1.9.26 Culture Friday on the art of dying, I Was a Stranger from Angel Studios, and Lothar Kosse’s new album Shekinah

Summary

The World and Everything In It – January 9, 2026

Episode Theme:
Exploring what it means to "die well" from a Christian worldview (Culture Friday); a critical review of Angel Studios’ new film I Was a Stranger on war and migration; a profile of German jazz worship musician Lothar Kosse and his instrumental album Shekinah.

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Main Segments

1. Culture Friday: The Art of Dying Well

Guests: John Stonestreet (Colson Center President, Breakpoint Host)
Hosts: Myrna Brown, Lindsay Mast

Overview

This week’s “Culture Friday” focuses on the public journeys of two well-known figures facing terminal cancer—Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, and former Senator Ben Sasse—and what their reactions reveal about contrasting worldviews around death. The discussion moves into how our culture approaches death, how Christians can offer a distinctive perspective, and a critique of the “warmth of collectivism” in public policy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Scott Adams on Faith and Death

  • Adams, recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, has publicly mused about "converting" to Christianity at the last moment, framing salvation as a rational “risk-reward” calculation.

    • Quote:

      "Any skepticism I have about reality would certainly be instantly answered if I wake up in heaven... if I have a good life. I don't necessarily have to, you know, state something in advance... I am now convinced the risk-reward is completely smart. If it turns out that there's nothing there, I've lost nothing. But I've respected your wishes... If it turns out there is something there and the Christian model is the closest... I win... argument made, argument accepted."
      — Scott Adams (07:34)

  • Stonestreet’s Critique

    • Calls out the idea of “fire insurance” salvation, argues for a larger narrative:

      “It’s going to have a lot less to do with this kind of bet that Adams thinks he’s making.”
      — John Stonestreet (10:33)

    • Emphasizes the overarching story of God's grace and the work of Christ, warning against viewing salvation as mere “fire insurance.”

    • Reminds that God is gracious beyond our calculations:

      "He does not deal with us according to our sins or repay us according to our iniquities."
      — Myrna Brown (10:33)

• Ben Sasse’s Contrasting Worldview

  • Faces terminal illness with public statements marked by hope and acceptance:

    • Quote:

      "A well-lived life demands more reality, stiffer stuff. That's why, while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope."
      — Attributed to Ben Sasse (11:03)

  • Stonestreet on Worldview Differences

    • Not about levels of intellectual seriousness—both Adams and Sasse are thinkers—but about materialist vs. Christian (spiritual) perspectives:

      “Materialism reduces life down to these days that we have. So you can see in Adams’ calculation an attempt to get around it. In Sasse, you see... someone who has taken to heart that death has lost its sting, that the grave doesn’t have victory anymore.”
      — John Stonestreet (12:06)

    • Calls attention to Christianity’s historic gift: teaching “the art of dying” with hope.

• Culture & Death: Our Society’s Avoidance

  • Modern culture’s failure to engage with mortality honestly.

    “The dominant... understanding of life as one of just perpetual distraction until you die...”
    — John Stonestreet (14:06)

  • Uses real-world Canadian statistic: more likely to die from MAID (assisted death) than US gun violence.
  • Suggests a Christian’s peace in death is a profound societal witness.

• The “Warmth of Collectivism” in Politics

  • Analysis of NYC’s mayor’s inaugural remarks calling for replacing “rugged individualism” with “the warmth of collectivism” (16:34).
    • Quote:

      “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”
      — NYC Mayor (16:34)

  • Stonestreet unpacks the ideological tension:

    "Christianity rejects rugged individualism... because we believe humans are made in the image of God, and that God... is a relationship, a trinity." "The lie of collectivism... is to insinuate care, but what it becomes is state-enforced, forced charity, which makes it not charity at all."
    — John Stonestreet (17:47)

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2. Film Review: I Was a Stranger (Angel Studios)

Reviewer: Joseph Holmes
Segment Start: (22:46)

Overview

Angel Studios’ I Was a Stranger attempts to humanize the Syrian refugee experience but gets weighed down by simplistic storytelling and overt political messaging, which may alienate its core Christian audience.

Key Points

• Film Premise & Approach

  • Depicts multiple characters—doctor, smuggler, soldier, poet, Greek coast guard—seeking escape from Syrian conflict.
  • Incorporates faith naturally; characters pray and talk about God “as naturally as grieving.”
  • Praised for sympathetic characters, avoidance of clunky exposition, and effective cinematography (“long takes in shaky cam, which adds tension and a feeling of raw realism” (24:20)).

• Shortcomings

  • Becomes emotionally repetitive; each character’s arc follows a similar, predictable path—lessening the cumulative impact.

    “Meet a sympathetic character. Watch horrible things happen to them. See most get out of danger, but at a horrific cost.” — Joseph Holmes (24:59)

  • Critical of the film’s political turn—portrays anti-immigration characters as “cartoonishly privileged and heartless.”

    “By the end, the film abandons much of its empathetic subtlety for politically coded finger-wagging at the audience.”
    — Joseph Holmes (25:34)

  • Concludes that the core audience, aware of immigration complexity, will not be persuaded by the film’s simplistic framing.

• Notable Quotes

  “Movies that help us better understand our Christian call to love the stranger are good. However, I Was a Stranger’s storytelling choices might make it difficult to see clearly the thorny problem of immigration from a war-torn region.”
  — Joseph Holmes (26:58)

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3. Music Feature: Lothar Kosse’s Album Shekinah

Reviewer: Arsenio Orteza
Guest: Lothar Kosse
Segment Start: (27:11)

Overview

A profile of German guitarist and worship musician Lothar Kosse, highlighting his instrumental jazz-fusion album Shekinah. The segment also traces the roots of Christian instrumental music, Kosse’s artistic journey, and his philosophical approach.

Key Points

• Kosse’s Musical Background

  • Released over a dozen albums since 1988, both instrumental fusion jazz and worship.
  • Collaborates with acclaimed session musicians: Vinny Colaiuta (drums), Abraham Laboriel Sr. (bass).

• Unique Contribution

  • Christian fusion jazz exists but remains niche since it lacks CCM radio’s lyrical focus.
  • Kosse’s music “meant less to be sung along with than listened to closely.”

• Creative Process & Influences

  • Kosse learned English from a Kenyan friend; influenced by German heritage and jazz icons (Jeff Beck, Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather).
  • Drew inspiration for Shekinah from his goal of making melodies speak on guitar:

    “When I started to plan this album, I had a big sign over my brain. It was melody. Stick with a melody... The master of it for me was always Jeff Beck. He was a master of melody.”
    — Lothar Kosse (32:05)

• Spiritual Intent

  • Album title Shekinah refers to God’s glory.

    “The spirit of the session was actually worship from the beginning. It's about Shekinah. It's about the glory. And that was the meaning of the whole album. I actually don’t care about being famous... but I like it more if they are blessed.”
    — Lothar Kosse (33:08)

• German Musical Heritage

  • Integrates “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” nodding to German hymnody:

    “Paul Gerhardt’s lyrics are still state of the art in Christian music... So I took ‘O Sacred Head, Now Wounded’ because I want to point to my German heritage and say, look, I’m coming from this country. We have not invented jazz and blues, but we have some music that is also very meaningful and very deep.”
    — Lothar Kosse (31:05)

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Most Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “It’s going to have a lot less to do with this kind of bet that Adams thinks he’s making.”
  — John Stonestreet on salvation as “fire insurance” (10:33)

• “A well-lived life demands more reality, stiffer stuff... while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope.”
  — Attributed to Ben Sasse (11:03)

• “The warmth of collectivism, what a bunch of Hallmark kind of sappy nonsense... It’s forced charity, which makes it not charity at all.”
  — John Stonestreet, critiquing collectivist rhetoric (17:47)

• “Movies that help us better understand our Christian call to love the stranger are good. However, I Was a Stranger’s storytelling choices might make it difficult to see clearly the thorny problem of immigration from a war-torn region.”
  — Joseph Holmes (26:58)

• “The spirit of the session was actually worship from the beginning. It’s about Shekinah. It’s about the glory.”
  — Lothar Kosse (33:08)

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Important Timestamps

• 07:34 — Scott Adams on “converting” as “risk-reward”
• 10:33-12:06 — Stonestreet’s analysis of Adams vs. Sasse worldviews
• 13:45 — Christians’ unique contribution: “the art of dying well”
• 16:34 — Clip: NYC mayor pledges “warmth of collectivism”
• 17:47 — Stonestreet’s critique of collectivism rhetoric
• 22:46 — Review of I Was a Stranger by Joseph Holmes
• 27:11 — Introduction to Lothar Kosse’s Shekinah
• 31:05 — Kosse on integrating German hymn melody
• 33:08 — Kosse on worship as the heart of Shekinah

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Summary

This episode of The World and Everything in It tackles profound themes: how Christians can die well in a culture that avoids death, the limits of “risk-reward” approaches to faith, the challenge of capturing moral complexity in faith-driven film, and the beauty of instrumental worship music charting its own quiet course. At every turn, the speakers keep a reflective, honest, and gently challenging tone—inviting listeners to live thoughtfully and faithfully, even in life’s most difficult moments.

Transcript

[Myrna Brown]

Good morning. Today on Culture Friday, dying well, many.

[Scott Adams]

Of my Christian friends and Christian followers say to me, Scott, you still have time. You should convert to Christianity.

[Lindsay Mast]

We'll talk about two well known figures who are dealing publicly with the end of their lives. John Stonestreet is standing by. Also today.

[John Stonestreet]

You shot late. Oh, you got caught.

[Joseph Holmes]

Not my problem.

[Lindsay Mast]

A new Angel Studios film takes on war and migration but oversimplifies the questions. And world's music critic Arsenio Orteza on worship without words.

[Myrna Brown]

It's Friday, January 9th. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.

[Lindsay Mast]

And I'm Lindsay Mast. Good morning.

[Myrna Brown]

Up next, Kate Covington with today's news.

[Kent Covington]

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to extend Covid era Obamacare subsidies. On this vote, the yeas are 230. The nays are 196. The bill is passed that after 17 Republicans joined Democrats to back the bill, bypassing objections from GOP leaders. The subsidies just expired at the end of the year and supporters say without them, premiums are rising and more people could lose coverage. The bill would renew the aid for three years, but a nonpartisan budget analysis says it would add about $80 billion to the deficit over a decade. And most Republicans say there are better options. Congressman JASON smith, what I have been.

[John Stonestreet]

Trying to convince my Democrat colleagues is, is let's work on policies to lower the cost of health care, lower premiums for every single American.

[Kent Covington]

That's the bill now heads to the upper chamber and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is pressuring the Senate majority leader to bring the bill to the Senate.

[John Stonestreet]

Floor for a. John Thune knows that a majority of the United States Senate supports a straightforward clean three year extension of the Affordable Care act tax credits.

[Kent Covington]

Senators are looking at a possible scaled back version of the plan that could replace the House bill. Meantime, in the Senate, lawmakers voted Thursday to send a message to President Trump about any potential further military action against Venezuela. The resolution would limit Trump's ability to launch any further strikes without approval from Congress. Majority Leader John Thune remarked shortly before the vote, this is the Democrats trying to, you know, poke the president and I hope that we have the votes to defeat it. But the vote succeeded 52 to 47, with five Republicans joining Democrats to pass it. Democrat Tim Kaine said he was encouraged by the outcome.

[Joseph Holmes]

I came to the Senate obsessed about.

[John Stonestreet]

These war power issues because I'm a.

[Kent Covington]

Military dad and I represent a state.

[Joseph Holmes]

That has deep, deep military equities. But we should be obsessed about it.

[Kent Covington]

But Thursday's vote was largely symbolic. While it does clear the way for a full Senate vote next week, passage on the Senate floor would require 60 yes votes, which is unlikely. And even if it passed in Congress, President Trump would have to sign it into law. The president yesterday criticized senators who supported the resolution, saying it could weaken national security. Heated protests have erupted in Minneapolis after a federal immigration agent this week shot and killed a woman that federal officials say tried to strike the agent with her car. Many protesters say they want immigration enforcement out of the city.

[John Stonestreet]

We don't want you.

[Myrna Brown]

You have no right to be here.

[John Stonestreet]

You're destroying our communities. Just leave.

[Kent Covington]

The Trump administration says not enforcing the law is not an option. City officials dispute the claim that 37 year old Renee Goode tried to strike the agent with her vehicle, and state officials are complaining that the FBI has shut them out of the investigation. Democratic governor Tim Walz I will continue.

[John Stonestreet]

To press that we be part of.

[Arsenio Orteza]

The investigation, that we do the investigation.

[John Stonestreet]

So that Minnesotans can trust what the outcome is.

[Kent Covington]

But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says.

[Lindsay Mast]

They have not been cut out. They don't have any jurisdiction in this investigation.

[Kent Covington]

Noem added that from her understanding of the facts, the agent acted appropriately and in accordance with this training. The Trump administration unveiled a new food pyramid and other dietary guidelines this week, but officials are not stopping there. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says her department wants to see action for many retailers.

[Lindsay Mast]

We are requiring any of those 250,000 retailers that accept food stamps or SNAP.

[Myrna Brown]

Dollars have to double their offering of healthy food.

[Kent Covington]

The new recommendations call on Americans to eat more whole foods and protein and less processed carbohydrates. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says the data show that American children eat far too many processed carbs.

[Scott Adams]

That is the result of a food.

[John Stonestreet]

Pyramid that was driven by mercantile impulses that put Fruit Loops at the top of the fruit pyramid.

[Kent Covington]

Experts roundly praised the emphasis on eating less ultra processed foods. Some, however, criticized the new food pyramid's focus on meat and dairy. The guidelines do still recommend that Americans limit consumption of saturated fat. Protests broke out in Tehran Thursday as the unrest continues over Iran's weak economy and collapsing currency. World's Benjamin Eicker has more Residents chanted.

[Joseph Holmes]

From windows and rooftops and crowds filled streets after Iran's exiled crown prince called for nationwide demonstrations. Markets and bazaars also shut down in several cities shortly thereafter. Internet and phone service went dark. Watchdog groups say the Iranian government cut communications in a bid to quell the protests. A U s based rights group says dozens have been killed and thousands arrested in recent weeks. The growing demonstrations are ramping up pressure on Iran's leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. For world I'm Benjamin Eicher.

[Kent Covington]

I'm Kent Covington. And straight ahead, Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. Plus, a look at a new film from Angel Studios. This is the WORLD and Everything in It.

[Myrna Brown]

It's Friday, January 9th. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything in It. Good morning. I'm Myrna Brown.

[Lindsay Mast]

And I'm Lindsay Mast. It's Culture Friday, and joining us is John Stonestreet, president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. Good morning, John.

[John Stonestreet]

Good morning, John.

[Myrna Brown]

Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, says he's dying. Adams, who is 68, recently announced he has terminal prostate cancer. And in a recent podcast episode, he spoke directly to the Christians in his life friends who have urged him to consider faith in Christ while he still has time. Adams says he plans to convert to Christianity, but not yet. Here is part of what he told those Christians.

[Scott Adams]

Any skepticism I have about reality would certainly be instantly answered if I wake up in heaven. I do believe that the dominant Christian theory is that I was, I would wake up in heaven if I have a good life. Yeah. I don't necessarily have to, you know, state something in advance. And so to my Christian friends, yes, it's coming. So you don't need to talk me into it. I am now convinced that the risk reward is completely smart. If it turns out that there's nothing there, I've lost nothing. But I've respected your wishes and I like doing that. If it turns out there is something there and the Christian model is the closest to it, I win. So with your permission, I promise you that I will convert, but I probably won't spend much time in that phase. So don't expect it to happen today. Okay. But argument made, argument accepted.

[Myrna Brown]

John Adams is being very honest here, but what do you think the core problem is with the way he's framing salvation?

[John Stonestreet]

Well, I mean that it can be done that way, as if salvation is a form of fire insurance. I think all of this has to be couched in light of something else, a bigger reality, because whenever Christians talk about anything that is happening in a particular moment in time, in a particular cultural time and place, we have to see that in light of the overarching story of what God is doing to reclaim this world that he created for his own glory through the death, resurrection and lordship of Jesus Christ throughout all eternity. In other words, if Adam does make it to God's presence when he dies, and let's pray that he does, it's going to be because of the work of God in his life. It's going to be because of Christ. And that's the overarching thing. And I, you know, there was a particular progressive liberal thinker that I had some disagreements with throughout the years and who once said, you know, I think people are going to be more surprised by who is in heaven with them than who is not. And I think that there's a lot of truth to that. And the reason is because what we know about God is who God has revealed himself to be over and over and over in Scripture, in his work with both unbelieving individuals and unbelieving tribes, people, nations and languages. And that is that he is gracious. It's true that his grace takes a very particular expression in the person and work of Jesus Christ. But that's what we should count on and that's what we should pray for. It's going to have a lot less to do with this kind of bet that Adams thinks he's making.

[Myrna Brown]

He does not deal with us according to our sins or repay us according to our iniquities.

[John Stonestreet]

That is good news, isn't it?

[Myrna Brown]

Isn't it, John? You know, I can't help but think about another well known person who is also facing terminal cancer, former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse. Now we talked about this on the program the day the news came out. In his announcement on X last month, Sasse wrote, a well lived life demands more reality, stiffer stuff. That's why while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope. Similar circumstances, but totally different worldview. Is this just the difference between a mature, intellectually serious Christian faith and a still developing one?

[John Stonestreet]

There is obviously a big, big difference in worldview. I'm not sure it's a difference in intellectual seriousness. I mean, I think it's interesting, right? I mean both of these guys are known for their intellectual seriousness. Adams is, he does it in the form of snark and humor. And Ben Sasse is. And a lot of people have, commenting on his political career said he was just too serious about standing for what he believed to make a good politician. And I think that's probably is what it turned out to his life and career. So you have an intellectual seriousness. I think on both sides the difference is one of worldview. It's a difference of materialism and non Materialism, because materialism really reduces life down to these days that we have. And so you can see in Adam's own calculation an attempt to get around it. In Sass, you see the reflection of someone who has taken to heart that death has lost its sting, that the grave doesn't have victory anymore, that this isn't a calculation of how to push back or figure out some sort of last minute workaround. This is a completely different viewpoint because it begins with a different understanding of gain and a different understanding of loss. That's why we see in so many different cases that a follower of Christ's most amazing testimony can be in a moment of death or at a time of dying. And this is why some of the earliest theological works that the church had to offer the world one was called the Art of Dying. How do we die? Well. And may God give Senator Sasse this strength and grace to be this kind of voice for us right now. I tell you, I've thought about this a lot. You've heard me quote Stanley Hauerwass a lot about if Christians are known in 100 years as those who didn't kill their young and elderly, we will have done well. But I also think far more than that. Christians have a remarkable gift to give to the world and what it means to die well, because you're not getting that from any other corner of the planet. You're getting governments trying to off their citizens too early. You're getting people pursuing the premature death by suicide either legalized or not. And Christians have a real valuable gift to give to the world with this fundamentally different understanding of life and death.

[Lindsay Mast]

John, I want to follow up. Is our broader culture actually equipped to talk honestly about death at all?

[John Stonestreet]

It's not, because it is a limited view of what it means to be human, not just in terms of who we are, whether there's an immaterial part of us or an immaterial aspect of us, although it's certainly confused by about that, but also in terms of what makes life worth living, where do we find meaning? And if you don't have sources of death, and instead the dominant, and I mean here, culturally speaking, understanding of life as one of just perpetual distraction until you die, we're not going to be equipped to talk about that. And you can see that reflected across the board in our inability to just think about it. I saw a piece this week that put an example of this. In such stark contrast, you are more likely as a Canadian to die of medical assistance in dying than an American is to die of gun violence. So isn't that a fascinating statistic? If it weren't so important and significant and grave and I mean, kind of net possibility, out of 100,000, it's actually significantly more likely to die of maid in Canada than of gun violence in the United States. But then what do you hear about what all civilized people are most concerned about? You know, it just kind of points to the blinders that a worldview either helps you understand the world or it actually blinds you from understanding the world. But here's what we know. Death is coming for all of us. We cannot escape that. And so how we think about it, how we live in the face of it, what we say, what we believe, how we stand, what we care about, what we love, how we love, all of that is going to be a profound witness to what all of this is all about. And I think it's going to be an incredible opportunity for Christians. And it has been certainly, I think, a lot about what President Clinton said about Mother Teresa at the National Prayer Breakfast when she made such a courageous stand at that event for the unborn. And what President Clinton, who of course had advanced pro abortion policies pretty aggressively, said, it's hard to argue with a life so well lived. And I think that that has always been true. And I think also it's going to be true that it's going to be hard to argue with a death that's been done well, because it's going to be in such stark contrast to a culture that just doesn't have the categories.

[Lindsay Mast]

Switching gears here, John, here's another worldview on display on the public stage. This is from New Year's Day. An exciting, grinning, optimistic seeming young man becomes mayor of America's largest city. Here's the part of his speech that was replayed again and again for too long.

[Joseph Holmes]

Those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty. Many of these people have been betrayed by the established order. But in our administration, their needs will be met. Their hopes and dreams and interests will be reflected transcendental, transparently in government. They will shape our future. And if for too long these communities have existed as distinct from one another, we will draw this city closer together. We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.

[Lindsay Mast]

So, John, I know that rugged individualism gets a bad rap in Christian circles because you can see how it might reek of works, righteousness. But then here, and this is the clip that's been on repeat all week. The Contrast is with the warmth of collectivism. Now, Mayor Mamdani has a guest in the city who brought the warmth of collectivism to Venezuela. And now that he's in jail in New York, Venezuelans are dancing in the streets. Still, warmth and collective good are resonating with Americans right now. Why do you think that's so when the testimony of history is still so clear?

[John Stonestreet]

Well, history only helps you if you know it. We don't know history. So that's the easiest answer to the American civic question, is we are just civically unenlightened. I'll give you an example here. The conversation since Mamdani's speech has been about individualism versus collectivism. And that's completely misleading. First of all, the warmth of collectivism, what a bunch of hallmark kind of sappy nonsense. But beyond that, we're not talking about communitarianism. And that's the lie of socialism. Christianity rejects rugged individualism. Let's just be really clear. And it's not just because of works righteousness. It's because we believe that humans are made in the image of God and that the God we're in the image of is a relationship, a trinity. And so we can't understand our life outside of our relational requirements, our relational bonds, the relationships that God created us to be a part of. First of all, our relationship with him, secondly, our relationship and awareness with ourselves. Third, our relationship with others, both personal and social. And then fourth, the relationship with the rest of creation. We have a unique understanding of that relationship as Christians as well. The lie of this word collectivism, and this is kind of classic liberal progressive, let's use a word that doesn't mean what we say it means, is to basically insinuate that he's basically saying we're responsible for each other. Collectivism, when it's played out in the way that he's advocating for, never happens. Because people want to give and love and care for their neighbors. It's state and force endorsement. It's forced charity, which makes it not charity at all. And somebody else is doing all the thinking and all the application. And those people, according to a biblical worldview, are infected by the fall. And so this is what always happens. It's like let's everyone have their fair share and suddenly the Mamdanis and the Nicholas Maduro's, they suddenly get more than everybody else, right? They got more than their fair share. Their fair share suddenly is a level of comfort that nobody else has afforded because it's basically a forced collectivism, a state enforced collectivism that really ends up not being charity. It's not being communitarian, it's not being loving or caring or so on. And the citizens themselves become the victims. And of course, some of us had a memory of this because we grew up in the Cold War, but we're talking about a group of people that didn't. And we're talking about a school system that doesn't teach cultural memory. And so collectivism is this really nice sounding word. And by the way, he used it intentionally because it is the misleading word that democratic socialists and communists always use. But it doesn't refer to what it says it refers to. It doesn't refer to a group of people happily loving and hugging each other. What it is is a state enforced inequality. And that's why the Christian view, which puts us in first and foremost a relationship with God. And from that relationship with God, we now know what love is and we can love our neighbors as ourselves. That that actually can become a frame not just for personal morality, although it is, but also with the way that the state should operate to allow people to be those kinds of neighbors. And when we see communities at their best, it's when they're taking care of their own problems and they're taking care of their own in a way that demonstrates that sort of charity, love and respect for human dignity.

[Myrna Brown]

John Stonestreet is president of the Colson center and hosts host of the Breakpoint podcast. Thank you, John.

[John Stonestreet]

Thank you, Beth.

[Kent Covington]

Additional support comes from Dort University. Dort's online master of Social work program equips students for faithful service in their local communities until all is made new from Free Lutheran Bible College, grounding students in the word of God for life in Jesus Christ on campus and in person in Plymouth, Minnesota. Flbc, Edu World and from Commuter Bible.

[John Stonestreet]

The Bible podcast series that matches weekly schedules on podcast apps and commuterbible.org annual plans begin this week.

[Lindsay Mast]

Today is Friday, January 9th. Thank you for turning to world Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Lindsay Mast.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Erna Brown. Coming next on the world and everything in it, when good intentions Collide. Angel Studios is best known for faith driven films that resonate with Christian audiences. Its latest takes on war, displacement and the call to love the stranger. Subjects fraught with moral disagreement and political consequence. World reviewer Joseph Holmes now on how well the film bears the weight of its ambition.

[Joseph Holmes]

I Was a Stranger is a rather unconventional movie for Angel Studios. They're traditionally known for faith based films, but this is a war drama about people trying to flee a war torn Syria, but they're still clearly marketing it to the faith based audience, even choosing a title referencing Jesus. Call in the Bible to welcome the stranger. Unfortunately, storytelling choices and political messaging will likely cause most of that audience to pass on it.

[John Stonestreet]

We don't accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express. Only cash. No exchanges, no refund. You show up late, oh, you got caught.

[Joseph Holmes]

Not my problem. The film follows multiple individuals and families on the path to freedom from war and violence in Syria. A Syrian doctor is forced to flee Aleppo with her young daughter. A smuggler trying to save his son. A soldier wrestling with his conscience. A poet searching for a home. A Greek coast guard captain caught between duty and mercy. Their paths collide on a night in the Mediterranean where survival isn't certain for everyone.

[Myrna Brown]

Listen, after tonight, you and I will.

[Joseph Holmes]

Get out of here for good.

[Myrna Brown]

That wasn't a deal.

[Joseph Holmes]

It's a new deal.

[John Stonestreet]

Where should we go?

[Myrna Brown]

Someplace better.

[Joseph Holmes]

The film is well made. Sympathetic characters are introduced without cumbersome exposition, and the stakes they face feel consequential. It's impressive how the film deftly introduces multiple central characters over and over without slowing down the overarching story. The cinematography relies on a lot of long takes in shaky cam, which adds tension and a feeling of raw realism. Faith is ever present in the film, as most of those seeking to escape Syria are religious, whether they're Christian or Muslim. The movie treats this as a fact of the world rather than something that's good or bad. People talk about God and pray to God as naturally as grieving.

[John Stonestreet]

This is the Hellenic Coast Guard. Please remain on the boat while we rescue those in the water.

[Joseph Holmes]

But I Was a Stranger doesn't have enough emotional punch to make that harrowing journey worth it. The film largely sticks to the same beats with each new character. It gets repetitive and transparent fairly quickly. Meet a sympathetic character. Watch horrible things happen to them. See most of them get out of danger, but at a horrific cost. The lack of emotional variety causes each scene to have less impact. Likewise, the constant switching to different perspectives breaks up the flow as we spend time reorienting ourselves to a new set of characters to invest in.

[Lothar Kosa]

I give you the thing that most.

[John Stonestreet]

Important to you, and I trust you with what most important to me.

[Joseph Holmes]

Furthermore, by the end, the film abandons much of its empathetic subtlety for politically coded finger wagging at the audience. We are introduced to several characters who express concerns about unchecked immigration. The film treats them as cartoonishly privileged and heartless. The final scene portrays a refugee doctor working as a janitor at a hospital rather than as a doctor. A final horrific indignity. But the film's target demographic knows the immigration topic is complicated. Seeing the debate portrayed simplistically takes the audience out of the film. Are these realistic people or highly curated objects of sympathy for political propaganda? They make it.

[John Stonestreet]

They don't all appear the same. I counted 28.

[Joseph Holmes]

Four must have not made it. The film is a PG13 war drama. As such, there's plenty of PG13 violence. People get killed and wounded, and bloody bodies are strewn about. Bombs level a building and bury everyone inside. There's some profanity, including some uses of Christ's name throughout. A racial slur is spoken a few times in Arabic and is once translated by subtitles. Movies that help us better understand our Christian call to love the stranger are good. However I Was a stranger's storytelling choices might make it difficult to see clearly the thorny problem of immigration from a war torn region. I'm Joseph Holmes.

[Lindsay Mast]

Next up on the World and Everything in It. Beyond the lyrics, there's a chorus of Christian music that rarely makes it to radio. Music meant less to be sung along with than listened to closely. But for decades that instrumental tradition shaped by jazz and grounded in worship, has been developing largely out of view.

[Myrna Brown]

One of its most accomplished practitioners is a German worship musician, lothar Khosa. Since 1988, Kosa has released more than a dozen albums, and his latest is titled Shekinah. World music critic Arsenio Arteza thinks it's high time that listeners outside Germany found out what they've been missing.

[Arsenio Orteza]

In contemporary Christian music. Instrumental fusion jazz goes back a long way, over 40 years, in fact, to the debut album by Koinonia in 1983. But CCM is primarily defined by its lyrics, and Christian fusion jazz is instrumental, a fact that's kept it niche. But its second class status hasn't deterred the German electric guitarist Lotar Kosa from becoming one of its primary exemplars. This is first a track from Kosa's latest release, Shekinah. Like his numerous other albums, it's on YouTube in its entirety, so you can check it out before buying it. Two of music's most in demand players accompany Kosa the drummer Vinny Koleiuta and the bassist Abraham Laborial Sr. Who also happens to be a founding member of Koinonia. They have hundreds and by some estimates, thousands of credits to their name. Also, like Cosa, they're believers. Cosa said he first met laborial in 1988 the year that Kosa recorded his first solo album, One for All, I.

[Lothar Kosa]

Asked him whether he would like to join me on this recording, and he said yes. And it was a dream for me because I always was admiring him and Koin o' Neill and his music. And this friendship has lasted very long. And Winnie I met in 99 through a friend of mine, Matthias Heimlicher, also a great producer who lives in Switzerland. And Vinnie was working with him. And then I was going to Switzerland to record Rainmaker with him, which also was a great dream for me.

[Arsenio Orteza]

Coming to Rainmaker was Cosa's third fusion jazz album. It followed his 1994 release, Rockland. Between Rockland and Rainmaker, Kosa released Or the Flood in English. It was his first solo album of worship songs, a medium in which he has gone on to excel. In 2006, he even recorded an album in English. All that sound I am falling on.

[Lothar Kosa]

My knees and I sing the song of freedom I was blind but now I see.

[Arsenio Orteza]

Xa learned English as a teenager from a friend of his who, interestingly enough, came from Kenya. But Kosa's German heritage is important to him too. It's one reason, for instance, that Shekinah includes this well known melody. Although O Sacred Head, now Wounded is a 13th century hymn with an originally Latin text, its best known lyrics have come down to us via the German hymnist Paul Gerhardt.

[Lothar Kosa]

He was living in the 17th century and his lyrics are still state of the art in. In Christian music. It's so wonderful for it, but they only work really in German. So I took a sacred heart I had now Wounded, because I want to point to my German heritage and say, look, I'm coming from this country. We have not invented jazz and blues, but we have some music that is also very meaningful and very deep. And I tried to bring it over to the other side of music.

[Arsenio Orteza]

Bringing it over to the other side of music isn't easy. But Cosa, who began studying guitar when he was 13, has had impressive role models. Like many a budding boomer, he first wanted to figure out the instrument for himself after hearing Jimi Hendrix. He also admires Larry Carlton, Lee Rittenhauer and Toto's Steve Lukather. But it's when I asked him what he found most challenging about making Shekinah that he mentioned the guitarist he admires most.

[Lothar Kosa]

When I started to plan this album, I had a big sign over my brain. It was melody. Stick with a melody and to play a melody on electric guitar so that it really captures the essence of the melody. It's not so easy. It's easier with a voice, I think, but with the guitar, easily can get boring. So I said to myself, you have to pay attention to the melody and really shape the melody. The master of it was for me was always Jeff Beck. He was a master of melody.

[Arsenio Orteza]

Because Vinny Kaliuda was a member of Beck's band, Kosa had the privilege of seeing Beck perform Over the Rainbow live. It took your shoes off, he told me. And speaking of taking off one's shoes, I asked him why he called his new album Shekinah, a Hebrew term referring to God's glory.

[Lothar Kosa]

The spirit of the session was actually worship from the beginning. It's about Shekinah. It's about the glory. And that was the meaning of the whole album. I actually don't care about being famous. Being well known at my age now, I think doesn't make really sense. Why should I do it? I like if people like it and enjoy it, but I like it more if they are blessed.

[Arsenio Orteza]

And just in case being blessed also means having your shoes taken off, you might want to bring a second pair. I'm Arsenio Orteza.

[Lindsay Mast]

Time now to thank the team who made the show possible this week. Mary Reichard, David Bon, Emma Eicher, Kim Henderson, Hunter Baker, Jenny Lynn Schmidt, Arsenio Ortezza, Janie B. Cheney, Emma Frayer, Maria Baer, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet and Colin Garbarino. Thanks also to our breaking news crew, Kent Covington, Steve Klosterman, Travis Kercher, Daniel Devine and Christina Grube. And thanks to the Moonlight Mice trip, serving up the program each weekday bright and early. Ben Jeiker and Carl Peetz. Harrison Waters is Washington producer. Kristin Flavin is features editor. Nick Eicher is executive producer. And I'm producer Lindsay Mast.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educated and inspires. The Bible says, pray then, like our Father in heaven, hallowed be youe name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew, chapter six, verses nine through 13. Well, this weekend be sure and shake a hand, hug a few necks on the Lord's day, hear the word, give thanks and make a joyful noise with songs of praise. And Lord willing, we'll meet you right back here on Monday. Go now in grace and peace.

[John Stonestreet]

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