PODCAST · religion
Church in Space
by relchilliard
A lively discussion between a Lutheran pastor and two die-hard sci-fi nerds about the intersection of religion and science fiction.
Episodes
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Episode 56: The Dragon Ate My Game of Thrones
In this episode, the crew delves into the Seven Kingdoms; theorizing why the book series still hasn't been completed and comparing and contrasting the series to Tolkien's classic, The Lord of the Rings. PLUS: the crew discusses the best seasons of television. ------------- For more of our...
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Episode 55: Can Androids Be Baptised?
The inaugural episode with Vicar Keith! In this episode, the crew discusses various questions involving Star Wars, theology, and ethics. Can androids be baptised? Did the Jedi need a Martin Luther figure/Reformation? What should the New Republic have done with Darth Vader if he had survived? And...
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Episode 54: The Future of Religion
What will religion look like in the future? In this episode, the crew discusses their theories, sharing thoughts on Transhumanism, theology, and the Amish in space?! ------------- For more of our shenanigans, be sure to follow us on social media! YouTube: RELC Hilliard TikTok: @churchinspace...
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Episode 53: A Sci-Fi Guide to Shopping for Time
In this episode, Pastor Dave, Dan, and Drew discuss immortality in Sci-Fi, specifically in the context of the new series Alien: Earth. The gang categorizes different methods by which humans have sought (and have imagined how to seek) immortality, relating these to how immortality is explored in…
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Episode 52: The Episode of Christmas Yet to Come
In this 2025 holiday episode, the crew gathers to discuss how Christmas appears in sci fi, their favorite Christmas specials, generational despair, and to answer the age-old question: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? (Spoilers: yeah, it totally is). From the Church in Space crew, we send happy...
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Episode 51: The DS9 Debacle
In this episode, Pastor Dave, Dan, Drew, and Vicar Keith begin by discussing franchise fatigue, which leads to a conversation comparing two Star Trek series, "The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine" (DS9). Dave struggles to connect with DS9's morally complex Federation, and then the crew adds...
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Episode 50: Why We Do Church in Space
In this Season 3 premiere, the crew regroups to discuss why they do Church in Space. From themes of religion in sci-fi, the morals of the DC and Marvel universes, and how theology can be terribly relevant to the media we consume, listen in as Pastor Dave, Dan, Drew, and Vicar Keith discuss their...
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Episode 49: Deus Ex AI - Will We Worship Artificial Intelligence?
In which the 3-Ds and a V debate whether we'll end up worshiping Artificial Intelligence. Drew says some people already do...and there's speculation that's what Ezekiel was doing on his prophetic field trip to the desert outside Babylon's 'burbs. Beyond worship, might AI attain actual godhood…
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Episode 48: Grey Jedi (What the Force Are Grey Jedi Anyway?!)
In which the 3-Ds and a V have a very Star Wars-centric discussion about grey Jedi: folks who wield the Force but don't subscribe to the Jedi-Sith orthodoxy. Somehow, the Vicar and Pastor manage to make that a strong parallel with Martin Luther's doctrine that we're all both saints and sinners...
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Episode 47: Toxic Fanbases
In which the 3-Ds welcome Vicar Keith into the fold to discuss the Whovians, Trekkies, Fireflyers, and Star Wars fans who make the rest of us miserable: the haters who drive away actors and pan new developments without even seeing the show. Of course, we can be lighthearted over our misery, so we...
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Episode 46: When SciFi Means Business
In which the 3-Ds make it their business to analyze how business is portrayed in science fiction. It typically goes along two lines: the megacorp (like the Weyland-Yutani Corp in Alien) or a hodgepodge of independent traders (like Star Trek's Cyrano Jones). Along the way, we debate whether the...
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Episode 45: Second Thoughts on First Contact
In which the 3-Ds ponder what will happen when humans finally achieve first contact with aliens. Will religion become a moot point? After all, our major religions are all very human-centric. How else will we react? How will they react? But first, our hapless hosts learn the ugly truth about...
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Episode 44: The Jedi - Religion, Cult, or Parlor Trick?
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…
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Episode 43: Ethical Dilemmas in Sci Fi
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:...
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Episode 42: Conference Realignment - A Sci-Fi & Religion Huddle
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…
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Episode 41: An Old Hope - Optimism in Sci Fi
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...
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Episode 40: When SciFi Gets Religion Wrong
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?...
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Episode 37: Is God a Dragon?
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? ------------- For more of our shenanigans, be sure to...
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Episode 36: The Big Apple-calypse
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...
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Episode 35: Get Thee Back, DCEU -- New Franchises from Old SciFi
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...
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Episode 34: The Half-Baked Show
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...
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Episode 33: When Good AI Goes Bad
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...
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Episode 32: Are You Certain?
Pastor Dave has one question for the 3-Ds: are you certain? Each D must answer twice -- once asking if they're certain about something in the Bible, and once about something in science fiction. Unless the two overlap, like when the ending of Lost revealed that everyone on the island was actually…
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Episode 31: Space Whales and Pedro Passion
Fresh from the Red Planet, we are greeted by our first ever guests. Julia & Kate add their distinctiveness to our own as we are driven to answer the question: Could you survive Order 66? As usual, our drive wanders down several off-ramps, including multiple manifestations of space whales, and a...
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Episode 30: Lutherans Invade Mars - Winter
Winter is coming. And so is the final episode of our game of A Quiet Year. So much is unresolved. How can our hardy band of Lutherans survive with the rutabaga crop devastated, and only a box of lowing Twinkies to eat? Is the only way to solve thefts on the Martian railroad to build more…
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Episode 29: Lutherans Invade Mars - Autumn
"We struck oxygen, boys!" All seems well in the Lutheran colony in our third installment of A Quiet Year. Indeed, the game play goes well enough that our spacey Lutherans decide to build a brewery, and the Pope sends a Catholic contingent. Pastor Dave and Dan rejoice, but Drew has perfidy on his...
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Episode 28: Lutherans Invade Mars - Summer
Murder. Mystery. Mayhem. And suspension bridges! The tension and drama Lutherans face as they colonize Mars reaches a fever pitch in Part 2 as we play The Quiet Year. In this episode, the domed city of New Augustana must repel an invading army from the dome next door. Will the Methodists…
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Episode 27: Lutherans Invade Mars - Spring
We're back! Season 2 finally launches after a long hiatus: going underground to escape the Shadow Bishop, Drew and Dan performing with Figrin D'an on his intergalactic concert tour as a covert cover, and rescuing Pastor Dave from the Spa of Innumerable Unpleasures. (Drew and Dan will post…
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Episode -1: ANNOUNCING OUR RETURN!
After a long hiatus due to the rigors and chaos of our modern lives -- and not at all due to a massive theological conspiracy to silence those who question religious dogma within the framework of deeply informed speculative fiction, nor who believe The Rings of Power IS canon -- Church in Space...
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Episode 26: Dan Strikes Out (The Baseball Show)
In which Pastor Dave and Drew desperately try to make Dan an acolyte of baseball. They try pointing out that it's a Calvinist game, that you can be really out of shape to play (even professionally), and that there's a whole lot of physics and math involved. Will Dan be drawn in to this Cult of...
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Episode 25 - Angels...or Ancient Aliens?
In which the 3Ds ponder the presence of aliens influencing human development in ancient times. Does the Bible document ETs amongst the prophets? On the way, we learn that Pastor Dave would make the universe's absolute worst Starfleet officer, who even now would feel much more comfortable in the...
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Episode 24 - Getting Hardcore (or WWJR: What Would Jesus Read?)
In which the 3Ds debate the merits of hard versus soft science fiction -- and wonder which type each of the Gospel writers would be fan boys of. Along the way, we learn that whoever wrote Matthew really didn't understand the point of poetry; the need for Bryce Dallas Howard and Leah Thompson to...
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Episode 23 - The CiS Taxonomy of Villains
In which Pastor Dave does for evildoers what Carl Linnaeus did for life: creates a classification system useful in wretched hives of scum and villainy everywhere. The 3Ds promptly debate which villains -- one each from pop culture and the Bible -- fit into which categories. Thanos and Paul fit in...
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Episode 22 - Space Monks
In which the 3Ds contemplate the role of monastics in space. From Dr. Who to Stargate, monk variants are almost ubiquitous in sci-fi -- usually resembling Catholic or Eastern Mystic traditions. And they almost always gain special powers through their faith. Of course, we talk Jedi, too; they're…
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Episode 21 - Dancing to the Apocalypso
In which the 3-Ds contemplate Mad Max, and why the Southern Hemisphere's apocalyptic movies are so distinctly different from the Northern Hemisphere's apocalyptic movies. Australians, in particular, seem to enjoy their post-apocalyptic lives! Then it's on to Samuel L. Jackson's next role: the...
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Episode 20: The Heat Made Us Do It
In which the 3-Ds return after an unplanned hiatus (due to unannounced "rolling blackouts," storms, and unseasonal high heat), we discuss the portrayal of climate change in science fiction. Because reality. On the way, we discover that Dan is the world's most dangerous lab partner...Drew is hip…
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Episode 19 - Identify Yourself (’Cause We Sure Can’t)
In which the 3-Ds build on a question from our last episode: who are you, really? It's all about identity this time around. We must be having an identity crisis, because all three of us are unusually serious in this show. "To thine own self be true," quoth Shakespeare...but who be thee? Does your...
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Episode 18: Imminent Immortality
In which the 3-Ds discuss immortality in sci fi, and as it gets closer in real science, would we really want it? After all, why be immortal if you don't like change...or have a sucky personality you're not willing to change? And if immortality means transferring your personality and memories into…
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Episode 17: The Cosmos Always Liked You Better
In which the 3-Ds contemplate what makes humans so special. In so much sci fi (and religion), humanity is something very special or unusually dangerous. What's behind this human hubris? Lazy writing, an author's low self-esteem, or simple human bias? And does this all mean that the Bible has it...
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Episode 16: Good Bad Guys Are the Best
In which the 3-Ds ponder whether the emperor and the Galactic Empire in Star Wars were actually the good guys; that naturally leads to a discussion of what makes really good evil in fiction...and whether a Force ghost is trapped between Heaven and Hell. Dave laments the difficulty in writing a…
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Episode 15: Gamey Pizza
In which, for the first time, the 3-Ds never get to the planned topic; they started chatting about video games and never actually got around to starting the show. In this randomly overheard conversation they ask (and Drew answers) why there are no full-on religious video games, discuss the…
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Episode 14: Free Will Isn’t Free, But the Borg Can Purge It for You Wholesale
In which the 3-Ds ponder whether the Borg have the right idea, and if religion is really about assimilation. We also learn of The Sermon on the Bridge while reflecting on William Shatner as a Lutheran pastor, hear Luther's opinion about free will, and come up with the concept of Quantum Sin. And…
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Episode13: What a Disaster!
In which the 3-Ds decide there's nothing quite so fun as a good disaster movie. Like religion, hope is a major component to the success of a disaster movie. Hope, and having a villain with a British accent -- that's critical. Just as critical as making sure the end of the world begins in either...
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Episode 12: Bible Zombies
In which the 3-Ds find the Easter resurrection reminiscent of reanimated remains: zombies! Is there a biblical basis for the undead? We examine the many lives of Lazarus, humanity's Zombie Prime...and wonder if the Resurrection really means we'll all technically be zombies in paradise...
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Episode 11: The Soul of a Machine
Can a machine have a soul? The 3-Ds stay unusually focused (mostly) on whether true artificial intelligence can really exist -- and, if it does, whether it has a soul? And if it doesn't, where do we draw the line with humans? Just homo sapiens? What about Neandertals -- do those of us with a lot…
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Episode 10: From Harry Mudd to the Ferengi to Jesus - The Economics of Star Trek
In which the 3-Ds learn how the Federation's economy dovetails nicely with the Bible's (but the Ferengi...not so much), and we figure out where Jesus would boldly go in Star Trek's Federation.
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Episode 9: In Space, No One Can Eat Your Casseroles
In which the 3-Ds wonder why there are no Protestant galactic empires. Islamic, Catholic, Judaic, Mormon, Buddhist, and more...sci fi has those in our interplanetary future. So where are the Lutherans? Maybe they just don't have the rich collective history cum character development other faiths...
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Episode 8: We’re Having a Pod Luck
In which the 3-Ds look at luck tucked into science fiction -- and whether it's providence, predestiny, random chance...or just a convenient way for a writer to advance the plot. That inevitably leads to the conclusion that from climate change to the pandemic, all bad things that happened since…
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Episode 7: May the Force Be...Messing with Your Religion
In which the 3-Ds go heavy on Star Wars debating whether the Force is a heresy the Council of Nicea would have banned, or is it part of the Truth and the Way? On the way, we end up figuring out what constitutes an actual religion...and discover that, by any definition, Ohio State football is…
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Episode 6: Only a (Godly) Game
In which we have no theme, as Pastor Dave posits his game questions throughout the entire episode. To wit: Which Bible character would have the best Twitter account? What's Hollywood's worst casting in a Bible movie? Which Bible book would have been best told as it happened on TikTok or Vine? Why...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A lively discussion between a Lutheran pastor and two die-hard sci-fi nerds about the intersection of religion and science fiction.
HOSTED BY
relchilliard
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Church in Space have?
Church in Space currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Church in Space about?
A lively discussion between a Lutheran pastor and two die-hard sci-fi nerds about the intersection of religion and science fiction.
How often does Church in Space release new episodes?
Church in Space has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Church in Space?
You can listen to Church in Space on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Church in Space?
Church in Space is created and hosted by relchilliard.
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