1. Plot

2. Cast

3. Production

4. Reception
    Box office  Critical reception  Evangelical and Roman Catholic response 

5. Sequels

6. References

7. External links

• Michael Scott
• Russell Wolfe
• Anna Zielinski

• Chuck Konzelman
• Cary Solomon

• Kevin Sorbo
• Shane Harper
• David A. R. White
• Dean Cain

• Greg Jenkins Productions
• Pure Flix Entertainment
• Red Entertainment Group

• Freestyle Releasing
• Pure Flix Entertainment

Written by Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, and based on Rice {{not a typo|Broocks'}} book God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty, the film follows a Christian college student (Harper) whose faith is challenged by a philosophy professor (Sorbo) who declares God a pre-scientific fiction. It received mostly negative reviews, but grossed over $62 million on a $2 million budget.^[3]

The film is followed by the 2016 film God's Not Dead 2 and the 2018 film A Light in Darkness.

Plot

Josh Wheaton, an evangelical college student, enrolls in a philosophy class taught by Professor Jeffrey Radisson, an atheist, who demands his students sign a declaration that "God is dead" to pass. Josh is the only student who refuses to sign. Radisson requires Josh to debate the topic with him but agrees to let the class members decide the winner. Josh's girlfriend Kara demands Josh either sign the statement "God is dead" or drop Radisson's class, because standing up to Radisson will jeopardize their academic future. Kara breaks up with Josh for insisting on confessing his belief in God.

Radisson gives Josh twenty minutes at the end of the first three lecture sessions to argue that God exists. In the first session, Josh presents his evidence that God created the universe. In the second session, Josh argues that macroevolution is not as solid a theory as it is usually presented. In the first two sessions, Radisson has counter-arguments for some of Josh's points. Ultimately, it comes down to the third and final debate between Radisson and Josh, who again both make compelling points. Josh then halts his line of debate to pose a question to Radisson: "Why do you hate God?" After Josh repeats the question twice more, Radisson explodes in rage, confirming he hates God for his mother's death that left him alone despite his prayers. Josh then casually asks Radisson how he can hate someone that does not exist. In the end, Martin, a student from China whose father had forbidden him from even talking about God to avoid jeopardizing Martin's brother's chance at overseas study, stands up and says, "God's not dead." Almost the entire class follows Martin's lead, and Radisson leaves the room in defeat.

Radisson dates Mina, an evangelical whom he belittles in front of his fellow atheist colleagues. Her brother Mark, a successful businessman and atheist, refuses to visit their mother, who suffers from dementia. Mark's girlfriend Amy is a left-wing blogger who writes articles critical of Duck Dynasty. When she is diagnosed with cancer, Mark dumps her. A Muslim student named Ayisha secretly converts to Christianity and is disowned by her infuriated father when he finds out.

After the final debate, Josh invites Martin to attend a concert by Christian pop rock group the Newsboys. Radisson reads a letter from his late mother, and is moved to reconcile with Mina. Amy confronts the Newsboys in their dressing room, only to ask them to help guide her in converting to Christianity. While on his way to find Mina, Radisson is struck by a car and fatally injured. Reverend Dave, who is waiting at the intersection, tends to Radisson and helps him become a Christian as he dies.

The film's main characters all convene at the Newsboys concert, where they play a video clip of Willie Robertson congratulating Josh. The Newsboys play their song "God's Not Dead", dedicating it to Josh.^[5]

Cast

• Shane Harper as Josh Wheaton
• Kevin Sorbo as Professor Jeffery Radisson
• David A. R. White as Reverend Dave
• Trisha LaFache as Amy Ryan
• Hadeel Sittu as Ayisha
• Marco Khan as Misrab
• Cory Oliver as Mina
• Dean Cain as Mark
• Jim Gleason as Ward Wheaton
• Benjamin Onyango as Reverend Jude
• Cassidy Gifford as Kara
• Paul Kwo as Martin Yip
• Newsboys as themselves
• Willie Robertson as himself
• Korie Robertson as herself

Production

The film was shot from October to November 2012, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with the concert scene done in Houston, Texas.^[6]

Russell Wolfe, the CEO of Pure Flix Entertainment, stated that:

The film soundtrack was released on March 3, 2014, by Inpop Records.^[8]

Reception

Box office

The film became a surprise success at the box office. In its first weekend of release, the film earned $8.6 million from 780 theaters, causing Entertainment Weekly's Adam Markovitz to refer to it as "the biggest surprise of the weekend".^[9] During that week, it finished third behind Divergent and Muppets Most Wanted in the box office, with $9.2 million.^[10]

The film began its international roll out in Mexico on April 4, 2014, where the movie grossed $89,021 its opening weekend. God's Not Dead grossed $60.8 million in North America and $3.9 million in other territories for a total of $64.7 million, against a budget of $2 million.^[3] At the end of 2014, God's Not Dead was ranked 93rd in terms of worldwide gross, and finished with $64.7 million worldwide.^[11]

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film received a rating of 14%, based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 2.7/10.^[12] On Metacritic, the film received a score of 16 out of 100, based on six critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".^[13]

Writing for The A.V. Club, Todd Van Der Werff gave the film a "D–," saying, "Even by the rather lax standards of the Christian film industry, God's Not Dead is a disaster. It's an uninspired amble past a variety of Christian-email-forward bogeymen that feels far too long at just 113 minutes".^[14] Reviewer Scott Foundas of Variety wrote "... even grading on a generous curve, this strident melodrama about the insidious efforts of America's university system to silence true believers on campus is about as subtle as a stack of Bibles falling on your head ..."^[15] Some sources and blogs have cited the film's similarities to a popular urban legend.^[16][17][18] The basic premise of an evangelical student debating with an atheist professor and winning in front of the class (who then applauds) has been the subject of a popular Chick tract.^[17]

Evangelical and Roman Catholic response

The Alliance Defending Freedom, American Heritage Girls, Faith Driven Consumer, Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, Trevecca Nazarene University, The Dove Foundation and Ratio Christi have all endorsed the film.^[19]

On the other hand, the young Earth creationist apologetics ministry, Answers in Genesis, would not endorse the film because of the promotion of several elements which they deemed to be "unbiblical".^[20]

Dave Hartline of The American Catholic gave God's Not Dead a positive review and hoped that other films like it will follow.^[21] Nick Olszyk of Catholic World Report gave it his highest rating of five reels, calling the film "a tremendously entertaining film that leads to God, not in addition to its quality but through its quality."^[22] Vincent Funaro of The Christian Post praised the film for being "a hit for believers and may even appeal to skeptics searching for answers."^[23]

Evangelical Michael Gerson, however, was highly critical of the film and its message, writing "The main problem with God's Not Dead is not its cosmology or ethics but its anthropology. It assumes that human beings are made out of cardboard. Academics are arrogant and cruel. Liberal bloggers are preening and snarky. Unbelievers disbelieve because of personal demons. It is characterization by caricature."^[24] John Mulderig echoed similar concerns in his review for the Catholic News Service, stating: "There might be the kernel of an intriguing documentary buried within director Harold Cronk's stacked-deck drama, given the extent of real-life academic hostility toward religion. But even faith-filled moviegoers will sense the claustrophobia of the echo chamber within which this largely unrealistic picture unfolds."^[25]

Writing for Christian Reviews, Roger Patterson of Answers in Genesis gave the film 3.5/5 stars and noted that "clichés die hard", but concluded that "an astute and mature Christian can use the film as a teaching opportunity".^[26]

Sequels

Pure Flix Entertainment produced a sequel, God's Not Dead 2,^[27] with a release date of April 1, 2016,^[28][29] several days after Easter.^[30] A third God's Not Dead film, A Light in Darkness, was released on March 30, 2018.^[31][32]

References

External links

• {{official website|http://godsnotdeadthemovie.com/}}
• {{IMDb title|2528814|God's Not Dead}}

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