These weak arguments are presented as overtly intimidating to the ‘infamously stout’ atheist professor and predictably, the stereotypical triumph of Josh’s arguments over the confounded professor leads to what seems to be the dramatic conversion of the entire class. This is not a realistic scenario. Given these somewhat basic and flawed arguments, they would not be at all convincing to an informed opponent, and no atheist of Professor Radisson’s supposed caliber would be unfamiliar with them. The danger we fear is that hapless college students may take these weak arguments, try to use them, and get shot down. Instead of concluding that there is something wrong with the arguments, they could think that Christianity is false, and it would damage their faith.
Paper-thin subplots
There are countless sub-plots, and each takes every available chance to unfortunately stereotype, almost to the point of offensiveness, every people group represented. First: the atheists are portrayed as being one-dimensional and evil. The journalist character is career-driven and rude; ambushing her Christian interview subjects (Duck Dynasty’s Willie Robertson and his wife Korie in one encounter, and the band Newsboys, in another) to ask them offensive questions. For example, she asks, “Why aren’t you barefoot and pregnant?” in the first interview.
A businessman is portrayed as the most self-centered and callous person imaginable. He does not visit his mother because she is suffering from dementia, and he breaks up with his girlfriend when she reveals she is suffering from a fatal cancer, accusing her of “changing our agreement … breaking our deal.”
But the journalist and the businessman are nothing compared to Professor Radisson, who is possibly the most self-centered narcissist you would ever meet. He is a tyrant in the classroom and in his personal life. He mocks and threatens his students, and publicly humiliates his girlfriend. His militant atheism and hatred of God is driven by the death of his Christian mother from cancer, and perhaps the only moment when he seems like a plausible human being is when he is reading a loving letter from his mother, written shortly before her death.
The strict Muslim family is stereotypically portrayed as well, but with critical errors. First, the daughter is required to wear a scarf covering the lower half of her face, but inexplicably is allowed to wear a low-cut, short-sleeved shirt. And she is shown listening to music on an iPod, but strict Muslims also believe that music is ungodly, and they do not allow it. The father, when he finds out his daughter is no longer a Muslim, beats her and physically throws her out of the house and onto the streets weeping.
A Chinese student’s father shows no interest in his son’s life, and when he starts talking about God, his father’s angry reply is to be careful because ‘someone’ might be listening, and it could jeopardize his brother’s chances of studying at a foreign university.
These character portrayals of atheists and other religions will generally be found to be unbelievable by viewers, whether Christian or not. And worse still, for a professing Christian movie to portray them so unreasonably is very uncharitable. Weaker brethren may even find these portrayals believable and if so, it will do nothing to engender Christian love to those who are outside of Christ. We (Christians) do not like to be caricatured in this way, and certainly believers should apply the admonition to “do unto others”.
Real Christians?
But the Christians are perhaps the most stereotyped of all. Josh’s girlfriend promptly breaks up with him the moment he shows some backbone (just after celebrating their 6-year anniversary, which means they would have been dating since the age of 12). The professor’s ‘Christian’ girlfriend, whom he started dating while she was a student in his class, stays with the most unlikable guy in the entire movie for some inexplicable reason until she has one shallow conversation with the pastor.
An American pastor and an African missionary are both caricatured. The pastor is lukewarm and dissatisfied (until called on to assist in the deathbed conversion of one of the major characters). And the African missionary is there to contrast by smiling in the face of minor inconveniences and exhibit faith that God will allow a car to start. Neither is developed enough to allow their faith to be more than one-dimensional. Most pastors would not be flattered by such a depiction.
There are cameo appearances of members of the now-popular Duck Dynasty cast, and ‘product placement’ for the Christian band Newsboys throughout the film. And all the major characters inexplicably converge at a Newsboys concert at the film’s climax.
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“Directory of Contemporary Christian Musicians”:
NEWSBOYS
The Newsboys’ music “has run the gamut from punkish rock to a turn at rap and Euro-favored techno pop.” Their fourth album, Not Ashamed (1992), sold 400,000 and received a Grammy nomination. Formed in the early 1980s in Australia, the Newsboys were “infuenced by everyone from the Police, Cure, and Rolling Stones to Keith Green and Jimmy Swaggart” (Jesus Rocks the World: Te Defnitive History of Contemporary Christian Music, vol. 2, p. 101). The original members were John James, Peter Furler, Corey Pryor, and Sean Taylor. “Initially they played for the rowdy patrons of the local clubs and pubs, who threw beer bottles at them if they didn’t meet their standards” (Jesus Rocks the World, vol. 2, p 100). In 1990 they signed with the Christian label Star Song, and in 1996 they signed with the secular label Virgin Records, which also produces for the Rolling Stones. From 1991 to 1996 their albums were produced by Steve Taylor. In a 1996 interview Peter Furler said: “Our first three or four records weren’t very deep, but neither was our experience in the faith” (CCM Magazine, February 1996). The 1998 album, Step Up to the Microphone, was promoted both in Christian (via Star Song) and in secular markets. The latter was done through Virgin Records. Danny Goodwin, Vice President of A&R for Virgin, describes their philosophy of music: “Our position is, whether these artists are Christians, Jews, Moslems, black, white, Albanian or whatever, they’re making great music. And that’s what Virgin does—we’re in the market to sell what we call quality music to the largest number of people we can” (CCM Magazine, August 1998, p. 25). Many CCM musicians are comfortable working hand in hand with people who produce and distribute the vilest rock and roll, whereas the Bible says, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Cor. 6:17). Newsboys concerts feature many of the same things found at secular rock concerts: sensual dancing, moshing, stage diving, crowd surfing. There have been numerous accidents relating directly or indirectly to moshing at their concerts (“To Mosh or Not to Mosh,” CCM Magazine, February 1996). Newsboys founding member Pete Furler loves the writings of Frederick Buechner, a neo-orthodox theologian and writer who was trained at the ultra liberal Union Teological Seminary under heretics such as Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich, who rejected Christ’s divinity, virgin birth, and bodily resurrection. Tillich called the Christmas story a “legend” in the December 1977 issue of The Lutheran. Buechner was “inspired to ordination” by George Buttrick while attending Buttrick’s Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church. In his book The Christian Fact and Modern Doubt, Buttrick wrote: “Literal infallibility of Scripture is a fortress impossible to defend. … In retrospect it seems incredible that the theory of literal inspiration could have ever been held” (pp. 162, 167). Literal inspiration is not a theory; it is a doctrine taught by the Lord Jesus Christ, who said “the Scripture cannot be broken” (Jn. 10:35). In 1997 Newsboys’ Phil Joel joined Roman Catholic Kathy Troccoli and 40 other CCM artists to record Love One Another, a song with an ecumenical theme: “Christians from all denominations demonstrating their common love for Christ and each other.” The song talks about tearing down the walls of denominational division. The broad range of participants who joined Troccoli in recording “Love One Another” demonstrates the ecumenical agenda of Contemporary Christian Music. In July 2012, Newsboys was one of the bands featured at the 14th annual Lifest in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Christian rock’s one-world church building enterprise was in full steam at this event. Other popular groups and artists participating were Switchfoot, Underoath, Building 429, Norma Jean, Steven Curtis Chapman, Tammy Borden, Love & Death, Casting Crowns, and Disciple. 15,000 enthusiastic fans gathered to celebrate ecumenical unity through the sensual power of rock & roll. Participants could choose from three worship services, including a Catholic Mass led by Bishop David Ricken, who officially approves of the “Marian Apparitions” at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in northern Wisconsin. The apparition appeared to Adele Brise in 1859 and said, “I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners,” plainly identifying itself as a demon, since the only Queen of Heaven mentioned in Scripture is an idolatrous goddess that was condemned by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 7:18). That Christian rock is intimately associated with such things is clear evidence of its apostasy. Peter Furler attends the charismatic Bethel World Outreach Center in Brentwood, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Pentecostal Every Nation Ministries. Peter Wagner lists Every Nation as part of the New Apostolic Reformation that seeks to restore the offices of prophet and apostle to the churches.”
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A missed opportunity
Given the theme of this film, we began viewing with high anticipation for the potential that could have been, but as the film progressed, our expectations were doused. CMI has produced films, and are currently editing a
new major documentary, so we empathize that filmmakers spend not only a lot of money to make a quality production, but it takes countless months of planning and development to make the final product as effective as possible. In this case, the filmmakers went out on a limb to address some of the most foundational questions that plague the minds of so many in our culture, but we are staggered at how poorly they answered them. It’s not as if there is not good information available, in fact, more than ever before. Yet they chose to not consult any good creation organizations for guidance on strong, up-to-date apologetic arguments. For example, CMI employs Ph.D. scientists around the world, from many different scientific disciplines, and we have focused on addressing these very issues for decades. In this arena, we, as well as other major creation organizations, have taken a firm stand on the Bible and how the scientific evidence supports the Bible’s historical account, so as you can imagine, we have constantly been challenged by the likes of opponents far more formidable than this film’s ‘Dr. Radisson’.
“When your faith is tested, can you explain what you believe?”
This phrase was taken directly from the film’s dedicated website, yet it aptly summarizes a major aspect of the mission of
Creation Ministries International. You see, although Dr. Radisson’s blatant requirement to reject one’s faith in writing seems hard to believe in even today’s secular culture, the reality is that many Christian students are facing similar experiences to the one Josh faces in this film. In the case of a professor of biology at Texas Tech University (Lubbock, Texas, USA), the professor demonstrated his
religious bigotry in public by denying his recommendation to any creationist student who would deny the ‘fact’ of evolution.
In another case, a college-aged CMI–US staff member told of her first biology class and that her professor told all the Christians to rethink taking his class because “It will destroy your faith.” Our speakers can also testify firsthand to the open hostility and rudeness of teachers on campuses all around the world.
Even outside of the university setting, whether it be TV programs, magazines, textbooks, documentaries, movies, etc., all everyone seems to hear is that evolution is a fact. So if so few believers are equipped with and boldly share a viable defense for the biblical worldview, is it any wonder that people might ultimately conclude that ‘science’ has proven that the Bible is just a bunch of stories, and thus, “God is dead”?
If anything, the plot of this film dramatizes the reality that our speakers are facing on the road. After one of our presentations in churches around the world, it is common for a parent to approach us with a pained look on their face, explaining how their children have abandoned the faith when they left their homes. However, while living under their parents roof, if children are equipped with a strong apologetic, specifically in the creation/evolution arena, the very area where the Bible is being attacked more than any other, then things are very different. Not only is their faith in God’s Word strengthened, but they become God’s vehicle, like the fictional Josh, boldly sharing their faith and truth with others—but with good solid information that can refute the skeptics.
Yup, God’s not dead!
1 Peter 3:15 commands all believers to
“ … always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you … ”. Fulfilling the role of a ‘defender of the faith’ requires a little effort. So take action today and equip yourself and your family with the readily-available resources that will make a difference not only for your and your children’s future, but in their ability to confidently and boldly defend their faith and share the Gospel. The sidebar of this article links to our most foundational resources that will begin you and your family on the path to becoming a real, yet effective, ‘Josh’. While you are at it, find out
how easy it is to invite a CMI speaker to
your church so that believers in your community will be equipped to share the truth with their family, friends and coworkers.
Although we regrettably cannot recommend this movie, it highlighted to us that so much work needs to be done to equip believers and their families. To be blunt, if this were the best that Christians can come up with, we would be in serious trouble and it is likely we would not convince anyone of the truth. But the good news is you can get equipped with a biblical, scientific and effective apologetic that you can boldly use to impact your family, friends and community as you stand up for the truth and authority of God’s Word. Just don’t expect a ‘fictional’ movie to do it for you.”
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“‘God’s Not Dead’ Review:
Perhaps, But Logic May Be”
EXCERPTS:
There’s some initial intrigue in the film’s premise, but the film quickly shifts and shapes into a sort of theological Crash, interspersing a series of tangentially connected subplots in which various people examine and evaluate their relationship with God. However, any grand illusions the viewer may have of finding substance here are immediately destroyed.
Dubious religious content aside, God’s Not Dead is, above all, a dismal piece of film making. The characters are written as vapid outlines masquerading as human beings. The camerawork is sophomoric – moving in and out of each scene with a type of slow motion effect employed in cheesy ’80s action films. The music, which jaggedly alternates between dramatic piano pieces and on the nose Christian rock, is only used to signify how we should think and feel at any particular moment.
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“God’s Not Dead”: A Movie Review
SEE:
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
“On March 21, 2014, the movie God’s Not Dead was released in 780 theaters across the country. Since then, more than 1,000 other theaters began showing the film, which grossed over $41 million in less than one month—pretty good for a movie with a budget of only $2 million (God’s Not Dead, 2014a).
Though many Christians and pro-Christian organizations around the country have been fairly complimentary of the film, general reviewers have not been so kind. RottenTomatoes.com rated the movie with one star, as only 15% of the Web site’s approved critics gave the movie a positive review (God’s Not Dead, 2014b). Although the Hollywood Reporter had a few positive things to say about the movie, in their “bottom line” they referred to it as a “simple-minded sermon” (Farber, 2014). Claudia Puig of USA Todayhas alleged that “the contrived premise of God’s Not Dead is anything but credible.” Puig dismissed the idea of a professor at a respected academic institution ever criticizing religion as “primitive superstition,” saying, “Even if a teacher believed this, it’s highly unlikely he would declare it to a class full of students” (2014, emp. added).
The fact of the matter is, belligerent criticism of theism and Christianity has been occurring on college campuses all over the country for years, and it is very appropriate for God’s Not Dead to raise awareness of such bullying from various intolerant, liberal professors. Sometime ago a gentleman, who had been a student at a well-known university in the southeastern United States, visited with us after one of our lectures and recounted how, at the beginning of one particular semester, a science professor asked students in the class to stand up if they believed in God. Seven individuals out of a fairly large class rose from their seats. The professor then went on to say that by the end of the semester not one of them would stand up when he asked that question. Sure enough, toward the end of the semester the professor posed the question again, “How many of you believe in God?” Only one student stood up. Several months later, another student from the same university confirmed that the same thing happened in one of her classes. There was obvious bullying and intimidation taking place. The often-overlooked fact is, theistic, creationist, and Christian-oriented students and professors are frequently the target of liberal, atheistic, and/or evolutionary professors and department heads (e.g., Kingkade, 2013; Bergman, 2008; Stein and Miller, 2008; see also Miller, 2011).
Perhaps the most powerful and pervasive message of God’s Not Dead is that any person who calls himself or herself a Christian must be willing to sacrifice everything for Christ. The hero of the movie, a young university freshman named Josh Wheaton, is willing to sacrifice his relationship with his fiancée, his university career, his future job, and his reputation to stand up for God’s existence. In a subplot, a young Muslim student is willing to sacrifice her family relationships for her belief in Christ. A freshman student from China is consistently urged by his father to stop thinking about “foolish” religious ideas and concentrate on his grades, but the young man refuses. And the girlfriend of the antagonistic atheistic professor breaks off their relationship because of her religious convictions.
This message of sacrifice is both biblical and extremely important in our increasingly self-centered society. Jesus said: “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me…. For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:34,38). In all of our years as Christian apologists, we have seen countless “Christians” bowing to the secular standards of our day, afraid to stand for the truth of the Bible and God’s existence. We could recount stories of college freshmen too afraid of ruining their reputations or of getting a bad grade to stand up for their belief in God. We could tell of university professors who were so very concerned about tenure, their salary, or their teaching positions that they refused to speak or write about their faith in Christ because of the possible repercussions. How many school teachers have allowed their Christian influence to be silenced because they might lose their job? It truly is a shame to see the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and the complete dedication of His early followers who “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41), and then witness certain “Christians” today who will not even acknowledge in public that they believe in God or His Word. Any faithful Christian would have to say “Amen,” to the movie’s main message that following Jesus requires complete sacrifice to His Will.
Unfortunately, the main message of the movie is overshadowed at times by the failure of the movie to accurately apply it. For instance, although Josh, the hero, is to be commended for his study and some of the effective arguments he used in class, at times during his defense he affirms error. For example, he implies that the Big Bang is scientifically and biblically credible, and that God could have used evolution as the process by which all life (including humans) came into existence. Not only is the Big Bang an unscientific idea (May, et al., 2003a), it is an unbiblical idea as well (May, et al., 2003b; Lyons, 2003). Additionally, the idea that God directed the process of evolution to produce life is equally unbiblical and antiscientific (Houts, 2007), though it is very appealing to our secular culture. In their attempt to make belief in God more palatable (by not making Josh, what Screenit.com calls, “a simple-minded believer who thinks the Earth was created…in just under a week”—God’s Not Dead, 2014c), the producers of the film fail to stand courageously against the foolish theories of cosmic and biological evolution and stand unashamedly for the truthfulness of the biblical account of Creation.
Furthermore, the movie completely misrepresents how God has commanded people to be saved. The clearest example of this false teaching comes at the end of the movie. In a tragic accident, the atheistic professor is struck by a car and is about to die. It just so happens that a denominational minister is on the scene. The minister begs the atheistic professor to call on the Lord, say a version of the “sinner’s prayer,” and receive Jesus into his heart. Yet such teaching is never found in the Bible (Lyons, 2004; Jackson, 2014). God requires faithful obedience to the Gospel plan of salvation in order to receive the gift of salvation (Lyons and Butt). Paul informed the Thessalonians that at the end of time Jesus Christ will be revealed from heaven “with His Mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, emp. added). What the atheistic professor did in the movie to be “saved” is not what the New Testament means when it says to “obey the Gospel” (cf. Romans 6:3-4; Matthew 7:21). Thus, in the very process of claiming to teach that people should be willing to sacrifice everything for Christ, the movie producers failed to heed their own message. Not only must we be willing to sacrifice our reputations, careers, and families, we must be willing to sacrifice any manmade doctrine that is not taught in Scripture. We must be willing to leave any group or teaching, even if it goes by the name “Christian,” if and when we find it does not correspond to God’s will found in the New Testament.
Overall, we believe that God’s Not Dead effectively highlights a serious problem in universities across the United States—showing some of the challenges that many Christian students face. We also believe that Christians should take to heart the overall message of the movie: the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of Christ and the cross. We would greatly caution viewers, however, to understand that the producer’s application of the theme is occasionally lacking. Yes, the movie’s approach to a defense of God’s existence is rational and biblical at times, but then at other times it is both biblically and scientifically unsound. What’s more, the film’s presentation of how God has instructed people to become Christians is at odds with the Bible. We all need to be reminded of the importance of sacrificing everything for Christ, including compromises with the world and any long-held false religious ideas.”
REFERENCES
Bergman, Jerry (2008), Slaughter of the Dissidents: The Shocking Truth about Killing the Careers of Darwin Doubters (Southworth, WA: Leafcutter Press).
Stein, Ben and Kevin Miller (2008), Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Premise Media).
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