simongc

I just had a viewing of the DVD "The God who wasn't there ". unfortunately for me I had extremely high expectations of this show and so found the DVD rather a monumental let down . It wasn't high class investigative journalism ,didn't seem to have a strong revealing message at all . I cant see it making any traction with hard nosed Christians and I don't think it was hard hitting enough to impress non believers .it just did not live up to the hype on its web site ie " what Bowling for Columbine did it to the gun culture.&. Super Size Me did it to fast food ". It may have been around a while but we just got in our local library- which was a big surprise in itself; so we are just getting around to viewing it now..

Do any other infidels have an opinion on this production .
And are there any better DVD's out there in intelligentland.

Peter Kirby

Big letdown? Certainly. I own it and cringe when I look at it.

Alternative films in the genre? Not that I'm aware of.

Toto

It is much superior to Zeitgeist.

I have to say that I appreciated it for what it was. Perhaps I didn't have any expectations. I liked the interviews included with the DVD.

Doug Shaver

I learned about it when someone in another forum hyped it.

I found it somewhat disappointing, but I don't feel like I wasted the money I spent to buy it, either. It does a job that needs to be done, but not nearly as well as it could and ought to be done.

Gamer4Fire

I didn't know it was so hyped. I saw someone else's copy and thought it was a decent show about the inaccuracies of the bible.

The Whiffle Man

I'd have to agree. For me, I'm no expert (and it's been a while so I can't remember examples) but I remember thinking that it was a poor documentary by any standards. I seem to recall the trailer really emphasizing that it was about the idea that Jesus did not historically exist but the film did not really address that in enough detail.

Anyhow, it's hyped a lot and there really isn't a lot else out there in our circles of a similar nature or subject matter so it's what we've got, but I'm hoping something stronger and more professional comes along.

Kevin

Splarnst

I rented it from Netflix. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't have paid to own it.

Solitary Man

So are Al Qaeda training videos.

doubtingt

I thought the extended interviews and commentaries in the "bonus features" were more informative than the film itself. The film's soundtrack was annoying IMO, and there was way too much snide condescention for it to appeal to anyone buy those already disposed towards its thesis. Also, there was too much focus on the extreme right of Xtianity. The central thesis of Jesus being a myth was lost amidst all the footage that seemed only to say "hey, aren't these fundies whacky?"

That said, I've never seen another film that even attempted to honestly and critically examine the assumption of Jesus as a historical figure. Also, the film had some good clips showing that most people who think he existed seem to presume there's a ton of evidence for it, but haven't a clue about what that evidence actually is (or isn't). I also find merit in 4 other points the movie (and its interviewees) made; 1) that the assumption of historocity probably fuels extremism; 2) that compared to moderates, the extremists are more in line with and internally consistent with their doctrines; 3) that Xtain moderates are just folks who validate an ideology that is inherently extremist (and dangerous) but lack the conviction to actually put that ideology into living practice; 4) the moral and social "positives" of moderate religion are really just a case of people disregarding the inherent negatives of their religious doctrines and cherry-picking the positives based upon secular values that transcend the doctrines.
These points aren't original, but they're not often made.

BTW, I'm pretty sure that these points were emphasized more in the bonus features than the film itself.

Didymus

Since you won't accept private emails, simongc, I'll say this publicly: Never put a space in front of a period (a "stop"), a comma or an end-quote. These errors make your writing difficult to read and give a poor impression of the Australian education system.

Ddms