Great Review by Someone Who actually saw the film

Yeah, I quite liked the movie Sid and Nancy, but I don't much care for The Sex Pistols. Should I in order to like or dislike or comment on that movie (in a forum where people go to leave comments, no less)? Similarly with The Doors. I dig some of their music, didn't care for the film. Didn't feel the need to defend it in such a way as to tell those who liked it that they were close-minded or that they don't get the music or somehow aren't music lovers because their taste is so audacious as to think The Doors suck.

As for close-minded atheists, I am the latter, not the former by any stretch. Close-minded people (atheists or otherwise), I would think, would blindly praise something because it caters to their faith and would likely steer clear of a film that pandered to another religious view, no matter how well-made the film. How well would Allah's Not Dead or L. Ron Hubbard's Not Dead sit with Christians?

As for close-minded atheists, you should head on over to the thread for The Unbelievers and watch the atheists, many of whom are huge fans of the film's subjects, bash the horribly made film, one member who even created a thread to apologize on behalf of atheists because it was so poorly made. They didn't feel the need to like it JUST because it featured two prominent atheists as its subjects. What I did see, however, were many religious folks decrying the film because they claim that Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss (PhD scientists in their respective fields, both of them peer-reviewed and published) are wrong about evolution and cosmology. Some of the posts were highly insulting to science, scientists, and education in general, and anyone who champions for anti-education or anti-intellectualism, in my opinion, deserves to be ridiculed back to the age of un-enlightenment from whence they came. And that's not an attack on anyone's personal beliefs. That's a criticism of non-scientists, non-scientific people telling people who have dedicated their lives to peer-reviewed research that they are wrong and that all their hard work and research is based on something that is "just a theory."

God's Not Dead, for instance, or that film with Eric Estrada where the newly formed Christian club gets bullied by the secularists, were insults because they may have made Christians who might be considering college think that it's a waste of time because the anti-Christian snobs running the place will insult them and bully them and fail them for their beliefs. They may especially believe this when they see the flocks of people, loved ones in many cases, cheering for such garbage and somehow finding it to be realistic and inspiring when it does nothing but promote ignorance. Anyone who attempts to make people feel unwelcome to criticize, even ridicule garbage like God's Not Dead or even this film, are dishonest and hypocritical because responding to an atheist, even to passively aggressively assure them that their tortured souls are being prayed for to the deity that they don't believe in (and often find repulsive), is quite a bit more insulting than someone commenting on a crappy film that they didn't like. Not saying that this particular thread contained any of that, but it's quite common.

I thought this film looked alright. I liked a movie called Bella that many people called propagandist garbage (many of whom were Christian). The acting was good, the story a bit darker and more adult-themed, as this one appears to be. However, if it cannot stand on its own merits or has bad acting or writing, there's no reason that anyone, atheist or otherwise, should feel that they don't belong in this forum simply because it's a Christian movie for Christians and should only be discussed and praised (not criticized, of course) by Christians. That is actually a perfect example of close-mindedness, yet the atheist, who usually welcomes a good debate, is accused of being narrow-minded. Skepticism, a trait which led many atheists to their choice, requires a very, very open mind. Not believing in someone's god of choice does not make a person close-minded but rather unsatisfied as to the evidence of that god (or any other). Would any Muslim who claims to have iron-clad, sufficient evidence of Allah's existence be taken seriously by any Christian? Would said Muslim be welcomed to give speeches in Christian churches and present his/her evidence to children of Christians? I'll assume pretty fairly that the answer is no in most cases. But isn't that what being open-minded is about? Atheists have listened to that Muslim, to that Hindu, to that Christian, and never found their evidence to be nearly compelling enough to hinge a belief on. Until actual evidence, as we have come to understand and accept the word, is presented, skepticism should be the default position of anyone who claims to be open-minded, and that includes skepticism within one's own religion, not just that of others.

And I'm not the guy who "won't go after Muslims because he's afraid" as I've heard said many times before. Here's the thing: Muslims are not on the news whining about persecution because someone complained about a public nativity scene. Muslims do not usually make headlines because there is a War On Christmas. Muslims do not go door to door bothering me with "the truth" or "the good news" (which is that Jesus is coming to take them away soon and leave behind those who do not believe to suffer on earth and then in hell...great news, that). There isn't a mosque on every other street corner where flocks of children are lied to about the laws of nature and the conditions of morality (though Islam is also wrong about these things, they are fewer, here in the States anyhow). I'm not defending Islam because it's just as full of BS, as is every other religion, in my opinion. However, I would defend a Muslim's right to be such just as much as a Christian's right to be a Christian, not matter how horrible or unfair the news media makes either side out to be (though Christians don't tend to have a problem there, another reason atheists tend not to criticize Islam so much...the Christians in the news media do it for them, a la Hannity, O'Reilly, Beck, etc.).

This movie can suck, and Christianity can still be your religion of choice. That's quite alright. Don't be offended by atheists or even other Christians who think it sucks, as I'm sure there will be plenty because, Christian or not, there are people who are honest in their own opinions. There are trolls who come here to pick fights, there are Christian trolls who do the same. The best way to avoid them is not respond, especially if your response sounds as though you're offended and angered by them. You're giving them what they want. Do not feed the trolls if you are easily offended or find the need to defend a poorly-made movie that represents your religion. It makes you look weak and vulnerable of mind, and to anyone looking to obliterate a belief system into obscurity, that's exactly the spot to hit. Always remember this: no matter where you go, what you call faith, others will call a fairy tale. What you call an attack, others will call a persecution complex, and what you call a good movie, others will say is a bunch of pandering $hit. Just be prepared to defend your opinion without coming off as though it were fact.

You should just enjoy it anyway. That's pretty sad to me.