The thesis of the God’s Not Dead series is that Christians and Christianity are under attack in America, and that the way to fight back is through exercising First Amendment rights, mostly in educational settings. (This is where I state my bona fides: I’m a lifelong Christian who was raised in a conservative evangelical home, and I’ve been writing about these movies since I was the chief film critic at Christianity Today, the evangelical magazine started by Billy Graham.) Most people outside the series’ target bubble notice its outsize, navel-gazing persecution complex right off the bat. The problem isn’t really the production value (which is mostly fine), or even the statement in the title, a contradiction of a willful misreading of Nietzsche that’s so generic and bland that few people would find it offensive.īut the movies are offensive, and not only to those who aren’t in their target audience. God’s Not Dead has never been warmly welcomed by mainstream critics. God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness continues the series’ fixation on persecution Samantha Boscarino, Jennifer Cipolla, and Shwayze in God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness. But in the end, this God’s Not Dead installment is just like the others: putting on a pious face but failing to imagine what real sacrifice might look like. In this moment and a few others, it seems like A Light in the Darkness is about to reevaluate the God’s Not Dead series’ own narrative about Christians in America, one that’s been far more interested in bolstering a certain sort of persecution complex than in encouraging its audience toward Christlike behavior. ![]() I could build a church with all the bricks that have been thrown through my windows.” “Brother, who do you think you’re talking to?” he says to Dave. Roland looks at him in disbelief, and for just a moment, his voice gets heated. When Roland counsels him to pray and be patient, Dave is not having any of it, telling Roland that he might feel differently if it were his church being attacked. James, is under attack from people who harbor an anti-religious political agenda against Christians. It’s a startling moment because it’s one of several in the movie in which it seems that the God’s Not Dead series might have become self-aware.ĭave is certain that his church, St. White) goes to visit Pastor Roland ( Gregory Alan Williams), the minister at the nearby predominantly black church, and Roland reads him the riot act. ![]() Everyone who sees it will truly be moved.” – Lt.Perhaps the most surprising moment in God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness - the third installment in the wildly popular and commercially successful Christian movie franchise - comes when the beleaguered Pastor Dave ( David A.R. ![]() It’s an encouraging story about people who are willing to stand up for their Christian faith. Make sure keep your eyes peeled for a scene where a team of people in red-shield shirts remove furniture and belongings from one of the character’s home! ![]() The Salvation Army is honored to have a small role in this film. As the principal and superintendent join forces with a zealous civil liberties group, an epic court case could expel God from the classroom-and the public square-once and for all! Premiering in theaters nationwide April 1, the film’s plot centers around a Christian teacher who is asked an honest question about Jesus in a public-school setting, and her reasoned response lands her in big trouble. The Salvation Army and the LGBT CommunityĪfter the 2014 breakout success of God’s Not Dead, faith-based film studio Pure Flix Entertainment made the decision to follow up with the much anticipated sequel, God’s Not Dead 2.
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