The God Who Wasn't There
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| The God Who Wasn't There | |
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| Directed by | Brian Flemming |
| Produced by | Brian Flemming Amanda Jackson |
| Written by | Brian Flemming |
| Starring | Brian Flemming (narration) Sam Harris Richard Carrier Alan Dundes Barbara Mikkelson David P. Mikkelson Robert M. Price Dr. Ronald Sipus Christians |
| Distributed by | Beyond Belief Media |
| Release date(s) | May 21, 2005 |
| Running time | 62 mins |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The God Who Wasn't There is an independent documentary written and directed by Brian Flemming that explores and questions the historicity of Jesus Christ.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Portrayed as a "guide through the bizarre world of Christianity", The God Who Wasn't There has generated significant controversy. 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." [1]
Points raised in The God Who Wasn't There include:
- Christian doctrine is contradictory;
- Jesus was actually a fictional character who was based on older, mythic "savior figures" such as Dionysus and Mithras and that Christian leaders are reluctant to teach early church history because it supports the theory that Jesus was a mythic figure rather than a historic personage;
- The letters of Saul/Paul of Tarsus, which were written prior to the Gospels, did not recount much of what is known as "the Jesus story", and only mentions the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension as happening in a mythic realm, rather than in an Earthly one; and
- Moderate Christianity makes even less sense than a fundamentalist interpretation of Christian doctrine.
[edit] Appearances
Several notable personalities make appearances in the documentary:
- Scott Butcher is the creator of the Rapture Letters.com 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 Holy Writ as Oral Lit: The Bible as Folklore, 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.
- Dr. Ronald Sipus, principle of Village Christian School, which Brian Flemming attended as a youth. During the interview, Sipus accused Flemming of misrepresenting himself and walked out.
- Richard Dawkins is an eminent evolutionary biologist and popular science writer. His best-selling books include The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, and The God Delusion. Dawkins is a staunch atheist and an established critic of creationism. He 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. He appears only on the DVD's commentary track.
- The Raving Atheist is a lawyer and atheist blogger read widely in the blogosphere. He appears only on the DVD's commentary track.
[edit] Distribution
After a world premiere in San Francisco on May 21, 2005, the film was released simultaneously on DVD and in theaters. Theatrical exposure varied from a one-week run in Los Angeles to individual local screenings sponsored by supporters. 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 hid copies of the DVD in churches won replacement DVDs.
In December 2006, the War on Christmas promotional campaign was launched. Anyone who recorded a video of themselves making a declaration of disbelief in god and then uploaded the video to YouTube recieved a free copy of the DVD from the Rational Response Squad.
