Quick Info
American Gospel: Christ Crucified is a powerful 2019 Christian documentary movie about the concerning movement of liberal theologians denying key pillars of Christian theology. American Gospel: Christ Crucified is the second movie in the American Gospel series, and had a tough act to follow the excellent first movie, but the producers did a great job and this movie is equally as good and important. American Gospel: Christ Crucified is a powerful warning and protection against new age teachings creeping into some churches. The movie also features some of the best examples and explanations from any film of important theological/doctrinal concepts.
Synopsis
American Gospel: Christ Crucified interviews and shows liberal theologians and secularists who are trying to change the meaning of Christianity. In response conversation is a great cast of respected Christian commentators pointing back to Gospel truth. The movie is fair in letting each side make its full case, and the result is that at many points the movie feels like watching a good conversation or debate. Some of the topics that the liberal theologians challenge include the Biblical concepts of God’s wrath, and Jesus’ payment for sins on the cross through penal substitution. The bad theology argued by the liberal theologians presents great opportunities for excellent explanations and proofs of important Christian theology.
Why This Movie Matters
- This is an important movie to learn more about false teachings in order to protect you and your family from unwittingly be exposed to them.
- This movie defends the important Christian doctrine of penal substitution.
- The movie has an important cultural value for separating these false view/teachings from Biblical Christianity.
- The movie does a good job of explaining how God’s wrath is an important and wholly righteous part of God’s character.
- The movie exposes the unfortunate tendency of men to try to change God to fit their own wishes and desires.
- There is a great part about the seriousness of sin, which is important for personal understanding and sanctification.
- This movie features a great cast of pastors and teachers explaining the Gospel properly for believers and prospective believers.
What You’ll Experience
- You will hear from liberal theologians and secularists on why they deny important doctrines like penal substitution.
- You will hear from well-known Christian speakers of the importance and necessity of penal substitution and other doctrines.
- Both sides will give their arguments and reasoning.
- High production quality meshing the commentators thoughts, arguments, and counter-arguments together to tell one smooth-flowing story.
- Everything combines to form one powerful message about what Christianity is and isn’t, and that only Christianity has the power to save.
Strengths
- Warnings about dangerous teaching
- Gospel explanation
- Fair / honest dialogue
- Good editing
- Theology / doctrinal importance
Cautions / Weaknesses
- Longer movie
- Skeptics / heretics views are shown
- Some difficult parts
Best Audience
- Families with older and mature children that want to learn how to spot bad and false doctrines, and to see powerful gospel explanations.
- Small groups looking to learn about dangerous and faulty teachings, and how to contrast them to the Gospel.
- People coming from a more liberal, new age, or modern church background seeking for traditional Gospel answers.
- Anyone interested in examples of bad doctrine, why it comes about, and what makes the Gospel different.
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Best Quotes & Notable Moments
“I think in the present day there is a lot of discomfort with the idea of God being wrathful, and there is a lot of discomfort with the idea of divinely sanctioned violence.”
“The thing is that God is just a lot holier than many of us think. And if God really is holier, then that means sin is worse than many of us actually think.”
“Why is it that we reserve the right as fallible human beings to burn with indignation when we see an injustice, and yet we say if God does the same thing that’s somehow morally beneath him? His love is fierce, and in the same way his wrath is fierce against evil.”
