In a seemingly unrelated subplot - stay past the closing credits for an explanation - returning character Reverend Dave (producer David A. She engages the services of defense lawyer Tom Endler ( Jesse Metcalfe, “Desperate Housewives”), while the prosecution (heavily implied to be from the American Civil Liberties Union) arrives in the form of character actor Ray Wise (“Twin Peaks”), a man whose face can turn demonic with the barest of smiles. Here, it becomes a referendum on the existence of God, and the public use of the name “Jesus.”Īlso Read: 'God's Not Dead 2' Set to Keep Faith-Based Caravan Rolling at Box Office Appropriate from a pedagogic standpoint, in a real classroom this statement of historical fact wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. and Gandhi, explains to students the Christian underpinnings of King’s philosophy of non-violence, and faces the loss of her job for doing so. Arkansas high school teacher Grace Wesley ( Melissa Joan Hart, “Melissa & Joey”), in the course of a lesson about Dr. The sequel, though, attaches itself to a very real American political phenomenon, the upsurge in the number of states considering or passing religious liberty bills into law. Chick, its variations refresh themselves over time, yet have no basis in fact. A decades-old story circulated around the internet, and, before that, in sermons and religious comic tracts from legendary publisher Jack T. That 2014 release reworked, to pointed effect, an urban legend centered on a Christian college student triumphing in a debate over the existence of God with an atheist philosophy professor. See Video: Melissa Joan Hart Fights Big, Bad ACLU in Trailer for 'God's Not Dead 2' This is the world of the “God’s Not Dead” franchise. The films made and seen primarily by Christian audiences, however, are much more likely to embrace the coded, often politically charged language of conservative Evangelicals. They resist easy answers and, while assertively Christian, do not proselytize. The films designed for a mass audience are quieter, more personal and less aggressive.
Its success in the multiplex is represented by mainstream fare such as “Heaven is for Real” and “Miracles from Heaven,” yet it was jump-started by rough-hewn, cheaply made, independent releases such as “Fireproof,” and turned into a head-turning business concern by the box-office fire of “God’s Not Dead” and “War Room.”īeyond the differences in production values and competency in execution, the two product streams represent a crucial contrast in tone. The American Christian filmmaking industry currently runs on parallel tracks.