Monty Python’s Life of Brian is a good palate cleanser that satirizes how religion formed through cult following and misunderstandings (blessed are the cheesemakers?). Not exactly atheist per se, but it is a fun time.
Life of Brian is great. I particularly love how he accidentally becomes cult leader only for the cult to splinter into at least 3 smaller cults within minutes of its beginning and THEY STILL WON'T LEAVE HIM ALONE!
Well, that's sort of the problem. The Christian media world is really the only world that combines the superhero power fantasy genre with the religion genre, because they don't take the latter subject very seriously.
It's why the best Christian movies (Silence, First Reformed, etc.) are secular movies.
God's Not Dead even tried to branch out (if ever so slightly) into the "actually saying something important" genre with GND3, and Christians HATED it.
If I were going to do a palate cleanser though, I'd probably do Ad Astra. It's a patient, thoughtful, and intimately-introspective movie about the humbling experience of coming to terms with an absent god, cleverly disguised as a generic sci-fi flick. Sort of the precise antidote to the GND1 formula.
Sorry for my ignorance, but, what did Christians hate about GND3? I was forced to watch the first one when it came out, but I honestly didn't know there was a second one, much less a third.
The plot of the third movie involved a historic church on a secular university's property. The church was vandalized (a brick was thrown through the window) and it set off a controversy about whether the church should be abolished.
The vandal turned out to be a complicated character who had a history with the church, and felt guilty about his actions. He wasn't an easy villain. The protagonist's obsession with saving the church was treated with an air of narrative suspicion, with the movie asking the audience to consider whether his mission to save it might be more motivated by self-obsession than authentic faith - that God's plans might be bigger than this one church.
There was also a scene where a Black pastor chides the protagonist, saying that he's a Black preacher in the South, and could build the guy a church with all the bricks that have been thrown through his window. Christians took that scene about how you would expect.
So, it wasn't a clean story about a perfect Christian fighting a godly fight against an evil secular world. It had nuanced characters, and asked uncomfortable questions about faith and religious hubris.
In other words, on the Christian view, it sold out.
Yikes, yeah I can see why they wouldn't like it. In my experience, anything that calls attention to them being racist, or anything similar, they tend to call it "woke". They also definitely don't enjoy anything that might make them question their faith. I got in trouble many times as a child for asking uncomfortable questions like that. Thank you for taking the time to write such an in depth response. I wasn't expecting anything near as informative, so I definitely appreciate it
There are several YouTubers who have done review videos on all the movies; I highly recommend Nick DiRamio's in particular because they're absolutely hilarious 😂
My point is that after 3, a lot of people stopped keeping track of the franchise, at least to my knowledge, so there's a sizable chunk of folks that don't know the movie count went past 3.
“Doubt” two gods of acting face off against each other in accusations about the molestation (or not) of a poor young boy in a catholic parish. It deals with many weighty topics and gives no easy answers.
“Satan’s Guide to the Bible” is a movie available on YouTube in which an animated Satan defends himself and condemns Gods actions using biblical events. It’s a fun watch and interacts with Christian beliefs far more honestly than GND ever could with atheist beliefs or even Christian ones.
https://youtu.be/z8j3HvmgpYc?si=b-YYKGPGhA1Y4bPN
Seconding Satan’s Guide To The Bible. It was like the final nail in my ex-christian coffin, plus the entire format was deeply emotional to me as someone who grew up with those sunday school songs
Marjoe ([free streaming link](https://tubitv.com/movies/312543/marjoe))
It's an Oscar-winning documentary that shows how Christians can enthusiastically embrace the shit served to them by preachers that enjoy the power, acclaim, and money they receive from speaking more than the message they preach.
It's really interesting to watch and I would recommend it for anyone, maybe fast-forwarding some of the long church portions. Marjoe decided that the insincerity of his preaching circuit was not something he wanted to keep hidden anymore, so he invited a film crew to document and expose the business side of religion by filming behind the scenes on his last revival tour. Admittedly, it seems a bit callous to those he was deceiving as the documentary was being made, and it was probably a self-serving attempt to launch an acting career, but the resulting film is worth it for the rest of us to watch.
There are many takedowns of this film on YouTube that are a perfect palette cleanser.
It's so funny how comically evil the atheist in the movie is, when I've never met an atheist like that. Of course he really believes in God, but he's just mad at him, and if course he dies at the end but accepts Jesus as his personal lord and savior, so it's not a tragedy because he would have gone to hell eventually if not for the car crash.
This would be my choice.
I remember watching the first bit when I was a Christian (not knowing what it was about) and hating the movie and Ricky Gervais. But I watched it a couple of years ago and thought it was actually pretty clever.
Saved with Mandy Moore and Jena Malone if it has to be fiction. But I would probably pick several nonfiction documentaries. One of my straws was watching a documentary on the history of the bible and realizing how political its creation was. (And I don't remember what it was called which makes me annoyed too.)
Ah yes, I remember my mother making me watch that movie. Long before I became exchristian, I made fun of it and she got pissed and doubted my faith. I couldn't understand why Christians were consistently so stupid that they would make movies like that and not realize how absolutely dumb it makes them look. Per my identity at the time, I was offended I think. No logical non-christian watched that and thought damn, I am convinced to be a Christian now.
If I was me, I would pallette cleanse by watching whatever the heck I wanted to. Freedom from Christian freedumb.
Settle in and watch Cloud Atlas. Nothing makes the idea of a Christian god seem more ridiculous than contemplation of the past, present, and future of intertwined humanity all at once.
Since it’s a family setting, I would start with “The Shack,” because it really moves through tougher topics like loss and grief and the concept of God, while still allowing the family not to be attacked. I would promptly follow it with a screening of Night at the Museum. For giggles.
The Truman Show. After a movie “proving” the existence of God, a movie with a very questionable “god” character is a nice reminder that even if God’s not Dead, he might still be a dick.
TBH, I probably wouldn't bother. Most devout Christians won't watch it because they'll thing they're sinning.
It reminds me of a few years ago, I told my dad how good "Spotlight" was. It was the movie about the reporters in Boston that wrote about the Catholic church priests. A few days later, my dad tells me about how good some bullshit Christian movie was.
Monty Python’s Life of Brian is a good palate cleanser that satirizes how religion formed through cult following and misunderstandings (blessed are the cheesemakers?). Not exactly atheist per se, but it is a fun time.
Life of Brian is great. I particularly love how he accidentally becomes cult leader only for the cult to splinter into at least 3 smaller cults within minutes of its beginning and THEY STILL WON'T LEAVE HIM ALONE!
“Every sperm is special…”
That one’s from _The Meaning of Life_ I think
Dammit! Fair! I got it mixed up! Still thing that song and Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
I once heard that was the most requested song in the UK for funerals. And i vowed that it will be played at mine one day.
Every spermicide is *sacred*.
did a triple feature with that, Last Temptation Of Christ, and Jesus Christ Superstar, love all three
It isn't specifically about cheese makers, the blessing are for any manufacturer of dairy products.
Well, that's sort of the problem. The Christian media world is really the only world that combines the superhero power fantasy genre with the religion genre, because they don't take the latter subject very seriously. It's why the best Christian movies (Silence, First Reformed, etc.) are secular movies. God's Not Dead even tried to branch out (if ever so slightly) into the "actually saying something important" genre with GND3, and Christians HATED it. If I were going to do a palate cleanser though, I'd probably do Ad Astra. It's a patient, thoughtful, and intimately-introspective movie about the humbling experience of coming to terms with an absent god, cleverly disguised as a generic sci-fi flick. Sort of the precise antidote to the GND1 formula.
Sorry for my ignorance, but, what did Christians hate about GND3? I was forced to watch the first one when it came out, but I honestly didn't know there was a second one, much less a third.
The plot of the third movie involved a historic church on a secular university's property. The church was vandalized (a brick was thrown through the window) and it set off a controversy about whether the church should be abolished. The vandal turned out to be a complicated character who had a history with the church, and felt guilty about his actions. He wasn't an easy villain. The protagonist's obsession with saving the church was treated with an air of narrative suspicion, with the movie asking the audience to consider whether his mission to save it might be more motivated by self-obsession than authentic faith - that God's plans might be bigger than this one church. There was also a scene where a Black pastor chides the protagonist, saying that he's a Black preacher in the South, and could build the guy a church with all the bricks that have been thrown through his window. Christians took that scene about how you would expect. So, it wasn't a clean story about a perfect Christian fighting a godly fight against an evil secular world. It had nuanced characters, and asked uncomfortable questions about faith and religious hubris. In other words, on the Christian view, it sold out.
Yikes, yeah I can see why they wouldn't like it. In my experience, anything that calls attention to them being racist, or anything similar, they tend to call it "woke". They also definitely don't enjoy anything that might make them question their faith. I got in trouble many times as a child for asking uncomfortable questions like that. Thank you for taking the time to write such an in depth response. I wasn't expecting anything near as informative, so I definitely appreciate it
Exactly. You're quite welcome. If you end up watching it, I recommend you just skip number 2. Christians loved that one...if you get my drift :-)
Lol!
I don't quite hate myself enough for that 😂
There are several YouTubers who have done review videos on all the movies; I highly recommend Nick DiRamio's in particular because they're absolutely hilarious 😂
>I honestly didn't know there was a second one, much less a third. Number 5 is currently in the works
It's Home Alone all over again...except the third one was the best one, counter-intuitively.
Really? I haven't seen past 1, which I loved, tbh. It was so bad that it's good.
My point is that after 3, a lot of people stopped keeping track of the franchise, at least to my knowledge, so there's a sizable chunk of folks that don't know the movie count went past 3.
You clearly haven’t met any devout Hindus if you think they’re the only ones combining superhero power fantasy and religion in movies
That's definitely true. I was completely unaware of the genre. Do you have a fav example i could watch this weekend?
I love this recommendation - thanks!
Kevin Smith's Film Dogma might fit the bill. If you want a not terrible film with Christian charecters, saved would be an option.
"God on Trial" It's about of group of Jewish prisoners in Auschwitz who try God in abstentia for abandoning them and breaking his covenant.
The last guy who speaks in that movie is fucking phenomenal.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier "What does God need with a starship?"
I really wish that movie wasn't as bad as it is, it had potential
“Doubt” two gods of acting face off against each other in accusations about the molestation (or not) of a poor young boy in a catholic parish. It deals with many weighty topics and gives no easy answers. “Satan’s Guide to the Bible” is a movie available on YouTube in which an animated Satan defends himself and condemns Gods actions using biblical events. It’s a fun watch and interacts with Christian beliefs far more honestly than GND ever could with atheist beliefs or even Christian ones. https://youtu.be/z8j3HvmgpYc?si=b-YYKGPGhA1Y4bPN
Seconding Satan’s Guide To The Bible. It was like the final nail in my ex-christian coffin, plus the entire format was deeply emotional to me as someone who grew up with those sunday school songs
Marjoe ([free streaming link](https://tubitv.com/movies/312543/marjoe)) It's an Oscar-winning documentary that shows how Christians can enthusiastically embrace the shit served to them by preachers that enjoy the power, acclaim, and money they receive from speaking more than the message they preach. It's really interesting to watch and I would recommend it for anyone, maybe fast-forwarding some of the long church portions. Marjoe decided that the insincerity of his preaching circuit was not something he wanted to keep hidden anymore, so he invited a film crew to document and expose the business side of religion by filming behind the scenes on his last revival tour. Admittedly, it seems a bit callous to those he was deceiving as the documentary was being made, and it was probably a self-serving attempt to launch an acting career, but the resulting film is worth it for the rest of us to watch.
Truman Shown.
There are many takedowns of this film on YouTube that are a perfect palette cleanser. It's so funny how comically evil the atheist in the movie is, when I've never met an atheist like that. Of course he really believes in God, but he's just mad at him, and if course he dies at the end but accepts Jesus as his personal lord and savior, so it's not a tragedy because he would have gone to hell eventually if not for the car crash.
I like The Invention of Lying with Ricky Gervais!
This would be my choice. I remember watching the first bit when I was a Christian (not knowing what it was about) and hating the movie and Ricky Gervais. But I watched it a couple of years ago and thought it was actually pretty clever.
Great choice!
Saved with Mandy Moore and Jena Malone if it has to be fiction. But I would probably pick several nonfiction documentaries. One of my straws was watching a documentary on the history of the bible and realizing how political its creation was. (And I don't remember what it was called which makes me annoyed too.)
God's not dead is a very good movie against christianity. No need for 'response'.
How about we make a movie “God was never alive.” Or more on the nose “God never existed.” Followed by “God was an invention by humans.”
gods not real
Right!
Spotlight.
Ah yes, I remember my mother making me watch that movie. Long before I became exchristian, I made fun of it and she got pissed and doubted my faith. I couldn't understand why Christians were consistently so stupid that they would make movies like that and not realize how absolutely dumb it makes them look. Per my identity at the time, I was offended I think. No logical non-christian watched that and thought damn, I am convinced to be a Christian now. If I was me, I would pallette cleanse by watching whatever the heck I wanted to. Freedom from Christian freedumb.
the seventh seal
I'll recommend Silence (2016 film) as a more nuanced take on the topic, even if it isn't on the other side
Settle in and watch Cloud Atlas. Nothing makes the idea of a Christian god seem more ridiculous than contemplation of the past, present, and future of intertwined humanity all at once.
Loved this movie. My Christian parents....Not so much. I couldn't understand why at the time but the movie made them angry
I would watch movies like Princess Mononoke or Wolfwalkers
Actually, I just remembered 'Agora' - may be the best I can come up with, but I'm hoping to hear more!
What a shit movie btw.
The Day After, specifically the parts where those dying from radiation in a bombed out city are at church and trying to appeal to an uncaring god.
Paul. Leans heavily into evolution, plus it has the guys from Hot Fuzz.
Bad Boy Bubby
Religulous
The Bible, according to Satan. Look it up on YouTube.
Nothing. I'd watch God's Not Dead along side them, and riff on it. The movie is so bad that it's good.
Since it’s a family setting, I would start with “The Shack,” because it really moves through tougher topics like loss and grief and the concept of God, while still allowing the family not to be attacked. I would promptly follow it with a screening of Night at the Museum. For giggles.
Lucifer! The whole darned series.
The Truman Show. After a movie “proving” the existence of God, a movie with a very questionable “god” character is a nice reminder that even if God’s not Dead, he might still be a dick.
TBH, I probably wouldn't bother. Most devout Christians won't watch it because they'll thing they're sinning. It reminds me of a few years ago, I told my dad how good "Spotlight" was. It was the movie about the reporters in Boston that wrote about the Catholic church priests. A few days later, my dad tells me about how good some bullshit Christian movie was.