God’s Not Dead 2
a review by John Haynes
The film God’s Not Dead 2 is a Christian movie
from the get go. This is the story of a high school history teacher who get in
trouble for something she said in class. Actually, all she did was answer a
question. The teacher, Grace Wesley (Melissa Joan Hart), was teaching about
Martin Luther King Jr. (at Martin Luther King Jr. High School, of all places).
A student, Brooke Thawley (Hayley Orrantia), asks if what Jesus taught was the
same as what Martin Luther King Jr. taught. Yes, that’s right, Grace responds.
She further elucidates by quoting a verse of Scripture. The school authorities
are not happy about this at all. They pull Grace in for a disciplinary hearing.
She has a union representative there (who, it later turns out is not at all on
her side). Later, she has an attorney. The attorney for the school board is
also there, and he proposes a solution. He says that Grace should apologize and
admit that such things will never happen again. Her attorney agrees with this,
but Grace is livid. She will not agree to such a measure because she believes
she did nothing wrong. Her attorney is not pleased, but he hears her out. And
he agrees to fight for her because he doesn’t like losing.
The movie actually begins
by showing several different people, all of whom come together in the overall
plot. One man is a pastor. He is called to jury duty, which he’s not pleased
about, but he comforts himself by saying that he’s more likely to be struck by
lightning than actually having to serve on the jury. He is wrong. And the jury
he is chosen to serve on is Grace’s trial. Yes, the ACLU gets involved, and
they want to try her to make an example of her. Unfortunately, the pastor (Rev.
Dave, David A.R. White) gets sick during the trial, and is unable to finish his
jury duty.
The trial is really good.
The screenwriters did a good job of doing their research. Since I work in the field of law, I know what
trials are like. Most of what takes place is very accurate, although there were
a couple things I didn’t agree with. More on that later.
Grace’s attorney, Tom
Endler (Jesse Metcalfe), is actually very good. He knows how to question
witnesses, and he also knows how to push the envelope in court. Once or twice,
the judge gets on his case about it. But that’s what a good trial attorney
does.
In a subplot of the film,
Rev. Dave meets a young man who is from Japan. Martin Yip (Paul Kwo) comes to
the pastor with many questions about the Bible. I believe he had 147 questions
to be exact. Rev. Dave is pleased to answer his questions, but Martin says that
for every question he answers, three or four more come up. But in the end,
Martin trusts Christ. His father later comes to visit him, and he’s very upset.
He has found out that Martin has embraced the gospel. He says that he has
disgraced their family. You are no longer my son! he tells Martin. Martin is
heartbroken, but his loyalty is to Christ. He later tells Rev. Dave that he
believes God wants him to be a pastor in his home country.
There were several people
in the film that surprised me. Pat Boone plays Grace’s grandfather, who lives
with her. Sadie Robertson (Duck Dynasty) plays Marlene, a friend of Brooke’s.
Fred Thompson, who recently passed away, plays a senior pastor. Ray Wise, a
seasoned actor, plays Peter Kane, an ACLU attorney. I’ve always liked him, but
I really hated him in this film! Lee Strobel, who has written many good books
about Christianity, makes an appearance as a witness for the defense. And Mike
Huckabee also played himself. The Newsboys not only sang in the movie, they
also did a little acting. Mostly it was Michael Tait, the lead singer, who
acted. I love the Newsboys. They are one of my favorite Christian music groups
to listen to. They sing their song God’s Not Dead, which became quite famous
after the first movie God’s Not Dead
aired. They also sing one of their new songs “Guilty,” from the album Love
Riot. I love the lyrics to this song: “When did it become breaking a rule / To
say Your name out loud in school.” Grace can certainly identify with this.
As far as some of the
legal issues I took issue with. At one point the high school principal (Robin
Givens) tells Brooke that she cannot have any contact with Grace, not even
outside of class. She would not be allowed to do this. Brooke is a minor, but
she still has freedom of speech and the freedom of association. Her parents
could forbid her from talking to Grace, but the principal can’t. This also
comes up in court. It is brought up that Brooke went to speak with Grace one
day outside of class, and Jesus was mentioned. That is allowed to stand as
evidence in the case, but it is not true. What Brooke does outside of class is
none of anyone’s business. Same with Grace. She can say whatever she wants to
whomever she wants without fear of repercussion. It’s called the First
Amendment, and it’s still the law of the land.
I won’t tell you how the
film ends or what the result of the case is. You’ll have to see it. But when
you do see it, make sure you stay through the credits. After the credits run,
there is a scene you won’t want to miss. Will there be another movie? I hope
so!
No, God’s Not Dead. He’s
surely alive! And God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good!
