God's NOT Dead

I am writing a review of the movie God's Not Dead from a secular perspective, focusing on its critiques, filmmaking techniques, and storytelling. I want to ensure that my review remains objective and does not turn into an anti-Christian argument or debate.

God's Not Dead is filmed with the interests of evangelical Christianity (Protestantism in America) in mind, making it appealing to Christian believers. Christianity isn’t a minority in America, but it excites Christians psychologically when mainstream media embraces evangelical Christian culture. Remember Tim Tebow with John 3:16 on his eye black during UF football games?

Questions alone say a lot about your understanding and what you already know. Throughout the movie, especially in the exchanges between freshman Christian Josh and philosophy professor Jeffrey, Josh often asks questions that resonate with his beliefs. However, these are actually the wrong questions to ask atheists or non-believers, especially those with a religious background. For example: "Do you hate God?" "Why do you hate God?" "Why do you believe that God is dead?"—or similar questions. Atheists typically lack belief in the existence of a deity. To them, God isn't real, so how could you hate something that isn't real? Santa Claus isn't real, nor is a mermaid—yet would you hate them for being Santa Claus or a mermaid? This is an example of why the questions Josh asks are illogical to nonbelievers.

Do atheists get sick of radical or lifestyle influences associated with Christian beliefs? Yes. Not all atheists hate Christian influences, but many—especially non-believers like me who grew up in Christian culture—find them frustrating. (Yes, belief is a part of Christian culture.)

I’ll use Santa Claus as an example again. Some people hate Christmas because they don’t enjoy emptying their bank accounts for shopping, dealing with holiday depression, etc. That doesn’t mean they hate Santa Claus—rather, they dislike the influences associated with him. It’s the same concept with non-believers who don’t hate God but dislike the influences associated with Him. Similarly, many atheists don’t hate God (since they don’t believe in Him) but may strongly oppose the social, political, or cultural influence of religious institutions.

So what about Professor Jeffrey Radisson? He seems to know a lot about the Bible. Remember, Jeffrey is more than just a professor; he's an expert specializing in philosophy studies. Part of his expertise includes acknowledging the Christian faith. Yes, the Christian faith is a form of human philosophy, even though it means more to Christians. The Bible itself is a library of collections, including narrative stories, poetry, inspirations, folktales, testimonials, letters, and even philosophies. An interesting fact is that Greek and Roman philosophies had a huge influence on the evolution of New Testament manuscripts. So, Professor Jeffrey's knowledge isn't surprising. (Yes, some Christian apologists would argue that the Devil knows the Bible too—oh well.)

Professor Jeffrey's character had ego problems; he forced his students to declare that "God is dead" and verbally bullied both his students and girlfriend during aggressive discussions. If Jeffrey had behaved like this in real life at the University of Arizona, University of Central Florida, Gallaudet University, or any public university, he would automatically get in trouble for violations of academic integrity and conduct.

The movie makes it seem like Christian students are an oppressed group on college campuses, but realistically, this is far from being systematically true. While there are Christian clubs that cater to various denominations, such as InterVarsity and The Edge (a campus outreach hosted by a local church), campuses in general are not hostile or aggressive toward Christians unless someone is trying to create drama. (There are always troublemakers in every group, lol.)

Evidence vs. Philosophy Techniques

In December 2024, almost two months ago, I completed a paralegal studies certificate. I learned two key things: evidence and legal techniques. You can convince the court to rule in your favor using either evidence, legal techniques, or both.

Everyone knows what evidence is, so I'll explain what legal techniques mean—it's the interpretation of legal arguments or opinions regarding laws.

In the movie, I see a lot of philosophical techniques at play, as both Josh and Jeffrey interpret the opinions and arguments of scientists and scholars. However, neither of them presents complete evidence proving or disproving God's existence.

In my opinion, atheism is a belief in nonexistence since disproving God with complete evidence isn’t possible. For theists, particularly Christians, neither is proving God’s existence possible.

Yes, Christian apologists typically argue for God’s existence by pointing to the Bible, alternative scriptures (such as the Apocrypha and the Gospel of Thomas), famous apologists like Ray Comfort and Ken Ham, Lee Strobel or Christian-friendly scientific explanations. The problem is that, just like in legal settings, it’s not easy to convince a court with legal techniques alone. While winning is still possible, it is less likely compared to having concrete evidence.

Similarly, it’s very difficult to win theological arguments using only philosophical interpretations of pro-Christian sources. Because of this, both theists and atheists lack direct evidence to prove they are absolutely right.

Let's talk about the movie

Putting Josh and Jeffrey’s feud aside, I recognize actor David White from other movies he’s been in. He plays Reverend Dave in God’s Not Dead and is well known in Christian film entertainment. It’s good to see him in this film.

Thanks to David’s presence, I felt confident that I could watch the whole movie without confusion over the actors. If I had never known David, it’s very likely it would have taken me a while to get used to the new actors.

Reverend Dave had special moments with each individual on separate occasions—Josh’s meeting with him in the chapel, Mina’s meeting with him in the office, and, at the end of the movie, his encounter with Professor Jeffrey Radisson outside after Jeffrey’s tragic accident.

I think the filmmakers did a good job using Reverend Dave as a central figure connecting with almost every character in different situations.

Mina, a character played by Cory Oliver, was in a relationship with Professor Jeffrey, and they lived together. Originally, I assumed Mina was Jeffrey’s wife because she was a Christian, but she was actually just cohabiting with him.

I don’t judge her since I myself cohabited with my son’s mom for four years. But I am curious about what Mina was thinking. Why would a devout Christian like her be in a relationship with an outspoken anti-Christian like Jeffrey?

The movie never explains how Mina and Jeffrey met, but it’s interesting to wonder what led her to him. Following Reverend Dave’s advice, Mina decided to protect herself by breaking up with Jeffrey. I don’t blame her.

I could discuss my opinions on each character, but my mind is exhausted since I’m still new to writing movie reviews. So, I’ll close this review with four stars. Why four? The filmmakers’ prejudice towards atheists, as well as Muslims, is evident in the movie’s storytelling. I’m not going to go into detail about the Muslim characters (Ayisha, played by Hadeel Sittu, and Misrab, played by Marco Khan), but I don’t see any reason why the filmmakers would include Muslim characters in a Christian movie where they’re portrayed as anti-Christian.

In real life, most American Muslims wouldn’t disown their children for having a different faith, even though it may be difficult, just like Christian parents might struggle when their children become atheists—similar to my own situation. Additionally, the filmmakers made several prejudiced statements about atheists, which I’ve already explained earlier in this review.

So, I’m looking forward to the next movie in the series, God’s Not Dead 2!