God’s Not Dead is a brand new film that arrived in theaters this year. I have to say that I had not heard of it until I went and checked it out a few days ago. It’s too bad that this film did not get more publicity as it does a good job of bringing Christianity back into the limelight.
The plot is what made the film very interesting for me. The main character is Josh and he arrived in a philosophy class only to find out that his Professor does not believe in God and he wants them all to write that “God is Dead.” Josh wouldn’t stand for this and he let the Professor know that he would not sign. The Professor then issues a challenge to Josh. He would have to debate the Professor in three different sessions to prove that God is Not Dead. Josh accepts and then sets out to win!
That’s the main plot, but we’ve also got a few other plots going. There is a reporter who is diagnosed with a serious medical condition and she doesn’t take it very well. One woman is a Christian, but her companion is not and he starts to get more vocal about it. There is a girl whose family has a different religion and there is tension when she starts to convert to being a Christian. Finally, we’ve also got a Pastor and a Missionary who are stuck as they can’t get their car to work. There are even more subplots that I could bring up, but you get the idea. There are a lot of things happening in the film!
I think that the film maybe overdid it with the subplots, but they were all pretty good for the most part. If I had to choose which plots to cut, it would be the reporter and the Muslim subplots. The film can only cover so much and eliminating those two would allow more screen time onto the main plot. Josh’s debate is definitely the most interesting part of the film, so any extensions would be cool.
As mentioned earlier, I love debates, so seeing a debate between a Theist and an Atheist was certainly interesting. After watching the film, I checked out a few real life debates and they can be pretty similar. Of course, in the professional debates there are a lot of rules to be followed and not all debates are very intense. In the film, we really root for Josh since the Professor is openly antagonistic. He gets so worried that he immediately resorts to threats after Josh’s opening speech. Josh definitely gained the upper hand quickly eh?
Now, while it is fun to see a Theist openly win a debate and prove God’s existence to the audience, it’s not mandatory for us. Whether or not the skeptics in the audience agree with Josh is besides the point. The really important part is that Josh had the courage to stand up to the class and honor God. I’m sure that many people would have found it difficult to go up against the Professor like that and it would definitely be stressful. Josh risked his academic future and also lost his “friend.” That being said, Josh’s “friend” wasn’t a true friend and he likely won’t be missing her in the long run. One should never let peer pressure stop one from doing the right thing.
Even if Josh had not openly won the debate, it should not affect our faith. The whole point of having faith in God is knowing that he will provide for us. We do not need to know everything about Christianity and even if we cannot prove some things to the non believers, it shouldn’t weaken our faith. As long as we believe the Bible to be the utmost authority on the events that have transpired and what God wants us to do, then that’s enough for us. Christianity can be made to seem complicated with many rules to follow, but it’s ultimately simple. Accepting God as your lord and savior is the first step and by reading the Bible, you can quickly learn to live in a way that pleases him. Being a Christian means having a personal relationship with the Lord and as long as you truly know him, that’s what counts.
There have been a lot of bad reviews for this film, but to be honest, could we expect anything else? If anything, that serves as a good sign to let us know that the film was well done. It’s the best Christian film that I’ve seen and now I can add it to the list of others like Fireproof and Left Behind. I also recommend the latter two movies that were mentioned. I also want to give a quick mention to the music at the end of the film. It’s a pretty good song and it’s very active. It’s the kind of song that helps a film end on a high note and you walk out of the theater feeling pretty good.
One of the only parts of the film that I had a little issue with was the part where this Christian made a living from duck (I’m pretty sure it was duck) hunting. It can be a little tougher for me to swallow that a Christian would make a living that way unless there was no other choice. The guy seemed proud of it, but he did make sure to say that he destroys them quickly so that they do not feel any pain. Still, I may not be able to wrap my head around it since I’m a huge animal person, but as mentioned earlier, it doesn’t really matter what I think about him being a Christian. I may not understand, but I won’t judge him on the matter. If he truly is a Christian, then that would be wonderful and he’ll be going to Heaven in the end. God is the only one who truly knows if a person is Christian so you must never let someone tell you that you’re not a Christian or that you need to be a better Christian if you are giving it your 100%. The notion of someone being a “better” Christian than someone else because of their actions is definitely not something to listen too. We all make mistakes and fall short of the glory of God after all. In the end, it’s about doing the best that we can and always trying to make him proud of us.
The film had a pretty small budget, but it’s managed to earn a pretty large amount so far. I believe that it’s made around 10x the original budget at this point, which is definitely remarkable. It’s an excellent Christian film and I highly recommend checking it out. It’s consistently earning more money each week so there’s a decent chance that you can still find it in theaters. If not, it’s still a very good opportunity to grab the DVD. It’s not every day that God gets the recognition that he deserves on the big screen and this film managed to pull off its messages quite well. It’s a good year to be a Christian!
Verdict: Excellent Film!
I highly recommend checking this film out!!!
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