Movies - The God Who Wasn't There

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	Movies - The God Who Wasn't There

The God Who Wasn't There is an independent documentary that explores and questions the historicity of Jesus Christ. It is written and directed by Brian Flemming, and was released theatrically on May 21, 2005, and on DVD on June 6, 2005.

Overview

According to the film's official website, the aim of the documentary is to hold "modern Christianity up to a merciless spotlight." The God Who Wasn't There, the website goes on to claim, is "bold and hilarious... asks the questions few dare to ask. And when it finds out how crazy the answers are, it dares to call them crazy." Flemming is identified as an ex-fundamentalist Christian, and he is now portrayed as a "guide through the bizarre world of Christianity." The film has inspired a great deal of controversy.

The film asks questions which explore the roots of Christian belief. The documentary in particular proposes that Jesus is likely a fictional character who was never based on a real human, that Christian doctrine often contradicts itself, and encourages immorality when it serves the religion, and that moderate Christianity makes even less sense than the extremist form.

Appearances

Several notable personalities make appearances in the documentary.

Scott Butcher is the creator of the website.

Richard Carrier is a philosopher and historian studying ancient science at Columbia University in New York, where he received a Master's degree in ancient history. His articles have been published in the History Teacher, the Skeptical Inquirer, and the Encyclopedia of the Ancient World. He served as editor-in-chief of the Secular Web for several years. His latest book is Sense and Goodness Without God.

Alan Dundes was an anthropologist and folklorist. Until his death shortly after being interviewed for the documentary, he was Professor of Folklore and Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1993, he became the first American to win the Pitre Prize's Sigillo d'Oro, the top international prize in folklore and ethnography. His books include The Morphology of North American Indian Folktales and Folklore Matters.

Sam Harris is a researcher into the neurology of religious belief, and author of The End of Faith.

Barbara Mikkelson and David P. Mikkelson are the founders of the Urban Legends Reference Pages, widely considered to be the definitive source on the truth or falsehood of urban legends.

Robert M. Price is Professor of Biblical Criticism at the Center for Inquiry Institute. His books include Beyond Born Again, Deconstructing Jesus, and The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man.

Richard Dawkins is an eminent ethologist, evolutionary theorist, and popular science writer. His best-selling books include The Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, The Blind Watchmaker, River Out of Eden, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, and A Devil's Chaplain. He is an ardent and outspoken atheist, an established critic of creationism, Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society and vice-president of the British Humanist Association. Dr. Dawkins appears only on the DVD's commentary track.

Earl Doherty is a modern pioneer of the Jesus Myth theory. His 1999 book The Jesus Puzzle lays out evidence for a mythical Christ. Mr. Doherty appears only on the DVD's commentary track.

The Raving Atheist is a lawyer and atheist blogger read widely in the blogosphere. Only appears on the DVD's commentary track.

Criticism

The film has come under scrutiny for a number of its claims. Central among them is the film's thesis that Jesus is a fictional character. This claim is considered by many contemporary New Testament historians to be a radical position. Essentially, the viewpoints of the scholars interviewed in this documentary (Price, Doherty) represent a minority viewpoint in the field of New Testament scholarship. Many mainstream secular scholars believe that Jesus was a real, historical figure in first century Palestine.

Much of the historical information in the film has been questioned for its accuracy, so viewers should be cautious in accepting historical claims presented. Areas questioned include: (1) uncritical use of 19th century claims regarding 'pagan Christs' like 'Beddru' and 'Davetat', (2) misuse of early Christian writers like Justin Martyr , (3) a shallow understanding regarding Paul and early Christianity. However, despite some problems with content, the film should be considered only as an introduction to this topic, not a scholarly dissertation in itself. Like any controversial topic, interested viewers should investigate further into items raised for themselves.

Some critics also take issue with the "ambush" style that Flemming uses at the end of his film when he returns to the Christian school of his youth. There he interviews a school administrator who appears to have agreed to the interview without being fully aware of the nature of the arguments Flemming puts forth in the film. The interview subject terminates the interview when Flemming begins asking questions about the nature of Christianity and evangelization.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The God Who Wasn't There ]

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