Most debates touch a segment or two of society, but the dispute about the existence of God reaches everyone. Whether you’re a devout Christian, a staunch atheist, or land somewhere between the two ends of the faith spectrum, you have an opinion. The movie theater seems like a strange place to make a case for faith, since most of the ticket buyers will be church-goers, but more and more Christian-themed movies are being made.
The latest film for the faith crowd is “God’s Not Dead,” which attempts to argue in favor of the existence of God. It follows Josh Wheaton, a Christian student at a secular college who winds up in the classroom of an outspoken atheist: Professor Radisson. On the first day of philosophy class, Radisson encourages his students to sign their name on a piece of paper on which they have also written, “God is dead,” telling them it’s necessary if they want to pass his course. Everyone except Josh signs the paper. For him, the crisis is not whether or not God exists, but whether or not he’ll stand up for what he believes.
The professor gives Josh the opportunity to do just that. For three 20-minute sessions in class, he’ll be allowed to argue in favor of the existence of God. If he fails to convince the professor and his fellow students, he’ll fail 30 percent of his grade in the course.
If we ignore the artistic freedom taken with academia (I can’t imagine any college allowing one of its professors to base a student’s grade on his or her beliefs), Josh stands to lose a great deal. His girlfriend wants him to sign the paper and move on, and if he fails the course, he puts law school, and his career plans, at risk.
Josh chooses the difficult path, and while he suffers losses, the script gives him a fighting chance. One of my beefs with nearly every Christian-themed movie to date is the ham-fisted, preachy, and awkward dialogue, but the team of writers that had a hand in “God’s Not Dead” carefully thought out Josh’s dilemma, and the debate that boils between him and Radisson is well-conceived – to a point.
While I found their heated discussions about faith and science interesting, the ending is a grave miscalculation. Without giving anything away, the professor turns out to be something other than what he’s claimed to be; in essence, the filmmakers did the opposite of what Josh did: they took an easy way out. Although I can’t imagine any atheist accidently stumbling into a movie called “God’s Not Dead,” I’m certain those who do see it will scoff at how the story is resolved.
Still, the believers at the screening I attended found plenty to cheer about. The classroom debates are well-reasoned, the film’s overall message is inspirational, and there’s a good bit of humor in the mix as well.
“God’s Not Dead” isn’t just about Josh’s journey; it also follows several other people loosely tied to the central storyline: the Christian daughter of a Muslim who risks her father’s wrath if she’s caught listening to the Bible on her iPod; a liberal journalist who learns she has cancer; a steel-hearted businessman who cares only for money; a Christian woman who’s dating an atheist; and a Chinese student who’s never heard of God. Through each of these stories, “God’s Not Dead” explores the breadth of modern faith: struggling with doubt; questions about the existence of evil; why bad things happen to good people, and visa versa; the birth of belief; and having faith in something you can’t see.
“God’s Not Dead” does these things with good acting and generally good directing. While it’s clunky in places (nothing the professor does near the end of the movie makes sense, and his ultimate fate hinges on lame coincidence), those who are interested in exploring the issues of faith in an enteratining format will not leave disappointed.
Three stars out of four. Rated PG for thematic material, brief violence, and an accident scene.