God’s Not Dead…….Again!
Considering the popularity of the original “God’s Not Dead” film, a sequel was inevitable. Since its release in March 2014, “God’s Not Dead” is the seventh largest grossing faith-based film, earning $60 million at the box office. That’s not bad, especially given its meager $2M budget. “God’s Not Dead 2” officially opens on April 1st, with some theaters providing shows on the evening of March 31st. The series was created and produced by PureFlix.
“God’s Not Dead 2” trailer courtesy of Godsnotdeadthemovie.com
God’s Not Dead Overview
In the event that you haven’t seen “God’s Not Dead”, here’s a quick overview: present-day college freshman and devoted Christian, Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper), finds his faith challenged on day one of his Philosophy class by the dogmatic and challenging Professor Radisson (Kevin Sorbo).
Actor Melissa Joan Hart. Picture: Ron Adar/Getty Images
Radisson informs students that they will need to disavow, in writing, the existence of God, or they will fail the class. As other students in the class begin writing “God Is Dead” as instructed, Josh finds himself at a crossroads, having to choose between his faith and his future.
Take 2
“God’s Not Dead 2” star Melissa Joan Hart explained that “our film really is merely about taking the conversation about faith in the public forum to a new level.” While the original movie was focused on a college setting, the new film focuses on a case involving a high school teacher talking about Jesus in her classroom. In the movie, Grace Wesley (Melissa Joan Hart) gets into trouble in her history class when a student asks her to compare the teachings of Jesus Christ with those of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This leads to the school demanding that she apologize for violating their policy that supports the strict separation of church and state.
“God’s Not Dead 2” logo courtesy of godsnotdeadthemovie.com
The Story Behind the Series
In an interview with CharismaNews.com in February 2014, Russell Wolfe, then CEO and managing partner of Pure Flix explained why the first film became a reality: “We were looking at a movie to reach out and spur conversation with people about the existence of God and actually got the idea initially from surveying a group of pastors. We asked them, ‘What kind of content should we produce?’ They came back with many good answers, but one of the consistent responses I saw is that many of the pastors said there’s a lot of people who don’t know why they believe what they believe. The second point with that was a lot of Christians feel very uncomfortable sharing their faith. That was the main thrust for making the movie.” Note: Mr. Wolfe passed away on May 27th, 2015 of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Our condolences go out to his family and friends. He will be missed, but he and his work live on!
Faith-Based Films Increasing in Popularity
As a Christian, I’m happy to see that faith-based movies are becoming more and more mainstream. The powerful ability of storytelling through film allows us to reach out to our friends and family in a new way. Perhaps God will use this medium to spur a much needed spiritual awakening in our country.
When “God’s Not Dead 2” opens, it will be the second Christian film out of twelve available at Edwards Metro Pointe Stadium 12, a local theatre that we frequent. The other movie is “Miracles From Heaven” from Sony Pictures. BoxOffice.com chief analyst Phil Contrino said in 2014 that we shouldn’t be surprised by how well these (faith-based) movies are performing. “Religious crowds are underserved, and they have been for a while now,” Contrino told Business Insider. “What you’re seeing is a big section of the population that wants movies that speak directly to them with themes they can relate to. So there’s no surprise that’s there’s this rush out.”
Top ten faith-based films (since 1980) courtesy of boxofficemojo.com
I have a confession to make. Before I go to the sequel, I need to watch the first GND film. I didn’t see it in theaters because I was a poor grad student at the time! Have you seen the first one? Are you planning to watch the second film? I hope so, and please tell all of your friends and family to go also. Let’s show Hollywood that faith-based films are here to stay! We’d love to hear from you below.