Post by Too Hot for NCO on Aug 10, 2008 19:04:02 GMT -5
From the Science News link
Bowling for Columbine did it to the gun culture.
Super Size Me did it to fast food.
Now The God Who Wasn't There does it to religion.
The movie that has been astounding audiences in theaters around the world is now available on a high-quality, feature-packed DVD. Own the taboo-shattering documentary that Newsweek says "irreverently lays out the case that Jesus Christ never existed."
In this critically acclaimed film, you will discover:
* The early founders of Christianity seem wholly unaware of the idea of a human Jesus
* The Jesus of the Gospels bears a striking resemblance to other ancient heroes and the figureheads of pagan savior cults
* Contemporary Christians are largely ignorant of the origins of their religion
* Fundamentalism is as strong today as it ever has been, with an alarming 44% of Americans believing that Jesus will return to earth in their lifetimes
From exposing the hidden history of Christianity to lamthingying the bloody excesses of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (which caused Gibson to attempt legal action against the documentary), The God Who Wasn't There pulls no punches.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker (and former Christian) Brian Flemming, The God Who Wasn't There includes stimulating interviews with:
* Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation
* Robert M. Price, Jesus Seminar fellow and author of The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man
* Alan Dundes, Professor of Folklore at the University of California at Berkeley
* Richard Carrier, historian and author of Sense and Goodness Without God
* Barbara & David P. Mikkelson, authors of the Urban Legends Reference Pages at snopes.com
* And many others
Dazzling motion graphics and a driving soundtrack propel this uncompromising film that the Los Angeles Times calls "provocative - to put it mildly."
Special Features
The special features on this DVD are both generous and carefully selected. As DVD Talk puts it: "This DVD delivers the film in a quality presentation, with extras that quadruple the amount of content in a positive way with no filler."
The superb commentary tracks on this DVD are not the usual "making of" chat but instead consist of original material that director Brian Flemming crafted to deepen the experience of The God Who Wasn't There. The two separate tracks are:
* "The Atheists." This lively track features evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion). Topics discussed by this towering atheist figure range from the horrors committed in the name of God to the power of science to combat "religion and all other forms of superstition." Relevant audio from other interviewees is also woven into this timely and candid examination of irrational beliefs.
* "The Scholar." This track delves deep into the Jesus Myth hypothesis with pioneering scholar Earl Doherty (The Jesus Puzzle). If you are intrigued by the possibility that Jesus Christ did not exist at all, you will find this audio track fascinating. Doherty has been studying for decades the evidence that mainstream academics are only beginning to discover. Prepare to be astounded.
The DVD also includes more than one hour of additional interviews on video. These illuminating extended clips did not make it into the fast-paced main feature, but many viewers nonetheless highlight them as a favorite part of the DVD. Topics include:
* The Rapture. Soft-spoken Rapture-believer Scott Butcher explains why he is certain that everything in the Book of Revelation is about to come true. (However, he is unable to explain where he got the idea that all airlines have a rule that at least one pilot in the thingypit must be a non-Christian, lest both pilots be Raptured at once while the plane is in flight.)
* Legend. Barbara and David P. Mikkelson, the creators of Snopes.com, discuss the creepy lessons behind a certain urban legend popular among Christians.
* What God wants. Philosopher Richard Carrier performs a thought experiment in which he asks, if there is a God, what does he want? The results are both hilarious and difficult to dispute.
* Who needs God to be good? Author Sam Harris disputes the notion that morality has any relationship to dogma.
* And many more.
We'll let DVD Talk describe one more special feature on this packed DVD: "There's an excellent slide show titled 'Explore the Myth,' which looks at the stories about Jesus and traces them throughout time, examining their effect right up through today's dangerous extremist conservatism, which has left America fractured. Viewing the slide show on DVD-ROM [any Windows or Mac computer with a DVD drive] will open Web sites related to the material."
And there's even more compelling material for you to discover on your own...
The God Movie
Bowling for Columbine did it to the gun culture.
Super Size Me did it to fast food.
Now The God Who Wasn't There does it to religion.
The movie that has been astounding audiences in theaters around the world is now available on a high-quality, feature-packed DVD. Own the taboo-shattering documentary that Newsweek says "irreverently lays out the case that Jesus Christ never existed."
In this critically acclaimed film, you will discover:
* The early founders of Christianity seem wholly unaware of the idea of a human Jesus
* The Jesus of the Gospels bears a striking resemblance to other ancient heroes and the figureheads of pagan savior cults
* Contemporary Christians are largely ignorant of the origins of their religion
* Fundamentalism is as strong today as it ever has been, with an alarming 44% of Americans believing that Jesus will return to earth in their lifetimes
From exposing the hidden history of Christianity to lamthingying the bloody excesses of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (which caused Gibson to attempt legal action against the documentary), The God Who Wasn't There pulls no punches.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker (and former Christian) Brian Flemming, The God Who Wasn't There includes stimulating interviews with:
* Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation
* Robert M. Price, Jesus Seminar fellow and author of The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man
* Alan Dundes, Professor of Folklore at the University of California at Berkeley
* Richard Carrier, historian and author of Sense and Goodness Without God
* Barbara & David P. Mikkelson, authors of the Urban Legends Reference Pages at snopes.com
* And many others
Dazzling motion graphics and a driving soundtrack propel this uncompromising film that the Los Angeles Times calls "provocative - to put it mildly."
Special Features
The special features on this DVD are both generous and carefully selected. As DVD Talk puts it: "This DVD delivers the film in a quality presentation, with extras that quadruple the amount of content in a positive way with no filler."
The superb commentary tracks on this DVD are not the usual "making of" chat but instead consist of original material that director Brian Flemming crafted to deepen the experience of The God Who Wasn't There. The two separate tracks are:
* "The Atheists." This lively track features evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion). Topics discussed by this towering atheist figure range from the horrors committed in the name of God to the power of science to combat "religion and all other forms of superstition." Relevant audio from other interviewees is also woven into this timely and candid examination of irrational beliefs.
* "The Scholar." This track delves deep into the Jesus Myth hypothesis with pioneering scholar Earl Doherty (The Jesus Puzzle). If you are intrigued by the possibility that Jesus Christ did not exist at all, you will find this audio track fascinating. Doherty has been studying for decades the evidence that mainstream academics are only beginning to discover. Prepare to be astounded.
The DVD also includes more than one hour of additional interviews on video. These illuminating extended clips did not make it into the fast-paced main feature, but many viewers nonetheless highlight them as a favorite part of the DVD. Topics include:
* The Rapture. Soft-spoken Rapture-believer Scott Butcher explains why he is certain that everything in the Book of Revelation is about to come true. (However, he is unable to explain where he got the idea that all airlines have a rule that at least one pilot in the thingypit must be a non-Christian, lest both pilots be Raptured at once while the plane is in flight.)
* Legend. Barbara and David P. Mikkelson, the creators of Snopes.com, discuss the creepy lessons behind a certain urban legend popular among Christians.
* What God wants. Philosopher Richard Carrier performs a thought experiment in which he asks, if there is a God, what does he want? The results are both hilarious and difficult to dispute.
* Who needs God to be good? Author Sam Harris disputes the notion that morality has any relationship to dogma.
* And many more.
We'll let DVD Talk describe one more special feature on this packed DVD: "There's an excellent slide show titled 'Explore the Myth,' which looks at the stories about Jesus and traces them throughout time, examining their effect right up through today's dangerous extremist conservatism, which has left America fractured. Viewing the slide show on DVD-ROM [any Windows or Mac computer with a DVD drive] will open Web sites related to the material."
And there's even more compelling material for you to discover on your own...
The God Movie