God's not dead, but He could do with a better defense

As a film God's Not Dead will be sure to replenish the arsenals of Christians who long for substance in a form Hollywood might use if this was Heaven. Critically it did have the decency to leave out the worst of the cliches including guy-getting girl (thank goodness, that blond was pushy) and everyone lives happily ever-after (it's not too late Superman!). For that I am grateful.

B movies make me almost as uncomfortable as 'real' movies.

Yet, with just a dash of Christian grace, I have sat through the latest evangelical production to hit the big screen and, remarkably unscathed, I write to tell of my experience:

The acting was decent, the dialogue was characteristic of most Christian films. (ironically) It had a line quoting Matt 10:32-33, followed up with the rhetorical "if they won't hear it anywhere else, shouldn't you stand up for Jesus?" To which our impassioned Josh responds by standing up. 
For three lectures. 
At a podium. 
Defending God.

But before we move to the defense, let's address the irony. God's Not Dead is a film that longs to be seen by an audience that will come to know Jesus, in part by watching it. It says so, right in the script. What it actually does instead, is join the litany of Christian films that do a splendid job of preaching to the choir, but offend or upset the rest of the pagans. (Such a pesky challenge, that film conversion stuff.) But who knows? With an answer to prayer, perhaps the choir will incite a revival after watching.

In the meantime, defending God on the big screen came in two broad brushstrokes:

1. Beating the dead horse of intellectual debate
2. Showing what it means to Love Jesus

Let's start with 1. It's only fair, the main plot line of debate between a starry eyed believer and his emotionally scarred professor can be boiled down into the title of the film. Somewhere between the Big Bang and a very trivial handling of the moral imperative (lectures one and three respectively) our hero does a good job of hitting some valid points in logic and cosmic query that meets the rational needs of most the working class. 

But despite the staged silence of our professor, a more herculean effort of defending evolutionary atheism could be mustered by... well anyone really. For example with the problem of evil: atheist arguments use heavy anecdotes to hammer away at the simpleton wall of moral absolutes. Furthermore the circular arguments of Creationism were given no floor time, while the circular arguments of Dawkins were ridiculed as unsound. Granted the show was one sided, but if you're going to debate, at least let Hercules get a few punches in. The only swing that might have connected was a Hawking quote which our hero eventually undermined by saying that if the professor agrees with one thing Hawking says he must, ergo, agree with everything Hawking says.

Now for the more redeeming outreach of point 2. Swirling about the contest are several stories that mixed together capture some genuine aspects of Christian living. With the reverend whose work feels under powered, and the Muslim girl who gets disowned for her new faith in Jesus. Mixed alongside the foreign exchange student whose oppressive obedience gives way to redemptive faith and the combative reporter whose life crumbles and leaves her seeking hope. God's Not Dead does the Gospel more justice with these underpinnings than in the main plot. While somewhat contrived, they have a heart for Jesus that more purposefully addresses fallen man than the gently intellectual script could. 

One particularly stirring impression comes when the embattled professor reads a letter written by the mother he lost as a boy. The words struck me as something a Christian woman would say to her children. So much so that the strength of a godly mother's love is made very powerfully clear in that scene. Nonetheless this is unfortunately mixed up with the notion that every atheist has an axe to grind with God due to some past 'injustice' (such as losing a mother), which is not necessarily true,and should have been left out entirely. Even if it stole the professor of his redemptive impetus in the final scene.

Leaving this on the shelf next to Fireproof will be a likely end to God's not Dead. But the one thing that will stick with me is the somewhat priggish chuckling that arose in the theater during some of the hero's less rational hubris. If there's one thing Christian's don't need more of, it's a unsympathetic and uninformed opinion of the opposition to deism. But movies can't make fools all by themselves. So perhaps the chance this movie might inspire some questions about apologetics should make me hopeful. As it is, I did like that scene with the letter.