"God’s Not Dead 2"is a movie about the true test of the Christian faith and the arduous life that Christians in America face. When a history teacher answers a question about Jesus, she is sued by a group of evil atheists. Originally, I thought that this movie was based on a real story, however, this is not the case. It's a fictional account created by the Christian film company Pure Flix. I have so many issues with this story that in order to address them all, and do them all justice, I would have to write a novel, therefore, I will do what I can in this short article to shed some light on this account.
Melissa Joan Hart, aka Sabrina the (Unholy) Teenage (Heathen Pagan Child) Witch, claimed that the film was made because “a lot of believers today feel persecuted for their faith, arguing that the separation of church and state in America has been taken to a new level, which she said is ‘far beyond the freedoms this country was founded on.’” Christians are by far the most privileged people in this country. All of their holidays are respected by schools and employers, they can easily find local places to worship, and have seen almost no forms of stereotyping or discrimination until now. Christians, especially white Christians, have ruled this country since its founding. To say that they are now being persecuted is so ridiculous it’s comical. This story isn’t real, nor are the court proceedings in this movie even close to accurate. To say that this film is an example of the persecution of the Christian Church is simply a fallacy. This isn't an example of justice, this is an unrealistic portrayal trying to propagandize this idea that somehow, Christianity is under attack.
This movie portrays atheists as big, bad evil people coming to blow the very churches down in which Christians worship in. “NOT BY THE HAIR ON MY CHINNY CHIN CHIN,” says the heroic Lawyer John Tucker, or in reality, Jesse Metcalfe. Looks like John Tucker didn’t die, but his acting career sure did. Though Metcalfe is hotter than the hellfire that non-believers such as myself are apparently doomed to burn in, his heroism is not justified, nor is the portrayal of the atheists. Not all Christians are good people!!! Maybe you’ve heard of the notorious serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer, who was baptized several months before he was beaten to death in prison. Just because he decided to accept Christ does not mean that he suddenly became a good person. It doesn’t change the fact that he tortured, murdered, and ate people. Just because someone is an atheist does not mean that they are evil, mean, unhappy, hopeless or out to attack Christians. Atheists can be perfectly average, happy individuals with hope for the future and joyous lives. They can be people who love to volunteer and help others, and they can be genuinely altruistic. This goes both ways: of course, there are wonderful people who believe in God, and there are horrendous people who don’t. The issue is that one group gets consistently gets praised while one is consistently demonized. It's unfair to generalize and demonize two groups of people like this movie does.
I know it may seem like that anyone who disagrees with Christianity is out to destroy the holy name of Jesus, but this is not the case. Atheists probably don’t care as to whether or not someone talks about Jesus, and if they do, it’s because they’re annoyed at the lack of consideration towards their beliefs. I don’t want to frighten anyone, but anyone could be an atheist including doctors, neighbors, and mailmen. This does not change their value as a human or the relationship that can be built with them. It simply means that different people have different ideas.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution clearly states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” This means that while legally someone’s religion cannot be denied or prohibited in the United States, there also cannot be one single religion that is the dominant religion, or one where the members get more rights than other people. That means that it is unconstitutional to have laws based on Christianity and to let Christian principles be taught in public schools. Unless there are to be laws based on all religions, and teach all religious principles in public schools, then there simply cannot be Christian principals taught in public schools. It is not fair to all of the other faiths represented in this country. That is not an attack on Christianity, as it appears the people at Pure Flix like to make it seem, that is simply a country attempting to be somewhat inclusive.
If the biggest issue is that Pure Flix can think of is this supposed persecution of Christians, perhaps they should try to think of some more productive ideas for their movies. Maybe some ideas that inspire people to serve others, or to love all as Jesus taught. Considering there are children starving, and natural disasters, and of course, the ratings of "God's Not Dead 2," there seem to be far more tragic occurrences that could constitute a movie.
