Review of God's Not Dead (2014) by Dominic P — 05 Mar 2017

God is not known through deduction; God is known through revelation.

Is it possible that it all makes sense with God at the center? Yes. How can you prove the opposite without making myriads of assumptions about God. Most people don't understand that Science is not about truth; it cannot be: it is simply not how it works. Scientists present two options to explain data and make all the assumptions necessary about the options so that they can be compared regarding their explanations for the data. The winner option is chosen and usually tested against similar but not identical data. Is it the truth? Well, it depends on whether the assumptions made were good.

Science is instead about predictability and ease. We like simple theories that have great prediction powers. They are easier to handle, test, expand and modify. We say that simplicity is enough for tested theories to be true. Is that reasonable? Yes. Is that the way to get to the truth? Well, it depends on what the truth is. The truth might show that these were all rough approximations with horrible misleading philosophical assumptions in them. Unfortunately, we might have no access to that knowledge through deduction. Yet it is common to let some scientists lead us to believe that we don't have a choice, that we don't exist, that we are only a collection of atoms that somehow became self-aware.

Beware and look introspectively to find a contradiction. We seem to have all somehow been sucked into a modern retelling of the Emperor's new clothes. Sure we want to side with the smart and avoid being laughed at. Those are powerful social reasons but they don't relate to whether the underlying thesis is true or not and there is a lot at stake: you. Many things we now accept were laughed at before and not all scientists and not all smart people agree with what these scientists say. Ask.

Can you choose your actions? Do you have a say in what you do? You are the only one who can answer this and in that lies the answer. You do exist. We transcend our bodies. Don't let people who believe they are very complex groups of atoms but nothing else tell you you are as they say. Search and if you wish ask God to help you understand. God is known through revelation. This movie is a reminder of that. A little overdone at the end but a bold and refreshing reminder nevertheless.