God's Not Dead: The Rhetoric of Christian Propaganda | Big Joel

In this video, I analyze God's Not Dead, a 2014 Christian propaganda film. The movie is incredibly interesting, and I hope you enjoy.
Support me on Patreon: / bigjoel
Follow me on Twitter: / biggestjoel
Sources for my stats and quotes:
time.com/456501...
www.huffington...
www.huffington...
www.pewforum.or...
www.pewforum.or...
The Bible

[@BigJoel]

RIP Steven Hawking. He may not have been Jesus but he sure was cool!

[@oyonggofomocci2078]

On a mathematical holiday, we mourn for one of mathematics' and science's greatest minds and contributors...

[@eugeniabukhman8533]

It's kind of ironic that one of mathematics' and science's greatest minds died on a day meant to celebrate math...

[@SpaceCowboy57]

Big Joel even if Jesus could use his superpowers to walk on water, it's still arguably less impressive than what Steven Hawking has accomplished.

[@rohart2]

Well, now he is dead, SH knows the truth. He's probably wishing he hadn't been so arrogant and pointed to the reality of God instead of inferring that man was god. Personally, I was not impressed by his nonsensical rhetoric. :^)

[@RJCMaxification]

nice bait lul

[@invalidusername6809]

You know for a philosophy professor he sure is bad at arguing

[@alejandrovillalba3143]

Hercules making Christian propaganda. That is flat out outrageous 😈😈😈😈

[@xxsageonexx8910]

The Lonely Penguin Movie exaggeration? Nope. WLC has a degree in philosophy and commits many logical fallacies.

[@gorilla___]

You know, I shat my pants

[@skoomaaddict1010]

Gotta hit em with that Epicurean Paradox.

[@politickz6591]

It’s almost like he’s a strawman created for this propaganda piece or something

[@zaragordon8049]

Gods Not Dead: A movie taking place inside a philosophy class, written by someone who has clearly never stepped foot inside of a philosophy class

[@hatter3555]

Yass

[@seandownes6968]

@Tron But that's a "No True Scotsman" fallacy. If the creators of this movie believe themselves to be Christian, it's kind of silly to assert that they're not "true Christians". You have to meet people where they are.

[@TerribleTrioProductions]

@Tron No. Christianity is a belief. It's not mandated by actions. It's a belief, and beliefs have different interpretations. I could say that you're not a true Christian if you don't fast for the whole period of Lent, that doesn't make it true. When it comes to religions, if somebody believes in a certain way, they believe in a certain way, and it's not your place to say what they are and aren't.

[@LarsPallesen]

@Tron You don't think the evangelical Christians behind this movie have ever set foot inside a church? Really?

[@DebatingWombat]

It’s basically an attempt at turning the incredibly lame “atheist professor myth”, in which a hilariously stereotypical yet curiously inept atheist professor gets bested by a plucky Christian student, into a whole feature film. If that seems a of a bit thin and contrived premise, then, yup, it is. And it gets “fleshed out” with a greatest hits of fundamentalist evangelical canards (e.g. atheists being motivated by some form of hedonism or sinfulness, attacks on evolution, the general denunciation of college education as a sinister, atheist indoctrination plot, and various “therefore God” claims that tend to be wholly or mostly non sequiturs etc.). This includes, as the clips shows, hawking some of the popular works of fundamentalist evangelical apologetics à la Lee Strobel, which are all really aimed at preaching to the choir, i.e. reinforcing fundamentalist evangelical beliefs, rather than (as most of them claim) convincing those who do not already subscribe to them.

[@pixelguy9922]

The real question is why Josh pursuits a law degree at all when he obviously could get a top job as a video graphics editor.

[@shethatsme]

Pixel Guy I was literally thinking the same thing. His PowerPoint game was something to behold.

[@adampluciennik4212]

Yay 500th like!

[@gp5121]

I would've liked this but it's currently at 666 and I didn't want to ruin that.

[@MinscFromBaldursGate92]

IKR! He made such a spectacular PowerPoint presentation in a short time.

[@hagrid1123]

Pixel

[@AKASkobble]

The fact that people think empathy is a DLC only accessible through God is disturbing.

[@princekyle4132]

And ironically, they don’t have empathy for those that aren’t “chosen” or different in some way, be it sexual orientation or identity, race or especially class. American Christians fucking hate the poor 😭

[@elineitz2428]

I’ve never seen it described this way but I love it. Thank you

[@alexcherry7071]

Some even include love, hope, or even intellect. It pisses me off because their misunderstanding of nonbelievers can be so great, that we might as well not have a debate at all at that point.

[@TVegaC]

that dude just said nazis believed evolution too LOL basically "did you know who drink water? that's right HITLER"

[@BluePhoenix_]

Even if it was true, the consequences of an idea have nothing to do with it's validity.

[@lost4468yt]

Hitler did use evolution as justification. But he massively misunderstood it.

[@BluePhoenix_]

@@lost4468yt he didn't. He rejected evolution. He even used the same arguments, that creationists use, like that animals stay within their "kinds" or that the "all powerful creator" made everything and so on. Hitler only used the word evolution as Progress, like when he talked about the evolution of technology. He didn't believe in evolution.

[@sealogic4552]

@@BluePhoenix_ In fact, I recall books on evolutionary theory being on the list of things the Nazis called for burning. Don’t remember where I read it from so take it with a grain of salt.

[@BluePhoenix_]

@@sealogic4552 yes, that's correct, they burned Darwins books

[@rajeetdajeet2883]

I like how they think atheists believe God died and not that he just wasn’t there ever.

[@Bubbly_Dragon]

To be fair, 'God is dead' is a metaphor from a pretty famous Nietzsche quote. Considering the Prof. teaches philosophy, I'm fairly sure having him swear by it is intentional

[@EvelynFTTE]

I believe in a beginning scene, the professor does point this out, saying "God is dead" is a false statement, as God never existed. When he was requiring them all to write it over and over again, starting the whole plot because the main character didn't. Fun fact, he gave bonus points for someone who wrote"god is dead" instead, using a lowercase for God

[@Kidomaru222]

@@EvelynFTTE This is so cartoon-ish.

[@jerrycoffey2234]

One of the most misunderstood quotes . Most think Nietzche wrote in celebratory tone but it wasn't at all it was a lamantation.

[@kuma477]

That’s like saying I had a son named Jeff and Jeff died recently even though I’m a virgin and never even had sex

[@Drazakhan_Dynasty]

This movie creates a straw man athiest antagonist, and literally knocks it down with a car. Subtle.

[@retrolovesmonika3959]

"Jesus, take the wheel" has a new meaning

[@MinscFromBaldursGate92]

The Wicked Witch of the North was the driver. Only she would have a big grudge against a strawman.

[@matthewtrevino525]

Here in Oklahoma the church is a lot of things. The community it's created has a lot of political power and very restrained well thought out marketing tools and content. A book none of the Christians have read is Tolstoy Anarchist Christian manifesto The Kingdom of God is Within Us which is highly subversive of Evangelical Politics that tells me the Leadership is politically oriented and not Jesus oriented.

[@sasotadic7032]

@Voice of Reason even if we agree that a clump of cells is a human from day one. That human being has no right to violate the body autonomy of another person against its will same as you cant draw blood from prisoners against their will or remove organs from a dead person against their will

[@sasotadic7032]

@Under Bridge ugff please tell me about the corelation between ethnicity and cognitive ability since theres no research that has made the claim of a corelation let alone causal link

[@xxProjectJxx]

My sister went to a Christian high school and they had her watch this movie in her Theology class. Now it's a running joke where if one of us is a jerk to the other, we'll say 'You're acting like an Atheist from God's Not Dead.'

[@justyouraveragememester5037]

I saw this movie in middle school, since I went to a private Christian middle school, and I bet no one there even remembers it. All I remember is making a funny Vanoss reference when the "Le epic atheist gets pwned" moment happens

[@maryhall1671]

I always found that one scene where the Muslim girl is told she is pretty and shouldn't have to wear her hijab cringe inducing. (For reference, I grew up Pentecostal and saw this movie with my youth group.) A lot of Christian denominations advocate purity culture and tell women in the church that they have to dress modestly so as to not tempt men, to avoid falling victim to "worldly desires", to earn God's favor, etc. Demonizing Islamic women for dressing modestly because of their faith is hypocritical.

[@razi_man]

This.

[@gliiitched4429]

This.

[@rafaeterna1081]

If there's anything a fundementalist christian and muslim had in common is the order to dress modestly so ... Nani?

[@supercellodude]

Is that part of the strategy of Pure Flix: making movies formatted for youth groups?

[@pixelraid5742]

@@supercellodude yes, i went to a youth group for the 1st time and they played this movie. Hated the movie

[@sammillwood8301]

One of my favorite interactions was when a professor of mine briefly discussed evolution and a freshman Christian student tried to pull a "gods not dead" and debate him, going so far as to ask the professor why he hated god (like in the movie but more ham fisted). Little did the student know that the Professor was also a pastor at a nearby baptist church who just so happened to have a Ph.D in Biology and was just making extra money as an adjunct lecturer. Professor shot Bible verses like a cowboy shoots bullets.

[@rainyydaystudios9729]

Sam Millwood favorite comment in this comment section 😂😂

[@kenbee1957]

They should make a movie of this

[@scp--297]

I willing go into debt to see that professor to talk to my grandparents. Just to see that, I could die and I would be at peace.

[@MechaG]

That's what happens when you try to use straw arguments against real people.

[@hatter3555]

o... A healthy mix of faith and reason Rearly seen But great every time (im hardcore atheist, but i do like this kind of people - who dont mix reality with faith)

[@Mitchiepoo97]

“Without God, there’s no reason to be moral.” Buddy, people have all sorts of gods, but they still lack morality.

[@TerranPersoid725]

@Mitchell Fanning Exactly. And the flipside, too: there are great people out there who aren’t religious.

[@nathanielyee9203]

@@TerranPersoid725 And where do they get their morals then?

[@callmebeep5763]

~99% of U.S. prisoners are religious...

[@BL3H-]

@@nathanielyee9203 emphaty

[@BL3H-]

@@nathanielyee9203 humans can understand emotions and will figure out what is right and wrong bacause they care about each other. You don't need to be part of a religion to be a good person. Point is, you shouldn't need religion to be a good person, and if you do, you're not a good person.

[@NicoleCringe]

I found it ironic that they included a scene where it shows a child being disowned, kicked out, and abused by a parent for doing something outside their religion when Christian parents have done the same to LGBT children for decades.

[@NicoleCringe]

@Wystic I mean I know why it wasn't, I was just pointing out how ironic it is they tried to say Christianity is better than other religions by using that example when Christianity is just as guilty of doing it.

[@iputapipebombintoyourmailb6210]

if im a father and my son is turns out to be gay/bi, as long as he doesn't turn into that "one they person that shout they literally exist for decades, and have room full of rainbow like it's their savior instead of just plain flag" then i wont disown him. it's my son and idrc if he gay as long as he doesnt turn into that one person these christian disown their kid like nothing happened as what i see

[@DMO-DMO-DMO]

@@iputapipebombintoyourmailb6210 so..... If they're really into gay pride advocacy, you WILL disown him? Wtf

[@iputapipebombintoyourmailb6210]

@@DMO-DMO-DMO i say depend. they can beocme lgbt whatever they want. but if it on extreme case. then idk. disown dont solve it. but i say extreme

[@zoomertoast3703]

@@iputapipebombintoyourmailb6210 So you won't disown him... if he's not too gay? Am I reading this correctly??

[@zugabdu1]

I actually took philosophy classes in college taught by atheist professors. None were interested in dechristianizing anyone - on the contrary they often defended historical Christian philosophers like Descartes and Leibniz from atheists students who didn't understand those philosophers positions well enough.

[@dafphtthedislikeupdater7836]

@@coriiiiii2558 good point

[@insert_edgyname8848]

@@coriiiiii2558 but there are anti theists, which is close enough

[@patrickwalsh8913]

@@insert_edgyname8848 anti theists hate organized religion, not imaginary figures

[@DracoGangLive]

@@patrickwalsh8913 well "imaginary figures" is kinda harsh dude... Like damn

[@jean-pierre9698]

i am a christian and descartes sucks

[@DuelistKoi93]

"Muslim girl who, throughout the film, finds Jesus" So... they basically ignore the fact that muslims not only believe in Jesus, but also hold him in extremely high regard, being one of the greater prophets. The only real difference between muslims and christians in this regard is that we muslims don't believe Jesus to be 'son of God', but a prophet.

[@biostephan1685]

There are big differences between Jesus in Christianity and the one in Islam.

[@DuelistKoi93]

@@biostephan1685 there is, which I pointed out in my comment. We both, nonetheless, consider Jesus someone holy and great.

[@biostephan1685]

@@DuelistKoi93Christians must believe that Jesus is the son of God and he was crucified and his teachings and so on ..... which Muslims don't believe and for that to happen you must find him first through faith. So that Muslim girl who must find Jesus seems completely understandable. It's like the chahada but for Christians.

[@canti7951]

@@biostephan1685 it doesn't matter. Both ideologies aren't progressive. It's just to provide people a sense of security.

[@biostephan1685]

@@canti7951 I'm an atheist, and i know that. I'm also an ex Muslim that's why i had to explain to him the differences.

[@hanak5479]

The portrayal of Aisha is so laughable. Do Christians think...muslim girls don't care about their looks? That no one ever tells them they're beautiful? That moment where the white girl complimented her was so weird for me. Not to mention that it makes literally 0 sense that Aisha would be covering her face, even though she's wearing a short sleeved shirt and jeans. Like....I can't explain to people of non-muslim backgrounds how baffling of a mistake that is. That would be like an Indian movie portraying an American family wearing neon green spandex to church with no explanation.

[@tylerburney8576]

Wren K I know! I’m just a white dude but if her dad’s really that traditional then why the hell is she wearing that outfit? Surely that’s a bit more revealing than not wearing a hijab would be.

[@davidcerino1145]

Right?!?! White girl says “You’re beautiful” “OMG?!?!? How fortunate am I to have this wonderful white girl tell me I’m pretty! My life has been completed!”

[@moonymonster]

Movie, you need to talk to more Muslim people. Or at least look at them. I live near a mosque, and my observations are that hijabs go AROUND the face and short sleeves aren't a thing. I think they're amazing, considering they wear jeans and long sleeves even in the summer and I live in a desert....

[@Cheshiremd]

U can try explaining it to me, a person of non-muslim background. I think i will understand it fine. In fact i do understand it, but just don't have same emotional background do get outraged at this inconsistency.

[@Colddirector]

It reminds me a little of that one PrankInvasion video where he's kissing "muslim" girls who have a hijab but are wearing shorts and a thong, lol

[@jordanneal576]

Pretty easy to win an argument when you write both sides.

[@shvzvzjshvzhs3160]

Tell that to Plato lol

[@sunshineslowking5025]

Yelling "why do you hate god?!" over and over would lose literally any debate in real life, your opponent could pull down his trousers and play wipe out on his buttcheeks and he'd still be more credible

[@daneroberts1996]

wHy 😖😖 do you HaTe 😫😫 GOD??? 😭😭

[@Landshark3704]

That is such a raw line I’m finna steal it

[@zayatamburelli5322]

I give you award of best comment.

[@supercellodude]

Ad hominem and non sequitur in one, right?

[@andreasotelo537]

@@supercellodude straight up trash i would say

[@seregons]

The main protagonist looks like a low budget josh hutcherson

[@soccerruben1]

Apparently, the main protagonist was the real life boyfriend of Bridget Midler of “Good Luck, Charlie.” He also played the role of the boyfriend in that show as well.

[@Rowe104]

Haha that’s a pretty spot on description

[@Jenaxu]

I was trying to remember who he reminded me of, that's exactly it

[@theomegajuice8660]

Trapped on a Ethics class with Josh Hutcherson

[@soobinsoobout3726]

@ LMAOOO true

[@frauleinfunf]

It says a lot about American Christians that they can’t imagine being kind and caring for others if God didn’t make them

[@lop1991]

There’s Christians that hate this movie in the comments they all don’t think like this

[@ussinussinongawd516]

@@thatsalotofdamage8568 yes but only American Christian's deny science except nazis

[@MysteryGeek2006]

You guys forget that wesbero Baptist church still exist. You know THAT church

[@nomenaodisponivel12]

@@lop1991 there's also a christian dude arguing for a year in the comments by contradicting himself but also going "you're incorrect" to everyone lmao

[@ccshumshum8104]

yes because you wouldnt exist to be kind and caring if god didnt make you

[@slungellife]

The fact that this movie features a University Philosophy professor having no retort to "God is the only source of objective morality" is quite staggering

[@riffgroove]

If someone steals from you. You don't have something anymore that was precious to you. This alone is enough to tell you that stealing isn't a good thing and you shouldn't do it to other people to make them feel as badly as you do. You don't need an imaginary man sitting on a cloud to tell you not to

[@wako1576]

@@riffgroove I don't think this movie is intended for people who can make logical connections that far. I think its more for the "Its bad cause I said so" intellectuals of the christian community.

[@riffgroove]

@@wako1576 "Christian intellectual" is an oxymoron.

[@hoodiesticks]

​@@riffgroove The issue is about finding an *objective* basis for morality - one that can judge wrong actions to be wrong regardless of who's doing the judging. If you base morality on emotions (i.e. "feeling bad"), then it's not objective. You can't tell whether someone is feeling bad or just faking it, and you can't always predict when someone is going to feel bad. Not to mention it allows a lot of concerning edge cases (if I steal from a comatose person who can't feel emotion, did I do anything wrong? Or worse yet, if I murder someone, then they can't feel emotions anymore cause they're dead, so is murder wrong?).

[@riffgroove]

@hoodiesticks I stand by my original statement. If you steal from someone, it doesn't take a rocket-scientist to determine they most likely won't be happy about it.

[@nkozi]

Did literally no one in this film even look at a single picture of a hijabi and see how we actually cover our heads

[@nkozi]

Like... the short sleeves?? The LAUGHABLE attempt at a niqab look? have mercy

[@nerveagent1905]

@@nkozi they literally heard about headcoverings and made it up. No research

[@kaiflood6061]

Nkozi Cole they also forget that many Muslim women choose to wear a hijab and it isn’t forced on them, but that would require a degree of truth which they simply can’t live with

[@pretzelstick320]

Kai Flood wrong, everyone knows that all Muslim women are FORCED to wear a hijab. This movie accurately depicts all Muslims and their beliefs.

[@andrewgust-anderson5612]

69 likes nice

[@jackkoffin1]

I absolutely love the Strawman "Atheists" in movies like this, their dialogue is always hilarious. There are always certain key words and phrases that Christian writers are irresistibly compelled to stick in non-believers' mouths, like "Atheistic" and "Worldview." Not to mention the fact that they all seemingly think Charles Darwin is the First Atheist Pope (TM), that lost souls devoutly adore like some 19th century apostle.

[@kekmyabs]

"and on this book of origin, I build my origin. This decree the flying spaghetti monster!!!

[@Contributron]

Michael Gipson The Darwin thing is kind of telling really. They blindly follow and trust in the word of some people from long ago, so they assume atheists do too. It’s projection.

[@kekmyabs]

@@Contributron I agree, but I still try to be humorous. It helped us survive as a species for quite a while, and poking a little fun is rather amusing.

[@timothymclean]

I'd probably find it funnier if characters like these didn't make people assume atheists are all traumatized liars who are undergoing an existential adolescent rebellion. But maybe it's just too personal for me to properly mock.

[@timothymclean]

@AIFAHRA HORGGHRO Um...no? First off, if it was, they would be portraying the relatable Christians as teen-like, not the atheists. Second...look, I've seen a lot of these traumatized-liar "Hollywood Atheists," and both they and their not-atheist-but-not-True-Believer counterparts are diverse in presentation. The most straightforward interpretation is that a significant proportion of authors genuinely think atheists are like that. Which is also what plenty of fundies literally say out loud.

[@incognitoburrito7458]

The character in the movie who’s family was Muslim and she was a “closeted Christian” I guess. When her family found out and disowned her she had nothing and turned to other Christians for support. While I was watching that play out, I couldn’t help but see the irony when something like that happens to an lgbtq child in a strictly religious family, especially Christianity. It was a bit hipocritic in a since that they preach to believing in your religion regardless of what everyone else thinks. Yet there are still religious people out there who completely disown others who do something against the religion even if it’s something they can’t control. I just thought that was a bit interesting.

[@juliavargas13]

It becomes more ironic if you see that "you are beautiful, i wish you didn't have to do that" scene lol.

[@thesaddestpikachu]

Christians are hypocritical? Shocking lol

[@quasar7951]

@@juliavargas13 aren't most Muslim women cool with the Hijab though?

[@juliavargas13]

@@quasar7951 Far was I know they are. The most complains about the Hijab are in Iran and other countrys when it is compulsory and even non-muslim women have to use it.

[@quasar7951]

@@juliavargas13 yeah

[@jasondiasauthorpage615]

I became an atheist at the age of 9. Mom sent me to my room because I was naughty. I prayed to God to turn me into Godzilla so I could stomp around town and feel better. God didn't do that. Therefore, there is no God. And that makes more sense than God's Not Dead.

[@kingchron1798]

logic not found

[@prozorozo]

What point is there in God if he ain't even gonna turn you into a behemoth

[@yarinoi8662]

@@prozorozo exactly, i want my money back, goddammit

[@thatdumbass9856]

@@yarinoi8662 WHO dammit.

[@bobandbill911]

Science dammit

[@moarschtuff9233]

Seriously, the professors character comes across as though some teenager who was homeschooled by fundamentalists was trying to imagine what a “Godless intellectual” is like, without actually having been to college.

[@lunayoshi]

Godless intellectuals along with Muslims. I'm embarrassed for the writers and their levels of unfamiliarity with the subjects.

[@sluggo68]

moar schtuff , that was funny.

[@o.a.47]

I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what happened

[@durcheinander5554]

When the protagonist presented these arguments for the existence of God I just kept imagining Dawkins' reaction to this. He would snort himself into oblivion and then rant about all the logical fallacies that he spotted. Plus scientific and biblical inconsistencies. He would probably be done in a week.

[@nolanboles8492]

Ikr--the class isn't even a serious philosophy class, and the professor would probably be fired or suspended on ethical grounds for his antics in real life.

[@ilikebeanies3499]

Dude really asked his prof. Why he hated God. Bruh I dont believe in Santa but I dont hate Santa tf Edit: Not trying to make a dumb edit but I wanted to say that now I'm a Buddhist, and I have more respect for Christians than I did 4 years ago. Religion is actually pretty sick. 👍

[@cocktailonion696]

I love it when Christians call atheists “devil worshippers”. I can’t love or hate or worship anything I don’t believe in. And if I don’t believe in God, what about that statement makes you think I believe any more in Satan?

[@bonk5997]

Lol your profile pic is perfect for this comment

[@maia_gaia]

Many Christians believe that atheists are just telling themselves god doesn't exist because they're mad at him. It's dumb as hell, but it's a super common belief

[@ilikebeanies3499]

@@maia_gaia ikr. Bruh. I cant even tell my parents I'm athiest because they'll take me to church to "cleanse" me. AGAIN. I pretended that I wasn't athiest anymore after that, and we haven't gone to church since. Thank god lol. XD

[@ilikebeanies3499]

@@cocktailonion696 Damn. With that logic, since I dont believe in peanut butter, I worship jelly. Wtf?

[@CoffeeCode3D]

I was dying when the professor is dying at the end and no one decides to help him but instead the students tell him to accept Jesus before he goes and that it's not to late 😂

[@nightlizard8595]

That's seriously how it ends?? They want to depict Christians as good people but end the movie with weird cult bs? Sounds like some Children of the Corn shit 😂

[@80s_graffiti]

@@nightlizard8595 Children of the Corn is what I was thinking of this entire video!! Haha

[@christianfudge3506]

@@nightlizard8595 it ends that way to show that it's never too late to accept Jesus into your heart. I've been changed by the Lord's grace and I can tell you first hand that he's helped me get over a life of depression and drugs. God was there when no one else was. All you have to do is truly look for him and he will reveal himself to you.

[@nightlizard8595]

@@christianfudge3506 you're only proving my point that this is some creepy occultist Children of the Corn shit

[@MrLastlived]

@@christianfudge3506 Not better.

[@cronical246]

"God is the only way morality matters" Every non-Christian Society (Especially the Athiest ones): Bruh

[@thehuman2cs715]

I'd wager that not even most christians believe that

[@loganstrawn6366]

If you think about it what is the point of being morale with no overall purpose in the end whether you were a good person or not

[@loganstrawn6366]

If you don’t believe

[@thehuman2cs715]

@@loganstrawn6366 even if nothing matters in the end what you do still affects people's lives. Emotions, ideas and thoughts are real wether the univerde ends or not

[@loganstrawn6366]

@@thehuman2cs715 to the movies point I never said emotions aren’t real but, if you can rob a bank or swear a person off without giving a hoot. As Christians we live for Christ and the Bible lays out a set of “rules” so we show others we are different. I can’t understand an atheistic perspective because I have been all in since I was born but, I know for a fact that you wouldn’t be able to understand where I am coming from until you read or hear the scriptures.

[@spectator7269]

Imagine being a student at a college and still sounding older and more irrelevant than your professor.

[@godlikeboy8092]

LoL

[@thegreatgmantheguy]

Happens often, especially with all those liberal professors

[@awolf9843]

@@thegreatgmantheguy I don't think you understand what we're talking about lmao

[@TheOnlyHollywood1]

@@awolf9843 Can you explain please?

[@in_99]

Could you imagine being a regular college student in this class and absolutely hating this kid and the professor? 😂 imagine the reviews you would find on the internet lmao. I would send an email to my dean or advisor like “hey can you please deal with this shit so I can actually get the education that I’m paying out the ass for?”

[@gdawg1585]

Ikr lol

[@minim-ms]

Definitely, if I saw this happening in real life I'd go into Karen mode so fast oh my god. LeT ME spEAK tO YoUR MaNAGEr

[@littlemoth4956]

Get that professor moved to a different class and reprimanded, and get the kid suspended for ruining the learning environment.

[@jayaye7896]

I was just imagining the rate my professor review a average student would have "Yeah the class was generally okay but the professor got in a semester long argument with a student on the existence of God. This isn't even a class dealing with religion and they wasted like 5 class sessions on it. Overall I would not recommend."

[@hedgehog3180]

Not to mention this professor doesn't seem to know anything about Philosophy, I guess he's tenured.

[@theangharad]

The legal cases in the credits that "Inspired" God's Not Dead are really interesting and telling - two of them are cases of Christian counsellors who wanted to somehow discriminate against LGBT patients and sued for their right to do so. Some are about funding for student religious organisations. One is seemingly basically the plot of God's Not Dead but more interesting - Lopez v Candaele is about a student who used their speech class to preach about God, and was interrupted and reprimanded by their teacher. He then for some reason sued the university because he claimed their sexual harassment policy violates free speech.

[@GiGiLGS]

JESUS, this is worst than i thought

[@justaghostinthesea]

That last guy deserves to be on a watchlist

[@Kindlywaterbear]

@@justaghostinthesealiterally. Honestly could’ve gone either way with the speech class one, that would actually be an interesting discussion. But the second part?! Like what 😀

[@taraoneill1195]

Girl to other girl with Hijab: I wish you didn’t have to wear that. Girl with Hijab: I wish you didn’t have to wear that stupid headband Karen but here we are.

[@thehermit8618]

Jesus Hijab girl, i thought Islam was a religion of peace!

[@aarontheperson6867]

@@thehermit8618 me too, but with that absolute murder? im not sure!

[@hydqjuliilq27]

The funny part is, I thought her calling the Arab girl beautiful gave off some big gay vibes.

[@lha7735]

Karen could wear a hijab too

[@r.7530]

@T'ai Chi for Arthritis - Rebecca they're just big hypocrites. not just Christians, almost all religious people in general

[@oopsiepoopsie2898]

“ We would never have our women wear face scarves that is demeaning and against women’s rights “ Heads on home “ Sara why you wearing such short shorts, I don’t care it’s 100 outside God doesn’t want you dressing like a common hussie, while you live in my house you will live under my rules! “

[@godemperortrump6932]

I don’t think that’s because her dads Christian I think that’s because he’s a dad and he doesn’t want her walking around in short shorts

[@kingkai9582]

@@godemperortrump6932 Hes just highlighting the hypocrisy

[@godemperortrump6932]

King Kai yeah but it’s a bad example

[@kingkai9582]

@@godemperortrump6932 Not really hard to understand

[@godemperortrump6932]

King Kai it’s not unreasonable to not want your daughter walking around in booty shorts

[@PeninsulaPaintings]

When I saw that this movie was criticizing Islam for being oppressive and unwilling to let their followers indulge in free will, I was reminded of that Spiderman meme with the two identical Spidermen pointing at each other in accusation.

[@bv9434]

Nabzarella Dare haha totally. Both of these ‘spidermans’ are awful in actuality. Religion kills.

[@Calpsotoma]

+Nabzarella Dare ? More like Dabzarella Dare. Cause you stuntin on them

[@stoopid6036]

Ok but christians don't behead you for challenging doctrine lol christians will readily engage their opposition as well

[@PeninsulaPaintings]

*A vbad anon acount* Way to confuse Islam in general, with Islamic extremists.

[@stoopid6036]

*Nabzarella Dare* I had a whole comment typed out but it didn't send so i'll just link you this and you can draw your own conclusions en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy#/media/File:Map_of_countries_with_death_penalty_for_atheists.svg

[@Nok_Sul]

This film is basically the urban myth "Atheist teacher, theist student wins with one statement" in movie form.

[@wanettarenay8215]

FOR THAT TO HOLD TRUE, THE ANTAGONIST WOULD HAVE TO BE EATEN BY A CROCK IN A NEW YORK SEWER AFTER KILLING A MURDERER WHO LEFT HIS HOOK IN THE REAR BUMPER OF HIS MOM'S DESOTO

[@BushcraftingBogan]

It’s like a Chic Tract turned to film.

[@sidereus95]

It seems similar to those Christmas movies where the cynical character needs to learn to believe again.

[@thokus9012]

CHRISTIAN STUDENT DESTROYS ATHIEST TEACHER BEN SHAPIRO STYLE #56

[@VoodooV1]

I never saw the movie, but my understanding from watching other reviews of the movie is that the "atheist teacher" was never actually an atheist. The movie doubles down on the myth that atheists hate god, because my understanding is that there is a scene where the teacher proclaims that he hated god because of some misfortune in the guy's life or something to that effect. * Atheists don't believe god exists. You can't hate something that doesn't exist. * The movie title is actually accurate. God isn't dead. For God to be dead, it would have had to have been alive at some point, which is pretty hard for something that doesn't exist to do.

[@TheSaltyLibrarian]

15:20 That's not how Islamic modesty code works. I'm not speaking ethically, just from factual perspective. No pious Muslim father is going to force his daughter to cover her hair and face while allowing her to wear jeans and short-sleeved blouses. It starts with form-concealing clothing for the arms, legs, and chest. Some people stop there. I have friends and peers who are pretty religious and dress like that without veiling. Then if someone decides that's not modest enough, they had the headscarf. From there, you go for a chador (a cloak that covers the hair, shoulders, and chest, and maybe the lower body too). And finally, there's the face-concealing niqab (the one that covers the whole body and leaves only a slit for the eyes). The movie instead has her cut out the highest level modest garment, stick it on her face, and leave everything else like a Christian/non-hijabi Muslim girl. If this seems besides the point, I just wrote it because it supports your point that the movie uses Islam as a prop with no actual attention or curiosity in how Muslims actually live.

[@joekanter2681]

While I agree with your larger point about Islam as a prop, I do want to correct your assertion that "No pious Muslim father is going to force his daughter to cover her hair and face while allowing her to wear jeans and short-sleeved blouses." When I was in college, I saw this ALL the time. At least 50 girls I passed in the hallway were sporting that garb. I was even good friends with a girl that wore tight jeans/blouses and covered her hair. She told me that her dad would have been very angry/disappointed if she didn't cover, but when she stopped he never beat her, it just kinda strained their relationship. I also go to a YMCA in a heavily populated muslim area so I see little girls wearing basically normal american style clothes and head scarfs.

[@PrincessNinja007]

Joe- I mean, Muslim or not, they're girls in college. About the same time the Christian girls realize that "not causing a brother to stumble" doesn't necessarily mean bulky sweaters 24/7, I'm sure many Muslim girls figure out that no one is calling them a slut because they can see her elbows.

[@canalsincontenido]

I'm pretty sure it varies between countries. When France was trying to "free" Algerians from their religion many used only face-concealing. Partially because it could be quickly hidden from the police, but it retained the intended religious value. You can see pictures of women in jeans with the chador or niqab in pictures from Iran during the 70's too.

[@corvobasqez3936]

Joe Kanter i think the point isnt that muslim girls dont wear jeans, but that a strict muslim father who forces her to wear hijab would definitely object to it. Why force her to wear the headscarf, then be fine with her wearing short sleeves and skinny jeans?

[@targetedandfiring4336]

The thing with Iran thought is that before the US put a dictator in charge and fucked up the country, they were considered one of the most liberal states in the middle east, so having jeans on in the 70s wasn't really a big issue for them. They were on the path of becoming a 1st world nation before we screwed everything up.

[@KlaxontheImpailr]

I want the Monty Python crew to make a spoof called "God's not quite dead, he's getting better!"

[@sowatome849]

Im dying help

[@jaschabull2365]

Or maybe, "God's Only Mostly Dead", starring Billy Crystal.

[@INoahGuy1]

@wute aevere you have no taste

[@66fiveandahalf]

Haha yeah only the parrot is really dead lol

[@SharkyMcSnarkface]

@@66fiveandahalf He’s not dead he’s just sleeping

[@mariatereza9721]

"With no god there's no real reason to be moral" Remember that time god said that it's fine to have slaves and that it's fine to beat the shit out of the slaves and if they die this is not even a bad thing? Yeah, we definetly need god to be moral...

[@crowdemon_archives]

Remember that literally *other* cultures with their own sets of moralities exist before, during, and after the death of Yeshua...

[@Montesama314]

If God can't convince people to be good to each other without the threat of eternal punishment, then he's not much of a leader. Demanding obedience and worship or else he'll get the belt is the tactic of an abusive parent, rather than one of a benevolent creator.

[@erockbrox8484]

That was the God of the old testament, after Jesus came then God changed his ways and got better with the whole morality thing.

[@davidkonevky7372]

@@erockbrox8484 The new testament ain't any better buddy. Jesus literally had a temper tantrum over people doing trades

[@thenamesianna]

Oh , oh , remember when God said it was fine to fight nine wars against muslims , and whatever war crime commited was fine because it was a "holy war" ?

[@BloodylocksBathory]

I'm just now noticing that the Muslim girl's father is not only a "bad Muslim" but also the most ethnic looking Middle Eastern guy ever. His daughter meanwhile is one shade away from a white person. Rather creepy visual shorthand.

[@BigJoel]

this is a really good catch that I didn't notice

[@WinterReflections]

Great point.

[@finnatkin9444]

Yeah I noticed this too, they really managed to find the most propaganda political comic character looking guy to represent a Middle Eastern man, who is generally portrayed as evil in propaganda, and he's evil in this movie. Yikes

[@pomponi0]

The daughter even speaks with a vocal fry lol

[@pugnome]

that is a pretty good and disturbing point

[@ninawallen9039]

This is where your career goes when you cheat on teddy

[@SmoothCriminal12]

W

[@dillpckl]

Banger tweet💀✨✨💯

[@kaylithorsen7017]

Yessss

[@dougthedonkey1805]

I feel like the movie uses Christianity as a baseline, and as something everyone is born as. All the Christian characters are normal people, the atheists want to be Christian and are just atheist for some reason that broke their Christianity, and the Muslim chick wants to be Christian but her dad is forcing her to go against her instincts. By putting Christianity in characters in a natural, inborn way, the movie subliminally tells its audience that god is everywhere and you would only refuse him, i.e. the inborn truth, if you had something happen to you that makes you wrong.

[@theoneonyoutube4925]

That’s a very interesting take-I’ll have to think on that.

[@Grgrqr]

That’s a pretty cool take

[@XMaster340]

Let's be honest, that was not a stylistic chouce. It happend purely because the creators of the movie are to stupid to see the world any other way. This movie reminds me a lot of bad harem animes where everyone likes the edgy main character for no apparent reason.

[@senpapi3622]

This is literally how a lot of them think; they use having a conscience as justification for innately believing in God and that version of morality, and if you don't agree you must be doing bad things to get rid of that inner feeling. I completely agree that this movie uses Christianity as a baseline. In my experience (aka my dad forcing me to watch this movie and its sequel) the goal is more to radicalize a Christian audience than it is to actually prove anything about the validity of the religion, which is why Christianity is undefined except in regards to other factors.

[@crono276]

I think this is also how more extreme or regular Muslims think

[@funnyvalentinedidnothingwrong]

"Without God there's no reason to be moral!" You heard it here folks, empathy isn't real.

[@darkwolf4434]

Empathy is not the reason for most of our morality.

[@bigfan4453]

Cat Suppository The Bible is against slavery but nice try

[@bigfan4453]

Cat Suppository they were talking about indentured servants read the KJV Bible

[@bigfan4453]

Cat Suppository verse??

[@bigfan4453]

Cat Suppository that still says servant

[@ethanrichmond3992]

I also like how this universe takes place in an alternate reality where Christian rock is the biggest thing on the goddamn planet.

[@viktorthevictor6240]

🤣

[@xSmittyxCorex]

Well, actually, certain acts (such as Newsboys) really do fill stadiums. I know it seems weird not being in that scene; you're really not even aware of it's existence from anything mainstream. But I came from that world and I've been to those concerts...they really are that big, believe it or not.

[@viktorthevictor6240]

@@xSmittyxCorex Damn. I mean there _are_ furrie conventions. I shouldn't be surprized this exists

[@thatdudeoverthere2188]

@@xSmittyxCorex true. Where I live a local Christian Death Metal show sold out a venue. Lots of people like the music for the sound more than the lyrics. Personally, I'm more a lyric guy. But fuck with their guitar riffs weren't damn good live.

[@kurisu7885]

In their ideal world all other forms of rock are banned.

[@bubblewrap1315]

Even as a kid being raised christian I thought it was weird how this movie either villainized or converted all the non-christian characters. I had to uncomfortably sit through this movie so many times when I was younger.

[@nym0s177]

I used to think this movie was so good. But I was also a terrible person 😕. I'm glad I can look back and notice how bad and unhappy I was (I'm not atheist now. I'm agnostic)

[@occisorminotauri]

@@nym0s177 I'm sure you're a much better person now that you're Godless

[@ollie_3948]

@@occisorminotauri their point wasn't that being "godless" made them a better person? It was that as they grew up they assessed their views and are now happier as a person?

[@occisorminotauri]

@@ollie_3948 finishing every sentence with a question mark makes you sound like a child?

[@atear2616]

@@occisorminotauri Why are you accusing them of something instead of taking on their argument?

[@WiloPolis03]

As a religious person myself, I'm so freaking happy that this movie made atheists AND theists mad. This movie sucks and I hate everything it stands for

[@boombox3819]

Well I mean I assume it stands for God... So yeah, you shouldn't hate everything it stands for if you're religious.

[@WiloPolis03]

@@boombox3819 No, this is demonizing any non-religious AND any religious that isn't Christian, when in reality, I (along with my faith, the Church of Jesus Christ) believe that there's still some value to be found from lots of different religions, Christian or not. And that there's some great people out there who happen to be atheist/agnostic, if they didn't get the choice/chance to be religious or they were never introduced to it in a positive light, why should I blame them? This movie treats Christianity as much more cult-like than it needs to be. It's also conservative which is big cringe

[@boombox3819]

@@WiloPolis03 it still stands for God, so you shouldn't hate everything it stands for.

[@WiloPolis03]

@@boombox3819 It's taking something I support and twisting it into an incredibly self-righteous manner that's used dishonestly to push a conservative agenda; I'm not a fan of that.

[@Neo_Geisha]

@@boombox3819 Disliking this movie isn't disliking God. This is the worst portrayal of Christianity that they could have shown--shallow and inept.

[@tylershepard5453]

In middle school my family forced me to go to church and they showed us a psa by the duck dynasty guys and they talked about how suicide is selfish and you should just love god instead

[@doubled57690]

Bunch of non productive sheeple

[@WhistleAndSnap]

Ugh. THOSE asshats... let them sink into obscurity.

[@sirlance95]

As a journalist, we're specifically trained to not act like the journalist does in this "movie"

[@matti.8465]

@Ronald McDouchebag She had to be a pretty big journalist to be the sole representative of whatever the hell "new left" is.

[@BohemianScandalous]

Why would an Atheist argue that god is dead when, to an atheist, god never existed and therefore is incapable of dying? The Nietzsche quote I always took to mean that religion has outlived its usefulness. So to disprove that “god is dead” he would instead need to argue that religion is useful and humanity can benefit from religion, which makes more sense than trying to do the impossible task of proving an unknowable force’s existence and feel proud of the good that faith has in people’s lives rather than demonize people who don’t share their beliefs. But hey 🤷🏻‍♀️that would take actual nuance, and that’s not as easy to write.

[@AlbinoTuxedo]

Which proves that Pureflix doesn't know what the fuck it's talking about. That Nietzsche quote is super easy to interpret (fuck, I never studied philosophy and I can do it) and only a really close minded person would take it literally

[@SadisticSenpai61]

Plus it would require actually knowing literally anything about philosophy. Evangelicals hate philosophy - which I find funny because most of the apologists they look up to actually studied philosophy (see William Lane Craig for a perfect example). Philosophy is all about questioning things and that's something evangelicals can't stand - they want firm answers and to not have to worry about whether or not they're right.

[@crowrebirth]

When he said “God is dead,” he was talking about God being dead to humanity and that humans killed him and that it was not a good thing. He was talking about how millions of lives would be lost in the 20th century due to the loss of God in society, and what did we get?

[@stellaraevum799]

@@crowrebirth The God Nietzsche speaks of is not just the God of the Christians. It is the God of natural religion as well.

[@loganleatherman7647]

@BohemianScandalous I think you've summarized my entire perspective on this issue. I'm an agnostic atheist and I think religion, even theistic religions, can be very useful! I just don't believe they're objectively correct. As to the God issue, I take the Zen Buddhist stance. I don't know for 100% fact if God's real, I can't know for 100% fact if God's real, no one can know for 100% fact if God's real, so I divert my attention elsewhere and worry about more terrestrial matters while still being as compassionate, humble, and conservation-minded as I can; not because some deity via a dusty book tells me to be those things but because I can deduce that maintaining those three qualities will afford me and those with whom I interact the most optimal life in terms of overall well-being.

[@pauline1024]

Our teacher showed this in class and I remember thinking „is this a joke?“. Especially the discussion afterwards was ridiculous. I criticized the movie and most of the others were like „why can’t you just let people believe what they want to believe?“

[@justinormond5093]

The phrase “why can’t you just let people believe what they want” is rather annoying isn’t it? The philosophy of that sentence never seems to apply to the person it’s being spoken to.

[@chesspiece4257]

They really showed that at a school?

[@ihateweezer6492]

i went to a catholic school and the whole class wanted to watch this other movie (forgot what is was called) but the teacher put on this .-.

[@eliseanderson5591]

ʙʀᴏ ʜᴜɢ it rly do be like that sometimes

[@insertnamehere6434]

Our philosophy teacher once showed us this movie. The funniest thing is, when I asked her if the movie is neutral and doesn't shove any beliefs (be it theistic or atheistic) she said yes. Honestly, the teacher was lowkey biased.

[@abi3268]

I took a one semester philosophy class in 10th grade and there was more open discussion about religion there than there is in this entire film. Like, I genuinely believe none of these people understand how philosophy classes work. My teacher was a Christian man and was more than willing to explain the viewpoints of people who aren't religious and what they're rooted in. He even talked about some of the paradoxes about how God can't possibly exist according to ____ philosophy or worldview. Funnily enough, that teacher can no longer teach a philosophy class at the school because a Christian student told their parent about what was happening in the class and they complained to the school.

[@donbeverage8359]

That's screwed up. That teacher sounds pretty rad!

[@Janlingchen]

holy crap if that teacher teach me about philosophy I wouldn't mind considering converting to christianity.

[@CheddarBayBaby]

Abi I took a lot of philosophy credits in college and my experience was very similar.

[@PittsburghSonido]

Janlingchen lol weakling

[@Nyonics]

My first degree was philosophy, and I can vouch for the fact that the philosophy class depicted in this film is 0% like real philosophy classes. I also have been lolling at this movie for it's title ever since it came out because it is obviously a reference to the "God is dead" speech in one of Nietzsche's works. The irony is, the character who made that speech not only did not hate God, but was mortified at the prospect of proceeding into a future that didn't include God. And the further irony is, nobody listened to him because they were distracted by a concurrent trapeze act, and he couldn't figure out why they would not also be mortified at the realization he was sharing and take serious action to think about how life could possibly go on, so he threw his lantern to the ground and left, saying, "I have come too soon."

[@myrhansen6533]

"Without God, why should we even have morality?" is such a shallow, frankly disturbing argument. I mean... 1. Because most of us have empathy 2. Because acting amorally often causes needless suffering...which is, y'know, a bad thing 3. Because a lack of morals would be socially maladaptive, as society can't function without a moral code There are plenty of reasons to develop/promote morality. Tbh, "because God says so" isn't even much of an explanation at all, given its lack of universality -- not all societies are religious, and yet all societies have some sense of morality. To imply otherwise is just...grossly ethnocentric and self-righteous. It's also rhetorically irrelevant, since the question is not "why are MY morals superior?" but rather "why do ANY morals even exist?" This answer is like saying "marriage exists because I love my wife."

[@ninarances9074]

"Without God, why should we even have morality?" Every time I hear that line, or see it, I could only imagine a shallow and empty person. Sitting in their room, not doing anything, and still needed someone to "teach" them how to be kind, rather than having empathy themselves. It's like you still needed someone to tell you to do something, rather than doing them yourself and learn from it.

[@darkwolf4434]

Most of our morality is cultural, not biological which is where our empathy comes from. Similar to christians we teach our kids rules of how they should behave in the society and if they don't behave properly they will be punished, christianity is just older observations and ideas about the world.

[@markarmage3776]

Your argument is even more shallow. 1. If most of you have empathy, shouldn't the crime among all humans in general be less than among religious people? And by basic math, it's impossible, because religious people is included among people, and therefore they also have empathy, yet their crime is significantly less? And of course, that argument alone destroy all 3 of your counter argument. Empathy doesn't work, if by default, people have perfect empathy by themselves, there wouldn't be any crime. The point is that people do not have those, the tests have been done, and you have failed. Society have proven that they're incapable of figuring things out by themselves without something telling them what to do, so the benefits of religion is undeniable. Religion is just like common teachings, moral sense is a religion, or both "moral sense" and "ethics" are just ideas that people follow, however, by having such absolute values embedded within them, religion is much more effective in guiding incompetent people. And if you think that incompetent people are not an overwhelming part of the society, look again.

[@darkwolf4434]

@@markarmage3776 No it wouldn't, it depends on what culture you happen to live in. We have learned to feel empathy towards random people through our culture. There are tribes that are cannibals and they don't have the same view on life as we westerners, I think that if you're religious or not has little effect on you compared what culture you are from, and I think religion has built on our culture alot considering that christianity has existed in it for 1000 years. I also believe that there are more people than psychopaths that commit crimes, so I don't believe that people with empathy commits a crime. I also don't think most people in our society is incompetent. Our technological and philosophical development has moved so far that we think of ourselves above animals. I don't know what you misunderstood in my argument. I don't consider religious people to be perfect, I never argued for everyone to be perfectly empathic. My argument was simply that culture has played a larger role than empathy in our moral system. That's why we don't eat humans like other cultures. We also don't attack other small tribes of humans like chimpanzees do to each other.

[@paytonogallagher3284]

​@@markarmage3776 What? What the fuck are you even saying? "If most of you have empathy, shouldn't the crime among all humans in general be less than among religious people? And by basic math, it's impossible, because religious people is included among people, and therefore they also have empathy, yet their crime is significantly less?" Who are you referring to with you in 'most of you'? Atheists? People of non-Christian faith? "shouldn't the crime among all humans in general be less than among religious people" No???? Why would this be true??? Your assertion is that humans in general should be committing less crimes than people of faith, due to empathy? Religious people have empathy too???? Both groups have empathy??? What the fuck? "And by basic math, it's impossible, because religious people is included among people" Do *YOU* know basic math??????? This assertion that the crime rate of religious people can't be mathematically lower than whatever you define as 'people' in "among people", is stupid.(You should have backed it up with something, cause by itself it's plain stupid) You're not being specific enough here for me to make any decent criticisms. But I suspect you're talking about averages of crime rates between two sample sizes, one defined as religious people and the other defined as everyone, and I suspect you're trying to say that the smaller sample size of religious people can't have a higher crime than everyone, because that's how you think math works. "and therefore they also have empathy, yet their crime is significantly less?" Uhm, the fuck? What are you basing your claim of 'religious people's crime rate is less'? You got reliable numbers? Statistics? Sources?? And yeah? Religious people do have empathy?? Who's saying they don't??? You?? "And of course, that argument alone destroy all 3 of your counter argument" Do you even understand what your argument is? "Empathy doesn't work, if by default, people have perfect empathy by themselves, there wouldn't be any crime." *what.* "The point is that people do not have those, the tests have been done, and you have failed." WHAT????? What fucking tests? "Society have proven that they're incapable of figuring things out by themselves without something telling them what to do, so the benefits of religion is undeniable." Sources?????? Also, I suspect you're trying to say that no major civilization has been without religion and therefore religion is a necessary part of society, which is flawed reasoning. It's like saying crime and violence has been a part of all major civilizations and thus is a necessary part of society, and thus we should make "The Purge" by James Demonaco into reality. Or maybe a closer parallel would be stories. No major civilization has been without stories, and thus stories are necessary to society. Pretty sure societies wouldn't just go extinct without stories. "Religion is just like common teachings, moral sense is a religion, or both "moral sense" and "ethics" are just ideas that people follow, however, by having such absolute values embedded within them, religion is much more effective in guiding incompetent people." I suspect your meaning is something like 'religion helps guide people to be good' but its phrased so poorly (as is most of what you said is) that I'm really not sure. But I don't think anyone in this comment thread is arguing against this? Again, what the *fuck* are you saying?

[@jayp4687]

16:10 so "evolution was thought and believed in nazi germany so its bad." That has to be top 5 worst arguments i've ever heard...

[@WhatIsMyPorpoise]

oh didn't you know? nazi germany believed that we don't live in a simulation, so obviously we do.

[@pansepot1490]

Funny how they never mention that Nazi Germans were practicing Christians, they had military chaplains, religious services and had even “gott mit uns” (god is on our side) on their belt buckles. And Hitler was a believing Christian, according to his own autobiography.

[@WhatIsMyPorpoise]

@@pansepot1490 huh * The More You Know intensifies *

[@rexappleby4731]

I'm pretty sure Nazism was built on ideas about social darwinism and scientific racism not the hard science of evolution.

[@calvinmorgan7444]

Paul Heidnische this reads like an always sunny quote

[@IveAlreadyWon]

lmao they freaking compared teaching evolution to nazis.

[@Nope2022HugeTheWarningFan]

I think it was the Nazis who were opposed to evolution with their need to be supermen. Eugenics would be more God-like than secular.

[@KiraSlith]

That part had me laughing so hard my neighbors came over to make sure I was alright. What a load of crock.

[@thatguy00271]

HAHAHAHAHA

[@brianhamilton3582]

As ridiculous as it is, this is one of the most common arguments I've heard from those who want to stop teaching evolution in public school biology classes (or teach creation alongside it) In fact, "Reductio ad Hitlerum" is inevitably going to be appealed to in any argument that goes on long enough. Don't like something? Find and point out something it superficially shares with Hitler or the Nazis.

[@KiraSlith]

@@brianhamilton3582 "Evolution is real, we have bones and genetic structures to prove it" "**GHASP** NAZIS HAD BONES! R U A NAZI? NAZI!"

[@maliasparks4646]

My Mom forced me to see this movie when it first came out in theatres when I was 13. Im still a Christian but I remember hating this movie when it first came out but I felt like it was a sin for me to dislike it lol

[@astrobabecosmicwaves7587]

I’m a Christian too and this film makes me so nervous because I don’t want people to think we’re like this. This film was sooooo bad!!!!

[@WiloPolis03]

@@astrobabecosmicwaves7587 I agree, it tries to push Christian messages using tactics that aren't Christian. All it did was make more people mad

[@astrobabecosmicwaves7587]

@@WiloPolis03 Yeah, this movie acts like people who aren't christian are our enemies. we're all just human at the end of the day.

[@WiloPolis03]

@@astrobabecosmicwaves7587 Exactly! I kind of see religion as different types of studies based on things we experience. We each have different interpretations of things we believe to be beyond full human understanding, and I don't think it's as simple as "my interpretation is right and all others are wrong". I think there's truth and value to lots of different religions, even if someone believes theirs to be the _most_ true. And if someone never really got religious than fine, that's also 100% understandable. Would be self-contradictory to say it isn't

[@astrobabecosmicwaves7587]

@@WiloPolis03 you're totally right!!! I try to explain to people that christianity is a personal experience and God is personal connection that only you can explore. I also try to explain that some christians aren't homophobic or judgmental like the other crazy ones are.

[@jayparcelewicz5261]

I’m a Christian and when I was a kid my church went to see this. And the youth pastor ended up apologizing to the parents and students for taking them to see the movie.

[@taylorgabrielle6403]

Hijabs don't even look like that. It looks like a winter scarf...

[@doctorwebman]

"If there's no God, there's no reason to be moral." Right. I guess Christians don't know what empathy is.

[@timothyissler3815]

I think their point was that empathy ultimately comes from God, and that empathy is evidence that a God exists, even if nobody believes in Him.

[@doctorwebman]

@@timothyissler3815 "I think their point was that empathy ultimately comes from God, and that empathy is evidence that a God exists, even if nobody believes in Him." Empathy is a product of evolution, and no God was needed to get it, so it is not a good argument for the existence of God.

[@timothyissler3815]

@@doctorwebman Explain how. Is not evolution survival of the fittest? Te stronger destroying the weaker? Where is there room for empathy? To answer your question: God is empathetic to his creations, humans above all, as they were created in HIs image. And His love for humans was so great, that He gave them the free will to choose to accept Him or not (otherwise He might as well have made us like every other animal) and they chose to reject HIm. As such, evil (sin) came into the world, and humanity's nature became violent and inclined to pride, personal gain, and greed. But being still in the nature of God, they still had empathetic natures and sought to help other humans and animals, but from a twisted sense of pride, that helping these weaker persons will make the helper feel better about themselves or earn their way into heaven or force the helped person into some slave-debt to the helper. As such, even if people reject the existence of God, their desires to help prove that God exists.

[@doctorwebman]

@@timothyissler3815 A species that cares for one another will work together to survive, and that is survival of the fittest. Survival of the fittest is not the strong destroying the weak.

[@timothyissler3815]

@@doctorwebman Valid point. But in that case humans would be no better than packs of dogs or herds of sheep, where again the weaker ones may indeed be left to die for the survival of the herd. In which case we must follow the words of Spock from Star Trek II: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few". If we tend to the need of the one to make them happy, the many will be left to fend for themselves. Hence so many revolutions against rich aristocracy: they were few, the revolutionaries many. I can't think of a concise way to end my thoughts here, so I'll leave it at that and wait your reply.

[@BrandonTheFanGuy]

The clip where the evangelical called evolution a philosophy and attributed it to Nazism made me either lose years from my life or at least a few hundred braincells I'm not entirely sure which

[@eruditecaptain3117]

Those two outcomes seem directly related, honestly, so probably both?

[@mslightbulb]

Definitely both.

[@damneetthiara9812]

I cringed so hard at the “yOu’Re bEauTiFuL”

[@nerveagent1905]

Becky has a girl crush

[@mikhite5711]

I find it funny how this christian movie has the most gay scene ever lol

[@ECL28E]

"I wish you didn't have to do that" "I wish you'd get out of my life and shut up!"

[@kekmyabs]

Please, it's your. Make it really bad.

[@Jackal_El_Lobo34]

I did too. When I heard that line my response was... “wHo ThE F*** aRe YoU?!!!”

[@amazinglynn]

As a Christian, this movie made me roll my eyes so much it gave me a migraine

[@amazinglynn]

@CheetCat me and my class went to the movies for the last day of 8th grade and our teacher gave us a choice between that and Godzilla. It was a Christian school so ig they were like “you can see anything that has God in it” 😂

[@KingdomStoryFilms]

Literally same 🙄🙄

[@patchwurk6652]

As an Atheist I always felt bad for Christians when it comes to media options. Like sure, Pureflix sorta movies paint us in the whole "lying dirty sinner" light, but ho lee SHIT they somehow have even less respect for their Christian audience. Like sure all our tropes as Atheists in Pureflix stuff are evil and liars and nasty and all that, but there's at least usually a layer of intelligence to them (I mean can't have a useful villain if they're too stupid to be one). I'd be more insulted by the implication that these kinds of movies are what they "think Christians like". Everybody kinda likes the villain trope, no one likes the mindless busybody do-gooder that judges you constantly trope. And it's not like Good Biblical movies don't exist, Ten Commandments and Prince of Egypt are famous for a damn good reason. Y'all deserve better media.

[@amazinglynn]

@@patchwurk6652 I 100% agree and appreciate your sympathy 🙏🏽

[@thompsonfj1]

@@patchwurk6652 As another Christian who is routinely horrified by the quality of the Christian subculture's media in 21st century America... thank you. The one thing that comforts me is the fact that it's mostly the pop culture stuff that really sucks, and also it wasn't always like this. If you look before that, we have a lot of very good paintings. Some sweet epic poems. Handel's Messiah absolutely slaps. Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is effing sick. Et cetera.

[@TenApplesforTime]

Ugh, that hijab is so embarrassing. Most of the girls I've met here in America who wear hijabs usually use a pretty/quality fabric and wrap it nicely, while in the movie the girl seems to have thrown on Sarah the Stagehand's old baby blanket.

[@Ace-1525]

Honestly, it doesn't even look like they took a moment to learn how to properly wear it either.

[@_Apostate]

tako rako SJW

[@funnyfail1233]

Luis Garay how are they an sjw?

[@_Apostate]

Odd Ball They got offended by the fabric of the hijab and too k it as an attack on muslims lol insignificant and overly delusional.

[@ryanluther5785]

They didn't take it as an "attack on muslims" The recognized it as blatant ignorance and spoke out against it. Jeez, Luis.

[@stayskyehigh]

This entire movie is just an overpriced depiction of an r/thathappened post

[@isaacevilman7586]

Then everyone clapped

[@andrester88]

The thing I wish Christian movies portray more is the Man Vs Self Conflict rather than the Man Vs. Man or Man. vs Society. Since the conflict is always an outside source, the film can present a "holier than thou" mentality and it's more or less stroking Christian egos rather than what it means to truly believe in God. Where are the doubts, the struggle, sometimes even asking yourself why is God just letting things happen. It would be interesting to see a Christian film star a prison inmate who finds about the word of God, but is struggling with himself because he committed a crime heinous crime (murder, burglary, what have you) and you just see this struggle that makes the compelling argument that the love of God stretches even to those who have sinned. Hell, it could be the fact that a father lost his son and is cursing God, asking why he didn't save his son. I feel movies like that would strengthen faith, make the situation more relateable, and at the same time, make a movie that's actually compelling.

[@theshermantanker7043]

You Earned a kewkie from me

[@saintradical1889]

I am soooo late to this but you really should check out Sufjan Steven's song Casimir Pulaski Day. It's about a boy reconciling his belief in god after a tragedy happens to someone he loves. It's a beautiful song to listen to religious or not

[@dr.vikyll7466]

@BTIsaac depends on if the Christians are retarded or not. The people that made this movie were retarded. They actually believe in the Bible, lol. EDIT: I am Christian

[@AntsanParcher]

@BTIsaac Being an atheist with a brother who is… religious… and married to a Christian woman… What you say is absolutely incorrect. Doubt in your faith and fighting to retain your faith, dealing with doubt, exploring and understanding it are all part of the religion of the Christian people I know personally. That may not be true for Christians in general, but I'd be wary to make almost any claim about Christians in general at all.

[@dr.vikyll7466]

@BTIsaac You know what I mean, they think of it like it's 100% right, when in reality it's a terrible source and not the word of God. It was written in the 1200s btw, not a good source.

[@nataliaborys1554]

"Without God, why do we have morality?" Buddy, have you ever heard about this thing called empathy? You know, the ability to relate to others and sort of experiance their suffering as if it was our own? The perfectly scientifically explainable process of our mirror neurons firing, prompting us to feel as the other person would, which is advantageous for organisms living in groups, like humans tend to do. Not a magical ability gifted by God and definitively independent of Him, as humans of all faiths have said abilit.

[@debeb5148]

It's circular reasoning with chrstians man. Then they would argue that empathy is devout from God. But sin and evil? Ohhhhh God didn't create those things, they say. It's our fault, our own will, Satan's fault. Litterally every reason in the book, but no blame God that had unlimited power over fucking everything. What a loser God if he exists.

[@lisalatham4389]

but that still doesn’t answer the question. Where do we get Empathy? From my understanding. Empathy is not just something that you or I are born with . But it’s Inherited even though the capacity for it is inborn. The best way to think about empathy is an innate capacity that needs to be developed or Programmed, and to see it as a detail in a larger picture. Because humans are naturally selfish creatures. By nature we want what we want . And that is Generated by our own selfish Desires. And without a higher authority that we look up to that set’s the moral standard it’s impossible for morality to exist . Because we become our own gods and we Decide what is right and from what is wrong . Even if that means my understanding goes Contrary to your understanding. It wouldn’t matter if my understanding is wrong. Because i would be my own god who i would be Entitled to my own standards. And No one can Tell me otherwise. Because I Decide what’s right from wrong. Here is an Example, is still any moral law in nature? No , does a lion think it’s right or wrong to attack and kill a sheep ? It doesn’t . Without a God we would just be like other Animals no different.

[@debeb5148]

@@lisalatham4389 You wouldn't have this understanding without the divinity of man. We ARE our own gods, no higher power has ever tried to intertwine itself with our understanding. We are our own deities, that's exactly correct. And unless you can drag down the higher power that gave us "everything" you can shut your mouth about the fictional, imaginative crap you have to spout about a God that can't be measured or observed

[@lisalatham4389]

@@debeb5148 Of course, I would never have come to that understanding if the Divine God did not exist. There has never been a higher power that intertwined itself with our understanding? You should study the death, life and history of Jesus Christ before making such bold statements. And you will see that your understanding is false .

[@debeb5148]

@@lisalatham4389 I literally slapped my knee and laughed out loud when you told me to go read about Jesus. You're a fucking joke.

[@clubbasher32]

The professor makes no sense. I cannot fathom a professor being predatory about atheism lmao

[@Nyonics]

I can only tell you in my experience earning a degree in philosophy, no professor who taught any of my classes was like the one in this movie.

[@matti.8465]

@@Nyonics I had a professor who would sometimes say he thinks god doesn't exist and sometimes said it casually like a fact, but he never forced everyone in the class to say god doesn't exist, that's not something an atheist would do, it's something a person with a weird personal vendetta against god would do.

[@azn3000]

I think the only place you could find the stereotype of a cartoonishly asshole atheist is on KZbin or Facebook comments. Other than that, people in real life will not be as extreme.

[@0okamino]

They took a misotheist caricature and propped it up as an atheist.

[@justinokraski3796]

never had a professor or teacher like this either

[@bloodrainicorn6193]

I think it's very telling how the script writers portray the professor and then kill him off. Very Christian.

[@BigBossMan538]

The guys helping him don't even call 911 for police or an ambulance.

[@nathy0308]

Lol seriously

[@nMsFreeStyleZ]

I laughed way to hard in the train when I read this 😂

[@bernarddestroyerofshopkins7019]

Not to mention them also giving the leftist journalist cancer. (also I think she converts in the sequel and then is cured??, but don't quote me on that.)

[@BigJoel]

You're right, she is cured

[@EmpressTiffanyOfBrittany]

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” ― Brennan Manning I think this applies a lot to this movie.

[@Ralleighen]

I have to disagree with that idea. The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is probably the proliferation of the internet. It's possible to study all the arguments and apologetics and develop an informed belief - which for me and many others is that it's highly unlikely that a god or gods exist due to poor arguments and lacking evidence.

[@hendrixnava]

@@jacoblang7840 not really sure what you're trying to get at here. That we don't have existence of what happens after death? I don't think death sucks more or less of we don't know what's next, you still die and knowing wouldn't change that. The circumstances of life and death determine most afterlifes, and you can fill them without knowing anything

[@jacoblang7840]

hendrixnava well, in my opinion it would be better to know but everyone is different

[@hendrixnava]

@@jacoblang7840 i mean, it might make us feel better, but as far as I'm aware there's no schrodinger's cat version of death, where knowing what happens after death changes what happens after death. So in the end, we might like to know but it doesn't really matter or affect the results

[@MrLifeKills]

@@jacoblang7840 of course it would be better to know. The problem with that is that we don't know and can never really know. We can make up stories and pretend they're true but that's about it

[@marlinanenomeposeidonthdar4677]

Miss when Christian media was directly about the Bible and the events, instead of just “Wah atheist mean to me 😢”

[@atlroxmysox98]

I always thought it looked a little off that she's wearing a hijab that covers her mouth and nose...and a short sleeve blouse? With jeans? I'm not muslim but I don't think I've ever seen a muslim woman wear that combination of garments? Like typically if someone is wearing a hijab, aren't their arms covered? I don't know it just seems to me the costume designer was white and not muslim and was just focused on conveying the Hijab As A Symbol Of Oppression trope.

[@gem6105]

Usually western Muslims really don’t care how much they cover, as long as they’re wearing the hijab. Some wear practically nothing with the face veil to be women’s activists. Some find that utterly disgusting and say it’s essential to wear long sleeves and skirts. Cultural context

[@RandomPerson-bg3bv]

That hijab looks as uncomfortable af, like damn she looked like she was barely breathing.

[@atlroxmysox98]

@@gem6105 excellent point, thank you

[@SharkyMcSnarkface]

@@gem6105 Even then, the dad seemed very stereotypically conservative Muslim. I doubt the character would’ve allowed that in any capacity given how he treated her when he found out she was Christian.

[@kimmulholland7245]

If the dad really were as conservative as they imply it would have made so much more sense for her to be wearing long sleeves. Besides she is showing her hair but not her mouth and nose?????????????????? Its like someone wearing long sleeves to cover up their body with a picka boo window for her boobs. Like idk?????

[@ROFLPeps]

“nature does not jump” but in genesis, god removes the snake’s limbs?? lol

[@tothesciencemobile4707]

Not to mention that god would have been doing that snake, and other future snakes a huge favor by removing those limbs, seeing as how they get around extremely well without them!😂 Just goes to show that such a literal interpretation of Genesis makes god look like an idiot

[@aderinolamiju]

Free To Kill A Prophet that’s why a rational person won’t take the book of Genesis at face value

[@olunatico425]

Komodo's dragons are snakes with arms and legs.

[@NIHIL_EGO]

@@olunatico425 they're not snakes they're dragons bruh

[@olunatico425]

@@NIHIL_EGO True.

[@ataridc]

Me to the director: youre beautiful. I wish ya didn't have to do that. Director: it's for my Father. He's very traditional.

[@SGustafsson]

haha this comment is stellar

[@wafflefrogs]

I find it interesting that the main character in God’s Not Dead is Teddy ex boyfriend from Good Luck Charlie and I like to think that after Teddy and her family moved away at the end of the series he found god, went to college, and then the plot of this movie happened.

[@leahbobeah13]

i was looking for this comment!!!

[@chrismills7703]

16:07 I have so many questions... like, the Nazis also knew about gravity, should we not teach gravity in schools now??? Also did he really just call evolution a 'philosophy'

[@petardiamond4027]

Lol yeah I am a Christian but none of the arguments in this movie were good .

[@ZephLodwick]

It's also untrue that the Nazis were atheists. Atheism was persecuted in the Third Reich.

[@skwills1629]

@@ZephLodwick - Atheism as not Persecuted under Nazi Germany. The talking Point on Atheist websites is based on the Closing down of the "Freethought" Organizations. What the Atheist Sites fail to tell their Readers is, the "Atheist grouops" were strongly tied to Communism. From WIkipedia. Reliability of Wikipedia aside i is Free. Check Facts if You must. In Germany during the Nazi era, a 1933 decree stated that "No National Socialist may suffer detriment... on the ground that he does not make any religious profession at all".[24] However, the regime strongly opposed "godless communism",[25][26] and all of Germany's atheist and largely left-wing freethought organizations such as the German Freethinkers League (500,000 members)[27] were banned the same year; some right-wing groups were tolerated by the Nazis until the mid-1930s.[28][29] In a speech made later in 1933, Hitler claimed to have "stamped out" the atheistic movement.[24] During the negotiations which lead up to the Nazi-Vatican Concordat of 26 April 1933 Hitler stated that "Secular schools can never be tolerated" because of their irreligious tendencies.[30] Hitler routinely disregarded this undertaking, and the Reich concordat as a whole, and by 1939, all Catholic denominational schools had been disbanded or converted to public facilities.[31] By 1939, 94.5% of Germans still called themselves Protestant or Catholic, while 3.5% were so-called "Gottgläubige" (lit. "believers in God") and 1.5% were without faith.[32] According to historian Richard J. Evans, those members of the affiliation gottgläubig "were convinced Nazis who had left their Church at the behest of the Party, which had been trying since the mid-1930s to reduce the influence of Christianity in society".[33] Heinrich Himmler was a strong promoter of the gottgläubig movement and did not allow atheists into the SS, arguing that their "refusal to acknowledge higher powers" would be a "potential source of indiscipline".[34] Himmler announced to the SS: "We believe in a God Almighty who stands above us; he has created the earth, the Fatherland, and the Volk, and he has sent us the Führer. Any human being who does not believe in God should be considered arrogant, megalomaniacal, and stupid and thus not suited for the SS."[32] The SS oath (Eidformel der Schutzstaffel), written by Himmler, also specifically denounced atheists, repeating the sentiments above.[35]

[@daneroberts1996]

I love how saying that Nazis used evolution to create a master race means also acknowledging that farmers do the same thing to, y'know, grow better corn and watermelons. Is agriculture bad now too? 😂

[@skwills1629]

@@daneroberts1996 - You don;t Understand the Argument if You Think asking if Agriculture is bad, too is a Valid Objection. Hitler was not a Creationist. Hitler was also not a Christian, nd did not have the support of The Catholic Church which by the way actually opposed Eugenics. Hitler's Belief in Evolution lead tro a Racialist Genocide. Now, I am not saying Belief in Evolution makes You just like Hitler, but it is ridiculous to ask "Is Agriculture bad, too" rhetorically and not understand the Real issue.

[@megaascension2748]

As a strong Christian myself, i DESPISE these propaganda movies. I have my own story that caused me to become a Christian. I had a strange unexplained situation when I was 13. If this was an actual situation for me, I just would have gone to the administration. That's a violation of first amendment rights, I can't be penalized by you because I don't renounce my religous beliefs. It's that simple. I grew up in a home where people that were not Christians did not have morals. I remember having a friend who was Muslim when I was 14. My mother told me that I was not his friend, he was practicing "taquiya", which supposedly allows Muslims to lie to advance their religion. Being a naive 14 year old, I believed her. We immediately became enemies, and I really regret my old self. I really do. I will forever DESPISE these movies because of some of the stuff. I think the only PureFlix movie I've actually liked was Overcomer, because it actually felt like an accurate description of the world and Christianity. That's actually a good religious movie.

[@jojomcjoe292]

Mega Ascension I’m also a Christian. What’d you think of “I still believe”? But yeah I agree I did not at all care for God’s not Dead.

[@kellirai35]

I felt the same way when I saw the trailer. There is no way a professor would ever be allowed to say that God doesn't exist demand that you confirm it on a piece of paper or have the ability to argue with a doctoral candidate to prove the opposite in order to get a passing grade, this was so unbelievable. I can't stand movies like this and I do believe in God

[@-j-4618]

ladyraii35 actually my sisters teacher made her do that...

[@lil_weasel219]

Ah. About "strange unexplained situations".I'll edit and post a link to a vid on that omnipresent fenomenom. EDIT; kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYPSZ4mtrr6CZ6M

[@lil_weasel219]

here

[@lacountess]

Do you hate God? Atheist's answer in real life: There's no such thing as God. This is how you can tell this movie was made for propaganda.

[@christopherparks4342]

lacountess i would not argue it that way. I would treat god as a fictional character, and then describe why that character is reprehensible.

[@lacountess]

Christopher Parks Same. To me it's like someone asking if I hate Santa or Dart Vader. I may hate or like these characters but it doesn't have an impact on them not being real.

[@markkozin9730]

Why do you even talk about God if you don't believe in him?

[@christopherparks4342]

@@markkozin9730 because the people who do believe in him will literally justify his mass execution of children and the continued mistreatment of homosexuals.

[@BigJoel]

Mark, there are lots of things ppl like to talk abt that they don’t think are real. God may not be real, but the Bible is real and very influential. As such, it seems like talking abt the main character of that book might be an important thing to do regardless of your faith.

[@stoneybologna1982]

Bear in mind that proving the existence of God is only the first layer of this onion. If you can accomplish that, you're now faced with the challenge of proving that of the thousands purported to exist, yours is the true one.

[@pretzelstick320]

Obviously the Mormons are correct. They found stones in America!

[@skoomaaddict1010]

As well as if God is benign and all powerful, then how come they are allowing all these wars and genocides.

[@stevenhiggins3055]

@@skoomaaddict1010 Something about suffering being the key to eternal bliss, probably. "To receive your reward in the next life, you must first suffer in this one" sounds like something they'd say. That is, if they didn't just give with "mysterious ways"

[@K.G._Drake]

This movie won't change minds. It's made for people just like the makers, so they can feel justified in thinking they're better people.

[@stevenhiggins3055]

Super old commet, I know, but "I don't want a conversation, I just want to talk" seems like the prevailing mentality of American filmmakers across the board.

[@mynameiserwin7220]

I just recently watched the movie (just want to see it, it was hyped back then) I'm not even in the middle of it yet and I thought to myself "this movie is cheap" like how they portrayed those who doesn't believe in God is so stupid and bad; it's so cheap and the fact that "this was based on true events" makes it a lot more stupid. I don't think people would behave like that, I'm not that smart but even I know that. Whoever made this screenplay really is clearly blinded by something. I've really been looking for a review about how cheap this movie was and yeah for a philosophy professor that guy really is bad at arguing.

[@benis654]

And all that ends up doing is brainwashing people that might have doubts because "Oh right we're the good guys cuz everyone else is immoral and evil."

[@berthamccroy]

@@benis654 Yeah, that hit me the second that I saw the duck dynasty guy.

[@j_.simonef]

My church had us watch it when we were c h i l d r e n

[@Ice-ps9yo]

"It happened almost instantly, not like Darwin said" Oh boy you don't know how freaking long a million years is I doubt you can even comprehend a few hundred

[@AUTOBOTGJB1997]

I have to say that while I am a Christian, I find that the problem with Christian movies is that they are specifically made for Christians. There's no Christian movie I've seen that I could actually recommend to an atheist or agnostic friend, because the movies are outrageously hamfisted in their message. All the Christians are flawless characters, and all the non believers are evil people and usually if a person of another religion is shown, they are very weak in their own faith. The problem with Christian movies is that they're ultimately made for Christians like me to pat myself on the back, and frankly I just don't find that entertaining. A proper Christian movie IMO would be one that was an established friendship between a believer and a non believer FROM the non believer's point of view. We would see them coming to know God themselves and and not from some flawless Christian Mary Sue's point of view. Keep in mind, I'm just talking about this for a movie's sake. I still don't look to movies for my spiritual guidance, and I respect people's beliefs.

[@3Beckita]

Some people say that the Book of Eli is pretty good (haven't seen it yet, thoe)

[@kegsofvomitspit]

As an atheist, your candor is much appreciated.

[@NidhinMohammad96]

You could suggest Silence by Martin Scorsese. It's a pretty good one.

[@fleacythesheepgirl]

The best Christian film I have seen was Saved (2004). It's super funny kind hearted movie but it also tackles some major issues like teen pregnancy, homosexuality, interaction with people from different religions. It's really just about being a good person and Christian, not just making a show of it while acting with hate in your heart.

[@jedrzejbiaokryty1925]

Most of these movies are actually protestans work Catholics don't make that much movies

[@patrickmoriarty3073]

Christians Trying Waaaaay Too Hard to Feel Persecuted: The Movie

[@johnnyrocketz7808]

Patrick Moriarty why don’t they fight for Christians in Egypt then if they care about Christian persecution then

[@robertdurben3904]

I dont want to bother anyone but many "christians" are not christians. Many altering phrases to make their personal sins ok. This is also fed by strong influences from the Catholics which have altered the word for profit. Many have been tricked because they go along with what people say instead of reading the Holy Bible.

[@robertdurben3904]

@Duke Xuulu of Palestine hold up there fella. A Christian is someone that reads the bible and gives up there sins. If some one says im a Christians and shoots up steals, boasts, lusts after both people and things, curses profusely, on and on. There are several arguements people make "You can just ask Jesus to forgive you" if you keep doing the thing that you have been shown is wrong you have not truly accepted Jesus.

[@Kittsim]

robert durben Bruh do you stone women?

[@YY4Me133]

@@johnnyrocketz7808 "why don't they fight for Christians in Egypt then if they care about Christian persecution then" They _want_ to believe they're being persecuted, because they've been told they'll be persecuted for their beliefs, and that that proves they're right. Of course, they ignore the fact that people of other religions, and people with no religion, are also persecuted for their beliefs. It also ignores the fact that people fighting back against their attempts to force their beliefs on them is self-defense, not persecution.

[@derp195]

I love when they quote Darwin as if he's more than the first person to start to understand evolution. Betrays the fact that they can't even wrap their head around a lack of a perfect, all-knowing prophet. It doesn't matter what he said, you can't disprove evolution with quotes from Darwin because he doesn't own the theory. Just like you can't disprove gravity by talking about silly things Newton said. Edit: damn it, I just got to the part of the video where he makes this exact point.

[@lizziedoesthings1450]

As a Christian, I absolutely hated this movie. It had such a problematic "us" vs "them" mentality, the arguments were barely Biblical, and the message was either nonexistent or painfully hypocritical. I really appreciate how you took an objective view on this, many Christians are hard to take seriously, and this movie doesn't help at all.

[@grumpyunclenick205]

Same and agreed... Jesus would be disappointed

[@themojogamer75]

Fellow Christian here too, and yeah I agree. Some Christian media tends to look at things VERY superficially and it's aggravating.

[@majkus]

Someone once described the vocal Christian American movement's view of Jesus: not as a teacher, not as a prophet, not as a moral exemplar, not even as a saviour -- their Jesus is nothing more than their team mascot.

[@themojogamer75]

@@majkus That's... sadly really accurate holy cow.

[@moserbite2159]

Ahhhhhh concerning the bit about the Muslim girl wearing the hijab, I have heard plenty of CHRISTIANS say that women shouldn’t wear swimsuits, shorts, and miniskirts and even decry them as “harlots” “sluts” “vixens” “temptresses” and the sort for wearing THOSE things. Now, isn’t THAT basically the SAME THING? Seems rather incongruous and hypocritical, doesn’t it?

[@aaronbrown8377]

The way they spoke about Nietzsche's "Death of God" didn't strike me right. In the film, they talk about it like it's a triumphant statement declaring "God is dead". Here's the real quote. “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?” - Friedrich Nietzche It's clearly not a statement in favor of the presented idea beyond the acknowledgement of the issue.

[@thisrandomdude2880]

You're absolutely right, the statement isn't one made to showcase a victory; it's the complete opposite. Nietzsche was an atheist, and played a major role in the development of the school of nihilism. When he says that God is dead, it's meant to be seen as horrifying, because without God, the human race has nobody to blame or turn to when faced with the calamities they brought upon this world. Humanity without God, has to own up to all its sins, imperfections and mortality.

[@gmc5618]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6rGaJh-fMxor5Y

[@padraigmcgrath3876]

In a way, Nietzsche was inverting Hegel's prior analysis of the death of God as a gradual cultural process, which Hegel had first publicly announced in an essay titled "Faith and Knowledge" way back in 1804. Hegelians see the death of God as a gradual cultural unfolding which begins with St. Paul's letter to the Philippians and finally becomes complete with the industrial revolution and the French revolution. Everybody credits Nietzsche with the statement that God is dead. Hegel beat him to it by about 80 years, but Nietzsche traces the full civilizational and phenomenological implications of this death of God in a way that Hegel couldn't have at his own time of writing. Through Nietzsche's critique, Hegel's philosophy itself becomes "aufgehoben."

[@twelvmnkys]

Out of morbid curiosity, I saw God's Not Dead several years ago. The basic premise is fatally flawed. Anyone with a tiny pinch of critical thinking would write off the whole movie near the beginning. Because Radisson demands his students sign a declaration that "God is dead" in order to pass the course. In real life, if an American university professor were to do that, he would lose his job. Professors can be atheists. They can promote atheism, no problem. But they can't force students to sign such declarations. That sort of behavior might have been okay in the old Soviet Union, but not the USA. If anyone takes this movie seriously, they should be asked to document a real situation like this that happened. Which university? Which professor? When? And "What are your sources?" They would come up empty-handed and empty-headed. So, why do people take this movie's premise seriously? Because they've been brainwashed, indoctrinated by authoritarian religious leaders. Here's how such indoctrination works in the evangelical scene: "In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world, the masses have reached a point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think everything was possible and that nothing was true ... mass propaganda discovered that its audience was at all times ready to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow." (Hannah Arendt, THE ORIGINS OF TOTALITARIANISM)

[@jonathansalvador5037]

Jesus H. Christ somebody else noticed the "do your parent know you're gay" schoolyard verbal trap. Everyone else I watched it with thought it was a genuine mic-drop moment.

[@booyah2217]

What do you mean? Can you elaborate on this?

[@booyah2217]

Oh, I see. Thanks!

[@bubbafights8157]

Booyah Yeah, it’s just a loaded question. Another example would be asking something like “why did you beat your wife?”, implying you beat your wife even if you didn’t.

[@AndyMiller_windskisong]

Didnt the professor state earlier that he hated God, in one of his snipes at the student? I thought that was what was being responded to...

[@jonathansalvador5037]

The funny thing is that the punchline only works if the audience is as dumb as the professor. Anyone else will see it coming from a mile away, and the film's masterstroke lands less with a "boom" and more with a "badum tsss."

[@goroakechi6126]

The ‘argument’ that God is the only reason to be moral, as an Atheist, makes me want to beat up the writers in a dark alley. I firmly believe god is a construct by the Church, but that gives me no reason to be a terrible person. If anything, it makes me want to be better, as the moments where no one is watching define who you are, and I want to be known as a nice person.

[@biospark4758]

But what defines being “better”? I agree that objective morality isn’t an argument for the existence of God, but without a definite objective source for morality, “moral” and “immoral” are concepts subjective to the individual (that was one of the very few things the movie got right). In the absence of objective morality, you can believe that someone else is “evil,” they can believe themselves to be “good,” and your worldviews would be equally valid.

[@goroakechi6126]

Michael Riddick That is a valid point. Because of that, I will be referring to my own moral philosophy: treat everyone with kindness and compassion unless they prove they don’t deserve it, define people by their actions and words and not their appearance, and everyone deserves to live a full life, not to be shortened by another’s hand. Is it perfect? No. But no system ever will be, and this is what I stand by.

[@biospark4758]

Goro Akechi and that’s fair. My problem is with people who don’t subscribe to objective morality and also try to label others as definitely “good” or “bad,” essentially treating their personal moral code as objective.

[@Hawkeye42nd]

Michael Riddick why can’t “good” or “bad” be subjective claims? I could see someone as evil according to their failure to conform to my subjective morality. Maybe I wouldn’t be justified in doing so from some 3rd person absolute perspective but I can still make that claim subjectively.

[@giantclaw138]

Thank you Akechi

[@gliiitched4429]

I remembered watching this movie in 7th grade CCD class. I remember there not being much of a plot to it but nonetheless I still felt compelled, compelled to do something. I specifically recall there being a call for everyone to send everyone they know a text saying “God’s not dead,” to which I did, somewhat. Then our teacher asked us to take out our phones, to which we all did. He asked us “How much do you love god?” A few of us called out to show how much we did. He then pulled out a trash can and said “Do you love god enough to throw out your phone?” To which we replied “yes.” He then tells us “Ok, throw them away.” None of us did. Not even myself, who was probably the most engaged person in that class. I was fighting back thoughts of “Why am I so selfish? What will my parents think? What will god think? Will I go to hell?” Ironically, I wasn’t directly asking this to myself. I was never taught to think for, or to prioritize myself. Looking back on it now as someone who is staunchly anti-evangelism, I’m really happy that none of my peers fed into the guilt tripping and shame that I almost caved to. I’m happy they were able to put themselves first and not have to answer to anyone other than themselves.

[@WhistleAndSnap]

I am so, so sorry you had to go through that. Hardcore religion is utter bollocks. Or just toxic. Occasionally it helps people. But goddamn, are those people few and far between.

[@Atitechs]

And this is also an example of selfishness and phone addiction and worldly living

[@cindys9491]

Why did he tell Christian kids to throw out their phones? I think I'm missing something. God hates communication?

[@ktonytbb]

@@cindys9491 The movie says, "If you really love God, prove it by sending a mass 'God's not dead' text". The teacher rhetorically replies, "If you really love God, prove it by throwing your phone away". The teacher is illustrating 2 things here: 1) the movie is using a manipulation tactic on its viewers ("do what we say or you must not actually love God") 2) you should be reflecting on WHY you're doing certain actions, not just blindly carrying out directions because someone SAYS it's what God wants He was teaching his students critical thinking, he never actually expected anyone to put their phone in the garbage.

[@starcatcherksp1517]

@@AtitechsI don’t think it’s phone addiction, and I mean phones are expensive

[@kevindutrisac5136]

The "hijab" bugs me! I have never seen any Muslim woman wear a headscarf like that. It shows how ignorant the makers and the viewers of this movie are.

[@JC19021]

Huh? It’s not that uncommon. Although most I’ve seen don’t cover their mouth.

[@seanbelfry1459]

@@JC19021 I've been to a Muslim country and seen it many times. Not as common as just a scarf covering the head and not the face though.

[@JC19021]

Sean Belfry you look like Tom Segura

[@naregv3030]

Persians wear it that way alot... also druze which is a form of islam wear it that way. Though its stupid that her hair is showing at the top lol thats the purpose of hijab not to show hair. Im a lebanese christian who lived 16 years in saudi arabia.😀 so i know alot about christianity and islam

[@seanbelfry1459]

@@naregv3030 I hope to be travelling to Lebanon in the next couple of years. Really looking forward to it

[@animasolis7058]

I feel like this film totally missed the point of Nietzsche's concept of "God is dead"

[@animasolis7058]

@Sean Richie with all the edgy teens misunderstanding Niezstche and the idea of nihilism as a whole, ol' Freddy must be perpetually spinning in his grave. Wonder if we could harness it for free energy.

[@kubrox91]

@@animasolis7058 Well, Nietzsche believed in eternal recurrence, would it be safe to say "perpetually spinning in his grave" is to be considered a pun?

[@aruel677]

Or took it wayyyy too much litterally. "oh, he said that the death of God would bring humanity to loose its values and become nihilistic. But that didnt happen, thus God is not dead. Obviously."

[@jacencade4019]

@@aruel677 how would a force that does nothing dying cause anything different to happen we can't even prove its real to confirm it's dead it's a schrodinger paradox

[@jacencade4019]

@@aruel677 I got it kill me and I'll find out if there's a man judging me on everything I did up to this point But how do I tell you the answer?

[@photalysis5175]

The claim that there is no *reason* to be moral without god by Christian evangelicals always creeped the hell out of me, because it implies that they *do not have the empathy to understand why they shouldn't do something if there is no fear of punishment.* It looks bad.

[@aaliyahdumoulin2008]

That is not why lol

[@markkozin9730]

Lmao, don't give me that crap. In animal world there are no morals, if there weren't no legal constraints, people would be doing fucked up shit.

[@Skinrip]

It happens all the time on third world countries. We should take modern western values for granted.

[@lettuceprime4922]

@@Skinrip - Atrocities in the 3rd world are _overwhelming_ motivated (or, at least, legitimized) by religious fanaticism.

[@lettuceprime4922]

@SPACE PIMP - Thanks, but that was actually kind of weak on my part. I'm trying to enter a dialogue about what causes violence in the developing world and I believe the empirics are on my side. It's hard to school one sentence with another single sentence. I need to, like, pull the rug out from beneath their axioms and prove them wrong on their own terms. If it was provocative enough, I might have been able to. Also - dude - cool it with the stupid potato talk. Mark is a marginally intelligent spud. God. Internet people.

[@dorpth]

That's the very definition of reactionism: the core defining feature isn't what you're for, but rather what you're against.

[@jackiebillotte3526]

Why is this movie leveraging cancer so much? Cancer is a disease that lots of people and their families deal with. I'm not sure citing cancer as a great reason to belive in a god. Also the "Duck Dynasty" guy also advocated adult men marrying young teenage girls so maybe not cite him either.

[@spotsthenpc7796]

Because when you have cancer and you know the end is near people lose hipe,become depressed and stuff. They start to focus on hope after that

[@HC-qc5rp]

Phil Robertson also talked in graphic detail about how the anus of a man can’t possibly be as desirable and pleasurable as the vagina of a woman in an interview.

[@sna_fu]

Yeah, it's very unfortunate that they have a hyper-focus on human suffering as a reason to believe in a god. In a sense, it's good that they want people to have hope, but this kind of level of modern day zealotry is ironically hopeless for their ideology to connect to more people.

[@aburden4148]

Also if you watch the second movie (don’t do it, save yourself) as soon as she starts believing in god she ends up in remission, and still has all her hair. It’s ridiculous.

[@RevPerdueJosh]

Wait wait... Aren’t adult men technically teenagers? Great Grandfather (20) dated and married my Great Grandmother (16)?

[@rudysantayana4252]

The whole movie is the fallacy straw man.

[@thegreatgmantheguy]

and No True Scottsman

[@ZephLodwick]

And Ad Hominem

[@abelromero8967]

I think these films are really designed for people who've never been to college. How you can simultaneously believe students are incessantly coddled and Universities are terrified of civil rights cases but that professors just openly mock and attack Christians in their class is classic doublethink.

[@TulipQ]

I feel like this movie's biggest sin against the western tradition in philosophy is how it doesn't get what "God is dead" means. The quote doesn't refer to the end of belief in God, but rather the end of the need for God. Kant created a system of imperative ethics that does not require God, only reason. Hume and Milton would create lead to the creation of utilitarianism, morality based on sensation. Hegel showed a vision of Metaphysics that gave a path to the absolute idea with a purely natural world. Science showed how lightning and the descent of man from apes were natural. God died before the end of the 19th century because he didn't have anywhere left to live. Truth, justice, and life could get along without God, so he ceased to be the necessary being he was supposed to be and thus, philosophically, died.

[@zeronova1484]

@xavi xavi, Dude, that was an eloquently written and well comprehensible piece of commentary regarding philosophy. If you can't understand that, then please go back to school to better understand the English language. None of it was nonsensical though.

[@stellaraevum799]

@BTIsaac You act as though someone cannot be wrong about one thing and right about another.

[@thomasstanton8438]

Just Hume didn't really create utilitarianism

[@stellaraevum799]

@BTIsaac First of all, I never said that I agreed with his system of ethics, only that you were dismissing it on false grounds. Second of all, that is a gross strawman of his ethics, which while I do not agree with, is much more sophisticated and complex that you are portraying here. Third of all, your argument assumes it's own conclusion and thus begs the question. What about his ethics being not utilitarian or scientifically grounded necessarily makes them false? Fourth of all, you cannot create a scientific system of ethics. Because ethical claims by their very nature cannot be scientifically testable. You can create ethical claims that draw upon the findings of science as a resource, but that does not make them scientific themselves. To claim ethics as scientific is nothing short of psuedoscience.

[@stellaraevum799]

​@BTIsaac You seem to be laboring under the delusion or lie, that ethics exist in the objective sense. The only highly reliable method of obtaining objective evidence is science but you do not seem to understand the difference between science and the body of knowledge found by science. Science is the scientific method, the process under which we test hypotheses in order to ascertain their validity. The body of knowledge that we obtain through science can be subject to human error, because it often requires us to use rational rather than empirical thinking in order to interpret findings of the scientific method. Regardless, the body of science is willing to change claims based on new evidence presented. Such as when it was shown that the atom can indeed be divided. But this system of knowledge, while highly accurate is not 100% certain. Given the base assumptions of science, which are very good assumptions imo, it is the most accurate information we can have. However, ethics cannot fall into this. Because ethics cannot be tested via the scientific method. I brought this up, and you did not address this complaint, you instead made an appeal to consequences. Trying to imply that for objective ethics to exist, that ethics must be scientific and therefore ethics is scientific. Reality does not care for what you want, that is the exact same fallacious reasoning that many theists try to use to "prove" the existence of their deity. You seem to me to be part of these "new atheists" that are often as philosophically ignorant as the evangelicals are scientifically ignorant and who conflate scientific evidence with the body of knowledge created based on scientific evidence. This makes many of those atheists like myself that actually study philosophy and science as disciplines to find you to be embarrassing examples of how an atheist can have faith. You claim to place a lot of value in science, if that is the case then I would like to see even a single example you can come up with to see if a ethical proposition can be tested solely using the scientific method. Though, given your previous comment, you may just ignore this request and simply make more fallacies, but I sincerely hope this is not the case.

[@Yura-Sensei]

Even in their own media, evangelists come off as evil sociopaths

[@EYTPS]

Man... if only I could make cool CGI for my Powerpoint presentations

[@Arkayjiya]

@xavi xavi "What are you saying? The acting was quite good .It was made on 20,000$ and made over 1000000$. That is good number." What does that have to do with acting???? It has more to do with the creators of this movie frantically jerking off their target audience. I mean for people who are against extraconjugal sex, the people who saw this movie sure liked it when a cinema producer is sucking their dick (or whatever their appendage of preference is). This isn't a case of "this movie is good", it's a case of "this movie tells you what you want to hear". That's why it made money. There are plenty of actual Christian media who's actually good (I personally enjoyed Narnia at least until the author decided to demonize little kids in the last two books).

[@matti.8465]

Didn't he also make that whole presentation over night? Maybe he should be studying something else.

[@iae8793]

I wouldn't count on the grade going up, but not going down either. I personally don't mind not being able to do it because I have my grades to worry about.

[@Ploskkky]

This propaganda movie is disgusting on so many levels. In 65 years I have never heard good reasons to believe in invisible magical god-friends. They are not in this movie either. Not a single one. Apologetics has failed for 2000 years now. I wonder... why would that be?

[@STOPTHECLOWNS581]

You should try watching salo haha

[@jmadmaxx7295]

STOPTHECLOWNS it’s not even that bad F off

[@maybehere_]

@@jmadmaxx7295 lmao what it just an opinion

[@OfficalRowen]

"Why do you hate God ?" "BECASE GOD KILLED MY GRANDMA, OKAY ?" /ref

[@metaknight3116]

This comment is absolute gold

[@Yuh_zhimmy]

I’m Christian, and I’m mad that I laughed at this 💀💀

[@TheRealSuperRabbid]

"I ATE MY GRANDMA!"