God's Not Dead is a 2014 American Christiandrama film directed by Harold Cronk and starring Kevin Sorbo, Shane Harper, David A. R. White, and Dean Cain. Written by Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman from a story they co-wrote with Hunter Dennis, and inspired by Rice Broocks' book God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty, the film follows a Christian college student (Harper) whose faith is challenged by an atheist philosophy professor (Sorbo), who declares God a pre-scientific fiction. The film was produced by Pure Flix Entertainment in association with Check the Gate Productions, Red Entertainment Group, and Faith Family Films, and released theatrically on March 21, 2014, by Freestyle Releasing.[4]
God's Not Dead was a commercial success, grossing over $62 million on a $2 million budget.[3] Despite this, it was heavily panned by mainstream critics, who criticized its screenplay, Cronk's directing, performances, mean-spirited tone, characters, and use of straw man arguments and common stereotypes of atheists, instead of any actual debate.[4][5][6][7]
In the fall of 2013, Josh Wheaton, a college student and evangelical Christian, enrolls in a philosophy class taught by Professor Jeffrey Radisson, an atheist. Radisson demands his students sign a declaration stating "God is dead" to pass his class. Josh is the only student who refuses. Radisson requires Josh to debate the topic with him but agrees to let the rest of the class decide who the winner is.
In the first two debates, Radisson has counter-arguments for all of Josh's points. Josh's girlfriend Kara demands that Josh either sign the statement or drop Radisson's class, as standing up to Radisson will jeopardize their academic future. When Josh refuses, Kara breaks up with him.
In the final debate, Josh halts his line of debate to ask Radisson: "Why do you hate God?" Radisson explodes in rage, confirming he hates God for his mother's death. Josh asks Radisson how he can hate someone that does not exist. Martin, a Chinese student whose father forbids him from talking about God to avoid jeopardizing his brother's chance at overseas study, stands up and says, "God's not dead." Most of the class follows Martin's lead, and Radisson leaves the room in defeat.
Radisson dates Mina, an evangelical whom he belittles in front of his fellow atheist colleagues. Her brother Mark, a successful businessman and atheist, refuses to visit their mother, who suffers from dementia. Mark's girlfriend Amy is a left-wing blogger who writes articles critical of Duck Dynasty. When Amy is diagnosed with cancer, Mark dumps her. A Muslim student, Ayisha, secretly converts to Christianity and is disowned by her infuriated father when he finds out.
Josh invites Martin to attend a Newsboys concert. Radisson reads a letter from his late mother and is moved to reconcile with Mina. Amy confronts the Newsboys in their dressing room but asks them to help guide her in converting to Christianity. On his way to find Mina, Radisson is struck by a car and fatally injured. A reverend waiting at the intersection tends to Radisson and helps him as he dies. Mark, at last, visits his mother, but mocks her for her faith; she responds that his financial success was given to him by Satan to keep him from turning to God, then she doesn't remember his name. At the concert, the Newsboys show a video clip of Willie Robertson congratulating Josh on standing up to Radisson and encourages the audience to text "God's Not Dead" as a message to others. The Newsboys begin to play their song "God's Not Dead", dedicating it to Josh.
Cast
Shane Harper as Josh Wheaton, an evangelical college student
Kevin Sorbo as Professor Jeffrey Radisson, Josh's philosophy class teacher, a self-professed atheist.
David A. R. White as Reverend Dave, the pastor of St. James Church. He would later play a larger role in the next films.
Trisha LaFache as Amy Ryan, an atheist blogger who is diagnosed with cancer.
Hadeel Sittu as Ayisha, a Muslim student who secretly converts to Christianity.
Marco Khan as Misrab, Ayisha's estranged father who finds out her suspicions
Cory Oliver as Mina, Professor Radisson's girlfriend who is an evangelical Christian.
Dean Cain as Mark, an atheist businessman who is Mina's older brother and Amy's boyfriend
The film's script was inspired by lawsuits involving the place of the Christian faith in universities and by the book God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty published by Pastor Rice Broocks.[8][9]
Production
The film was shot from October to November 2012, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with the concert scene done in Houston, Texas.[10] However, exterior shots of the concert were filmed at Staples Center.
The film soundtrack was released on March 3, 2014, by Inpop Records.[11]
Reception
Box office
The film became a surprise success at the box office. In its first weekend of release, the film earned $9.2 million[3] with an $11,816 per-screen average from 780 theaters, causing Entertainment Weekly's Adam Markovitz to refer to it as "the biggest surprise of the weekend".[12] During that weekend, it finished third behind Divergent and Muppets Most Wanted at the box office.[13]
The film began its international roll-out in Mexico on April 4, 2014, where the movie grossed $89,021 its opening weekend. God's Not Dead grossed $60.8 million in North America and $3.9 million in other territories for a total of $64.7 million, against a budget of $2 million.[3] At the end of 2014, God's Not Dead was ranked 93rd in terms of worldwide gross, and finished with $64.7 million worldwide.[14]
Critical reception
On the review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes the film received 12% positive reviews, based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 3.40/10. The consensus reads, "Deploying sledgehammer theatrics instead of delivering its message with a dose of good faith, God's Not Dead makes for bad drama and an unconvincing argument to the unconverted."[15] On Metacritic, the film received a score of 16 out of 100, based on six critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[16]
Elaine Wilkinson criticized the film for presenting a narrative based on a Christian persecution complex in the United States,[17] specifically the idea of colleges as "atheist factories", a premise criticized as an inaccurate stereotype by Emma Green, writing for The Atlantic.[18] Writing for The A.V. Club, Emily St. James gave the film a "D−", saying, "Even by the rather lax standards of the Christian film industry, God's Not Dead is a disaster. It's an uninspired amble past a variety of Christian-email-forward bogeymen that feels far too long at just 113 minutes".[6] Reviewer Scott Foundas of Variety wrote "... even grading on a generous curve, this strident melodrama about the insidious efforts of America's university system to silence true believers on campus is about as subtle as a stack of Bibles falling on your head ..."[4] Some sources and blogs have cited the film's similarities to a popular urban legend.[19][20]
Dave Hartline of The American Catholic gave God's Not Dead a positive review and hoped that other films like it would follow.[22] Vincent Funaro of The Christian Post praised the film for being "a hit for believers and may even appeal to skeptics searching for answers".[23]
Evangelical Michael Gerson, however, was highly critical of the film and its message, writing "The main problem with God's Not Dead is not its cosmology or ethics but its anthropology. It assumes that human beings are made out of cardboard. Academics are arrogant and cruel. Liberal bloggers are preening and snarky. Unbelievers disbelieve because of personal demons. It is characterization by caricature."[24] John Mulderig echoed similar concerns in his review for the Catholic News Service, stating: "There might be the kernel of an intriguing documentary buried within director Harold Cronk's stacked-deck drama, given the extent of real-life academic hostility toward religion. But even faith-filled moviegoers will sense the claustrophobia of the echo chamber within which this largely unrealistic picture unfolds."[25]
Pure Flix Entertainment produced a sequel, God's Not Dead 2,[26] with a release date of April 1, 2016.[27][28][29] A second sequel, God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness, was released on March 30, 2018.[30] A third sequel, God's Not Dead: We the People, was released on October 4, 2021. David A. R. White, Paul Kwo, Trisha LaFache, and Benjamin Onyango reprise their roles in the second film. However, in the third film, only David A. R. White and Benjamin Onyango reprise their roles, with Shane Harper also reprising his role as Josh Wheaton from the first film.
Awards and Nominations
The film was honored at the 2015 MovieGuide Awards, securing the Epiphany Prize in the Inspiring Movie category.[31]
^Hartline, Dave (March 30, 2014). "God's not dead; There's something happening here". American Catholic. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014. Slowly but surely with movies like God's Not Dead, others will follow, and the old secular guard will not like it and force us to endure some trials and tribulations.
