Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
We're now on week two of this year's collaboration with St. John's United Methodist Church for their Summer at the Movies series, looking at Christian films.
For this installment, we're looking at the 2014 film 'God's Not Dead.'
This film centers around a college freshman named Josh, a devout Christian who enrolls in a philosophy class taught by the ruthless Professor Raddison (Kevin Sorbo). It almost immediately becomes clear that Raddison is a hardcore atheist with a deep hatred of all religion, and he opens the very first class period by having the students sign a declaration that says "God is dead" in order to pass. When Josh refuses to do this, Raddison challenges him to prove that God exists, in the form of a term- long debate between the two of them with the rest of the class acting as judges, and that this could count as Josh's term project for the class. Many people in Josh's circle tell him to either sign the declaration or drop the class in order to keep out of trouble, but he remains convinced that God put him there for that moment, and that he has to continue with it. Amidst all this, some other characters are also having to deal with faith- related challenges, such as a girl in a devoutly Muslim family having to hide the fact that she is secretly a Christian and an independent journalist having to take a newfound look at what she believes when she discovers that she has a terminal illness. Their stories all come to a header at a big Newsboys concert.
A problem I'll admit I had with 'God's Not Dead' is that I feel like they made Professor Raddison too over- the- top. The filmmakers often seem to go out of their way to show what a jerk he is towards his students who disagree with him and even towards his own girlfriend, so much so that their attempts later in the film to try and make him more sympathetic by revealing his sad backstory seem too little, too late. Also, while college professors can indeed be too pushy at times trying to force their personal views on students (I speak from personal experience from when I was pursuing my B.A.), I get the feeling that a real- life college professor displaying such hostility towards a student's religious beliefs is the kind of thing that could land him in really hot water.
That being said, 'God's Not Dead' is still very good by Christian movie standards. The acting's pretty solid from most of the cast, there's some good humor, the messages are solid, and it is pretty inspirational. College can indeed be a time in which you run into people who are noticeably opposed to the Christian faith, including some of the teachers you'll see there, albeit not as blatantly as Raddison was. It is indeed a time when Christian students need to be careful and wise in order to ensure that their faith remains strong, so it's easy to root for Josh in his attempts to defend the faith in such a setting.
A character I really liked is one of Josh's classmates, a boy named Martin who has come from China to study at the college. His journey to faith is legitimately torn. His father adamantly tells him that he must take whatever position on the subject that his teacher takes in order to ensure that he passes the course, but yet he finds the arguments Josh presents to be extremely convincing. This dilemma he faces makes him into quite a sympathetic and likable character.
In the devotional that was passed out at the screening tonight, I point out that Josh in the film reminds himself of Matthew 10:32-33, which says "So everyone who acknowledges Me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in Heaven. But whoever disowns Me before others, I will disown before my Father in Heaven." That verse drives home the truth that we shouldn't be afraid to confess Christ before others, but should be open in sharing His truths to the world.
Again, though, I feel there are more messages that can be taken from 'God's Not Dead.'
One that sticks out is relating to the importance of being prepared when the time comes to speak of Jesus to other people. Josh knows that, if he is to prove God is real to Raddison and the rest of the class, he'll need to work hard and be prepared to answer any questions or challenges they may present. So, he does a lot of studying and research in order to help back up his arguments. This ties into 1 Peter 3:15, which says "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." This is important. There will be people who see the hope we have within us, so we need to be ready to answer them when they have questions about it, why we believe the way we do. This takes prayer, study of God's Word, the Bible, as well as the study of inspirational and intellectual Christian authors (I recommend pretty much anything by C.S. Lewis and Lee Strobel). We, like Josh, need to learn more about what we believe and why, so we can be ready to answer anyone who may have questions about it to us, and as the verse says, do so in a gentle and respectful manner.
A final message to take from the movie is on staying true to the faith even when others may desert you. Josh's girlfriend ultimately breaks up with him when he refuses to back down from Raddison's challenge. The girl from the Muslim family, Ayisha, knows that her faith could cause her family to disown her, but she remains dedicated to it regardless of what her father may say. This calls to mind Matthew 19:29, which says "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." Sometimes, standing up for Christ can cost us a lot, including our relationships with those who are close to us. However, that's nothing compared to the rewards Jesus has prepared for those who faithfully serve Him.
So, that's 'God's Not Dead,' a very good Christian film about standing for Jesus no matter what.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next week when we look at the next film in this series. Until then, may God bless you all!
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