Faith is defined as an unquestioning belief that does not require proof for existence. It demands an unwavering trust in something not tangible. In the film, “God’s Not Dead,” Josh’s faith in God allows him to accomplish a task near impossible. After Professor Radisson requests that each student signs off that they believe God is dead, Josh refuses, believing instead that this is God commanding him to share His word. It goes without doubt that faith and religion go hand in hand, and are equal parts controversial and political. However, faith is indubitably instrumental in building an individual’s character and plays an active, positive role in a person’s social development.
Josh Wheaton begins with the problem of evil and suffering. The most basic form of the objection to God’s existence based on evil is if God is all powerful, then He can prevent evil from happening, and if He is all loving, then He would want to stop all evil from happening. Therefore, since evil exists, an all powerful and all loving God must not exist. Josh explains this concept by stating that since God is all loving, He may, therefore, prefer no suffering, yet God may have good and moral reasons for allowing suffering to happen.
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For example, the very idea of vaccination revolves around the notion that something bad must occur for good to come out of it. When a vaccination takes place, the patient is injected with a deactivated version of the virus. This allows for the individual’s immune system to produce antigens that will fight off any infection resembling the deactivated virus. A trivial ‘bad’ thing, being a small needle prick, must occur for the greater good.
Likewise, an all loving God can allow for suffering, knowing that the result of this suffering is goodness. An all knowing God is conscious of the reality that humanity requires anguish and misery to recognize happiness and goodness. This knowledge allows for growth and maturity and allows for ethics and morality.
Another answer to the question of why God allows suffering is found within “God’s Not Dead.” It is called the free-will defense. This is the notion that the evil present in our world today is due to the creature with free-will, who choose to do what is wrong and harmful to themselves and others. These places blame on humanity instead of God.
German philosopher Immanuel Kant devised an argument based on practical reason. Kant argued that the goal of humanity is to achieve perfect happiness and virtue, and believed that an afterlife must exist in order for this to be possible. That being said, God must exist to provide an afterlife and to provide perfect happiness and virtue. He behaves as a standard of moral goodness.
Within “God’s Not Dead,” Josh rapidly steers the conversation from the problem of evil and suffering to the moral reasoning of why God exists. This argument revolves around the existence of objective morals and values, which have for centuries shaped human society. Josh asks Professor Radisson if it would be wrong if he cheated on his test. Professor Radisson does not respond. Professor Radisson is aware of the fact that it is wrong to cheat on a test, and understands that even if a student believed that it was right to cheat, the action would remain morally incorrect. Individuals will admit they believe that some actions are simply wrong, Atheists being amongst those people, however, Atheists have no reason to hold such morals.
Professor Radisson objects to Josh’s remark, stating that although he is an Atheist, he can act morally. However, when analyzed in further detail, the moral argument does not say that Atheists can’t act morally, only that they have no reason to act morally. This introduces the argument of what makes something right, instead of wrong. How does one define good? Josh puts forward a standard of good: God. God is not simply a good God. God is goodness in itself. This allows for humanity to derive certain principles from His character. This allows humanity to define what is good, and what is bad, and to eventually create rules of conduct for society.
Similar to Professor Radisson, there are philosophers who not only reject the idea of God but hope that God does not exist. One such philosopher is Friedrich Nietzsche, known for his declaration of “God is dead.” Nietzsche’s loathing of Christianity came from the very notion that Christianity was responsible for constraining human expression. He believed Christianity smothered humanity with morality and self-loathing.
Nietzsche was responsible for the concept of the Übermensch. The Übermensch would create meaning in the life of a human by their will alone and would allow for humanity to understand that they are responsible for their selection. Nietzsche proposed the idea that as humans, we can create our own values as individuals, and create the meaning of life by which we live. His ethics are founded on the admiration of power as the ultimate form of abundant creativity. He would approve of Professor Radisson’s abuse of power, in making the students sign off that they believe “God is dead” regardless of their religious beliefs. Nietzsche, therefore, believed that faith was not responsible for positive social development, and was instead responsible for restricting human expression. He believed that to be free of restrains, one must abandon the faith and fashion one’s own meaning of life.
Nietzsche introduces a series of compelling arguments, all following the same theme of faith hindering humanity’s search for the true meaning of life. He believes that one must fabricate their own morals and values, and fabricate their own end goal for living. However, this highlights the issue that as humans, we are diverse in our beliefs and in our opinions. Each individual would come to their own conclusion as to what is good and ethical.
Nietzsche would embrace this freedom to believe in whatever one chooses. However, if a select few individuals chose to believe that slavery is well and good, is it?
The flaw in Nietzsche’s logic is that humanity cannot decide what is good and what is bad, without having a moral standard to derive from. Within faith, God represents the moral standard from which we derive our rules of conduct. He is goodness in itself.
Professor Radisson abuses his power as an educator to coerce students into signing off that they believe “God is dead,” regardless of religious standing. He is manipulative and thoughtless, choosing to force his beliefs on a group of students instead of teaching both the religious and the philosophical sides of the existence of God. Josh presents a series of weighty arguments, a few of which being the reason for the existence of evil and suffering, and the objective of morals and values. Immanuel Kant strengthens the arguments that Josh presents, in explaining that God must exist to act as the standard for morality. He allows us to reach a state of virtuous happiness. Friedrich Nietzsche rejects Christianity, declaring that “God is dead,” and that religion is confining. Nietzsche proposed the idea that we, as humans, must behave like our own standard for morality and ethics, and that we can, ourselves, develop the true meaning of life. Nietzsche’s beliefs highlight the diversity of human beliefs and highlight the issue that as a society, a human’s beliefs differ between what is good and what is bad. It is not faith in itself that leads to a positive social development; it is equally what it stands for: morality, kindness, goodness, the lack of evil. It is what faith stands for that allows for healthy growth.
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