MOVIE REVIEW: God’s not dead (Warning: contains spoilers)

“Scientists have announced that based on their research, God is a myth” from the music video ‘God’s not dead’ by Newsboys

I found the movie title interesting because I live in a city where many people do not believe in God and old church buildings have been converted into lecture theatres, pubs and nightclubs. The presence of these buildings and history show that God was a huge part of the community in times past. If God was ‘alive’ then, does that mean He is dead now? Or is He only alive in African cities where churches seem to be springing up daily on every street and street corner?  I hoped the movie would help answer some of these questions.

God’s not dead is a 2014 Christian drama starring Shane Harper, Kevin Sorbo, David A.R. White, and Dean Cane. It also features cameos by Willie and Korie Robertson (Duck Dynasty) and yes, you probably guessed right, Grammy-nominated Gospel pop rock band Newsboys. The movie has done quite well in the box office, becoming one of the highest grossing Christian movies (behind Passion of the Christ, The Chronicles of Narnia series and Heaven is for real) since its release in March 2014.

In the movie, a first-year Christian college student, Josh Wheaton (played by Shane Harper) has to prove to classmates in the presence of his philosophy professor (Kevin Sorbo) that God is not dead. The professor, an atheist, during the first class asks all the students to sign sheets stating that ‘God is dead’ or face possible failure of the course. Josh is torn as he cannot bring himself to sign the sheet because of his Christian faith. This leads to the professor telling him that he must provide evidence, in three classes, that God is not dead, or fail the course. Simulating a law court, Josh and the professor present their arguments for and against the existence of God, respectively. Some people think this scenario cannot happen in real life as the professor would have been sacked for forcing people to disavow their faith. However, daily, we hear stories of people having to choose between their faith and dire consequences, including death. Only a few weeks ago, the story of Sudanese Muslim woman who was sentenced to death because she married a Christian was all over the news. Also, the movie draws inspiration from over forty real life court cases where “university students, campus ministries and clubs were attacked on account of their faith”. I think the point the movie tries to make is that believers should not be afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Here, the movie makers show some inclination towards ‘old-school’ Christianity that many shy away from, by laying emphasis on Matthew 10:33 : "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven."

So Josh takes up the challenge, to the disapproval of his girlfriend (soon-to-be ex-girlfriend) and family. He got advice from a pastor that he should “not try to be too clever but be content to say the truth”. I do not think he took the pastors advice to heart because he went down the intellectual route of proving and disproving atheist and theist theories of creation, evolution, science, philosophy, amongst others. I almost got lost here, because truth is, there are so many theories for or against the existence of God. Now, it may seem like ‘commonsense’ to believers that God does exist but it is also ‘commonsense’ to some atheists that God does not exist. Like Josh stated at the beginning, “just as you cannot prove that God does not exist, you also cannot prove that God does”. Nevertheless, I think it is important for believers to know these theories, so the movie was enlightening in this regard. Christians have been accused of being closed-minded and intolerant of the views of others about the existence of God. This movie shows that believers should not be afraid to listen to the ‘other sides of the story’ being fully assured that the word of God is able to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Josh won the case. I do not think the story was about winning or losing the argument for the existence of God because he did not exactly prove that God exists but won because the professor was a former believer who had issues with God and revealed this to him and the class. Many atheists are former believers, while others have never been believers. Not many people, least of all a fresh year college student would win a philosophical argument about God against an atheist professor of philosophy and a lot of reviewers of this movie have hammered on this. One atheist has actually started a class on ‘best strategies for debating against believers’. No, the emphasis is about what Christians are called to do – stand for what one believes in- and that is what Josh did.

I learnt a lot from the other characters in this movie. There was a rich executive who seemed to have everything going for him- good job, great girlfriend (before he found out she had cancer and dumped her), and a great future. He felt he did not need God especially since his believing mother had dementia and did not seemed to have ‘gained anything’ from following Jesus. It’s really tough preaching to people who feel they do not need God. I mean what do you tell them? He was persuaded to visit his mother who told him that “when a prison is comfortable, the prisoner feels no need to leave even if the door is wide open. But one day, that door will be shut and there will be no way out. By the time the prisoner realises this, it would be too late”. His girlfriend, a popular blogger who was devastated by a recent diagnosis of cancer, found hope in God after an encounter with Newsboys.

As a result of Josh’s action one of his classmates from China gave his life to Christ, other classmates had the opportunity to hear about God, the professor questioned his beliefs, and other Christians (including a closet-Christian from a Muslim family) found strength to stand up for their faith. As a side-note, the Chinese classmate character is actually based on the real-life conversion story of a medical doctor from China whose colleagues told him about Christ. When Josh was asked why He took the risk he took, he said it was because he saw Jesus as a friend and did not want to let him down. He did not see God as a far-away abstract dictator but someone he had an active relationship with.

I think every Christian should see this movie, you may not agree with the plot and some of the points made, but like the producers intended, the movie has the potential to “strengthen the faith of Christians, encourage them and help people know why they believe what they believe”. From the applause I witnessed when this movie was screened in church, I would say the movie is succeeding and will succeed in doing this.

For some atheists and non-Christians, this movie has come across as a non-politically correct (among a long list of very unsavoury words) Christian movie. However, because of this movie, people around the world are thinking and talking about their faith and lack of it (including reasons for and against), and this is great, not bad at all.

What about me? Well, like the Newsboys, “My God’s not dead, He’s surely alive, He’s living on the inside, roaring like a Lion...”

Have you seen the movie? Please share your thoughts on the movie and my review... thanks.

Some References (not presented very scientifically... please forgive me J)

http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=christian.htm

‘God’s not dead’ by Newsboys

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/03/25/gods-not-dead-producer-answers-critics-who-say-film-is-too-over-the-top/

http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/2014/04/02/ming-wang-inspired-gods-dead-film-character/7206647/