The God Who Wasn't There
| The God Who Wasn't There | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Brian Flemming |
| Written by | Brian Flemming |
| Produced by | Brian Flemming Amanda Jackson |
| Starring | Richard Dawkins Sam Harris Richard Carrier Alan Dundes Earl Doherty Robert M. Price |
| Distributed by | Beyond Belief Media |
Release dates | May 21, 2005 |
Running time | 62 mins |
| Language | English |
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 . . . [and] 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 is now portrayed as a "guide through the bizarre world of Christianity."[1] The film has generated a great deal of controversy.
The documentary asks questions which explore the roots of Christian belief. In particular, it proposes that Jesus is likely a fictional character who was never based on a real human, that Christian doctrine often contradicts itself and is unethical, and that moderate Christianity makes even less sense than a literal interpretation.
Appearances
Several notable personalities make appearances in the documentary.
- Scott Butcher is the creator of the Rapture Letters 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 and The Blind Watchmaker. 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. 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. Doherty appears only on the DVD's commentary track.
- The Raving Atheist is a lawyer and atheist blogger read widely in the blogosphere. The Raving Atheist appears only on the DVD's commentary track.
Criticism
The film has come under fire for a number of its claims.[citation needed] Central among them is the thesis that Jesus is most likely a fictional character, a claim rejected by many contemporary New Testament historians.[citation needed] Some critics have also taken issue with the confrontational style that Flemming employs towards the end of the film when he returns to the Christian school of his youth.[citation needed] There he interviews a school administrator who terminates the interview when Flemming begins asking questions regarding the overtly religious curriculum.
Distribution
After a world premiere in San Francisco on May 21, 2005, the film was released simultaneously on DVD and in theatrical exposure. The theatrical exposure varied from a one-week run in Los Angeles to individual local screenings sponsored by supporters. (A similar approach was successful for Robert Greenwald's documentary Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War and other Greenwald films.) The documentary has been shown in Stanford, Birmingham, New York, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Nevada, Virginia, Louisville, Toronto, Kansas City and Norway. Unlike the majority of theatrical productions released on DVD, The God Who Wasn't There includes theatrical screening rights (called "public performance rights" in the industry), so that anyone who buys it can hold a screening, including a screening for paid admission.
On April 11, 2006, the War on Easter promotional campaign was launched, whereby the first 666 people who hide copies of the DVD in churches win replacement DVDs.