This is movie especially made for Evangelical Christians. The premise is interesting enough: a Philosophy professor forces his first-year students to sign a statement that God is death as part of his course. When a committed Christian refuses to sign it, the professor makes him try to prove that God exists in class lectures as part of his grade. This student --- along with other Christians in the film --- suffer for their faith, but persevere in the end. This is the Evangelical ideal: stand in for your faith even in the face of adversity from your friends, colleagues, or even your family. For, as Jesus Christ is quoted in the Scriptures: "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law --- a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household".
The film is a little triumphalist, in my opinion. The movie ends with Evangelical music performers, who are supposed to be famous --- and I am sure are famous in some quarters, but are certainly not mainstream famous. More than that, though, the professor who instigated the student to prove that God was dead, had lost the debate in his own classroom --- as judged by his own students ---, had lost her Christian live-in girlfriend, and was lying near death after being run over by a fellow atheist. And in his death throes, instigated by the pastor who counseled the student who debated him, he repents of abandoning his earlier Christian faith, and receives Christ into his heart --- which guarantees him Salvation, according to Evangelical Christian theology. Talk about a win: defeat them all, and take no prisoners.
I did like how the movie treated the religion of Islam. Yes, the film definitely portrayed it one-dimensionally via a Muslim father of a young secret Christian convert. The father is unyielding conservative in his Muslim faith, and he expects his daughter's Muslim faith to be as committed and conservative. In other words, the film portrays him as actually caring about his faith --- unlike the secularist atheists also portrayed in the film. And when this father finds out that his daughter has apostatized from Islam, and he is forced to throw her out --- which I guess is preferable to killing her --- the wrenching pain is clearly visible in his face, and he is shown near tears. In other words, the film is sophisticated enough to show the Muslim father as a real human being who is forced to choose between the family that he loves dearly and his God. And the Muslim father chooses God. But of course, it would be hypocritical if the film portrayed this father otherwise, as this is exactly the same choice that the Christian student is praised for making --- albeit with less dangerous consequences.
Review by ltcomdataBlockedParentSpoilers2016-11-28T04:02:50Z
This is movie especially made for Evangelical Christians. The premise is interesting enough: a Philosophy professor forces his first-year students to sign a statement that God is death as part of his course. When a committed Christian refuses to sign it, the professor makes him try to prove that God exists in class lectures as part of his grade. This student --- along with other Christians in the film --- suffer for their faith, but persevere in the end. This is the Evangelical ideal: stand in for your faith even in the face of adversity from your friends, colleagues, or even your family. For, as Jesus Christ is quoted in the Scriptures: "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law --- a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household".
The film is a little triumphalist, in my opinion. The movie ends with Evangelical music performers, who are supposed to be famous --- and I am sure are famous in some quarters, but are certainly not mainstream famous. More than that, though, the professor who instigated the student to prove that God was dead, had lost the debate in his own classroom --- as judged by his own students ---, had lost her Christian live-in girlfriend, and was lying near death after being run over by a fellow atheist. And in his death throes, instigated by the pastor who counseled the student who debated him, he repents of abandoning his earlier Christian faith, and receives Christ into his heart --- which guarantees him Salvation, according to Evangelical Christian theology. Talk about a win: defeat them all, and take no prisoners.
I did like how the movie treated the religion of Islam. Yes, the film definitely portrayed it one-dimensionally via a Muslim father of a young secret Christian convert. The father is unyielding conservative in his Muslim faith, and he expects his daughter's Muslim faith to be as committed and conservative. In other words, the film portrays him as actually caring about his faith --- unlike the secularist atheists also portrayed in the film. And when this father finds out that his daughter has apostatized from Islam, and he is forced to throw her out --- which I guess is preferable to killing her --- the wrenching pain is clearly visible in his face, and he is shown near tears. In other words, the film is sophisticated enough to show the Muslim father as a real human being who is forced to choose between the family that he loves dearly and his God. And the Muslim father chooses God. But of course, it would be hypocritical if the film portrayed this father otherwise, as this is exactly the same choice that the Christian student is praised for making --- albeit with less dangerous consequences.