Yeah, I think each installment of the God's Not Dead franchise can be summed up as follows:

God's Not Dead (2014): Basically, it's that email forward you regularly get from your Christian aunt about an alternate universe in which Einstein is a Christian student in a philosophy class and embarrasses his evil atheist professor. Except here, Einstein is some American kid named "Josh Wheaton," not to be confused with the Hollywood movie director Joss Whedon.

God's Not Dead 2 (2016): Basically, this movie is what would happen if Sabrina from Sabrina the Teenage Witch gave up her witchcraft, changed her name to Grace, converted to evangelical Christianity, and grew up to be a Christian schoolteacher who is taken to court by a cartoonishly evil ACLU lawyer for mentioning in the classroom that MLK, Jr.'s nonviolent activism was inspired by the teachings attributed to Jesus in the Gospels. (And yes, Melissa Joan Hart plays Grace the persecuted Christian schoolteacher, and in real life, she's super evangelical now.)

God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness (2018): I suspect that this movie was a result of David A.R. White going through a nervous breakdown because it was released during the real-life horror story that was the Trump administration, and he saw his own people defending things that were hurting people and turning people away from Christianity. So in one way, this movie was like an awkward apology for the other two films, but in another way, it was still a persecution fantasy. Basically, it was as if they were saying, "Are we the baddies? Nahhhh. There are very fine people on both sides."

God's Not Dead: We the People (2021): Basically, it's just Christian nationalism in its most undisguised form. It's a total about-face from the last movie, showing that David A.R. White and the people at PureFlix had learned nothing after all. It's essentially, "What if we did January 6...again?" So dangerous. A freakout movie over CRT and teachers coming for your kids' souls.

All comments from YouTube:

Renegade Cut

2y↑1.4K

Most frequent comments so far is "They made four of these?!"

Yes, God's Not Dead: We the People was released last year. It had a three-day run in the theaters during some of the worst months of the pandemic so far, then a few weeks at the Pureflix streaming site before being taken down for home release. It made its money back, but it also made zero splash or impact. It has exactly one review on Rotten Tomatoes. So few professionals watched it that it doesn't have a score and maybe never will.

I doesn't even have a lot of video essays and takedowns about it. A few vlogs and summaries without many views. I guess it was up to me to make this. So, uh, you're welcome.

Becca Hawkins

A-A Rohn

2y↑1

As a Christian, these movies embarass me so much 😇😞

Oliver Surpless

Suffering for your art as among the finest artists do…

Tay Tay

I'd love it if you or really anyone left timestamps!

VicViper

2y↑1

@Vyl Bird Even calling the Celebs "B-List" is a stretch. Most only have any work as actors specifically because of these types of propaganda flicks. These are C or D list actors at best.

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RZ

2y↑2.9K

Evangelicals: "Be Christian or else."
Everyone else: "no."
Evangelicals: "OMG STOP PERSECUTING ME!"

LRXC

LOOOL

V.K.R T.M.

What if a Christian who falls in the lines of Martin Luther King Jr. Decided to say "naw they're allowed to not believe if they want to."

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EndyHawk

2y↑1.7K

Calling 25- and 33-year olds "kids" says MUCH about the target demographic for these movies.

@Home

When I was a freshman, a girl was told she couldn't read a bible at lunch, or pray I believe.
Freedom of speech and belief is important, that being said, I'm not a Christian.
These movies are crazy.

Kenrick Eason

@raphaela ratzlaff Yes! My mother is the only one calling me Boy.. no other man or woman shouldn't be calling me that..

Kenrick Eason

2y↑2

@Bean Brewer no other grown man or grown woman got any business calling a 25 year old a kid.. That's disrespectful.. well except Parents.. My mother still calls me Boy.. Boy, come here and help me with this or that and I'm 36 years old.. I don't mind it cause unlike the Church she raised me into a man but never lost the sight of me being her son who was once her child.. Parents know that you're an Adult but they will forever see you as little Jimmy or Jane.. The Church sees you as a mind controlled cash grab..

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SBond

2y↑1K

I’m still traumatized from having to write “I will stand during the Pledge of Allegiance” 500 times as a elementary student in the 80’s. I grew to despise these systems of indoctrination.

Ryan Atkinson

I can't remember if it was technically where and when I was in school (2003-2016 in suburban Atlanta), but I certainly remember children being aggressively questioned by the teacher in front of the whole class. If you didn't, there would definitely be an unspoken tension at least. What a disgusting thing to do to children. America is free in name only

leion800

@Chandler Burse if you don't there is a chance for punishment. there was a video where a kid got kicked out of his chair by another student because he did not stand.

Emily Harris

2y↑5

My parents sent me to a private school run by Christian nationalists where every morning, we had to pledge to the American flag, the Christian flag, the Texan flag, and say a Lord's prayer for good measure. I used to always just mouth along instead of actually speaking the words, and I'd keep my fingers crossed behind my back, because every kid knows that's how you undo a promise lol

Disnecessauro Rex

@Ariel-kun I live in a small city in Brazil and all the private schools here make you sing the anthem at least once per week. And flag/military anthem before some holidays. Church-going events, or receiving Christian leaders at school for religious pratices (as blessing new students or reenactment of Christ's death) is common in private and public schools. This to not mention the unholy (haha get it) military schools we have.

scockery

2y↑2

@TJ Barke Well, the pledge was created by christian socialist Francis Bellamy. "Under God" was added later, though, some 20+ years after he died. Bellamy "believed in the absolute separation of church and state" and purposefully did not include the phrase "under God" in his pledge. Not that Bellamy was a great guy, he was still somewhat racist.

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Golgotha_Mythos69

2y↑868

"Christianity started out in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise."
~Sam Pascoe

Kenrick Eason

That's amazing!! Dude went in!!! 👏🏿👏🏿👍🏿❤️

Joe Magill

2y↑5

Should probably add some snappy line, which I'm totally unqualified to come up with, noting how American Evangelicals have spent the last decade or so exporting their far right ideology back to, in particular Europe and Africa.

Noah Bossier

2y↑9

Yeah. Makes sense.

Albert Pagan

2y↑9

Well put.

ecoRfan

2y↑13

Great quote.

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LJStability

2y↑2.1K

Holy God man. You basically summarized everything I've observed as a Christian in the old churches I used to attend. COVID was my major turning point. Never been happier and never looked back.

chris sonofpear1

@Someone Someone Sin began in heaven - that was rather unlikely, wasn't it?
And is it sin if a God does it? Be it slaughter, warring, theft, forcing miscarriage or condoning some forms of slavery?
After that, things can begin to get messy. Also, if you happen to leave Christianity (or some version of it) even temporarily, you can be claimed to have been 'vomited out' and have never really been part of it.
Also, how was this love... experienced... in the Inquisition? And just what was He DOING AT the time? Or in the slave trade that went on such, an oddly, long, time, within Christendom?
Or how about Hosea 9 - was the love abundant, then?

Someone Someone

@Serious Saitama Being a christian is hard because there are just so many rules but instead of taking this as an excuse to leave why don’t you focus and all the good teaching that may convince you to stay. At the end of the day the priest didn’t mean your gay family members are bad because sinners are not bad sin is.

Someone Someone

@Dave Handelman what is life? How can something that can suddenly end have created something else? You are right about experience though which is why the most important thing about being christian is experiencing God’s love not just worshipping Him.

TheDingo

2y↑3

This goes hand in hand with my personal idea that perfection isn’t actually real. Why would God (who I do believe in, albeit super heretically) disturb a perfect state of existence before creation (This could be when the universe contained in a single point as within the Big Bang), why would you disturb that state of perfect oneness unless LIFE and WILL are more important/valuable than perfection itself. In that regard I agree that living as much as we can, exercising our wills as much as we can, and spreading as much love as we can is the true purpose of existence. I’d take it a step further and say that doing that also honors God/The Universe/Life itself

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Arthur Davis

2y↑856

"26 year olds are just kids"
I'm 26. I have a kid. Apologetics for slavery are wild

Logan Sanderson

The craziest thing is that the very same people who say that are also the ones who encourage people to get married young, sometimes right out of high school.

magister343

2y↑2

@RustyKn1ght To be fair, the slaves were Family in the ancient Roman sense of the word. We get out term "Family" from a Latin term "Familia," but that did not mean family as we think of it today. I did not include blood relations at all, except maybe for slave children produced from the master or his sons raping a maid. Famulus (of Famula is feminine) was the term for a trusted domestic slave (the kind who lives in the same house as the master and handled menial tasks like cooking, cleaning, and childcare) as opposed to the slaves who did hard labor in the fields, mines, etc, often while wearing chains to prevent them from running away or fighting back, and slept in separate shelters. Familia is a collective noun that referred to all of the house slaves long before it came to be extended to include any free persons also living in the household. (Incidentally, the normal Latin word for the children of the household literally means "Free Person," distinguishing a legal son from a Famulus who might very well be a bastard that the Pater Familias sired on a helpless slave girl and refused to recognize as his own.)

Starchilde

2y↑9

@Michael Blankenship man work sucks and a lot of kids nowadays see it for the meat grinder that it is, leave the 19 yr olds alone.

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Madness Overload

2y↑278

"There's not a single nation that embraces homosexuality and survives"

Yep, absolutely true. We all remember that terrible earthquake that destroyed the entire nation of The Netherlands in 2001, right after they made gay marriage legal. We should've listened to the warnings...

A-A Rohn

2y↑9

Like how my state sunk to the bottom of the sea when we legalized same sex marriages! 🧜‍♀️#theseaweedisalwaysgreener

Eleanors Fate

2y↑9

Let's not forget the tremors shortly after that wiped out most of Europe.

WE DIDN'T LISTEN!!

Leatherhide

2y↑18

Can confirm. I lived there and this is my dead spirit commenting.

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David

2y↑1.6K

Religious Conservatives: "Our religious freedoms are being taken away!"

Also Religious Conservatives: passes abortion restrictions and anti-LGBT legislation across several US states

Shimm Jr.’s Alt

Ones killing someone another living thing or baby as I would call it and the other is someone not being able to teach their kids the education they believe in stated in the first amendment

EC Welling

2y↑1

That is true.

Roondar

2y↑1

Rules for thee but not for me

Brian Barber

2y↑1

@dylan351321 yes, Christianity does have such moral values. Both good and bad.
Now let’s consider which ones, if any, we’re originated by the Christians, and which ones predated them, and how many of the ones they created, if there are any, aren’t moral evils.

Brian Barber

2y↑1

@Keni Rainseeker also ask them, how do you know the Bible is morally good?

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SleepinBelle

2y↑1.6K

As someone who grew up christian enough to be shown the first movie unironically, the thing that grosses me out the most is the treatment of islam in the movie. The fact that they brought back the muslim father to convert him to christianity is wild.

isaiah thomas

I remember seeing that movie in middle school and having had Muslim friends the presentation was one of the most obvious examples of the writer only knowing about Muslims from Fox News.

McChilde

@Genie #GlassLamp south Asia as well

McChilde

2y↑1

Treatment of islamic people* our concern shouldn't be the defense of a religion, but of it's people.

Tabula Rasa

2y↑1

@Brian Jankowski Chick Tracts left me scared of God for years... this all powerful, faceless, unknowable entity who seems to explicitly want to throw people into hell.

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Mary Williams

2y↑690

I still remember being a recent college grad, a VERY Christian College grad at that, and my family gathering to watch the original God's Not Dead. Everyone nodding sagely, "this what is really happening!" This is what happens when they don't allow God in schools. It was so... Weird... Intellectually dishonest... Self satisfying. Like a product of group think. It was weird.

Did you guys not remember that i led the school prayer group through middle school? I went to a Christian College, which is a thing you can do if you want an explicitly Christian education. Why are we pretending that we're being persecuted like this?

Pied Piper

I’m like 666. Lol

Milo Johnson

2y↑2

Any reason to act like bullies while simultaneously being the world's biggest crybabies.

Noah Bossier

Makes sense.

ErzengelDesLichtes

2y↑6

TheraminTrees explains it very well, I strongly suggest his youtube channel. Perceived Persecution is actually a part of the psychology of religion, it ensures that you don’t have anyone to turn to except your church, which allows them to control you.

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

@Therese Davis you say that like the former doesn't inform the latter.

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RazorBeak

2y↑127

The allegation that Haiti made a pact with the devil to overthrow the French is especially heinous, since Toussant Louverture was in fact a devout Catholic whose religion factored heavily in his drive to end slavery and free Haiti.

Garret LeBuis

2y↑18

Given Evangelical attitudes toward different flavors of Christianity, that's not an endorsement.

Khazer Mashkes

2y↑704

I have heard from many Jewish students who have been penalized for taking time off for Jewish holidays that do not permit writing, riding in a car or on public transportation, etc., despite trying to arrange it ahead of time. When my friend was a TA his department even tried to arrange the makeup test on Shabbat and did not allow an alternative time.

Somehow I have yet to hear from any Evangelical Christians about this affront to freedom of religion.

Noot newt

2y↑2

I had to fight to get a non Christian religious holiday off. Ridiculous.

Artist Anonymous

@Wilber Whateley lmaoooooo

Xenrus Xenomorph

2y↑1

@Adam Braun make sure the violin then gets a Nightcore remix for the real "I'm so sorry for your plight 😔 feeling"

WhenTheChipsAreDown

2y↑4

Yeup. My best friend when I was younger flunked a fitness test because it was Ramadan and yeah, that is going to limit the ability of a guy to run a mile at 2 PM since he hasn't had liquid all day

Wilber Whateley

2y↑2

I have a solution to this problem - why not just convert both the Jews and Evangelicals to the worship of a real deity like Cthulhu? Then there won’t be any more conflict between them as they will focus on a common goal: bringing the Sleeper in Darkness back into this world so humanity can be devoured!

It’s a win-win for everyone - this petty religious conflict is ended and mankind is destroyed in the end! Yay!

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Leroytirebiter

2y↑634

I went to a public high school and we had an entire elective class devoted to studying the Bible as a literary text, but sure, Christians are persecuted in America

RhianKristen

@🕊 Do Epic Shizzle! 💢 that’s disturbing

Cameron Mulder

2y↑1

I had a friend in High school that went crazy fundamentalist our senior year and he would make these claims about bibles being banned in public schools so then I had to show him that there were copies available in the library and that in my world history class we read the book of job, genesis, and a couple other books in the bible along with reading the Bhagavad Gita, Tao te ching, and a few others that I have forgotten by now. He just brushed it off saying that our school was different than others.

Paulo

@Falkor or Nothing Both were men

gamepro504

2y↑3

@🕊 Do Epic Shizzle! 💢 it stuns me how much people don’t see Reagen supporters as a cult

gamepro504

2y↑2

Same in college

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agentorange55

2y↑712

They fetishise being the victim, when in reality they have been in power and are losing it as society becomes more equal. Mitchell and Webb 'Are we the baddies?' is perfectly relevant here.

Sanjay Chhetri

2y↑1

@Chandler Burse They justified it, by saying they do not worship the idol, but actually giving respect to God through idols.

Nihil Ego

2y↑1

@Glenn Desmedt It's the horrible irony of Christianity; it was supposed to be a cult for a minority but became too widespread for its own good. What do you do when the religion of the majority follows holds martyrdom in high regard ?

Joe Magill

2y↑2

Typical fascist hypocrisy.

You must be both the strongest and the best, yet unbearably persecuted.

Your enemy must be weak but somehow able to control everything.

Kevin Cook

2y↑1

OMG I had never seen nor heard of this, and I just watched it and it's fucking hysterical. I bet I send that link to 40 people over the next month or two. Thank you, kindly :)

Kevin Davidson

Perfect comment. As someone who grew up with a very religious parent, I’m glad that I’ve recently started to walk away from religion a bit more seriously now. These are the end times they speak of because so much of their teaching needs indoctrination and hardcore faith in order to keep it stable and prevalent. The kind of reality we exist in now that is opposite of Christianity is even more common these days with social media and other ways we’re able to spread information.

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Kevin Davidson

2y↑34

Christians: we should be allowed to practice religious freedoms and pray anywhere, anytime!
Muslims: YEAH!
Christians: No. Not you guys.

Shroomer

2y↑5

Believe it or not had a great example about this. Christian cheerleaders want to pray on the field before every game in front of a crowd where people may or may not even be Christian? Court says they can. Muslim girls ask to use one small room so they can pray in private? No, cant do that cause no religion in school allowed.
It doesn’t make any sense.

MissAshley42

2y↑305

So, let me get this straight: In an attempt to set up the Muslim father character for conversion to Christianity, the film's writers have his daughter, who previously converted, get into a horrible car accident. And they didn't stop once to consider that rewarding her conversion by hurting her just to convert her father might make they and/or their deity look like assholes?

51stcenturygirl

@Halotaku Well that makes sense asChristian (and Abrahamic God in general has got many narcissistic traits. He doesn't behave like almighty deity, more like immature, emotionally crippled man.

Halotaku

2y↑1

You know, God seems more like the abuser in a toxic relationship than a deity I'd want to worship. According to these Evangelicals, He punishes us for not following His Word, yet the only carrot He seems to provide is "not being punished" and "you get to go to Heaven", which don't really feel like worthwhile rewards.

Rini

2y↑1

they will say "god works in mysterious ways" and leave lmao

Tiny Blue Unicorn

2y↑1

@Jacinda Ellison Director: Right guys, new script addition. We want this antagonist character to have a sudden change of heart and complete an emotional arc that would probably take years in real life but we need something to instigate it. Could you write that in?
Writers: Aggressive nodding Yep, no problem. We got it. Car crash. ✍️✍️

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Wolf Bronski

2y↑115

before a quiz or test someone would say "oh God" and my teacher would say "God can't help you now." It always made me laugh.

Zen Kim

2y↑4

Same! There's a music group called "Gooding" who released an album titled "Factory Blue" back in the 1990s -- on the back of the album cover was the ominous line "No God can save you now".

That line stuck w/ me & I've used it numerous times since then--

Some random Christian: Oh, God help us!

Me: No God can help you now.

Erin Bailey

2y↑488

“All Haitians came together and made a deal with the devil to get rid of the French” isn’t a take I was prepared to hear today 😂😂

Wilber Whateley

2y↑2

@MarkM And, to the Evangelical mind, that is “Satanic” - any religion other than theirs is “the devil’s work” by default.

r

@Kat Welham what lmao that math ain't mathing 😂so 100% voodo and 90% catholic thats out of 100% of the population whoever said that has got to have parents who are cousins

JAHCODe

2y↑2

The devil low key based ngl

Kat Welham

2y↑1

Sadly I've heard it before during my years as a Christian. I've also had heard Haiti described as 90% Catholic and 100% voodoo.

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Replicator Fifth

2y↑665

On a side note about Haiti. As Michael Brooks used to say “ the world has never stopped punishing Haiti from freeing itself” doesn’t help nature seems to never leave that little island alone long enough to rebuild.

stargirl3212

@canned pineapple it's because when Haiti was a French colony they basically wanted to turn the whole country into plantations and didn't allow the soil to be replenished naturally. now the soil has no nutrients for trees to grow :/

Jojo Mojo

@Quinntus79 France isnt blamed enough

Noah Bossier

2y↑1

@Maya Yamato yep

Noah Bossier

2y↑3

Also Haiti is an country that is majority Christian. Yet they still suffer because of the French being horrible to them.

1nown

2y↑5

@canned pineapple truly we will never know where 'new world' timber went, excuse me while I pilot this enormous wooden ship full of slaves, escorted by that 220ft long ship of the line

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William Leiserson

2y↑437

IMO it's as difficult for non-nationalist Christians to reach some of these people as it is for atheists. Someone who doesn't hit the nationalist or culture-war touchstones is immediately and deeply suspect. I got involved in a campus Christian organization as a grad student, and it became pretty clear pretty quickly that I didn't fit in. Certainly, some people were open, or even receptive to alternate perspectives on politics, economics, and culture... but they were typically international students. Not entirely surprising. I think American Christianity is quintessentially bourgeois religion. It serves the interests of capital. To challenge that is to challenge the core of the faith.

Phoenix

2y↑1

Kinda ironic that they allowed that to happen, considering the supposed roots of the religion. But then again, since most of our records of Christian persecution and martyrdom were written by or tampered with by Christian sources, it's hard to say whether the tradition started out quite as "underground" as they claim. You'd certainly never guess that the belief-system which led to Joel Osteen started out in crypts and catacombs.

isaiah thomas

Depending on where you are a non nationalist Christian is hardly even seen as Christian at best or a blasphemous heretic at worst.

Sugar m18

2y↑4

One time my friend and her Jewish friend decided to visit each other campus organizations just cause they wanted to. One of the leaders of the organization basically pulled her aside and his input boiled down to “hey, great that your bringing new people here, just never bring his kind here. People are uncomfortable with him around given the history of what the Jews did to Jesus.” Meanwhile no one pulled the Jewish kid aside at the Jewish organization.

LupineShadowOmega

2y↑7

@jane Patton Love your enemy as you would yourself, doesn't strike you as social justice? God is love? If a man would strike you turn the other cheek and let him strike that one as well? What so ever you do to the least of my brothers, so you do unto me?

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PerfectlyValid

2y↑433

I had a coworker who was a Christian nationalist, and the breakroom conversations with her were absolutely wild. It was interesting though, because whenever I asked her to apply her rhetoric to specific people (usually me or my kids) she would always back down immediately for like an hour, but then go right back to it.

PerfectlyValid

2y↑3

@sakor88 She’d say things like, “If you’re not Christian, then you’re not a real American,” or, “Kids should be forced to learn Christianity/pray to Jesus in public schools. That will fix what’s wrong with America!” And I would ask her if I was a real American, even though I wasn’t Christian, and if not, what was I? Or I would ask her if she thought that my kids should be forced to practice a religion that wasn’t theirs in a state-run school in a clear violation of first amendment rights.

She would always back down - "Well, I didn't mean you guys..." But a week later she’d be saying some variation of the same things and we’d have to have the conversation all over again. I eventually moved away but we were Facebook friends until she got mad at me for providing evidence that it was Trump supporters and not ANTIFA that tried to do a coup last year. Now I have no idea what she’s up to.

Koby Romigh

2y↑20

Lol she backed down because she probably knows in most circumstances, talking about people’s kids in that context would be fighting words.

Noah Bossier

2y↑1

Makes sense

SilverMKI

2y↑36

@sakor88 christian nationalist: "it should be illegal not to go to church!"

Coworker: "so you want to send me and my children to prison?"

CN: "... gotta work now bye"

sakor88

2y↑1

"It was interesting though, because whenever I asked her to apply her rhetoric to specific people (usually me or my kids)"

What does this mean?

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Ace Of Sharks

2y↑161

I can't get over "What happened here is a cause for celebration!" being said unironically after a man gets hit by a car and dies.

Ally kat

2y↑2

I think they were referring to him coming to Jesus and therefore getting a spot in heaven. I don't believe that only Christians go to heaven but hey that's what Christians believe.

S Queen

2y↑12

It’s honestly disturbing

S.G. Waller

2y↑13

That part used to make me furious. I was shaking mad with the idea that even as I lay dieing I'd be pestered to hurry up and agree with them.

Tiny Blue Unicorn

2y↑30

"He won't last long. There's blood filling his lungs!"
The people at the concert: 💃🕺🎉🎊

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Obi-Wan Pierogi

2y↑240

The funniest thing about the first movie is that in a real life philosophy “Gods is Dead” just means we as a species are moving past the need for religion as we advance. But the makers of the film can’t understand that so they take it literally. “ gods dead and we killed him” just means that we are moving past the need for religion as we become more socially and technologically advanced not that god exists and we killed him.

Jordan Klein

@Charlie Siebenspot on for the most part. Though I will say that “overman” is probably the best translation of “ubermensch.” It’s not necessarily about superiority although an overman is certainly better off than one who isn’t. The term comes from a metaphor for human existence. Nietzsche imagines existence as a tightrope between two towers. Below the rope is an endless pit of death (nihilism). All humans must walk the tight rope, but while most people try to get to the next tower (empty meaning provided by false “gods”), the overman is the one who carries the greatest weight upon his shoulders (knowledge that his fall is inevitable). Yet, despite this treacherous journey and this burden, the overman does not hurry to the next tower, as there would be nothing beyond it but another rope and tower. The overman remains on the right rope, he goes “back and forth” (this is the “over” part that indicates movement). In walking the tightrope honestly and repeatedly, the overman faces nihilism and creates meaning.

Sue Zuccati

@Heavens_Best1 nihilism in Nietzsche's work means a lack of a unifying purpose behind our existence. Most people mistakenly assume that when Nietzsche talks about nihilism, he's talking about the current use (no absolute moral frameworks), which he isn't.
I don't agree with a lot of Nietzsche's views anyways

Noah Bossier

Makes sense

Dqar Qeer

2y↑3

@Wesley I dont think positive nihilism necessarily implied hyper-individualism. I think thats more a result of isolation from late stage capitalism.

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Peter Tromp

2y↑151

Christofascism is perhaps the scariest form of fascism. We experienced it firsthand in South Africa, and it's not pleasant.

Jojo Mojo

2y↑1

@SirGrips lmao

Vox Omnes

2y↑4

@SirGrips No.

AreGeeBee #0470

2y↑4

@SirGrips okay bud

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GuamoKun

2y↑77

When your whole religion is based on “main character syndrome with a victim complex” you get the problems you described and man is it annoying.

Метастаз

2y↑2

Jerusalem syndrome but it's in burger-land and it's mostly hateful

repullsion

2y↑425

There's a church in my hometown that has a serious hardon for these movies - even has the phrase "God's Not Dead" on their led sign and screens them around major holidays. Imagine a secular version of these movies with the roles reversed - evangelicals would try to get them banned from viewing and distribution.

Phoenix

2y↑2

Heh, if only Nietzsche had lived long enough to see his ideas put to film.

God is dead. God remains dead. And we are the ones who have killed him.

Noah Bossier

2y↑4

That’s a good idea and a good documentary

ultimatetadpole

2y↑6

@Zeph Lodwick yeah they call people snowflakes and have an absolute meltdown when you point out that actually, many successful cultures have embraced homosexuallity.

Tetsu Deinonychus

2y↑2

@Gibb Charron Oh please let them do that.

Joye

2y↑4

@Gibb Charron As a member of TST, I would gladly fund this 😂

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Eric B

2y↑74

I'm a Pansexual Christian and I've come to accept that not only will I never see myself represented by Pure Flix, but it's likely the people at Pure Flix probably hate me and don't consider me a Christian in their evangelical little world.

They vote to actively take rights from my community and have the nerve to cry about being persecuted.

Deen

2y↑2

I'm bisexual, and I went to a fairly relaxed church, and I still distanced myself from it because I knew they wouldn't accept me

Fueled by Paint Water

2y↑9

Same here as a bi christian

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Calvin C.

2y↑101

Whenever they pull out this “Please forgive the harmful & inhumane indiscretions of this young man of the pure & innocent age of 25!” argument to defend slavery or the similarity lazy one of “We can’t judge those living in such a different time”, they should always be rebuffed with the reality that the adult, elderly & actual literal children & teenaged slaves at the exact same period knew good and well that their abuse & exploitation was wrong. You can literally read diaries & accounts from black slaves of varied ages & genders where they discuss their horrid treatment & desire for freedom & equality. How strange that the individuals who financially benefited from the generations of backbreaking slave labor, who weren’t classified as owned/property instead of human beings & weren’t forced to risk so much for generations to fight for that right to be human, who weren’t regularly whipped, brutalized and/or raped by their “owners”, & who weren’t victims of or forced to see loved ones lynched for insignificant & even outright made up indiscretions get to be the naïve waifs who had no idea that the inhumane institution they participated in & benefited immensely from was inhumane.

LupineShadowOmega

2y↑1

@wildcatste I mean we don't need states. England, the country, had banned slavery way before America ever got around to it. And England even went out of their way to enforce their ban on other nations that had not.

Quinn Marchese

2y↑1

i know its pretty wholly unrelated to the GND films, but i was really happy when Red Dead Redemption 2 came out and finally made the argument that no wholly immoral action is ok, regardless of the time period. Arthur Morgan canonically hates slave owners, racists, KKK members, and you should too. Even with a morality system that judges you for various actions, that system actually rewards you with "good" morality points if you remove these people from society.

wildcatste

2y↑14

this! Also - "it was a different time" completely ignores the fact that there were states that had banned slavery.

Tiger the Lion

2y↑268

The first time someone said to me that Christians were the most oppressed people on earth, I laughed out loud because I thought they were making an obvious joke. They were not, that became a very awkward conversation.

lol face_9

Indeed because how could they be when gamers are truly the most oppressed people

Tabula Rasa

2y↑4

Depending on the place... obviously, Christians in America are just fine, but theres still places like China, North Korea or parts of the Middle East that are in fact brutal towards Christians. (And most people if we're honest, but still) Cobservative Christians hear about the suffering of their brothers and sisters and somehow leap to the conclusion their own minor inconveniences are tge same as what the others go through, which is just immensely insulting to thise who have died for their beliefs.

Noah Bossier

2y↑1

@cam yeah. Bigotry at its “finest”.

Zachary H

2y↑8

From growing up in the culture, one thing I've found insanely annoying that I think is related is also the tendancy for Christians to like, expect content of anything to be within their comfort zones, and by comparison, anything outside of their comfort zone becomes everyone elses problem to mediate.
Lol this can be as simple as I've noticed family/friends being uncomfortable with people swearing, and will sit quietly and uptight when people do swear. Or maybe a coworker or two is talking about their weekend and what they did, and it's not stuff the christian would do so they just quietly sit there in an anxious tension until the topic moves on and changes. And a flipside too, of how Christians kind of poke-around-the-bushes in terms to gauge your own belief or just outright assume you do think the same way about all the same things and shit. Doesn't help how spoon-fed they are of how they're being oppressed in this way or that way, etc.
I feel like christians forget they were literally always going to die. They're narcissists who cannot help but always center the conversation on 'their walk with God,' their beliefs, or whatever the latest flavor of 'persecution' is. Meanwhile the world is being smashed to death by greed and Christianity is just one of the mediums co-opted by industry to justify it, haha. It's embarrassing to see.

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Vow Gallant

2y↑252

As a pagan, one time I was visibly (but quietly and for comedic effect) praying right before a biology exam. My professor, a Hindu, smiled as she gave me my test, and said something to the effect of "I remember having days like that." We both got a chuckle and no one went to jail. Then I, still in a good mood, looked to the guy next to me and jokingly asked which gods he was praying to. And that little shit said "To Jesus, the only real God." They want you to have the freedom to pray, but they get real snippy about whom you pray to.

Vow Gallant

@el komodos-drago I use the term "Pagan" as a general term. I am a polytheist, but I have no idea who the gods are or what they are like. I make no claim to any specific belief system outside of "whoever is out there and will listen."

Phoenix

2y↑2

"The only real god"

Those pesky atheists, excluding muh Jesus from the list of gods we've both decided it's absurd to believe in! How dare they add one more name to the hundreds-long list...

potaterjim

@Wilber Whateley But are you a Cthulu Ftaghn, or an ia Dagon kinda guy?

0g0mogos EPİK World

ok but really, which one were you praying for?

el komodos-drago

I can certainly sympathize with that.
Mind if I ask what kind of Pagan? Some people just use the term to mean Norse, but others include Wicca and Druidry.

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Mark Shaffer

2y↑46

Back in 1997 I walked out of a philosophy class and reported the instructor to the college because I was told that “there is no fundamental way an atheist will attain a passing grade in their class” on the first day of class. I never heard of any follow up by the school (I doubt there was any) but I was able to cancel the course with a full refund

Captain Andy

2y↑126

Yep. As the saying goes, when you’re accustomed to getting your own way all the time, justice can feel like oppression.

phat x

2y↑94

A workmate once argued that without the bible there would be no law. Hence trying to say even the moral values athiests follow are gotten from the bible. I told him joseph was in prison in egypt over rape allegations. Meaning rape by then was already a crime in ancient egypt. Waaaay before moses came along. He continued arguing.

William Eckerle

He does realize that they're other nations in places like Asia and Africa that have laws even through they don't have much Christianity in the country?

Phoenix

2y↑5

Your workmate needs to learn about the Code of Hammurabi

Wilber Whateley

2y↑4

Apparently he knows nothing about the peoples of the Far East - who never heard of the Judeo-Christian deity until recent centuries and yet created whole cultures and systems of ethics using a philosophical basis that is completely unrelated to their religious traditions…

Alexander Nash

2y↑19

It's one of the bread and butter apologetics.
1. Morality can only come from god
2. humans have morality
3. Therefore god exists.

Except they are missing the fact that statement #1 is just an assertion.

Zen Kim

2y↑11

It's tragically ridiculous when U study anthropology & discover that even primitive tribal societies have laws despite not having them written down or not having a written language -- because *tribal law pre-dates written law*. Meaning that our ancient ancestors had no problem grasping the concept or the value of a common code of conduct by which everyone in the group is governed & judged.

Hell, the Scripture itself is merely the end product of centuries of passing down the "Word of God" by word of mouth -- because the ancient (pre-) Judaic people were illiterate anyway. Their religious beliefs were entirely an oral tradition until writing was introduced to them long after the fact.

By that time, the ancient Chinese had already invented their own system of written language -- wonder how God fits in there....

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Tyrone Chillifoot

2y↑334

Black Christian films are way different than white centric one's its typical about us black people trying to use faith to persevere through deep hardships having hope of a god who'll carry us through hardship hence why slaves even after being freed would us churches as gathering spots political and community organization its why they played a major role on civil rights movements

Snack ler

@K C No, Leviticus was written in the context of prisoners of war (remember Israel is surrounded on all sides by enemies) and even then allows for said POWs to post an informal bail to then integrate into society or leave (exodus is indentured servitude; aka working off debt you owe to someone also)

Balu KawaiiRenekton

There are crazy movies there too: check out the war room.

Tabula Rasa

That just feels like such a breath of fresh air.

Noah Bossier

Intresting

Метастаз

2y↑1

@Chidera Alexander dex "the irony of that religion still keeping us down" not a bug, it's a feature

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yensid

2y↑102

The Founders wanted to avoid all things that could lead back to a monarchy ( the divine right of kings to rule) so deliberately avoided overtly religious speech in the Declaration, the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. There is a difference between being a Christian Nation & a nation made up of Christians. Besides, which sect of Christianity is the correct one? Europe had been torn apart by just such wars, I doubt the Founding Fathers wanted to start a new country with old prejudices & internal religious strife. That is what bothers me about modern Christian Nation proponents. They aren't being truthful at all since they have a very narrow set of beliefs & literal reading of the bible that not all Christians hold. Christian Nation is just another dog whistle.

Метастаз

"deliberately avoided overtly religious speech" haha are you for real

Simon Johansson

2y↑232

What I learned today: Thomas Jefferson was the oldest kid in human history..

Denise Dutton

2y↑1

Steve Buscemi is heartbroken y'all.

cam

...Up until their new favorite gets called out, and then there'll be an 80 year old "kid"

Quinntus79

2y↑23

Based on his feuds with Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, that’s not completely untrue. Hiring a journalist to call your political opponent a hermaphrodite is pretty childish.

Maggie McFly

2y↑12

Today I learned I'm still a kid 😂

Tristan Wiren

2y↑173

Whether its worship of the flag, national colors, politicians, the police, solidiers, or even the romanticized philosophy and history of the nation. Nationalism in all these forms is the religion of the Nation State

Kevin Davidson

2y↑1

That’s the one thing that frustrates me about American Christianity at times. When you say things like “God bless the USA” , “God given rights”, ”God bless our troops”, and even include Christian prayer breakfasts that our politicians get involved in just for looks creates this image to regular America citizens that this country is great because God deemed it so. Also, idk if it’s just me, but Christian nationalism especially these past 5+ years have really pushed me to my edge. I feel like it’s been the worst it’s ever been. Celebrating the 4th in church makes my eyes roll, but throwing in someone like Trump (regardless of your political views) who’s shown to be a terrible person just infuriates me.

matterhorn731

2y↑12

Agreed. I grew up Evangelical, with my parents working at an international school in Asia. We got to go "home" to the US in the summers, which means we got to see American Evangelical churches celebrating the 4th of July. It really skeeved me out to see such hardcore nationalism in a church setting. It's like they were worshipping America. That's basically syncretism, which Evangelicals typically condemn.

(I'm no longer Evangelical and take a less judgmental stance on syncretism, since it's kind of just one form of cultural blending. But IMO the syncretism of any religion with nationalism tends to bring out the worst aspects of both.)

(EDIT: Caveat that not all Evangelicals or Evangelical churches do this kind of syncretism. Some do deemphasize nationalism. But I worry that they are less common, especially now. Nuance and complexity are rarely as emotionally compelling as righteous anger over a binary "good vs. evil" narrative.)

Fat Cat

2y↑148

My highschool tries to dodge the 'no staff led prayer' rule at pep rallies and stuff by just having a student volunteer in the place of a staff member. It's obviously still unethical because this is something planned ahead of time by the staff to be done with a captive audience, but I'm the only one who seems to see past the surface-level technicality. I never want to hear that Christianity is 'banned from schools'. The rules are bare bones, and yet several schools still violate the principle of them with little consequence, and it's almost always Christians doing it.

phxcppdvlazi

@Vyl Bird This would be perfect for The Satanic Temple. It turns me stomach because I don't want a young student to make themselves the ire of their school, but any who did volunteer to lead a prayer for TST would be outstanding.

magister343

I'd argue that such public prayers are an example of Christians being persecuted, as Jesus was very clear in his opposition to public prayer. No genuine Christian would take part in that. Real Christians would only pray in private, as Christ commanded. True Christians would also have to refuse to swear any oaths, including the pledge of allegiance

Vyl Bird

2y↑28

Unethical perhaps. Questionably legal, certainly. The test is if they would let any student lead the prayer equally. If someone were to ask to take the place and pray to Allah, or even Satan, what are the chances of the school allowing it? I'm guessing pretty slim.

fish eye no miko

2y↑10

Do most graduations still have benedictions? Cuz there's another "captive audience" situation. d-:

Kiko

2y↑317

Damn just when I was thinking “I hope I didn’t miss the latest Renegade Cut video”. Thanks for all the content over the years.

Brenda Paduch

2y↑1

I was thinking “damn, I missed the latest God’s not dead movie” 😁

Ryan ONeal

2y↑11

Yea RC consistently putting out solid content

Ted Leimbach

2y↑30

I was raised southern baptist and escaped it as soon as I could. My memories are full of angry, petty, intolerant, racist people who loved to talk about who saw who doing what where and when while doing the same things themselves when they thought no one was watching. One of the deacons was also a teacher in my school and he swore at students during the week and talked about drinking beer while preaching to the congregation on Sunday. The preacher was relocated for an incident involving some underage converts. No one even checked his background when they hired him and put him in charge of the youth ministry.

Hypocrites.

Phoenix

Spot on. It's very awkward that almost every "Good Christian" I knew growing up was secretly watching pornography while still publicly decrying "Sexual immorality" and judging people for the exact same shit. But because of the doctrine of "Cheap grace" they could just confess that they had sinned and go back to doing it a few days or even hours later.

Michele Gardini

2y↑130

But it's true, christians are so oppressed, just ask Kenneth Copeland, how hard is for a good christian to have a private jet, it's such a pain and an humiliation.

Douglas Langley

2y↑5

@Window4503 and yet he has a massive flock, massive influence, and scores of defenders. Ya cant no true scotsman your war out of Copeland being a christian.

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A.J. Barton

2y↑178

Fantastic as always, Leon.

Christian Nationalists AND the Japanese Happy Science cult both (deliberately, IMO) misinterpreted Nietzsche's "God is dead" in almost the same ways. And both made garbage propaganda movies grifting on that misconstrued conceit, as a climactic call-to-arms to get further garbage nationalism into their respective public institutions of government! However, Happy Science only has the dubious honor that I'd watch THEIR awful propaganda movie, if I were drunk with my friends. White's work isn't even so-bad-it's-funny for me. I'm grateful for whatever luck there is that Christian Nationalists can't pull or fund animators quite the way they used to.

Will Higgins

2y↑137

I think we should made a parody of these movies.
I say we take the basic characters, keep as it mostly, but put them in situations that counter the movies’ narrative. Have a Christian girl be ‘concerned’ about her Muslim friend, and think shes forced to wear a hijab, but actually the Christian girl is a busy body is just infantilizes her friend, but is dumb struck to learn the girl’s parent aren’t abusive Middle Eastern caricatures, but fairly liberal Muslims so they don’t force their daughter to wear her Hijab.
Have a Duck Dynasty guy stand in totally sh*t the bed during a interview, and spend the movie trying to do damage control.
And of course, the main character is a religious boy who buts head with his atheist professor, but their debates are actually a exercise in philosophical debates the prof does every year with his new class. But the kid crosses a line and by digging up the death of the prof’s Mom, and accuses him of ‘hating god’ because of it.
It all collimates is the concert scene the (not Duck Dynasty guy tries to distract from his embarrassing PR by talking about issue at the University. But the Professor shows up and makes piece with his student, admitting to having crisis of faith when his Mom died, and is now contemplating a return to his religion, but here’s the twist, since he doesn’t die, and makes piece with his student, there is no reason to attack the university with a text message campaign.
It’s just a rough idea I muse about when the topic of these movies come up. I call it “God is (missing and presumed) dead.” A title that involves just as much understanding of the original Frederick Nietzsche quote as the original movie title.

Winged Tessarae

2y↑1

You'd love the righteous gemstones. It's a show on hbo abt the dysfunctional family of a megachurch pastor lol

Noah Bossier

2y↑3

Makes sense. It should be done to expose this. People who are religious like myself is seen as a joke because of this.

Метастаз

2y↑4

you guys need French atheist satire in your life

bull705

2y↑8

@michimatsch It was the third movie actually. The least successful of the movies because it's argument was more nuanced than the others.

michimatsch

2y↑39

@c. line official Big Joel made a video about this series and in one scene of the second movie iirc a white guy talks to the poc priest about how he feels persecuted and the priest just goes: "Brother, who do you think you are talking to?"
This should be the entire film direction.

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Tal

2y↑149

There's another movie that's pretty interesting, A Matter Of Faith, which was advertised as the Christian alternative to God's Not Dead 1. Let that sink in.
That movie is surreal because it doesn't give an exaggerated view of universities and treatment of Christians, but its still treated as oppression. The professor teaches evolution because its what is accepted as science both by himself and general consensus in his field, but it plays out like he is personally trying to destroy the faith of his students.

Rime in Retrograde

2y↑37

Oh ffs. I wish I was taught evolution in school. These Christian propaganda films are gonna make me jealous.🤣

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That Guy

2y↑96

"The Native Americans were merely the guests to the Christian Thanksgiving."

raises eyebrows

Excuse me, what?!

Balu KawaiiRenekton

2y↑8

Trail of tears was the native Americans crying due to joy from hearing the good word of Jesus ;)

Fueled by Paint Water

2y↑6

*Angry Creek Muskogee noises*

Метастаз

2y↑6

@michimatsch that South Park joke about Aliens being present at Thanksgiving has layers

David Jones

2y↑17

@michimatsch well the ones that survived the genocide, which is another great biblical tradition

michimatsch

2y↑31

Isn't it nice that the Americans let the indigenous people stay in the US?

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Madison McClellan

2y↑54

PureFlix's "God's Not Dead" franchise and Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" exist in the same cinematic universe

DK Anderson

2y↑3

God’s Not Dead is the prequel series but from the perspective of Gilead supporters

erin krizak

2y↑1

scalding take and you should say it

Julie Giroux

2y↑61

When Republicans 10 years ago began trying to convince me that Michelle Obama was a transvestite and her two children were conceived in Petri dishes, I left God and the Republican party in my rearview mirror.

Phoenix

@Under Satan I hadn't heard the "Children conceived in petri dishes" line but people on the christian right trying to insinuate that Michelle Obama was "mannish" was a very common thing in my circles growing up as well

Under Satan

2y↑7

Lol, that's a new one.

Sunflower Socialist

2y↑145

My 6th grade elementary school teacher had us read a passage from the book of Daniel while learning about the neo-Babylonians and it was all okay because it was in a historical context, trying to give us a better understanding of a period, etc. If he was making us pray after reading the passage, that wouldn't be allowed.
I would pray the rosary before I had big tests, and there was a Christian student group that met before school once a month to sing hymns and pray, and it was all okay. If all students had to pray before a test or join the Christian student group, that would be illegal.
This isn't hard to understand yet the Christian right still fails to comprehend this!

Jack DisPennett

2y↑4

We read sinners in the hands of an angry God (sermon by Jonathan Edwards) in 10th or 11th grade English class, but as a work of literature. Our teacher seemed to be a skeptic, and almost definitely wasn’t a practicing Christian.

Noah Bossier

2y↑1

Exactly. It’s insane and ridiculous

utubepunk

2y↑8

@unnamedenemy9 BINGO!

unnamedenemy9

2y↑35

It's motivated reasoning. They fail to understand because it's advantageous for them to do so. They wouldn't be able to claim they're the oppressed underdogs, instead of the domineering authoritarian bullies they are.

NewhamMatt

2y↑116

They made a FOURTH ONE!

I'm a Christian, and I believe some things should be allowed to stay dead.

Dr Diablo

@Jacinda Ellison well that actually makes more sense, and I really don't think that they had it in mind for Diana to be a Jesus figure, especially since Ares is not only her brother, but her grandfather on her mom's side.

Quinn Marchese

2y↑1

@Casual Skeleman Dune 1 specifically is just the messianic monomyth. its the sequels that criticize Paul's messianic complexes. sure you could still argue that he's set up to be the Fremen messiah by the Bene Gesserit, but the first novel plays it mostly straight (with some subtext) until the very end.

Fueled by Paint Water

2y↑4

Lol glad to see I'm not the only Christian who hates these movies with a passion.

Dipsee

2y↑2

@Jacinda Ellison woah, I thought dune was critical of religion. What truths did you find in dune? (EDIT, nevermind. I dont think you'll like the second movie, if its following the books)

Casual Skeleman

2y↑3

@Jacinda Ellison Without spoiling too much of the plot:
Paul is not a messiah, his prophecy being designed by the Bene Gesserit (the group his mother belongs to) for political purposes and he himself is a victim of that circumstance: this is not anything the story will ever tell you too explicitly as it’s subtext, but it will comment on what happens when people are lead (and galvanized to violent zealotry) by a false messiah.

I see what you mean, and I think you’ll enjoy when the second movie comes, and the warnings/messages it presents; also you’re absolutely correct that the movie is very Abrahamic in its inspirations!

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LuNarFox

2y↑107

Speaking of the volunteer work... When you hear some of the stories from those volunteers, a lot of them were VERY much taken advantage of and abused and worked unreasonable hours, (or just feel very pressured into it or else feeling like a bad person) many spending unreasonable amounts of their own money, or working for an organization or pastor who had ridiculous amounts of money, laundered money, etc. Like there's unfortunately a lot of both emotional/even physical types of abuse in volunteer organizations, but also a LOT of financial abuse, especially in Christian ones. (Not to mention all the weird "volunteer" work to convert people, and stories about not feeding children before they did their prayer or bible study in the morning, or making countries abroad more homophobic. There's some messed up SHIT out there.) Sure there is some good just straightforward positive volunteer work. But there's a lot that's just trying to convert people or that's a lot more insidious, that's harmful for the volunteers or the "targets" of the volunteering. Just...yeah.

Quinn Marchese

having "volunteered" to assist church members with random tasks, i can say that you're somewhat right. I grew up LDS, and most of the volunteer work we did was either food collections for donation or helping someone with yardwork. there were some who were genuinely happy to be of use to others, it can feel good to put in a good days work helping someone, but most of us were kinda dragged along as most volunteer work was performed by entire age groups. all the 14 year olds would be conscripted to resod someones yard or some crap and most of us wanted nothing to do with it. Almost everything we did was something a normal person would just pay to have someone do, but a lot of members took advantage of the fact that they could have a fleet of teenagers and a couple of adults come and do it entirely for free.

arowace

2y↑1

@THOR MEOW that's horrifying

THOR MEOW

2y↑17

Voluntourism. I dated a guy in college who went to Africa on some sort of mission trip with a doctor friend of his dad's and was telling me about all the procedures he did on the children they were "serving." He had zero medical training or accreditation and was telling me this as though I should be impressed. Ummm who can I report you to, not-even-a-doctor Dr. Mengele?

kallistiX1

2y↑45

Wow. Just wow. Just when I think this "series" of movies CANNOT possibly find new ways to disgust me, they trot out Isaiah Washington to defend slavery...I mean...It's like someone went out of their way to be as offensive as humanly possible.

Dino-MYT G A M I N G

Even Pucci would be kinda pissed at this.

Foxy Raccoon

2y↑21

When all you've known is privilege, equality feels like oppression.

Stoned Huntress

2y↑42

Can we also point out that the movie basically says that you HAVE to forgive and get back into contact with family who ABUSED YOU AND THREW YOU OUT just because they converted to your religion and are sorry? Cuz like...yikes...

Lindahl

2y↑11

'Oh, chiristianity is outlawed now! buhu!' Creationism literally being taught in science classes in many states

Cassius Dhami

2y↑166

A common misconception that is repeated in these movies is that Atheists think "God is dead", or want him dead.
A fictional character can't live or die.
🤷🏾‍♂️

Axel Verhelst

2y↑2

This reminds me of when a religious person asked me if I believed my brain exists because I can't see it as an argument for the holy spirit, I almost died laughing

Wilber Whateley

“God is dead” - perhaps the most quoted and least understood phrase in all philosophy.

Present Future

2y↑1

I still have a visceral reaction to the word and the concept. It's what's known psychologically as an 'introject.' A sort of introjected abusive parent that never stops making you feel worthless, helpless, and under a sort of inescapable compulsion, accepting toxic ideas presented as "love" that in reality are the diametric opposite. It's extremely insidious psychological abuse that causes lasting developmental trauma. In that sense I 'hate' the evangelicals' 'God.' Even when I believed fervently, prayed and read that horrible book every day, this horrendous 'parent' was never a source of love or comfort. The guilt and the shame, however, felt very real. It's ingenious to indoctrinate children this way, because you can really exploit the mind control later and tell them it's the Holy Spirit.

Philip

2y↑4

i wanted plenty of fictional character dead. gollum and sauron for instance. that doesnt mean i believe gandalf exists.

Cassius Dhami

2y↑12

Yes, @BloodyButterfly Gaming. Although I don't think this "movie" series knows that.

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Andrew S

2y↑38

Persecution is when society fails to grant you more rights than everyone else I guess.

Vyl Bird

2y↑13

Persecution is when the state takes away your right to persecute other people.

Golgotha_Mythos69

2y↑48

"In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own."
~Founding Father *Thomas Jefferson*, in a letter to Horatio Spofford, 1814

David Rivera

2y↑4

You don't understand, he was just a kid when he wrote that.

Noah Bossier

Makes sense.

Tor Segundo

2y↑15

I don't know why it took me this long to be led to this conclusion, but I was really really struck by the truth of what you pointed out about the moral exclusivity of conservative Christian Fundamentalism. The idea that they believe they have the absolute singular authority to dictate human behavior, thought, and development to the exclusion of literally any other person, entity, or institution that exists, did exist, or may ever exist is staggering arrogance. It completely explains their dogged persistence in insisting we all buy into that article of faith (a very accurate encapsulation of this fallacy) through the propaganda and exploiting the tolerance that freedom of religion actually entails. Good job just nailing it.

Michelle M

2y↑27

Whew imagine the sense of spiritual relief one must feel when Pat Robertson tells a little story about how Haiti freed themselves "from Napoleon the 3rd or whatever" by praying to the devil. Do not trouble yourselves with ponderings on why God would let such terrible things happen to the Haitian people, dear Christians. It is their own fault for bowing down to Satan, yasee, definitely a thing that happened and we are helpless to change.

Phoenix

If you really want your blood to boil, read up on the charismatic christian idea of "Generational curses" sometime. These people actually think that God punishes the great great grandchildren of people who displeased him over a century in the past. And that he's justified in doing so.

SebLeCaribou

2y↑16

As a french person, I'm glad someone finally talks about my favorite history lesson, about Napoleon The 3rd Orwhatever. It really helps put things in perspective.

Jonathan Cohen

2y↑44

My new favorite line is
Owning slaves is not a youthful and indiscretion and is not like spray painting a wall.
Christian nationalists can get out of the embarrassment of the founding fathers being slave holders, by being historically honest: Washington and Jefferson in fact were deists. But then Christian nationalists would be in a quandary; that the founding fathers were not Christian and America is not founded on fundamentalist Christian ideals, so America is not exclusively Christian. But they must have it both ways. Therefore the film explains the following: Jefferson was a devout and humble Christian AND was not really an evil racist. It was only a youthful indiscretion.

Zen Kim

2y↑2

American Evangelical Christians: Woke busybodies are trying to erase our great nation's history thru revisionism!

Also American Evangelical Christians: [tries continually to cover up embarrassing, uncomfortable facts about America's past via dishonest revisionism]

Me: Uhhh ... hypocrisy, much? Doesn't the Gospel of your precious Bible indicate that Jesus Christ Himself had a very dim view of hypocrites?

Oh, the irony!

Noah Bossier

Yeah. Exactly

cam

2y↑3

Let's be real, they're biding their time until it's once again acceptable to outright revel in owning other people. Christian slave owners had a million excuses why slavery was Christian; now their great-grandkids have a million excuses why they didn't know what they were doing. It's just a big kid beating up a little kid and saying "it was an accident, I didn't mean to" when the teacher notices; soon as the accountability is gone they'll go right back to it.

Vyl Bird

2y↑9

The other soution they have is to downplay the slavery. "Oh, yes, he owned some slaves. But he was really nice to them, not like some of those other slave owners, so it's no big deal. What was he supposed to do, pay them and run his plantation out of business?"

Portal Fitness by Larnce Hicks

2y↑35

They used to make us pray in my high school every day during announcements and right after the pledge of allegiance. Was a very conservative small town. They just called it a "moment of silence" but it was heavily heavily implied to be a prayer.

Диана

i had a class on "religions" my entire elementary school. It never occurred me that praying, writing a biblie verse everyday on our notebook and coloring jesus was definitively not ok, until I went off to a different school and realised all the time wasted they could have used to teach things high school would actually require us to know, like idk math? I'm still so pissed about it

Ridkey

2y↑1

They started the moment of silence after 9/11 at some point. Not a thing in my private Christian elementary school, but happened every day at my public school. I never thought it was supposed to be for prayer, it was always explained to me as a memorial for, well, 9/11. Which kinda makes me wonder why they'd be still doing it now...

CosmiCandy

2y↑2

Wait, the moment of silence is prayer time? I spent my whole school life thinking it's for those who lost thier lives in the american revolution or something since it's right after the pledge of allegiance.

Gemma Moon

2y↑20

One thing that stands out to me is that Christianity is declining a bit in the Americas and Western Europe, but Christianity is rapidly growing in Africa and Asia. Funny how they only care about the White Christian population declining but ignore the areas where Christianity is expanding🤔

Hallucigenia

2y↑9

"The natives were merely guests at the first Thanksgiving" I mean this is just heinous

Ben Wasserman

2y↑129

Not this piece of abominable crap “franchise” again. It’s literally an embarrassment to anyone who likes religion, Christianity, or just cinema in general.

Noah Bossier

Exactly

Noah Bossier

2y↑1

I hate this franchise. It’s religious extremism.

Tetsu Deinonychus

2y↑1

@RustyKn1ght I'm sure they'll get around to it in the next one.

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Marissa Hondros

2y↑14

the only thing that peeves me about this video is when they call Patrick Henry and "orthodox Christian". i know in this scenario it means something different, but to say "orthodox Christianity" when there is literally a large sect of christianity known as "Orthodox Christianity" it is confusing at best

Neo FromtheWarnerBrothersiconicfilmfranchiseTheMatr

2y↑39

Ah yes, finally a movie that's in no danger of being declared "too woke".

Tabula Rasa

Give them time...

Philip

2y↑4

if we stay in the context of sleepmetaphors for media then this movie is either sleep walking or comatose.

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Adaptive Manipulator

2y↑52

I was given nondenominational sex ed that still somehow told me I should be abstinent and given a mint with a package that said "Sex is MINT for marriage" and this was a public school

cam

2y↑1

@Vyl Bird *Christian, white, protestant, and rich, but not any specific brand

EternalDensity

2y↑1

Mint? Cos you have it after dinner?

Izzy Pang

2y↑10

I worked for years at a local rape crisis center and not myself, nor anyone before me had ever been successful at getting into the public school system to talk about healthy sex, relationships and consent. But local churches were able to go in and preach about abstinence.

Vyl Bird

2y↑7

@Stefanie Gray Nondemonational in government context usually means "Christian, but not any particular church."

Adaptive Manipulator

2y↑8

@Stefanie Gray I apologize, I hit auto input. It was 8th grade in America.

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Deetz

2y↑9

When I was in fifth grade I had a teacher who said 'In my class, we're going to start every day with God's word.' Wherein she would read a 5-minute passage out of a christian proverb book. In the beginning of the year she made the very gracious concession that 'I know some of you may have parents who don't want you to hear God's word. If that's the case then I can let you stand out in the hall while I read it.'

Of course I was only 10 years old at the time and was raised in the bible belt, so I didn't understand at the time that what she was doing was wrong and didn't think much of it. Come to think of it, I remember her abruptly stopping that practice after the first 2-3 months of the school year, maybe someone told on her for it.

heavenchai

2y↑22

In school I remember being told many times about Rome's founding myth, of Romulus and Remus. I wondered why we needed to be told this tale that was so obviously false, when we already have a more accurate understanding of the founding of Rome. Now I understand

Bobbun

2y↑49

I got various statements to the effect of "Isn't it wonderful God made it that way?" in a public high school biology class when I was a teenager. This was back in the 80's, so perhaps more tolerated than now, though still outside the law.

Vox Omnes

@Anton Vettefyr LMAO

Anton Vettefyr

2y↑2

Puts a carton of strawberries on the desk and starts eating loudly "Uhu. Yeah." munch munch "God."

Marco Cappelli

2y↑11

Bobbun
I wonder what they thought when they got to parasitic organisms.

Vyl Bird

2y↑17

"Look, see how God made all blood circulation dependant on a single heart, so even a brief disruption would lead to sudden death? Ohh, and these teeth are only rated for a thirty-year service life. Isn't God's design wonderful? Could maybe use some redundancy though."

Osric24

2y↑6

That feel when a left-tuber handles theological scholarship better than most Christians. I love how you don't detract from Biblical scholarship, but instead say "Here's where they stand and that's fine" while ripping fundamentalism and far-right shenanigans to shreds. Thank you for respecting our faith while recognizing the idiocy in its fringes.

William Eckerle

2y↑12

"26 year olds are just kids."

Me who is 26: Do kids go to work 5 times a week and pay car loans?

Brett Warren

2y↑34

Great video, thanks, man. Have you ever heard of the televangelist Jack Van Impe? He had a production company called Cloud Ten Pictures that made all these weird, x-filesy action-thrillers about the "end times". I think most people remember the Kirk Cameron 'Left Behind', but there's an untapped treasure trove with films like: 'Tribulation' starring Howie Mandel, Gary Busey and Margot Kidder. 'Revelation' starring Jeff Fahey. 'Judgement' starring Corbin Bernsen and Mr. T where God gets put on trial.
Really there's just an amazing sub genre of Evangelical apocalypse porn that I haven't really seen any youtube essayists or reviewers dissect yet.

Phoenix

Seth Andrews did a pretty good breakdown of several apocalypse porn movies form the '70s starting with A Distant Thunder. Man, those movies are bad! But the reviews scratch a particular itch that it sounds like you're looking for.

Noah Bossier

@Renegade Cut yeah it’s an insane movie You need to reveiew more of this stuff

Renegade Cut

2y↑13

Uh, yes, Brett. I am familiar with Left Behind and the end times. It is what I am most known for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRxN1DXmSdA

fish eye no miko

2y↑3

Diamanda Hagan Has reviewed all three "Left Behind" films and all four "Apocalypse" films (those films with Busey, Fahey, Bersen, etc, are in that series).

Corvus corax

2y↑22

My favorite line about tradition is that it's just peer pressure from dead people.

Also, I was excited to see a little cameo from Salvation Mountain in this video. I've been there, didn't get to meet the guy who painted it but it was a charming place.

Dipsee

2y↑1

@Метастаз tell that to conservatives on MLK day.

Метастаз

2y↑1

it's even worse when you realize that dead people can't defend themselves anyway

Cadenthecapybara

2y↑20

"26 is a kid!"
Oh shit cool I'm only 25, no jury duty for me

BlackSamurai

2y↑31

I should make a Parody of these movies

God's is Undead.
A vampire fundamentalist propoganda

Kat Welham

'But God hates fangs'?!

Rafael Neumann

Thats basically implied in True Blood.

Fueled by Paint Water

I'm not an actress, but sign me up. I wanna be a part of this

Justin Bremer

2y↑2

There was that Dracula cult in Castlevania

ᑌᗩTᑌ

2y↑7

“Oh my, yes! Sweet Zombie Jesus!”
~ Professor Farnsworth

Strange kid history and politics podcast

2y↑15

Pat robernson at 24:47 kinda just forgeting about the Ancient greeks, Romans, Ancient Chinease, Ancient egyptians, Anciect mesopotamian, Pre contact pacific islander, Pre contact/pre colonial Philippines. all of whom had either acceptance or at the very least tollerance of both gay and trans individuals and were easily as succseful if not moreso than the united states

Dial F for Film

2y↑84

My God, these movies never stop, do they?

Hope-Cat

2y↑1

Surprised it hasn't expanded into a TV series, cartoons, toys, and a book franchise by now.

Rafael Neumann

2y↑2

It is like the Atlas Shrugged movies. No matter how badly they are received or how much money they lose, there are always investors lining up to lose money for the next one.

Philip

2y↑3

2047: Gods not dead (6) but this franchise sure is

Stranglars1

2y↑1

@FeistyGheisty Logic be damned...

FeistyGheisty

The battle against anti Christian sentiment must continue!!!!

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MOON _ FACTOR

2y↑5

Its the self delusion and slavery apologetics for me 🤷🏼‍♀️
🖤💜💙💚💙💜🖤
Thanks for putting together this wonderful video. I would neverput myself through a GND movie, but would watch 11 hours of content you made about it. So informative. I love your lessons in argumentation, logic, philosophy... its just a whole treat!!!
Much love!!

Quavon Blume

2y↑18

The natives were guest in their own country?

estoy setoy

2y↑3

and sometimes they got blankets as present for the guest.

Nervous Breakdown

2y↑10

Reminder that if a Muslim teacher lead their students in prayer, white Evangelicals would probably start a riot

Zalanii

2y↑8

I literally went to a Catholic school and it wasn't anywhere near as religious as evangelicals want schools to be. We had science classes, and discussed other religions as part of the religious curriculum, and our chaplin was always very kind and understanding to atheist kids in school including me at the time.

Elegant Oddity

2y↑37

I think this can be most cleanly summarized as "When you're used to privilege, equality feels like oppression". And that's certainly the case here, given Christianity's general dominance in the U.S. over the centuries. It's being forced to sit with the other kids and is getting less and less special treatment.

Christianity is, at its core, incompatible with the ideals of acceptance, democracy, and free thought. When your worldview says law is good, chaotic good does not compute. There is only what God says, which is moral and true, and anything else, which is false and wrong and only touted by the stupid and/or evil. Any deviation from "the way" is unacceptable, and if it plays by any rules it's only until it can establish dominance, if not killing dissenters than at least totally ostracizing them. It doesn't believe in choice; it is explicitly a religion about following one being who rules with total authority and who is completely in his right to genocide, annihilate, and torture for any act of disobedience.

The golden age evangelists long for isn't a time when anything was better persay, but when there was a public consensus on what "better" was. Their way. And they work backwards from their conclusion, all problems are a result of not enough Jesus, to whatever problem they find. Any success must be due to their specific interpretation of "Judeo-Christian Morality". There's no way to prove this, no evidence, it's just assumed. Taken on faith. Because it is a faith-based position. The Bible might be written, but the story continues, and in their eyes (like with most people), they're the protagonists. It's just that most people don't assume as fact that they're part of a chosen one story.

Zeff T. F

2y↑9

This series of films is basically the christian right collectively going "God's not dead! He's not! Nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh!"

Nerd of Theatre

2y↑27

3:20 This reminds me when Kentucky schools were forced to display "In God We Trust" in their schools. I remember reading that and feeling icky about the whole thing

Cat Hollis

2y↑26

Sitting here sipping my coffee, turns out I'm about to get the tea! Love these videos.

sandor istar

2y↑8

It is tiring to see the people who try to force their beliefs and life style to others complaining of being persecuted.

David Landeros

2y↑8

Me and my gf paid to watch the first one in the theaters unironically cause we had no idea what it was we just saw the title and thought it would be an Interesting movie and holy fuck was it hilarious I could hardly home myself back from laughing

Steve Richardson

2y↑7

Wow, they really got "drunk Long Island mom" Judge Jenine Pirro to act in one of these. Certainly a step up from "hardened prisoner" Steve Baldwin

Janito Bomnito

2y↑9

I wasn't aware of this particular entry in the God's Not Dead canon but the part where they justify the signing of the Declaration because they were just a bunch of misguided and naive 30 year old 'kids' made me audibly laugh.

Simon Hadley

2y↑65

David A.R. White is a typical self inserting bad writer.

Page

@Antoinette Herrera A self insert does not neccessarily have to be a Gary/Mary Stu.

R G S

2y↑20

and a bad actor! he's a double-threat!

Arek Hautaluoma

2y↑20

Very interesting to hear a cohesive Chris Hedges quote - I think he can be quite contradictory. I've also heard him defend 'Christian Values' in debates. He also very conspicuously avoids the fact that he wrote about debunked 'terrorist training' in Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion, but harps on about others 'flipping' on Iraq or supporting the invasion.

Phoenix

He also champions "Sexual freedom" while decrying any BDSM practice as immoral because he personally doesn't like it.

I agree with the dude on a lot of things, but he definitely has some contradictory beliefs.

PiratesOfTheDeepWeb

2y↑13

The fact that this is a quadrology is proof enough for me that there is no god. If God can see everything and is forced to watch 4 of these, God would have Robloxed himself by now.

Casey Barnes

2y↑7

The "G-N-D cinematic universe" line made me have an involuntary chuckle.

Tom Wonderbread

2y↑3

I only ever watch the first GND movie with my ex’s very Christian family. I rolled my eyes constantly at the obvious propaganda I was watching. They thought it would convert me, it only scared me away more. My parents raised me in a non-religious household and gave me the choice of what I wanted to follow. I believe in god, but refuse to follow any religion.

Z Zamorano

2y↑3

The Prosperity Gospel is actually the most alarming thing after looking up on it, I heard about this on a video talking about the movie Fireproof. Can anyone tell me how did an "Christian"-base ideology like this came to exist? My guess is it came from America's class- obsessed culture or middle/upper class anxieties and insecurities.

Kenny Holmes

2y↑4

As a "none of the above" individual when it comes to religion (I am spiritual, I just don't follow a major organized religion), I believe the phrase "No prayer in school" means "Do not force religion upon those who are in an educational facility to learn."