Movie Review: God's Not Dead

Two movies of interest for Christian viewers are being touted and critiqued these days. Rather than attend the blockbuster about the big boat that saved the animals from all the evil humans with the help of the mythical rock monsters, I took the wife to see God's Not Dead, a well-produced evangelistic film that touches on a variety of themes close to the hearts of both churched and un-churched moviegoers.

Jeff Wheaton, the protagonist of the picture, wants to major in pre-law at a prestigious college. His parents and his highly-charged girlfriend have ambitious plans for his future. But danger looms for Jeff the T-shirt wearing Christian when he enters his Intro to Philosophy class: the professor throws down the gauntlet to the entire class when he more or less requires everyone to "officially" deny God's existence by handing in a signed piece of paper with the words "God is dead." The prof does this so that by consensus the class can forego the tiresome debate about the theism question at the outset and get on with the more important parts of philosophy (whatever they are?).

Much to the teacher's chagrin (as well as that of his hot girlfriend and his ambitious parents), Jeff decides that he will refuse to follow the crowd and deny his own personal faith in God. "I can't sign that...I'm a Christian," he whispers to the prof, to which the prof replies, "Fine. Go ahead and pray and follow your Jesus on your own time. But for the purposes of this class, either sign the statement or I will make your life miserable and fail you for one third of your grade in my class" (or words to that effect).

Jeff insists that he can't sign, so the teacher challenges him to lecture the class for twenty minutes at the end of the next three class sessions concerning why he is sure God exists. As Jeff feverishly prepares his arguments and deals with the fallout of his decision with both parents and girlfriend...

Several related dramas are taking place:

1. A young woman (later revealed as the professor's former student/significant other) is desperately dealing with her dementia-stricken mother;
2. The young woman's brother (who seems too preoccupied with his career to care about their mom) is planning to marry a well-known journalist who is planning a "hit" piece on one of the Duck Dynasty family members;
3. This journalist finds out that she is dying of cancer, and the news causes her fiancé to split up with her;
4. A young middle-eastern college woman is hiding her Christian faith from her family members, and she overhears Jeff and his girlfriend arguing about his convictions and upcoming debate;
5. Another student, this one from mainland China, expresses his own interest in the reasons Jeff would not sign the statement of denial. This student's father insists that the professor's beliefs should have ended the matter.
6. A local church pastor is trying to leave on a Florida vacation with a visiting missionary from Africa, but none of the cars they are seeking to leave in are willing to start, for some mysterious reason that seems very "providential," as several of the above people keep showing up in the pastor's study for counseling help.

These various vignettes unfold along with Jeff's dilemma in the classroom, all of them challenging the people involved to confront their weaknesses and their need to trust in Christ, or at least to look for answers outside of themselves.

Each of the characters lives out a gripping scenario in his or her own right, several of them experiencing painful rejection, two of them hearing haunting messages from the past, some of them experiencing the crucible of faith's refining fire, and one of them experiencing a deathbed conversion.

Although God Isn't Dead has been critiqued and ridiculed as predictable and simplistic, I found it rewarding on several fronts. For one thing, the general mood of the academic world was, I think, realistically portrayed as knowingly dismissive of people of faith, maintaining the assumption that God is (or might just as well be) dead. Jeff's encounter with his atheistic teacher left the strong point behind that there are strong-minded Christian thinkers out there, whose viewpoints deserve consideration in an academic setting.

I appreciated the fact that the Christian world was portrayed as one that transcends nationality and culture: Middle-easterners, Chinese, Africans, etc. were included with skill and sensitivity. I also enjoyed the unifying force provided by the culminating Newsboys concert toward the end of the film. Rather than leave the band purely in the fantasy realm of pop-Christian superstars, they were integral to helping tie up several of the story's loose ends, providing much-needed spiritual support.

Finally, the gospel was, I believe, as fairly and fully presented as I have witnessed in a religious film for some time. In addition, the cost of discipleship was belabored several times, as well as the warning that we risk our Lord denying us before His Father in heaven, if we choose to deny Him here on earth.

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