Do You Believe? (2015)

This movie provokes a comparison with "God is (not) dead" (GIND) which arguably had a similar message. However, while GIND tried to convince us intellectually that faith is good, Do You Believe? (DYB) targets our emotions, which makes much more sense. You cannot win the argument for god intellectually, given that there is neither measurable evidence nor logical support for a deity. Philosophers have tried for centuries and failed.Unfortunately DYB uses one trick GIND already used before: in both movies the non-believers were depicted as cold, rational, and dead hearted. (let's face it, the non-believer in GIND was a a real asshole). This is not only unrealistic but quite unfair, not the least because the non-believers hardly had a say.I wonder whether this movie represents Christians realistically: by and large, they were a sorry lot. Either homeless, ex-criminals, cash-strapped, or low-middle class folks who really needed some divine help to make ends meet. Those who were better off were an older couple who lost their child, or a pastor and his wife who suffered from infertility. As a non-religious person I constantly thought "yeah, please help them, god, they really need a hand!". Sure enough, some of the characters were suicidal. While all this misery is obviously not quite true for the majority of American Christians it certainly reflects the state of religious people on a global scale: the more miserable people's lives are, the more religious they are. Not surprisingly, the two secular protagonists were a lawyer and a doctor, well-off educated folks who do not depend on their religion to solve their rather mundane problems.Believers will like that the independent histories of a dozen people have all their stories joined in the grand finale, almost magically as if the strings had been pulled by god himself. There is even a happy ending, with the cancer patient magically cured, the childless couple ending up with a baby girl, and the suicidal singles finding each other. But I always wonder why a god can't do his magic without killing a bunch of innocent bystanders along the way. For an almighty, merciful god this would only require a click of his fingers. But as believers have known all along — subtle is the Lord…!PS: the actors did a great job. All of them were truly credible even if the screenplay had too many quirks for my taste.

I'm in ministry, and I'm all about using art to share the gospel... but this movie is just not good. The writing's bad, the acting is stiff, and the concept is pretty much a less interesting Christian version of "Crash". It also played into some racially insensitive stereotypes: the criminals were all black, the black mother gave threats of "whoopins", the unmarried pregnant girl was Latina, and all the good guys were white. I'll give the benefit of the doubt and say these things were unintentional by the writers, but the racial undertones were still obvious to those paying attention. It seems the message of the movie is trying to reach non-Christians, but it's so full of "Christianese" language and phrases that the only people who will have any idea what the heck they're talking about are those who already believe. I'm not against using film and all art forms to proclaim Jesus, but I am against doing it badly. Christians need to be creative and original, and not just emulate (poorly) what is being done in the "secular" movie and music industries. If we are to hold ourselves to higher standards throughout life, let's hold ourselves to higher standards when it comes to making art as well.

"If you were ever accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" For me, I hope so and I'd like to think so because if me living in a way that's pleasing to God is a crime, them I'm proud to plead guilty!OMG! This is a great movie! How had I missed seeing this? This movie is truly a testament of how we can overcome ANYTHING with the help of Christ! The characters are dealing with overcoming homelessness, PTSD, infertility, being a changed person despite being judged because of a prior incarceration, dying from leukemia yet still being happy and a light for others, alienation from family and suicidal thoughts, the death of a child and learning to not stay in a place of mourning but to live and help others, poverty and leaving a life of crime, trusting God's provision through tithing despite mounting financial debts, defending your faith in God to those who say He doesn't exist and being faithful to God and His principles despite being accused of pushing your beliefs onto others simply for sharing His Word and being threatened to choose God or your job. If you haven't seen this movie, please do! It's the best faith-based movie I've seen yet (better than Courageous, God's Not Dead and even War Room). It truly shows how you can love again, that miracles do exist and that we do NOT have to be the people we used to be or products of our circumstances and despite what we are going through, God is with us and will provide as long as we have faith and......BELIEVE! "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."- James 2:17"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." -Matt. 5:44

Very well done.! Excellent job in developing characters and weaving the plot. This is real life. It is the way life can be. It was very enjoyable as well. I felt the genuineness or authentic nature of each of the characters and situations were woven into an intricate storyline. I would recommend this movie to everyone. Sean Astin did a great job. Lee Majors awash excellent. Bosworth was my favorite character along with Lilly. The pastor and his wife are very good as well. So many different types of people interface in this film. Racism is not an issue. Lower SES is also not an issue. It is a great family movie