If you were given a task to prove that God is not dead, could you do it? That’s precisely the premise of a movie I just watched, appropriately titled exactly that, “God’s Not Dead.”
The movie is about a college philosophy professor named Jeffrey Radisson (Kevin Sorbo) who’s a very devout atheist. Each and every semester he asks his students to write the words, “God is dead” on a piece of paper and then to sign their name below it, solely to prevent them from having to go through the age-old debate of whether God exists or does not. He makes a very strong case as to how difficult it will be for his class to discuss this topic if they choose to not sign the waiver and further indicates it will be 30% of their grade. In contrast though, he promises everyone an “A” for that portion of the class if they do sign it, of which everyone promptly does except one individual, a freshman named Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper) who’s a very devout Christian. Radisson attempts to strong-arm Josh into signing it but to no avail, leading him no choice but to assign him the arduous task of proving to him and the class that God is not dead, thus creating the primary context of this movie.
While I don’t want to spoil the interconnectivity of all of the subplots that go on throughout the film, there’s one specific thing I’d still like to comment on. Professor Radisson argues a point that almost every atheist I’ve ever met has done with me as well. He asks Josh that if God exists, then why does God let bad things happen? His answer is one that I’ve come to know myself from my own spiritual journey and that’s the fact that if I were given an easy and constantly rewarding life, why would I ever have the desire to seek God? There’s great truth to those words because I never did seek God much at all during all those years I had hoards of money and close to perfect health. But through the major financial losses I’ve incurred and the health struggles I continue to endure, I’ve sought God in every way possible. But have I received proof of God’s existence through any of it? Well I’m going to take a page in Josh’s book here and say this instead of answering the question directly. While I may not have received any irrefutable proof yet that God exists, I haven’t at the same time received any that God doesn’t exist either. But what I do know is that it ultimately comes down to a choice. I can live a life of free will or I can live a life of faith.
Nevertheless, I must say that this movie did have an overly religious tone to itself, one that I might normally balk at. But ironically, overall I was extremely moved by it, so much so that I chose to pray and reaffirm my devotion to God and the unconditional love of Christ by the time it ended.
So I’m sure some will continue to take me or my review of this film the wrong way, believing I’m really just turning into another religious nut, but the truth is, I’m actually quite far from becoming that at all. In all honesty, what I am becoming is a firm believer that I can connect to God and the unconditional love of Christ through any number of ways, one of which was something as simple as watching “God’s Not Dead”, which I wholeheartedly recommend you do as well…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson