Between Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. (1982), War of the Worlds (2005), and now Disclosure Day, Steven Spielberg, 79, has been making alien movies for half a century. His latest may not be as cinematically groundbreaking or narratively focused as some of his earlier alien movies, but it’s probably the timeliest. The film’s release comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of War’s launch of a UFO website and declassification of (nothingburger) UFO files, as well as a bizarre stunt in which the White House teased a sci-fi-branded aliens.gov, only for it to be a website about tracking illegal immigrants. Politics and entertainment are blurrier than ever, and Disclosure Day’s “how would proof of aliens undermine religious belief” question is ripped from recent sensationalistic headlines. Would the discovery of alien life really be faith-shattering? One character in Disclosure Day (a former novitiate nun played by Bono’s daughter Eve Hewson) argues, “People will see [aliens] as deities. They’ll stop believing in God.” Another nun character is less threatened by the idea: “Why would [God] make such a vast universe, yet save it only for us?” The speculative theological questions are intriguing. But ultimately, the chief drama in Disclosure Day isn’t explicitly religious as much as epistemological. This is a movie about the battles over truth, information, and revelation. The antagonists want to keep the full truth hidden from the public. The whistleblower protagonists fight for full disclosure. Truth isn’t proprietary, the film’s thesis seems to be. It belongs to everyone and should never be blocked. Any act to disclose the truth, the film suggests, is an act of grace. Illumination is an act of love. Spielberg’s Judeo-Christian Storytelling Disclosure Day weaves the stories of two primary protagonists: a Kansas City weather personality, Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), who suddenly starts to speak in different languages, and a rogue cybersecurity expert, Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), who seeks to reveal a trove of top-secret government files. Both become vessels of an unknown power that ultimately drives them together. Along the way, they narrowly escape bad guys in a few well-executed action sequences. Courtesy Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment But Disclosure Day (rated PG-13 for language and some violence) isn’t chiefly about the action or thrills. It’s rather about ideas and intriguing questions. Are all the ideas coherent? Not really. The movie introduces more ideas and questions than it answers—more mysteries than it has time to explain. But I’d rather have a film that underexplains rather than the opposite. A movie that evokes wonder is more valuable than one that feels perfect. Spielberg’s Jewish identity has always deeply shaped his cinematic storytelling, and Disclosure Day is no different. In a way, his abiding thematic interest in aliens could be read as a sci-fi reimagining of Judeo-Christian beliefs: a supernatural deity who interacts with humanity in astonishing, sometimes fearsome ways. The film’s script—cowritten by Spielberg and his Jurassic Park collaborator David Koepp—is unwieldy but full of fascinating biblical parallels and allusions. Spielberg’s Jewish identity has always deeply shaped his cinematic storytelling, and Disclosure Day is no different. The movie alludes to the New Testament in its depiction of “spiritual gifts” of sorts, like speaking or interpreting tongues, and performing signs and wonders, in service of advancing a new message the world needs to hear. The film’s setting in an unraveling world full of “wars and rumors of war” evokes the apocalyptic scenes of Revelation. Disclosed Truth as Exodus-Style Freedom But mostly, Disclosure Day strikes me as a riff on Exodus. The world’s population is enslaved in the “bondage” of withheld truth. The villain, Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), is a Pharaoh-like tyrant who heads a secretive corporation (Wardex) devoted to keeping the masses ignorant. He’s a hard-hearted man who often waffles between giving up control and reasserting it. Courtesy Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment A seemingly supernatural force (aliens) intervenes, calling two chosen leaders—Margaret and Daniel—to be prophets, intermediaries, and deliverers in the vein of Moses and Aaron. They perform “signs and wonders” throughout the film, not from their own power but as vessels to display the supernatural power of the aliens. There’s a device that functions like Aaron’s rod in Exodus: a sort of talisman used to perform supernatural wonders. There’s even a scene of hail! Most of Disclosure Day feels like an extended chase sequence that builds to the “Red Sea” moment of the actual Disclosure Day—triumphant deliverance from the bondage of ignorance into the liberation of revealed truth. Throughout the film, Margaret and Daniel are led supernaturally toward that Red Sea deliverance in a way that echoes the pillars of cloud and fire. Most of Disclosure Day feels like an extended chase sequence that builds to the ‘Red Sea’ moment of the actual Disclosure Day. Margaret frequently describes the feeling as being a “passenger,” not the driver. It’s not scary to her and she just “goes with it,” like she’s in a “flow.” This made me think of God’s sovereignty and the freedom that comes when we surrender to his lead—however unnerving it may feel at times. Indeed, Blunt—whose acting here is the best of her career—makes surrender to sovereign guidance look beautiful. Notably, another character in the film explicitly references Luke 22:42 and Jesus’s posture to his Father’s will: “Not my will, but yours, be done.” The film evokes numerous Old Testament scenes of prophets and chosen leaders who do great things not because they’re great but because they’re willing. Margaret says at one point in the film, “I will not be anyone’s religion.” She’s an instrument, not an idol. It’s compelling to watch characters moved around a high-stakes chessboard by a benevolent force, even as others are manipulated by evil forces. This is a spiritual battle. Will we be vessels for good or evil? God Who Reveals Some spoilers follow. A script’s final line is often an interpretive key to the whole film. In Disclosure Day, the last word is “listen.” Given the film’s Pentateuch allusions, “listen” made me think of Deuteronomy 6:4 (“Hear, O Israel . . .”), arguably the central verse in Judaism. Even as it’s spoken by an alien in this film, there’s a clear parallel to the Judeo-Christian God of Scripture, a self-revealing God who graciously reveals, rather than hides, his character. We don’t see a “Sinai moment” in the film. Spielberg doesn’t specify whatever revelation follows the invitation to “listen.” The film ends merely by observing that this alien form—this God proxy—speaks, wants to communicate with us, desires to self-disclose. This ending left me reflecting on the beauty and miracle of a God who initiates communication with us, illuminates our unknowing, and “will guide [us] into all the truth” (John 16:13). We can’t know everything about God. We don’t deserve to know anything. That we know some things is the result of sheer grace. Courtesy Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment The film’s beautiful moments of human-to-human communication (chiefly in Blunt’s character) also made me marvel at the way we, God’s image-bearers, reflect his relational, communicating character. As in Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016)—a “benevolent aliens” film that feels like a clear reference point—Disclosure Day celebrates the gift of communication, this miraculous means of knowing and being known, seeing and being seen. Light and eyes are key visual motifs in Disclosure Day. Both speak to the wonder of communication as a bridge between the darkness of unknowing to the light of truth, from the fears and conflict wrought by misunderstanding to the hope and communion that clarity brings. Earth-Shattering News Disclosure Day is a sincere and hopeful film, but what’s the source of that hope? Does humanity have the capacity to overcome its divisions and misunderstandings if it just prioritizes empathy enough? If that’s Spielberg’s hope, it feels naive. But I suspect his “alien intervention” plot hints at the idea that humanity’s only true hope is in the divine rescue story Scripture tells—the God who doesn’t leave humanity to walk in darkness but graciously shines a “great light” (Isa. 9:2), who doesn’t leave us to wander in the wilderness but graciously shows us the way (Deut. 1:33). Disclosure Day celebrates the gift of communication, this miraculous means of knowing and being known, seeing and being seen. The film’s climax shows how the world would react to “disclosure” of alien visitations and presence among us. Billions immediately stop in their tracks, eyes glued to screens as the news is broadcast live. News anchors get emotional, at a loss for words. The world shares a moment of dumbstruck awe at news that changes everything, news that reframes reality itself. But hasn’t news like that already arrived? The Christian gospel—the good news that God visited us, became one of us to save us, died and rose again, offering the gift of eternal life—changes everything and reframes reality. But does this news stop us in our tracks as it should? That’s the convicting question raised by the final 15 minutes of Disclosure Day. We don’t have to hope or wonder at the prospect that we “are not alone” in the universe. We already know we aren’t alone. In his grace, God saw fit to reveal himself and dwell among us. “Disclosure Day” already happened: “In the beginning” in creation (Gen. 1:1), to the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets, in the person of Jesus, in the revelation of Scripture. The question for us is the question Spielberg’s film ends with: Are we listening?

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The 2026 World Cup is expected to be the largest sporting event in history. More than 7 million fans will attend the matches in person, billions will watch around the world, and around 1.5 billion will likely tune into the final. Why do sports do this to us? They capture the full kaleidoscope of human emotions in just a few hours and bring people together like little else in our fractured world. In numerous ways, sports are a wonderful gift from God to help us delight in him and his creation. Every four years, billions of people invest their emotions in this global tournament. Few events reveal the power of sports—or the loyalties of our hearts—quite like the World Cup. So how can we enjoy this sporting spectacle without being negatively shaped by it more than we realize? When Sports Become Worship Like all good gifts, our favorite team and the experience of supporting it are gifts given to point to the Giver, not to be worshiped themselves. Consider three ways we can we tell if our fandom is becoming idolatrous. 1. It controls our emotions. A good gift becomes a bad god when it begins to control us. Our emotions become driven by the result of a match (or the anticipation of it), which spills out into our relationships with others. My wife used to say she could tell how my game had gone as soon as I walked in the door. The problem comes when that initial disappointment stretches out into hours, days, and weeks. A helpful diagnostic question to ask: Would I be more excited about my team winning a game on Saturday or someone being baptized at my church on Sunday? 2. It reshapes our priorities. It’s often said you can see what someone truly worships by looking at his cash and his calendar. I once read a story of two fans of the University of Alabama’s football team. The couple purchased a $300,000 RV to attend games, and they were so obsessed that they even missed their daughter’s wedding because it clashed with a game. That’s worship. A good gift becomes a bad god when it begins to control us. When it becomes impossible to miss games but easy to neglect the gifts of grace such as church, prayer, giving, and Bible reading, or when we’re going into debt to support your team, we may be unhelpfully obsessed with our favorite sport. 3. It changes how we speak. Perhaps the biggest challenge for us as Christians watching our team is the way we use our words. How easy it is to forget that the players and fans of a rival team—and the referee—are made in God’s image (James 3:9–10). How easy it is to think nothing of singing crude chants, booing opponents, piling in on the criticism of the players, and uniting with the rest of the stadium in abusing the officials, and then the next day singing songs of praise to God at church. This should feel incongruous to us. Whether in a stadium or behind a keyboard, we should be troubled if we can curse people made in God’s image on Saturday and sing worship songs on Sunday without a second thought. What Healthy Fandom Looks Like If those are the dangers, what might healthy enjoyment of the World Cup look like for a Christian? 1. We enjoy sports gratefully. Sports are a gift, created by people made in God’s image. We should feel grateful for them! Singing chants and being with others to celebrate (or commiserate) are signposts pointing to what we were made to be: worshipers of God for all eternity. Whether it’s in the stadium or on the couch with friends, when you’re cheering on your team and experience that sense of camaraderie or excitement, pause and do two things. First, thank God for this gift at this moment with these people. Second, think to yourself, This is just a glimmer of what heaven will be like. 2. We enjoy sports in proportion. Sports make rubbish gods. They let us down all the time. Forty-seven sets of World Cup fans this summer will end their run with a loss. If we see sports for what they are—a wonderful gift but no more—we’ll be able to lose graciously, miss a match, and keep perspective. But when we put our faith—or even part of our identity—in sports, we’re asking them to do something that they can’t. Sports will always let us down if we ask them to do something that only Christ can. 3. We speak differently. Christian fandom should sound different. Whether online, in the stands, or sitting with friends discussing the game in the bar, we need to remember that as those with a new identity, we’re called to speak “only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Eph. 4:29, NIV). Many of us would be pretty silent in a conversation if we truly took this verse to heart. Christian, you don’t need to disengage or feel guilty about enjoying the spectacle of the biggest sporting event in the world. Cheer loudly this World Cup, celebrate the gift, but remember not to leave your deepest identity at the turnstiles.