The World Turned Upside Down: Finding the Gospel in Stranger Things

by Michael S. Heiser

Overview

What could the supernatural world of Stranger Things have in common with the Bible?

The paranormal television series Stranger Things taps into the mysterious elements that have fueled spiritual questions for millennia. The otherworldly manifestations in Hawkins, Indiana offer compelling portrayals of important spiritual truths—and many of these truths are echoed in the supernatural worldview of the Bible.

For Michael Heiser, Stranger Things is the perfect marriage of his interest in popular culture and the paranormal. In The Unseen Realm, he opened the eyes of thousands, helping readers understand the supernatural worldview of the Bible. Now he turns his attention to the worldwide television phenomenon, exploring how Stranger Things relates to Christian theology and the Christian life.

In The World Turned Upside Down, Heiser draws on this supernatural worldview to help us think about the story of Jesus and discover glimpses of the gospel in the Upside Down. He argues that this celebrated series helps us understand the gospel in unique and overlooked ways. The spiritual questions and crises raised by Stranger Things are addressed the same way they are in the gospel, with mystery and transcendent power.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683593225
Publisher:	Lexham Press
Publication date:	10/31/2019
Pages:	120
Sales rank:	357,758
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael S. Heiser is the author of numerous best-selling books including The Unseen Realm, Supernatural, Angels, The Bible Unfiltered, and The Façade Saga. He is a Scholar-in-Residence at Faithlife Corporation, a regular contributor to Bible Study Magazine, and served as an editor of the Faithlife Study Bible. He earned his PhD in Hebrew Bible and Semitic languages and holds an MA in ancient history and Hebrew studies.

Editorial Reviews

10/28/2019

Drawing analogies between the Bible and story lines from the Netflix series Stranger Things, Heiser (The Unseen Realm) provides a novel take on spiritual warfare and Christian beliefs about the supernatural conflict at the heart of the salvation of mankind. Each chapter focuses on a different character or subplot from the show and a corresponding spiritual concerns, such as the power of love, the cost of sacrifice, and the ongoing battle between good and evil. For instance, he sees the show’s chief of police, Jim Hopper—someone who “can’t admit needs help instead of trying to change the unchangeable”—as representative of the “dilemma” of Jesus’s gospel: “our inability to fix ourselves and resolve our separation from God’s family.” Heiser also concludes each chapter with a “Right-Side Up” section summing up his intended spiritual lessons—a reference to the show’s fictional town, where the disappearance of a young boy exposes the reality of an unseen world, dubbed “the Upside Down,” where monsters set on the destruction of human life reside. Though Heiser’s detailed retelling of the show’s myriad subplots can get tedious, his insights into the series and firm belief that life apart from God would be akin to living in Stranger Things’ horrifying Upside Down will please Christian fans of the series. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly