Well, the answer is obvious.
An atheist wouldn't. How can you proclaim something dead you never believed existed in the first place?
Apparently, the so-called "atheist professor" in the Movie God's Not Dead (which may be running in Waycross until Armageddon, or at least until the next Christian fundamentalist movie comes out) is not an atheist as much as he a disaffected Christian who believes that God must be dead because God allowed his mother to die. Uhh, not quite the same thing as atheism.
An atheist is no more likely to be an immoral scumbag than anybody who claims association with any other group.
Proof:
Yes. A perfect representative of Christianity. Unless, of course, if you're gay, or an African American who's not portrayed as being "happy" with pre-Civil Rights Jim Crow America, or a young girl (or any thinking person, for that matter) who's not thrilled by misogyny.
Despite all my urgings and prayers and devotion as a young boy, my Grandmother Martin did not get one extra day. The doctors gave her two months, and that's exactly what she got. Yes, it made me question my faith. Yes, it made me angry at God. It made me for years question not God's existence, but at what level he really intervened in our lives. Although always a devout believer in the moral teachings of Christ, it took me years to complete my faith journey back to a greater acceptance and love of God. At no point would I have ever called myself an atheist.
I have no interest in threatening or condemning anyone who has not completed that faith journey. God wants us to lead by example, by outstretched, inclusive hands, not by fear and hatred.
If I had seen this movie, or any of it's like, earlier in my faith journey, it would not have moved me forward. It would have set me back.
Atheist? Muslims? Vegans? Liberals? All evil, of course. Or at best, horribly misled.
A professor forcing people to sign a declaration that "God Is Dead"? That seems highly unlikely, and if it did happen, there would be way more than one student objecting. As a Christian Progressive, I would join forces with Christian fundamentalists in objecting, as would Muslims, spiritualists, Jews, Hindus, and yes, atheists. Not to mention the ACLU!
I would condemn any movie, even leftist ones, that paraded out nothing but caricatures. It's not just bad theology, it's rotten storytelling.
To make it clear, I do not put this movie in the same class as Son of God or Noah. They each have their own pluses or minuses, but they are not poorly written propaganda pieces.
And no, I have not seen this movie. I am a well read person capable of understanding the information I receive. I don't need to see Debbie Does Dallas or Deep Throat (sorry for such dated references - not really current with this) to know that they are pornography. And to me, this movie is borderline Christian pornography.
It makes fundamentalists feel good for a short time, but it doesn't really accomplish anything.
It provides no lasting satisfaction, no real true love or conversion.
It just makes the rest of us, who are not Christian right-wing fundamentalists, move further away.
Actually, the movie did demonstrate real love and conversion. As far as lasting satisfaction, I don't think the movie has been out long enough to determine that one way or another. To me, the most memorable/striking/inspirational parts of the movie were not the parts that took place in the college classroom but in the lives outside the classroom that the movie followed - the struggles with faith (especially when your faith is different from your families), the societal pressure to conform to what "the majority" believes and the interwoveness (is that a word) of our lives. The movie is a work of fiction for sure - but I, for one, was intrigued with the "debate" (such as it was) between the professor and student. It made me think about my beliefs and faith and helped me to clarify exactly what I believed. But it also made me question - would I be willing to stand up for Jesus (what the young man in the story claims to be doing) in such a public forum and with such high stakes (his grades)? I would like to think that I would, but I just don't know.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the movie - I really wasn't sure what to expect before I saw it. All I had really heard was that it was a debate between a college professor and a student about the existence of God. And while that storyline was definitely in the forefront of the movie, there was so much more to the movie. I recommend that you go see it and judge for yourself.
BTW, I would also recommend NOT going to see Sabotage .... very disappointed in that one!
I judge movies based on their storytelling ability. I'm just not intrigued by this one enough to see it. I don't see a plot. For reasons Tom stated above (the faultiest being that the professor was an atheist?) I have chosen to save my money.
ReplyDeleteMaybe some "Christian right-wing fundamentalists" need to rediscover their faith or need this movie's help in deciding what they would do in this situation. I wouldn't deny Jesus...even with my grade at stake. I don't need a poorly thought out movie to tell me that.
Good blog, Tom.
I heard Sabotage was crap too. :)
I appreciate your comments, both of you! My question to those who have seen it, is whether the college professor in the movie is verbally identified as an atheist.
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