God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness

God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness

Starring David A.R. White, John Corbett, Samantha Boscarino, Mike C. Manning

Directed by Michael Mason

The Story:
After being arrested for not providing transcripts of his sermons, Reverend Dave Hill (David A.R. White) gets out of prison in time to discover that the university his church sits on wants to destroy it because they see it as a detraction for potential students.  When someone throws a brick in the church window and inadvertently turns on a gas main, the church explodes, and one of Dave's pastors dies in the flames.

Dave enlists the help of his lawyer brother Pearce (John Corbett) to combat the university's decision to demolish the church, leading the entire small town in an uproar and pitting them against each other, while Keaton (Samantha Boscarino) - a once devout Christian - questions her faith in both God and those who are called Christians, especially after learning her boyfriend Adam (Mike C. Manning) caused the fire in the first place.

The Synopsis:
"God's Not Dead" was released in 2014, and earned over $60 million dollars - a bonafide hit for the Christian community.  The film stood out because it wasn't another Jesus-centric film, or one that hyped the rapture and end times, or a film centering on a certain famous person who has a coming-to-Jesus moment, but rather it was a well-thought-out, performed film about the struggles people face in regards to God's existence.  It was more than just pandering to the lowest common denominator - it chose to ask the important questions most Christians even are too afraid to ask.

Then there's "God's Not Dead 2."  I guess the producers have to come out every other year or so to announce to the world that God is still not dead.  I'm sure if God dies, it would probably be broadcast over the news, so they really don't have to waste their time and ours to announce that - it's like announcing every day that the sun has risen.

Still, as it is with pretty much any film franchise, there has to be a turd...I mean third...no, wait, it could go either way in this case...film to round it all out, and that's what "A Light in Darkness" does - thankfully, it puts us out of our collective misery to have to endure another "God's Not Dead" film (until, of course, the fourth film - I'm calling the title to be "God's Not Dead: Resurrection" already) in which the Christians are seen as meek, innocent, holy people going against an army of heretics, harlots, and heathens.

To prove this is the final film and to bring it full circle, it not only brings back the hero from the first film (Shane Harper's Josh, in a glorified cameo who only exists here to give platitudes and try to placate to Liberals by saying Jesus was the ultimate social justice warrior), but it brings the background character from the first two front-and-center in a tale of church versus state, or I guess eminent domain.  For this tale, the university wants to get rid of the church that's existed on its property long before it was there, because they see it as an eyesore for prospective students, a way that doesn't include all religions on the campus.

Dave - who was arrested at the end of "God's Not Dead 2" for not providing transcripts of his sermons (we don't really know why he refused, or why anyone even needed them) - is released at the start of the film, proving absolutely no point to that subplot whatsoever.  Upon release, he learns that the university wants to get rid of his church, and he's not about to go down without a fight.  Unfortunately, the fight comes to him first, when someone throws a brick in his church and causes a gas leak, resulting in the church exploding and a man dying.

We are then taken back in time - because a film like this has to be hip and modern and tell more than one story at a time - to Keaton, a girl who's been a Christian forever but is now having a crisis of faith for some reason (again, as it is with a lot of events here, we don't really know why).  Her boyfriend Adam is less than helpful, not believing in God himself due to serious family issues growing up, and we find a struggle in their relationship.  Keaton breaks up with Adam to do some serious soul searching, and Adam sends a soul to heaven by throwing a brick in aforementioned church.  While this subplot is heartfelt and the most real aspect of the film, it doesn't offer much in the way of flushed out characters or even giving us a reason to care about either one of them.

Back to the A-story, the university wants to get rid of the church, and Dave is sick and tired of doing the "Christian thing" and just laying down (or is it lying down?  I can never tell) without a fight, so he brings in his lawyer brother from Chicago (the one we've never heard of before, despite seeing Dave in the two previous films) to combat the case.  Pierce - Dave's brother - used to be a devout Christian but fell away (again, never really know why) and takes Dave's case because he's his little brother.

As the case intensifies, both sides turn to the media to get their case out in the open.  We're gifted to several news programs where the commentators give back-and-forth diatribes as to why each side is right, while the entire town gets sent into an uproar.  It's Christians versus Heathens, and this time only one will come out alive!  Or, you know, love could always win out.  Either way.

What this film does right (yes, it does do one thing right, albeit in a totally wrong way) is expose the problems with fundamental radicalism.  Today, we as Americans are more divided than ever, with people on both extreme ends of the political spectrum basically at war with each other, while us - the quiet center - become collateral damage.  When we scream at each other, we never really listen, and when we hold our political values closer to us than love, then we're of no use in the world.  We need to come together as Americans and find solutions to problems in today's society, but as it is, we end up just warring with each other.

Actually, there's two things this film does right - it also raises the important question asked by many people in today's society.  While talking with the esteemed Reverend, Keaton says "the whole world knows what the world is against, but it's getting harder and harder to know what it's for."  The church is seen as a close-minded, LBGTQ hating, racist, misogynist, Trump-loving society that only welcomes the older, richer, whiter people while shunning those on the outskirts.  While this is true in certain churches, it's a broad stroke to paint the entire religion in this light.  Still, when the screaming coming from the Christians are about what they're against, it's easy to understand why people don't know what they're for.  Year after year, church attendance is down, and those under the age of 40 are leaving the church in record numbers, mostly because the church itself seems archaic and dated, not offering the real solution that people are looking for.

So what is the church for?  The church is supposed to be preaching the love of Jesus, how Jesus came and died for our sins and was resurrected to show the true power of God, and teach love, forgiveness, and all that good stuff.  You'd think this would be a welcoming idea in a world filled with hate, malice, and distrust, but that's not the case because the public voices of the church seem so dead-set on revealing the sins of the people that no one wants to go to a place where they feel they will be judged.  Unfortunately, "A Light in Darkness" doesn't really resolve this issue, although it tries (albeit barely) to do so.  It just serves as another Christian propaganda film in a society where no one wants to hear it anymore.

The Summary:
Instead of focusing on the important questions facing Christianity today, "A Light in Darkness" continues the trend to pandering to its Christian base without opening up its doors to those who really need to hear the true message of the Bible.

The Score: D+