God's Not Dead 3 (and God's Not Dead Expanded Universe) Discussion

[Stoney Mason]

Present-day college freshman and devout Christian, Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper), finds his faith challenged on his first day of Philosophy class by the dogmatic and argumentative Professor Radisson (Kevin Sorbo). Radisson begins class by informing students that they will need to disavow, in writing, the existence of God on that first day, or face a failing grade. As other students in the class begin scribbling the words “God Is Dead” on pieces of paper as instructed, Josh find himself at a crossroads, having to choose between his faith and his future. Josh offers a nervous refusal, provoking an irate reaction from his smug professor. Radisson assigns him a daunting task: if Josh will not admit that “God Is Dead,” he must prove God’s existence by presenting well-researched, intellectual arguments and evidence over the course of the semester, and engage Radisson in a head-to-head debate in front of the class. If Josh fails to convince his classmates of God’s existence, he will fail the course and hinder his lofty academic goals.

 

[Great Rumbler]

Ruin your future because you failed a university philosophy class? LMAO

[nudemacusers]

ivory tower homolectuals corrupting our youth 

watch for a duck dynasty cameo!

[benjipwns]

He then went on to direct the billion dollar grossing Avengers movie.

[Himu]

The atheist agenda is real

[nudemacusers]

seriously tho where is kirk cameron and that fat kid from two and a half men? you'd think they'd be on the casting couch pew for this one.

[Mandark]

Is this the first chain e-mail to be adapted for film?

[Phoenix Dark]

I was once a good student with a promising future, however I failed my Philosophy 150 in my sophomore year of college. Now I'm homeless with no means of continuing my education or pursuing a professional career.

[Dickie Dee]

Kevin Sorbo doing MacBeth @0:35

[Joe Molotov]

Is this the first chain e-mail to be adapted for film?

Spoilers: At the end a marine comes in and said, God's busy today so he sent me, and the limp-wristed professor runs away in tears and the religious student reads Scripture to the class for the rest of the period.

[benjipwns]

I have to admit, after watching the trailer I kinda want to watch this now. At least to see how he "wins" and stuff.

Plus that always great conflict with the girlfriend/love interest over his UNFLINCHING CRUSADE will probably pay off with dem holy feelz at the end.

Thankfully I think there's some Christian movie channel on channel 1283 or something like that which will probably air it in six months.

EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(TV_network)

[Broseidon]

Is this the first chain e-mail to be adapted for film?

Spoilers: At the end a marine comes in and said, God's busy today so he sent me, and the limp-wristed professor runs away in tears and the religious student reads Scripture to the class for the rest of the period.

And that marine was Albert Einstein

[Diunx]

That shit is actually releasing over here! meanwhile I'll have to wait for a webrip or something to watch The Raid 2

[Barry Egan]

definitely watching this.

[Joe Molotov]

That shit is actually releasing over here! meanwhile I'll have to wait for a webrip or something to watch The Raid 2

Live in a third world country, brehs.

[Joe Molotov]

Played by Harper as a nice, clean-cut kid who doesn’t really want to ruffle anybody’s feathers, but who comes to believe that “God wants somebody to defend him,” Josh just might be the Almighty’s worst advocate since William Jennings Bryan.

[The Sceneman]

sooooo goddamn watching this

[Momo]

neogaf the movie

[Joe Molotov]

Doesn't support Young Earth Creationism, avoid brehs. Creation.com says it uses weak sauce arguments that would get swatted into the stands by any serious atheist.

http://creation.com/gods-not-dead-review

spoiler (click to show/hide)

This is where we anticipated the movie could have made its major ‘equipping’ contribution, but unfortunately, each of the points Josh tries to put forward to prove God’s existence are arguments that atheists would easily refute. In the first session, Josh equates the big bang to what we would expect if God spoke the universe into existence. Of course, CMI has long demonstrated how the big problem with the big bang theory is that it is supposed to have happened billions of years ago. With the sun allegedly appearing millions of years before the earth, for example, it stands in complete opposition to the very creation passages in Genesis which Josh is supposed to be defending. He even affirms an age of the universe of billions of years, which clearly stands contrary to the biblical account. To be fair, he does give a good answer to “Who created God?”, which is perhaps the only solid apologetic in this section.

In the second section, Josh talks about the problems of life coming from non-life, but then implies that God could be behind the seemingly-random process of evolution. But an informed atheist could respond that evolution is a wasteful, cruel process; why would anyone worship God if He used a cruel wasteful evolutionary process? Perhaps the producers have not realized that most atheistic evolutionists don’t really respect Christians who believe in evolution. Just ask the ‘high priest’ of atheistic evolution, Professor Richard Dawkins, who once said that theological attempts to marry the Bible and evolution are “seriously deluded.” In this sense, who is the movie trying to win over?

In the third and final lecture, Josh tackles the problem of evil by saying that it is a necessary consequence of free will. But the very biblical creation account Josh claims to be defending is clear that evil is a consequence of sin, not a necessary companion to free will.
Spoiler alert

These weak arguments are presented as overtly intimidating to the ‘infamously stout’ atheist professor and predictably, the stereotypical triumph of Josh’s arguments over the confounded professor leads to what seems to be the dramatic conversion of the entire class. This is not a realistic scenario. Given these somewhat basic and flawed arguments, they would not be at all convincing to an informed opponent, and no atheist of Professor Radisson’s supposed caliber would be unfamiliar with them. The danger we fear is that hapless college students may take these weak arguments, try to use them, and get shot down. Instead of concluding that there is something wrong with the arguments, they could think that Christianity is false, and it would damage their faith.

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[benjipwns]

neogaf the movie

That'd be more like if the movie had a valiant atheist standing up for a female in front of the whole class against a sexist professor and her falling in love (in part because of his Triforce shirt) and becoming his sex slave. And then at the end of the movie it zooms out to him sitting creepily in the back row of the class staring at the back of some girls' head and sweating.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

PM offers on script rights

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[Himu]

in college religion class my professor made me write GOD IS NOT REAL on my forehead

i cried

then I looked in a mirror and realized i wrote it backwards

[benjipwns]

This is not a realistic scenario. Given these somewhat basic and flawed arguments, they would not be at all convincing to an informed opponent, and no atheist of Professor Radisson’s supposed caliber would be unfamiliar with them.

I kinda like the idea that this feared professor is actually a fraud whose only background is skimming a Richard Dawkins book. Thus why he teaches Philosophy 150 and does such dumb stuff like open class with GOD IS DEAD.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

That shit is actually releasing over here! meanwhile I'll have to wait for a webrip or something to watch The Raid 2

there is a very good chance that this film will make significantly more money then The Raid 2 will, at least in America.
As its already, in its first weekend, surpassed twice over The Raid 1's total American haul.

also, the grammer of this movie's title irritates me.  Wouldn't God is Not Dead be better?  Does the student/protagonist fail English too?

[nudemacusers]

I’ve been watching movies for over 50 years, going back to the old classics on my parents black and white TV with rabbit ears. It’s rare that a movie pushes my buttons anymore. I frankly expected some cheesy six-day creationist Bible-thumping embarrassment, like I’ve seen so many times before, but this low-budget, faith inspired movie really hit it out of the ball park for me. Why? It’s effectiveness in addressing the almost daily assaults on Christianity. (Think of the grossly historically inaccurate cartoon at the beginning of the new Cosmos series.) It took head-on the attacks from academia, the media, the amoral business world, phony self-professing Christians and even Islam. The acting was first rate. We tried to go to a late showing Friday but it was sold out and had to buy tickets in advance. If you’re not a totally committed secular progressive droog, you ought to catch this one.

[benjipwns]

Thanks for the informative review, this is why I come to The Bore, common sense pro-family reviews and comments.

[Himu]

Thank you for an unbiased view

[chronovore]

http://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-gods-not-dead-1201142881/

Variety weighed in with a negative; now all those Variety readers are less likely to see this film!

When I was a kid, I remember seeing a christian documentary during its theatrical run; it talked about life after death, but my strongest memory of it was from the sequence near the end, on suicide. Up until that point, people had been talking about going toward a warm light where all their passed friends and family were waiting to welcome them, but those who'd attempted suicide all talked about being in some kind of hellish nightmare world, with demons pulling at them, or feeling buried alive. I was probably 8 or 9 -- it scared the shit out of me.

I've not been real big on fire-and-perdition, fear-based morality tales since then.

[benjipwns]

And yet, you're alive today having never committed suicide.

[Madrun Badrun]

Kevin Sorbo is such an embarrassment.  He rose so high with Andromeda only to far so low.

[chronovore]

And yet, you're alive today having never committed suicide.

 

spoiler (click to show/hide)

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[benjipwns]

Free review from GAF: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=106044974&postcount=184

[Rahxephon91]

Man the best movie of the year is 300. You got Eva green's mad titays on screen as she chews the fucking scenery.

[Himu]

This is my first time watching the trailer and this seriously looks like comedy of the year.

[Stoney Mason]

I spoke too soon. Another contender enters.




 

In the book, Christian pastor Todd Burpo writes that during the months after his son's emergency surgery in 2003, his son Colton began describing events and people that seemed impossible for him to have seen or met. Examples include his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born. Colton also claimed that he personally met Jesus riding a rainbow-colored horse and sat in Jesus' lap, while the angels sang songs to him. He also says he saw Mary kneeling before the throne of God and at other times standing beside Jesus.

[Kara]

also, the grammer of this movie's title irritates me.  Wouldn't God is Not Dead be better?  Does the student/protagonist fail English too?

 

[PigSpeakers]

I’ve been watching movies for over 50 years, going back to the old classics on my parents black and white TV with rabbit ears. It’s rare that a movie pushes my buttons anymore. I frankly expected some cheesy six-day creationist Bible-thumping embarrassment, like I’ve seen so many times before, but this low-budget, faith inspired movie really hit it out of the ball park for me. Why? It’s effectiveness in addressing the almost daily assaults on Christianity. (Think of the grossly historically inaccurate cartoon at the beginning of the new Cosmos series.) It took head-on the attacks from academia, the media, the amoral business world, phony self-professing Christians and even Islam. The acting was first rate. We tried to go to a late showing Friday but it was sold out and had to buy tickets in advance. If you’re not a totally committed secular progressive droog, you ought to catch this one.

Over 50 years?

[benjipwns]

http://vimeo.com/82650428

[Stoney Mason]

Watched it.

* The professor is a crazy rude person who is an atheist because his mother died when he was 12 and god ignored his prayers to save her.

* The college student is like Job. He loses his bitch of a girlfriend who dumps him because he isn't thinking about his future by taking on this professor.

* The college professor is dating a former student who is a christian whom he treats like shit and belittles her intelligence. Triumphantly she dumps him towards the end of the movie showing you only need god in your life and not an asshole atheist boyfriend.

*There is a muslim college student (or maybe she just works on campus. It isn't really clear) who is forced to wear a veil when she goes to college by her muslim father. Secretly though she is christian. The evil muslim father finds out, slaps/beats her and throws her out of the house.

* Dean Cain is an evil capitalist playboy atheist who has a feminist atheist liberal reporter girlfriend whom he dumps the moment she tells him she has cancer.

* Fortunately cancer girl finds jesus by the end of the movie and prays with the christian band the newsboys before a concert at the end of the movie.

*  The college student of course wins the debate against the college professor as one by one the students stand up at the end of the debate and say "God is not Dead",  I am spartacus style.

* The Evil Professor still smarting from his defeat finally realizes that the reason he is an atheist is because of his dead mother as he reads a letter from her before she died that says he should love God.

* Said Evil professor now rushes to the same newsboy concert that cancer girl, ex-muslim girl, college student, and his ex girlfriend are at for some reason to try to get back his girl.

* He is hit by a car on the way there and lays dying in the street. Two very boring preachers who have been in most of the movie for no good reason happen to be there just as he is dying and take his last confession to christ right before he dies so he is now a good professor and will go to heaven.

* Everybody else celebrates at the newsboys concert including some bearded asshole from Duck Dynasty that I don't know at all.

THE END.


On a scale of 1 to 10. I would give it Jesus!

[Atramental]

*Phew*

So glad I stood my ground when my father was trying to make me go see this film when it was in theaters.

I would've cringed myself into a coma.

[Stoney Mason]

*Phew*

So glad I stood my ground when my father was trying to make me go see this film when it was in theaters.

I would've cringed myself into a coma.

You just saw the movie.

[benjipwns]

The lesson I have taken away is don't repent from atheism and race to a music concert for a dumb former student.

[Himu]

"On a scale of 1 to 10. I would give it Jesus!"

[Kara]

I don't understand why Hercules being an Epicurean atheist is relevant to the debate. That's (more or less) the safest kind of atheism.

[Great Rumbler]

Be honest, Stoney, how many of those liberal crocodile tears did you shed while visibly shaking from anger and fear as you watched your worldview being systematically torn apart piece by piece?

[Mandark]

Stoney

Taking one for the team.  You are truly our canary in the cinematic coal mine.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Now go watch the LDS adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and report back.

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[benjipwns]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Now go watch the LDS adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and report back.

[close]

Wait. What.

One of my best friends was a huge Pride and Prejudice obsessive for a while.

And her family's part of one of the weird Mormon offshoot churches.

[benjipwns]

The film received largely negative reviews outside Mormon enclaves such as Utah; some of the humor and plot devices derive from and require an understanding of Mormon social and religious mores.

Mormon inside jokes

 

[Stoney Mason]

I have some free time tomorrow. I might youtube some of the more "interesting" clips on a throwaway youtube channel. We'll see.

[Joe Molotov]

Be honest, Stoney, how many of those liberal crocodile tears did you shed while visibly shaking from anger and fear as you watched your worldview being systematically torn apart piece by piece?

He probably simultaneously dropped copies of The Origin of Species, Rules for Radicals, Das Kapital, The Selfish Gene, Hard Choices, and the entire Judy Blume oeuvre.

[Kara]

Judy Blume oeuvre.

[benjipwns]

So...this movie just got added free to watch with Amazon Prime.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

And it's recommending it to me. 

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[benjipwns]

I think Amazon is recommending it because of how many other one star movies I've deliberately watched on their service.

Okay, not think. Hope.

[Great Rumbler]

Amazon saw you watching all those Satan movies, benji, it knows you need to get some Jesus in your life.

[Stoney Mason]

[VomKriege]

Obligatory :

http://www.chick.com/m/reading/tracts/readtract.asp?stk=0055

[toku]

Girl in that trailer screencap is cute. Not gonna watch the trailer though.

[Joe Molotov]

Girl in that trailer screencap is cute. Not gonna watch the trailer though.

Is she the filthy atheist that gets hit by a car and killed right after becoming a Christian and confessing her sins to a passing priest while bleeding out into a pile of her own entrails?

[Madrun Badrun]

So he's still not dead?  Basically spoils the first movie if you haven't already seen it. 

[Phoenix Dark]

BTW another Borian has to see this. Stony did his duty, now another must do the same. 

IMO myself and Atra should be exempt from this requirement, given our extensive experience in the realm of religion.

[Steve Contra]

They're going to have to raise the stakes considerably in a sequel if they want my money day one.  God battling atheists after his son was killed is a pretty good origin story but really there's quite a few more interesting enemies of christendom (although I like that they keep hinting the Jews will ultimately be going against God in the two part finale).  It would also be nice to see Joan of Arc come in as the sidekick because that was a really good run but from the casting it doesn't look like it  :'( (but it does look like they're going to shoehorn another love interest in).