Lost & Found in the Cathedral of Cinema - by Jeffrey Overstreet (Paperback)

About the Book

In Lost and Found in the Cathedral of Cinema, film critic Jeffrey Overstreet shares his salvation from fear and false religion through big-screen encounters with God: a vision of liberating faith for any seeker. Retrace his escape from fundamentalism into playfulness guided by My Neighbor Totoro, Moonrise Kingdom, The Tree of Life, and Nomadland.

Book Synopsis

Movie-watching can be a spiritual discipline. Christians need not live in fear of so-called "secular influences" in art and culture.

Growing up within the cloistered communities of his churches and Christian schools, Jeffrey Overstreet was conditioned to fear and condemn secular art and culture as predatory and poisonous. Yet, the flicker of light from cinema screens--both wondrous and profound--proved too captivating to resist. Now, through deeply personal and eye-opening stories, Overstreet invites you to join him on a remarkable journey: from Disney's Hundred-Acre Wood to The Tree of Life, from The Black Stallion to Blade Runner, from Pinocchio to My Neighbor Totoro, from Dead Poets Society and Do the Right Thing, to Moonrise Kingdom and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.

Defying the warnings of his youth, Overstreet discovers that so-called "secular" art can illuminate the wisdom of Jesus's teachings, revealing hidden truths and inviting us into a divine game of hide-and-seek with God--not only in the movies but in the vast, wild world they portray.

Finding salvation in the sanctuary of cinema, Overstreet shares his discovery of a deeper, more vibrant faith--one that teaches him to love his neighbor, hear God's voice echoing through creation, and reject the fear-driven distortions of Christianity that so often repel people from the language of the church. As he navigates a violent world guided by the lights of Scripture and cinema, Overstreet--drawing on decades as a novelist, film critic, and professor of creative writing--offers a vision of faith born of experience: faith in a God who makes liberating promises and invites us into a life of courageous creativity.