"God's Not Dead" Catholic Perspective (Spoilers)

[Catie59]

JWH… Amen to that.
Also I am not trying to argue with anyone just very sad over some of the comments on the various posts. :bighanky:

 

[Path_Finder]

I am Catholic and did see the movie. I walked out of it very happy that no matter the base of ones faith, Catholic, Baptist, whatever, the general idea is to take a stand for our CHRISTIAN beliefs and not cower to relativist & atheist points of view. After all we are ALL Gods children and as long as we profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and live our life according to Gods will we will have eternal life in Gods Kingdom. Yes we as Catholics do believe that the eucharist and wine becomes the Body and Blood of Christ, but our dear Lord said “Do this in memory of me”, so who are we to judge? There are many Catholic movies to be seen on EWTN and as of late some have been on the big screen. I think the most important thing is that Christian movies are out there and we should be happy about that. We live in an age where the Pope tells us to embrace peoples of all faiths, and try to evangelize at the same time. So please brothers and sister try not to judge Christians who are not Catholic. Love thy neighbor. :hug1:

Good review and I get your point, as Christians we are unified in a way that often speaking a common language is sometimes looked at as a unifying factor even if say you have slight differences in how it is spoken in Canada, USA, England, Australia, Jamaica and so on.

Apparently, with one religion, differences separate the people but again, with Buddhism, you have your different schools but I think there is still a unifying factor between Buddhists.

 

[CatholicWhovian]

First of all, thank you for acknowledging that Catholics ARE indeed Christians! People have told me that I have misrepresented myself by referring to myself as a “Christian,” saying, you’re Catholic! Catholics are the world’s original Christians, and I’m not sure how it has become passe for Catholics to refer to themselves as Christians, as if it is something lesser.

Of course Catholics are the world’s first Christians. It’s kind of unfortunate (and annoying) that evangelical and non-denominational Christians feel that they have a monopoly over the adjective “Christian”. What’s more unfortunate is that most Catholics would consider themselves Catholics only and not adding to that the word Christian. Why is it that Christianity’s denominations are so distinct from each other when we are supposed to be one Body of Christ?

 

[vsedriver]

my mother and I recently watched this movie. I have a minor in Philosophy, my son also watched the first part. He is a philosophy major. We both laughed and said we would have reported the professor for his behavior, dropped the class and taken another. My son couldn’t watch the rest of it. And yes, he’s a devout, active Catholic.

That said it wasn’t a bad movie just that it worked too hard to do something so simple. The parts that were interesting were the shortest. How the young muslim girl was dealing with her family’s rejection, how the professor’s girlfriend realized she wasn’t loved or even thought of as an equal. The two ministers trying to take a trip was too long and mostly unnecessary. The young philosophy student’s girlfriend was unrealistic. How can a whole college career depend on a 100 level course?

The professor did come off as a tortured soul. Apparently he had been raised with faith so it wasn’t surprising when at the end he had a change of heart and turned back to God. I really think he had a change of heart before he was hit by the car.

The other character that I found interesting was the lady reporter who learns she has a terminal disease.

I thought they did a fair job of using philosophy more than the bible. The bible was used to show how it aligns with science and philosophy. The level of philosophy used was pretty basic and I would assume this was done because deep philosophy is over most people’s heads.

In the end, I thought it was ironic that only the atheists died or were dying. This would be a good film for young teens.

 

[Havard]

I thought it was okay… not great, but not bad.

It seems to fit in the made-for-TV fare in being a bit on the hackneyed end of the spectrum, and if I had seen it as a made-for-TV film, I would probably be a lot less critical due to the higher expectations I have for big screen.

 

[JWH123]

Of course Catholics are the world’s first Christians. It’s kind of unfortunate (and annoying) that evangelical and non-denominational Christians feel that they have a monopoly over the adjective “Christian”. What’s more unfortunate is that most Catholics would consider themselves Catholics only and not adding to that the word Christian. Why is it that Christianity’s denominations are so distinct from each other when we are supposed to be one Body of Christ?

Yes indeed, and unfortunately the blame for this falls on both sides. The Protestants will go on and on about how “they” are the “true Christians”–it comes with the territory when you are rejecting many pillars of Catholicism that you feel the Catholics aren’t true Christianity. You know the typical talking points: you can’t be true Christians if you worship Mary, pray to statues of dead people, and believe in a second chance for salvation after you die (their totally mistaken idea of our doctrine of purgatory).

But…when asked by a Protestant “are you a Christian?” why do so many of us Catholics reply “No, I’m a Roman Catholic.”? I know the feeling of wanting to say “I am not like you” but the correct self-identity needs to be “Yes, I am a Catholic Christian.” We need to do a much better job defending and expressing our Faith.

One of the priests at my parish uses the word Christian constantly in his homilies. “As CHRISTIANS we are called to give to the poor, as CHRISTIANS we are to forgive others, as CHRISTIANS we are to be witnesses for Jesus Christ in our lives.” I think his point is to emphasize that the “Christians” are not those people over there, while we are the Catholics.

 

[Path_Finder]

Really, I’ve heard the song “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love” but among those Christians I’ve met, I’ve met Baptists, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Episcopalians and Presbyterians, Seventh Day Adventists too. I did not hear Christian appended to it.

So a movie comes out, it wants to be known as a Christian movie, though “The Passion of the Christ” is indeed a Catholic movie, it certainly was billed to all Christians. Lutherans made Davey and Goliath but I’d largely see it as a Christian children’s TV show.

Yes, indeed, we will run into some hostile to our faith, I grew up with that where I lived. I just try to see past that.

 

[7_Sorrows]

My daughter-in-law rented this movie the other night.
I had heard people speak favorably about the movie so I was anxious to see it. I thought it was pretty bad. Very simplistic. Bad acting.
Very shallow. The movie did not do justice for Christianity
I didn’t like Heaven is for Real either.

 

[vtech2009]

Hello, I just the watched the movie, and I think it was very powerful for Christians and Catholics, but have severe doubts about it reaching the intended audience.
As many posters have mentioned, the atheists are shown in a very shallow and negative light, and we all know that isn’t the case.
The movie is also obviously protestant, nothing wrong with that.

God bless to everyone who felt something watching this movie.

 

[WonderAndAwe]

My daughter-in-law rented this movie the other night.
I had heard people speak favorably about the movie so I was anxious to see it. I thought it was pretty bad. Very simplistic. Bad acting.
Very shallow. The movie did not do justice for Christianity
I didn’t like Heaven is for Real either.

I kinda feel like that “Little Boy” movie will be the same.

 

[Rhubarb]

As someone with a degree in philosophy this movie embarrassed me. As someone who really sympathizes with the theist position this movie embarrassed me. I fear what those who are not up with philosophy or Christianity will see this as true examples of both, and be put off to both. MST3K couldn’t make this movie watchable.

 

[7_Sorrows]

I kinda feel like that “Little Boy” movie will be the same.

I think there is a thread on Little Boy.

Some recommended it. I think there is a Catholic priest who plays a big role in this film so I might be able to identify with it.

I am always skeptical about Christian themed movies. Especially ones made by protestants. Like the Left Behind series.
This one and Heaven is for Real seemed sappy and shallow.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

As I was watching the movie “God’s Not Dead” I was generally inspired by the faith of the Christians in it, but appalled by the protestantized theology (not surprise but appalled). My citation being the Professor dying at the end and the speech from the Reverend about only needing to let Jesus into his heart; no baptism, confession or Eucharist. Am I being overly critical? Is this movie suitable for a Catholic audience? I want to know your opinions.

My wife and I went to ,see it, a few months ago now, maybe even a year or more ago.

It started off all right, with the atheist professor posing a challenge to the Christian student.

But as time went on, it got a bit corny. It also tried to cover too much ground with a girl from a Moslem family being inducted into Christian living which was really a sideline from the main debate. Of course she was then alienated from her family.

And as others have pointed out, the end of the film was somewhat contrived. Mind you had there been a Catholic priest present to give the last rites, most of us would have accepted the bloke was “saved” but facing some time in Purgatory. Which isn’t, in one sense, all that different from a Protestant believing he’d go to heaven because He “believed”.

I suppose it was all right for a Protestant youth group to go and watch - I don’t think it went past that level on an intellectual basis.

I even said to my wife as we walked out, “It might have been all right for young people.”

 

[vtech2009]

My wife and I went to ,see it, a few months ago now, maybe even a year or more ago.

It started off all right, with the atheist professor posing a challenge to the Christian student.

But as time went on, it got a bit corny. It also tried to cover too much ground with a girl from a Moslem family being inducted into Christian living which was really a sideline from the main debate. Of course she was then alienated from her family.

And as others have pointed out, the end of the film was somewhat contrived. Mind you had there been a Catholic priest present to give the last rites, most of us would have accepted the bloke was “saved” but facing some time in Purgatory. Which isn’t, in one sense, all that different from a Protestant believing he’d go to heaven because He “believed”.

I suppose it was all right for a Protestant youth group to go and watch - I don’t think it went past that level on an intellectual basis.

I even said to my wife as we walked out, “It might have been all right for young people.”

Agreed. The movie was disrespectful to Islam and Muslims.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Most Christian movies sadly seem to be corny in a major way. I would think they would turn more people away from the faith.

 

[milimac]

I just watched the DVD and give 3 stars. The movie has good intentions, but tries to do too much: defend the existence of God, and convert the audience to a protestant-Christian relationship with Jesus. I doubt that it won many converts for either objective.

There are just too many cheesy, far-fetched, or awkward scenes for one movie:

• using Genesis as a scientific description of the beginning (it doesn’t contradict science, but it isn’t meant to be a scientific explanation)
• the ministers whose car wouldn’t start 3 times so that they end up being in the right place at the right time to help other people;
• the controlling Christian girlfriend dumping her boyfriend because he wants to defend Christianity in class and risk failing the class and somehow blowing their future;
• the extremely rude behavior of the professor to his class and to his girlfriend;
• the businessman dumping his girlfriend after finding out she has cancer,
• the alzheimer woman preaching to her son about his life being like a man in a cozy jail cell,
• the ministers preaching to the atheist as he struggles to breathe and then not mourning his death at all.
• the Newsboys diffusing the anti-Christian woman who has cancer and then praying over her in a matter of minutes
• ALL the students standing up and agreeing with the freshman Christian student in the end (highly unlikely even with the most compelling and convincing arguments, and way too cliche – one stands, then another, then a few, then all);

Sure, each of these things are possible, but putting them all in the same movie makes it unrealistic.

The best part of the movie to me was the freshman student’s arguments, which was the main purpose of the movie. The argument that there can be no real morality without God shows how pointless life is without God. Without God, morality is a self-imposed or society-imposed construct. Why is it “good” to conform to it? If there is some benefit (goodness) to yourself or to society, what makes THAT “good” or who is to say if it is “good”? Morality is essentially meaningless without God and reduced to nothing more than maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.

I read that the writers of the screenplay were actually Catholic, but financed by Protestant organizations, so some scenes that may have had some Catholic flavor were dropped. Considering the rest of the movie, that’s probably a good thing. We need more authentic Catholic art.

 

[Midwest88]

I think there is a thread on Little Boy.

Some recommended it. I think there is a Catholic priest who plays a big role in this film so I might be able to identify with it.

I am always skeptical about Christian themed movies. Especially ones made by protestants. Like the Left Behind series.
This one and Heaven is for Real seemed sappy and shallow.

For whatever reason I think it’s something to do with the lack of intellectual philosophy found in modern day Protestantism. I get the feeling that someone from a Baptist bible college wrote the script and a semi-talented director helmed it. Yikes. They work with caricatures, contrived scenarios, and I’m not sure why. It’s as if Sola Scriptura made whatever artistic talent they possessed blunt. In many ways God’s Not Dead is the least intellectually stimulating depiction of America Christianity made by believers.