Re-forming Romans with First Reformed
First Reformed (dir. Paul Schrader, 2017) is a powerful exploration of climate breakdown, grief, faith, and loss. In this article, I argue that the film can be read as a longform exegesis of Rom. 8: 18-25 and offers three key points of connection with the text. First is the notion of ‘solastalgia’—a...
| Subtitles: | Twenty More Years of Bible and Film |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Biblical interpretation
Year: 2025, Volume: 33, Issue: 4/5, Pages: 377-397 |
| Further subjects: | B
Romans 8
B film studies B Paul Schrader B Pauline Epistles B Ecotheology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | First Reformed (dir. Paul Schrader, 2017) is a powerful exploration of climate breakdown, grief, faith, and loss. In this article, I argue that the film can be read as a longform exegesis of Rom. 8: 18-25 and offers three key points of connection with the text. First is the notion of ‘solastalgia’—a term coined by Glenn Albrecht (2019) to describe contemporary climate grief as ‘the homesickness you have at home’. Second is the role of knowledge in relation to creation’s groaning, particularly in conjunction with the recurring question about whether God will forgive humanity’s contribution to climate breakdown. Third is an examination of the nature of hope, dialoguing with Paul’s rhetorical question about hope in 8:24. Overall, this article argues that there is much to be gained by using First Reformed as a lens for biblical interpretation: the text itself is re-formed. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5152 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Biblical interpretation
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685152-33450005 |