Authentic Christian Struggles and the God Who Takes Care of Them
What a privilege to watch God's Not Dead - A Light in Darkness. I recently re-watched the first movie in the God's Not Dead series and I was struck by gratefulness for the fact that we can have quality Christian movies in the mainstream market like this.
A Light in Darkness delivered what I've come to expect from the God's Not Dead movies. Quality filmography, sharp acting, mutli-faceted storylines, and a satisfying conclusion that gets me thinking about my faith.
This movie takes off running, with Pastor Dave in prison (picking up from the previous movie). From there, the main incident unfolds--the on-campus church, St. James, is burned down. This tragedy is enough to make anyone grow disillusioned, but Hadleigh University pushes it even further by removing the congregation from campus altogether. The main crux of the film is how Christians should respond to this issue and still be a light to others. Some interesting sideline stories also add to the plot--a student questions her faith; Pastor Dave's atheist, estranged brother ends up defending in court.
Something I appreciated in this film was its vulnerability. Where the first film sometimes frustrated me with its more shallow "black-and-white" version of life events, this film had a lot of grey area. We see a very human Pastor Dave that we can actually sympathize with. We see someone struggling in their faith. We see someone making mistakes and finding forgiveness.
This got me thinking--we've all had to ask God "why" and "what's next." What the film points to is God's faithfulness in all sorts of trials and His ability to fashion something good out of them. And it's worth watching something that provokes that sort of thinking.
DVD has been provided courtesy of Pure Flix and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
A Light in Darkness delivered what I've come to expect from the God's Not Dead movies. Quality filmography, sharp acting, mutli-faceted storylines, and a satisfying conclusion that gets me thinking about my faith.
This movie takes off running, with Pastor Dave in prison (picking up from the previous movie). From there, the main incident unfolds--the on-campus church, St. James, is burned down. This tragedy is enough to make anyone grow disillusioned, but Hadleigh University pushes it even further by removing the congregation from campus altogether. The main crux of the film is how Christians should respond to this issue and still be a light to others. Some interesting sideline stories also add to the plot--a student questions her faith; Pastor Dave's atheist, estranged brother ends up defending in court.Something I appreciated in this film was its vulnerability. Where the first film sometimes frustrated me with its more shallow "black-and-white" version of life events, this film had a lot of grey area. We see a very human Pastor Dave that we can actually sympathize with. We see someone struggling in their faith. We see someone making mistakes and finding forgiveness.
This got me thinking--we've all had to ask God "why" and "what's next." What the film points to is God's faithfulness in all sorts of trials and His ability to fashion something good out of them. And it's worth watching something that provokes that sort of thinking.
DVD has been provided courtesy of Pure Flix and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
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