patreon.com/M...
Nov 11, 2016•1 hr 6 min
In this week's episode, JP and Father Chuck rock the vote in Matt's absence. Have you voted yet? YOU SHOULD. In our first truly political episode, JP and Father Chuck discuss the importance of voting, the roles that Christians play and ought to play in the landscape of politics, and try very hard not to enrage Trump supporters. Listen, we aren't a partisan podcast, we mostly want to be a place that you can escape to from the madness of the world, but voting is important and shouldn't be ignored ...
Nov 03, 2016•58 min
In this episode, the Masters of Divinity face the morbid reality of death in the lightest way possible! Whether we like it or not, death is a part of life, and there was a time when Halloween was a time to reconcile the notion of death as well as remember and honor the memories of those we loved who have passed on from this mortal coil. In this episode we talk about how we would like Halloween to be associated with this idea once more, our beliefs about the afterlife, and the movie Cocoon and ho...
Oct 26, 2016•49 min
Father Chuck is back y'all, and he comes baring gifts from one of our listeners (his mom) and chimes in on some of our Matrix talk from last week. Also, the Pumpkin Spice continues to flow in our second episode in our Halloween series where the guys talk about fear. Fear is an essential part of Halloween and its religious origins, and we explore how fear is a fun aspect of the holiday. We also talk about phobias and existential fears that plague us, and the pitfalls of living in fear. We're also...
Oct 18, 2016•1 hr 31 min
In this week's episode, Matt dares to ask JP what's on his mind after he had already The Matrix trilogy and binge-watched MTV's Scream series. Matt and JP discuss story structure and how it applies to reality and our lives, drawing a lot from The Matrix and Scream. Father Chuck is absent for this episode, so they didn't get into whether we're actually living in a simulation or not (sorry Chuck fans). Pour yourself a Pumpkin Spice latte and enjoy the first episode of October! If you'd like to sup...
Oct 12, 2016•1 hr 9 min
Another riff-tastic episode of Masters of Divinity. The guys take time to reflect on the past month and the various topics they covered, especially the previous episode where co-hosts Chuck and Matt were replaced by their wives Cainna and Heather. We also followup a little on the topic of anxiety. They also talk about Tolkien and Middle Earth, C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, Matt's obsession with murder mystery fiction and Chuck confronts his own mortality by confronting death. It's an episod...
Sep 27, 2016•1 hr 23 min
In this week's episode, we let Father Chuck choose the topic, and he asks us "Is religion good?" We start off by trying to define religion in our own ways, talk about passages in the book of James, bring up the Denzel Washington vehicle Book of Eli, explore the divide as well as the influence between religion and politics. It gets deep. Also something about Pharrell and his hat....you'll just have to listen. If you'd like to support the show, become a patron by visit our patreon! https://www.pat...
Sep 07, 2016•1 hr 11 min
It's that dreaded time for children of all ages: Back to School season! In this episode the guys reflect on the anxiety associated with having to return to school, no thanks to corporations like JC Penney who felt it necessary to interrupt our summer TV programming with back to school sale commercials. We also talk about what it's like from the perspective of a parent and a teacher. Also, in perfect back to school fashion, the guys reflect on their summer vacation. We also talk about our experie...
Aug 30, 2016•1 hr 9 min
What is happiness? How does one find true happiness? Is there a difference between happiness and joy? Was Crystal Pepsi always disgusting? These are the important questions asked by JP, Father Chuck and Matt as they discuss the topic of happiness. If you'd like to support the show, become a patron by visit our patreon! https://www.patreon.com/MastersOfDivinity Follow us on social media: http://instagram.com/mastersofdivinity https://twitter.com/mastersdivinity https://www.facebook.com/mastersofd...
Aug 23, 2016•1 hr 20 min
This week JP, Matt and Father Chuck discuss the topic of short term missionary work. Delve deep into their philosophies on overseas mission work, learn how good of a person JP is, and if you're a young Millennial thinking of partaking in a mission trip, the trifecta offers up some of their own advice and relate their own experiences in overseas missions. If you'd like to support the show, become a patron by visit our patreon! https://www.patreon.com/MastersOfDivinity Follow us on social media: h...
Aug 16, 2016•1 hr 14 min
Did you see Suicide Squad this past weekend? The Masters of Divinity sure did, and as usual, they have a mountain of thoughts for you to devour. The theme of redemption plays an important role in Suicide Squad, and we chew on that for a good portion of the episode. There were some awesome characters who may or may not have been handled gracefully...but the real question is, did we like it? Find out today! If you'd like to support the show, become a patron by visit our patreon! https://www.patreo...
Aug 09, 2016•1 hr 20 min
Star Trek has entered its 50th year in our society. For 5 decades, the legendary title has existed in our pop culture lexicon as a series of TV shows, movies, books, videogames, and pizza slicers (look up the Enterprise Pizza Slicer and tell me you don't want one). Like Dungeons & Dragons and calculus, it is a long-lasting staple in nerd culture. So, of course, we're here to celebrate its 50th anniversary, and we do that by inviting Father Fun once again to join JP, Matt and Father Chuck to ...
Aug 02, 2016•1 hr 4 min
JP, Matt & Father Chuck are once again joined by Father Patrick Funston (aka Father Fun) to discuss the latest Star Trek movie, Justin Lin's Star Trek Beyond! Matt, Father Chuck and Father Fun are enormous Trekkies compared to JP, who's just a lowly red-shirt in a dangerous planet, so the guys have an absolute blast dissecting, discussing, and celebrating the latest iteration in Star Trek. While this episode is mostly a discussion about the movie, it also serves as a primer for another episo...
Jul 26, 2016•1 hr 13 min
JP, Matt and Father Chuck discuss the movie that murdered your childhood, Ghostbusters (2016)! They each dig deep into their thoughts on the movie and come up with a pretty mixed back concerning their feelings on it. If you haven't seen the new Ghostbusters, beware, spoilers abound! If you'd like to support the show, become a patron by visit our patreon! https://www.patreon.com/MastersOfDivinity Follow us on social media: http://instagram.com/mastersofdivinity https://twitter.com/mastersdivinity...
Jul 19, 2016•1 hr 31 min
JP, Matt & Father Chuck are joined once again by Father Patrick Funston (or Father Fun, as we like to call him) for another wonderful episode about videogames and technology, only this time they are caught up in Pokemon Go fever! Father Fun catches a rare Pokemon in his closet, they swap Pokemon hunting stories, the impact the game is currently having on society, the future of augmented reality, and how it impacts the church, since all churches are now PokeStops and PokeGyms. CATCH THIS PODC...
Jul 12, 2016•1 hr 20 min
We've reached our 20th episode! It's a big one. In this episode JP, Matt and Father Chuck are joined by their good friend Keelan to talk music! They discuss their "Top 5 Desert Island Albums", music movies, N*Sync, and the ability music has to enrich one's life and maybe even save one's life. It's a wonderful, packed episode with a Masters of Divinity first: a live recording of two songs by Pedro Bustamante, Keelan and Chuck's band from college. You don't want to miss this! We got music! If you'...
Jul 06, 2016•1 hr 27 min
