jillgoes

jillgoes

Monday, August 25, 2014

Two Full of God Movies

Since the husband/lover/date companion and I were looking to find some inexpensive entertainment this weekend, we stayed close to home.  No roadtrips.  No fancy, glitzy, Broadway-type shows.  No shopping of any sort.  Nope.  Our wallets were locked way down deep in the pockets.

We are especially trying to reign in the amount of money spent on eating out, and I'm pleased to announce that this past week we did pretty well.  Just one planned meal out in an entire week, and two Redbox DVD rentals over the weekend, and, well, I guess you could say I'm just a cheap date.

Saturday night we watched "Heaven is For Real."  This movie recounts the true experiences of the Burpo family.  Todd and Sonja Burpo have a very young son, Colin, who is telling them details of his supposed visit to Heaven during his emergency surgery.

He talks candidly and confidently about things he saw that happened before his birth, and about a baby sister his mother lost, that he would not have known.

His experience challenges his family to face and come to terms with their doubts about the existence of Heaven.

As much as I enjoyed the movie, and wow, is that little guy who plays Colin adorable, I had trouble with the movie on one account.  Why is Todd Burpo, the father of Colin AND A PASTOR OF A LARGE CHURCH, having such a hard time believing that Heaven is real?  I'm not saying pastors cannot have their own questions and doubts, but isn't Heaven and an afterlife one of the basic beliefs of the Bible and the Christian faith?

Sunday evening we enjoyed the movie "God's Not Dead."  It seemed an appropriate movie to watch as our town is suddenly filled with the thousands of college students who are returning for the start of the fall semester.

In this thought provoking movie, a first semester college freshman meets an argumentative, atheistic professor in philosophy class, where the students are ordered to deny that God exists.  Rather than disavow, in writing, the existence of God, the student is promised three 20 minute sessions, during which he must make an intelligent case for the reality of God.

The student's classmates will determine whether he has a compelling argument, or if he will fail the course and jeopardize his future career plans.

I enjoyed the well researched and logical presentations he offered.  In case you haven't yet seen this flick, I'm not going to reveal the surprising conclusion.

I always feel satisfied when a movie makes me think, or sparks some challenging conversation in our home.  These two movies were winners on those criteria.  I'd recommend both.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the great reviews. I recently purchased the DVD of God's Not Dead but haven't had time to sit down and enjoy it yet. I think I'll like it! Haven't see Heaven is for Real but plan to.

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  2. Kathy and I actually saw Heaven is for Real at the Cinema Plex and loved it. Especially with both our pasts it was comforting in one respect but we also found it puzzling about the father an Ordained Minister doubting what his own son was saying.
    Since the movie God's Not Dead is no longer out we'll be shopping around for it.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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