God’s Not Dead

Curiosity seems to be getting the better of me a lot these days. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing to be curious but that I’m not usually one to try new things and I definitely seem to have a hard time trying new films. One thing I really didn’t foresee trying is God’s Not Dead (2014).

Yes, this film is sponsored by the family from Duck Dynasty.
Yes, this film is sponsored by the family from Duck Dynasty.

I’m not a huge fan of blatantly religious films. “Religious Propaganda” is what they are called in the film world. Honestly, I think that when films are too obvious with their messages, they become tacky and unbelievable. What makes that a little ridiculous is that I am a very blatantly religious person. I guess maybe that makes me a bit of a cynic but I do think that there is no way that a tacky religious film is going to appeal to anyone other than the religious.

This may be one of the few cases in which I was wrong.

Now, I will not disagree that there are glaring gender and racial issues with this movie. And I am well aware of the “religious propaganda” of it. But closed-minded girlfriend and vicious Muslim father aside, the film actually might have something.

I think what makes this film stand out from others “religious propaganda” films are two things: 1) it lays out a legitimate argument including the counter argument and 2) it employs the same “everyone is connected” technique that is so successful in big Hollywood films like Valentine’s Day (2010) and New Year’s Eve (2011).

It is fairly rare to find a religious film that takes the time to justify religion or, in this case, a belief in God. A lot of films will have one or two “non-believers” that eventually come to see the “truth” after either hitting their lowest point or having a long, heartfelt talk with a “believer”. In either case, the resulting change in the non-believer is always so paper-thin and I think that has a lot to do with why Christian films have such a bad name.

It is actually interesting to note here that most films that I have seen that predominately feature a religion other than Christianity, are never just about religion. For example, Full Court Miracle (2003) is about a bunch of Jewish boys who play basketball. Fiddler on the Roof (1971), though very potently religious, is more about the political persecution of Jews in Russia. So they kind of encode their religious messages in other thing so as not to overwhelm and put off the audience members.

But that is the nice thing about God’s Not Dead. It actually takes the time to rally a legitimate argument on religion’s side. The student, Josh, presents sound evidence and logical reasoning about God’s existence and though I did not take the time to fact check every quote he brings up from outside sources, I have enough faith in the makers of this film to think that they would not have misquoted some of the world’s greatest minds for the sake of a cinematic argument.

Josh Wheadon (Shane Harper) and his atheist professor (Kevin Sorbo)
Josh Wheadon (Shane Harper) and his atheist professor (Kevin Sorbo)

Not only that but it presents different kinds of non-believers each taking after a character in the Bible. You have the professor whose struggles have lead him to disbelief (Job), the reporter who is trying to persecute other Christians (Paul) and the man who has everything he has ever wished for and doesn’t think that he needs to believe (The Prodigal Son).

I think what ties this film together is the interconnectivity of the characters in the film. It provides a more rounded and less linear film plot allowing for the film to be more realistic. Things in life do not happen one thing after another to only one person, so it’s refreshing to see a more modernist take on this film. It also helps to provide more rounded characters instead of Hollywood stereotypes.

I do strongly recommend this film to believers and atheists alike. I will, however, echo what I previously said: this film has a lot of flaws. On a scale from one to ten, I would actually give it a very generous 7.5. I did like it, but I can see some of the shoddy gender and racial representations but if you take the film for what it is (in the words of many “Religious Propaganda”) I think that is does a pretty good job.

Gods-Not-Dead-poster

Suggestions This Week: Films With Clear Messages That Don’t Suck

God’s Not Dead (2014)

Network (1976)

Schindler’s List (1993)

Red Dawn (1984) or (2012)

The Imitation Game (2014)

 

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