Evangelizing Atheism: Missing the Mark in Recent Christian Film

In Denying and Disclosing God: The Ambiguous Progress of Modern Atheism, Michael Buckley argues that over the course of history, when Christianity has relied too heavily on scientific evidence as a warrant for the existence of God, the outcome is often an increase in atheism rather than the unshakable faith that Broocks is seeking.8 The way science is embraced by God's Not Dead mirrors the historical pattern identified by Buckley in Denying and Disclosing God in which Christianity is unintentionally undermined by the same people who try to strengthen it. [...]this film portrays suffering in a way that leaves room for the presence of God in the midst of suffering instead of articulating a theology that turns God into the enemy of humanity by making God responsible for suffering. How to Become an Atheist: A Historical Model Despite the prevalence of religiosity in contemporary America (nearly 71% still profess faith in Christianity according to the Pew Research Center), 22.8% of Americans claim no religious affiliation.10 This represents a dramatic shift from the near universal acceptance of Christianity throughout the development of Modern America. Newton claimed that the universality of his mechanics provided a foundation not only for mathematics but also for religious belief.19 With this foundation, belief in God was argued using the scientific method by which evidence for God's existence was supplied from the observable world.20 As a result, religion in parts of Europe and America moved from being a matter of faith found in the presence of God as encountered in history21 to a set of philosophical precepts inferred through scientific reasoning.22 It is in this embrace of science as proof of the existence of God that Buckley identifies a historical pattern in which atheism emerged from the very philosophy that was constructed to oppose atheism in the first place.23 While this pattern is by no means a certainty, Buckley suggests that it has reoccurred enough times to warrant a more detailed examination.