We’ve All Missed the Point of ‘God’s Not Dead’ (It’s Blaxploitation)

 

He’s Shirley A. Live.

So…here’s the embarrassing post where I admit that I actually kind of liked God’s Not Dead.

Yes, it was full of terrible acting and hackneyed apologetics.

Yes, it was full of offensive stereotypes of Muslims and atheists.

Yes, for a movie supposedly about a philosophy class, it didn’t seem to have a clue what philosophy is.

And yet, taken on its own terms, it still kind of worked.

Will it convert anyone? Not with its beyond-tenuous grasp of teleology, biology and cosmology. Will it make Jesus cool again? Of course it won’t — Jesus was never cool. (Sorry, Jesus.)

But if you’re judging it on those terms, you’ve profoundly missed the point of God’s Not Dead — and of evangelical films in general.

Majestic Protests from a Magisterial Protestant; or, someone needs to harass Don Miller some more, so it might as well be me

Since I wrote that post about Don Miller and his dislike for church, I’ve received messages from several different people asking me to clarify my positions, give them more thoughts on Miller, and even (awesomely) absolve them for skipping church. (I don’t know what to say to that last one, except I’m not His Holiness the Parson.)

Modesty: Go Ahead and Get Naked, or Better Yet, Don’t

I don’t like to brag about it, but HOLY CRAP AM I MODEST.

The photo at the left is an example of what you’ll see me wearing if you ever go swimming with me. I’ll be dressed from my shoulders to my knees. It’s not that weird — at least, I don’t think so — just a pair of trunks and an Under Armour shirt. It’s a way of covering up without (I think) looking like a total tool, fashion-wise.

Why do I dress like that? Because I value modesty — and I think the historical Christian virtue of modesty applies to men as well as women. In modern evangelical culture we tend to freak out when our daughters are in bikinis but we don’t bat an eye at the fact that our sons wear exactly half as much at the beach.

Hey Guys, I’m a Young Person and I Have Opinions (Rachel Held Evans, Millennials, Etc.)

→ Why are Millennials leaving the Evangelical Church?

Most bloggers can only wish they were this photogenic.

It’s a question the mainstream press can’t resist because it’s (a) immediate, (b) controversial, and (c) really dumbed-down. In any case, Rachel Held Evans — the de facto voice of post-Evangelicals — has a piece up on CNN about the question as we speak (you’ve probably seen it; at this point every single Facebook friend you have has probably shared it). The basic premise? They’re leaving because Jesus isn’t there.

You can read it if you want; it’s worth the time. Then if you feel like it, you can read this really, really thorough takedown by Alastair Roberts; and I also highly recommend this criticism of its tone from my close, personal friend Jake Meador over at Mere Orthodoxy.

But for me? I just can’t get over the question, let alone the answer.