middle tennessee minister rice broocks wrote a book defending belief in the christian faith that helped inspire the hit faith movie god is not dead.
Broocks, who is the senior minister of the multi-site worldwide Bethel Church and lives in Franklin, wrote in 2013 “God Is Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty” for believers or those who seeking faith can learn a defense for Christianity. the apologetic style book is meant to guide people through the evidence. The 2014 film, “God’s Not Dead,” tells the fictional story of a college student who defends Christianity in a college class. The sequel, “God’s Not Dead 2,” is based on religious liberty court cases and will open in theaters on April 1. the movies.
You are reading: Books mentioned in god’s not dead 2
Broocks, who oversees the church from various sites, including the Brentwood location, and is the co-founder of every church and ministry in the nation, spoke with the Tennessean ahead of the sequel’s release. questions and answers have been edited for clarity and length.
See Also: Ian McEwan – Book Series In Order
why did you decide to write about the evidence for the existence of god?
You hear these statistics that churches are not really growing through evangelism. there is not really a commitment of the people with the message of the gospel. I concluded that this rise in “nones” (those not affiliated with any religion) was due to the fact that people basically didn’t believe the story was true. I finished in 2012, there was a song by the newsboys called “god is not dead”. I talked to them and said, “Hey, you have to give the kids a better understanding of why God is not dead.” I worked on a couple of projects. So I said I’m going to write this. I’m going to write the evidence of god.
what do you hope readers take away from your books?
if christianity is true and god exists and christ is real, then it is something you can base your life on. if not, I’m not trying to say that the ethics and some of the philosophical teachings wouldn’t be valuable, but in essence, it’s not worth basing your entire worldview on this. it is really the only religion that puts the weight of its truth in one event (the resurrection). really stands or falls on it. that leads to the second movie and i’ve written a second book, “man, myth, messiah”. my new book is in this movie, and i have a little cameo as well. in this book, “man, myth, messiah”, i deal with what is the evidence for the existence of jesus even beyond the scriptures?
See Also: Pema Chodron – Audio Books, Best Sellers, Author Bio | Audible.com
Were you surprised by the success of the first film?
I was very surprised. I think people are used to watching movies when it comes to faith that retells the story. you watch jesus movies or you watch bible movies and yet deep down the question remains, but are these stories true? you can have a lot of superhero movies and people are entertained. they are inspired by them, but nobody sits down and goes well that is very true. when you face, is there reason for your faith? is there any evidence of it? when people saw the young man in the movie giving an answer, whether they agreed with it or not, at least he was bearing witness.
How have books and movies helped you spread your message? I am honored to be asked to speak to various groups and in front of a wide range of audiences. when I get into that arena, it certainly gives me the audience in a bigger way. When I became a Christian as a junior in college, my older brother was in law school and an atheist. he came home to dissuade me from the christian faith. he had studied the bible to find all the problems with it. on the weekend he came home to dissuade me from the faith, we baptized him. that launched me into the desire for the last 30+ years to engage people on that point, and it’s been very rewarding.
contact holly meyer at 615-259-8241 and on twitter @hollyameyer.
See Also: Lisa Gardner – Book Series In Order