Theology—the study of God—can be found in any space, from virtual to actual. That is to say, nothing is removed from theology; it reaches out and touches everything. Dr. Richard is connecting with a new vast audience about the God of the Bible by entering the space of a new trend, the “reaction video,” with a new twist: a gospel-driven, theologian response.
The reaction video trend uses dialogue on the thematic structures, cameos or hidden endings of a movie to engage a broad audience. People post such videos online to express their views for others to watch. Dr. Richard’s timely response to “Thor: Love and Thunder”—the latest fantasy release in a line of blockbuster Marvel movies—offers a perfect gospel engagement opportunity for an ever-growing audience.
Captivating millions worldwide, the global box office chart topper paints a poorly-stroked image of selfish, callous, distant gods, causing a sympathetic response to the antagonist seeking to kill these heartless deities. The film reflects a certain perception and depth of theological deficiencies found in our cultural spaces.
Dr. Richard uses the movie’s subject matter of human suffering and self-absorbed gods to draw light to the not-so-distant God of the gospel and Jesus—God with us.
This theologian’s reaction video has borne tremendous success in just one week, drawing audiences in the United States of 59,920, United Kingdom 92,879, Australia 37,008 and New Zealand 24,608, with an average engagement rate of 57.5%. This means that not only was the video viewed by large audiences, the response and participation from the pre-Christian audience was consistently within the majority. People took the time to respond and react on some level.
So use it, send it out, and watch how it makes for a reflective and thought-provoking bridge of gospel engagement.