Review of God's Not Dead (2014) by Haineswest — 01 Sep 2014

As an Evangelical Christian it pains me to say that this is another example of a movie that I wanted to like, but could not. We can point to many examples in Hollywood movies and Television where Christians are portrayed as unreasonable zealots.

But this does not give us permission to return the favor and portray secular academia, or secular society in general, as antagonistic, cold, and shallow as this movie does. I typically hate to see stereotypical characters in any movie.

In this movie it is far too obvious who the "bad-guys" are in this movie, and who the "good-guys" are. I would love to see a portrayal of a philosophical debate about theism that doesn't give us so many obvious reasons to dislike those in the "non-believers" camp.

As a movie that "preaches to the choir, this movie is fine. But as a movie intended to be evangelistic, I do not recommend it. It is too heavy-handed and manipulative. And to think that it would not be perceived that way by most of secular society is insulting to them.

Arrogance is typically more subtle, and therefore harder to find & acknowledge. Real humility requires depth of character and honest soul-searching. To portray a Christian Faith that has real depth and compassion, we must reflect the depth that exists in the secular world as well.

Anything else cheapens the Human condition and, on an individual level, the human soul. In it's place I recommend "Chariots of Fire" or "To End all Wars" as tools for Evangelism. These are movies that acknowledge Human struggle, intellect, and Faith hand-in-hand where the viewer can easily walk away with a positive view of the Christian faith while not being spoon fed.

It's high time that the Christian movie-making community raise the bar. A world that was lost in sin led Christ to the cross. It should lead Christians to excellence in all of it's Evangelical endeavors as well.