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He wasn't always 'the Cronk,' you know. He was quite good-looking in those days, believe it or not. Had a bit of gumption then, too. At least I thought he had.

I heard about this film for quite some time since its release. The stuff I know about, apparently even Muslims weren't safe. It's not just the atheist professor.

Gregory wrote:This part makes me wonder if I should hate-watch God's Not Dead:

I didn't know that "hate-watching" is a thing. If so, then I hate-watched Patch Adams.

God's Not Dead sounds like a fascinating cultural artifact, but perhaps not fascinating enough to spend 114 minutes on it while other films are sitting in my kevyip, crying out for attention.

Hate-watching is definitely a thing, though I usually see it ascribed to TV shows (Popular recent choices seem to be Under the Dome, the Newsroom, the Following, and that hostage show on CBS. Mine is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives)

My library has it on order, so I just placed a hold and saw this in the description:

This dare could cost him his relationships, his career, even his future.

I guess it's flattering to the field of philosophy that anyone would think that the stakes of an undergrad classroom debate would be quite that high. Even if the evil prof flunks him because he disagrees with him (again, not how the teaching of philosophy works in real life), couldn't he just retake the course?
Future job interview: "Sorry, Josh, but while your application, recommendations, and interview were all extremely impressive, this grade in your sophomore philosophy course is the kind of black mark we just cannot pretend to overlook. And we can't hire you because it turns out that you're a Christian. This is strictly a heathen firm, and we don't take kindly to your kind coming around here. [Pushes button] Security!"

If you hate watch this movie, do it for the climactic scene where Professor Kevin Sorbo gets run down by a car and suffers fatal injuries, prompting two Christian missionaries (one of whom appears to be N!xau from The Gods Must Be Crazy) to berate him into accepting Jesus. After which they celebrate his violent death - "there's a party in Heaven tonight~!" - and then rifle his pockets and steal his cell phone.

This happens.

Hey hey - spoiler tags!

Spoiler tag the thread title too

Gregory wrote:My library has it on order, so I just placed a hold and saw this in the description:

This dare could cost him his relationships, his career, even his future.

I guess it's flattering to the field of philosophy that anyone would think that the stakes of an undergrad classroom debate would be quite that high. Even if the evil prof flunks him because he disagrees with him (again, not how the teaching of philosophy works in real life), couldn't he just retake the course?
Future job interview: "Sorry, Josh, but while your application, recommendations, and interview were all extremely impressive, this grade in your sophomore philosophy course is the kind of black mark we just cannot pretend to overlook. And we can't hire you because it turns out that you're a Christian. This is strictly a heathen firm, and we don't take kindly to your kind coming around here. [Pushes button] Security!"

The mental gymnastics required to pretend that being a loud, pushily evangelical Christian in America in the year of our Lord 2014 makes one oppressed in any way are gold medal-worthy- this movie is legitimately an inventory of the best they could come up with. Like, sure, we've got money, political and social power, and entire branches of entertainment dedicated to serving us... but college philosophy professors, the most powerful group in America, are holding us down! Fight the power!

Also, it's possible that this bothers me and nobody else in the world, but the poster art for this with the kid sticking 'not' up would mean that the thing he's writing over originally read 'God's dead'. I have never heard anyone reference that phrase without stating it "God is dead" and it's weird and awkward with the contraction, like it was going to have been a lecture about the dead belonging to God.

Oh god, I remember that tract. To my credit, even when I worked in a Christian bookstore in high school, these tracts scared the hell out of me with their fanaticism. I didn't even like being in their aisle.

For whatever reason, my brain shuts down when presented with something like God's Not Dead, and not just for the obvious reason. Arguing with people whose ultimate reasoning and identity comes from socialization just short circuits my brain. I mean, where do you even begin? It's just an invitation to get lost in their dissonant reasoning. It goes beyond Christianity and into the realm of truly frightening ideology that claims Christianity in order to thrive. Any rebuttal against it is feeding their notion of the plot of a secular agenda, that there is a constant war to suppress the truth which will eventually lead to dramatized events of Nic Cage's new film. I cringe at seeing it gain some semblance of normality with this recent trend of theatrical films, especially since they have real political power. Sure, it's all rather funny, but having about twenty family members on my Facebook page posting all kinds of fear-based rhetoric has made me extremely frightened of it as well. Some of their posts are more passionate (bordering on unhinged) than they've been about anything, ever.

domino harvey wrote:Mine is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives)

At least Fieri profiles restaurants that make freshly-made food. True hate-watching is for Rachael Ray when shes opens a can of beans in her cooking show.

Sure, it's all rather funny, but having about twenty family members on my Facebook page posting all kinds of fear-based rhetoric has made me extremely frightened of it as well.

I agree—it's hard for me to chuckle at thisstuff, or at least when I do the laughter sticks in my throat. (though I admit I am amused when Jack Chick corrects his strawmen in informative footnotes.)

I'm pretty sure most of the morality and reasoning underpinning this film and the paranoid evangelical mindset in general is just atavism and clannishness dressed up in "Christian" language. there's nothing compellingly Christlike in what I understand to be the plot and message of God's Not Dead.

I hope I don't come across as making light of religious fanaticism, as it has serious implications that are impossible to ignore. When I do laugh, it's usually because I don't know what else to really do about it, except try to be a good example of a rational person when I can.

Some of the Chick tracts get so gruesome and twisted (yet still cartoony), like whenever he uses fear of AIDS to try to strike a blow against a life of sin, that it's hard to laugh at them. Other times they're so self-parodic and weird that I can't not laugh:

At least Mr. Chick is a real artist. If only these movies were as interesting or as decently crafted.

mfunk9786 wrote:has me wondering yet again why these folks are instructed to review these movies.

Its not just Christian movies they're covering. It looks like they're trying to cover every straight-to-video product out there. Or at least a large percentage of them. Aesthetic concerns are probably not very high on their list.

Numero Trois wrote:

domino harvey wrote:Mine is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives)

At least Fieri profiles restaurants that make freshly-made food. True hate-watching is for Rachael Ray when shes opens a can of beans in her cooking show.

I myself like the drunk woman who does "Semi-homemade" meals

Gregory (and others), if you like Jack Chick, you should check out God's Cartoonist, a full-length doc on his work

EDIT: And, wow, apparently Jack Chick made an animated (sort of) feature, which you can find in the sidebar for the doc above

Gregory wrote:

That's the stuff.

I hadn't read that one before and it isn't even coherent, even as far as Chick tracts go.

domino harvey wrote:I hadn't read that one before and it isn't even coherent, even as far as Chick tracts go.

It's not incoherent at all, it's one of Jack Chick's contributions to apocalyptic (i.e., "Left Behind") literature. Obviously it takes place after the establishment of the one-world government (i.e., the UN) and the persecution and martyrdom of Christians.

Because, as we can see reading the news these days, the UN is a frightfully effective organization that is on the verge of seizing control of the entire world.

If you went into this without knowing anything about it, you'd just assume it's someone taking a piss. This could have been on South Park without changing a word.

Buddhists and other believers in reincarnation are known for being especially hateful towards animals, right?

I'm mostly surprised that Christians don't believe in reincarnation. It's a tenant of both Judaism and Islam so it is weird if it not with them too.

Whever I see those cartoons of that devil-child I keep getting reminded of Clint Howard in Evilspeak!

matrixschmatrix wrote:Buddhists and other believers in reincarnation are known for being especially hateful towards animals, right?

I have a small cartoon booklet I bought at a Buddhist temple in China. One of my favorite panels says something like: "Don't eat meat, as a pig or chicken might be one of your grandparents or other relatives."

A reincarnation argument for not being a carnivore which would have eluded me.

domino harvey wrote:Gregory (and others), if you like Jack Chick, you should check out God's Cartoonist, a full-length doc on his work

This is a remarkable study of his work as well:

http://danielraeburn.com/The_Imp,_by_Da ... mp_JTC.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

matrixschmatrix wrote:Buddhists and other believers in reincarnation are known for being especially hateful towards animals, right?

The justification that Chick uses in his panel is the same one that some Hindus use to justify the way that the caste system treats the untouchables in the ghettos of India.