Actor's Response to Atheists' Claims That 'God's Not Dead 2' Is Misleading and 'Full of Fake Christian Persecution

Actor, producer and Pure Flix Entertainment founder David A.R. White responded to atheists' claims that "God's Not Dead 2," which releases nationwide on April 1, is misleading and "full of fake Christian persecution," as one atheist blogger charged last year.

"It's an interesting thing, because, if it wasn't real, why do they get so offended by it?" White told TheBlaze on Wednesday. "I don't think it would annoy people if it wasn't true."

He continued, "At the end of "God's Not Dead 1' and even part two, we throw up about 50 different court cases that are dealing with similar issues right now."

“God’s Not Dead 2,” starring Melissa Joan Hart, Jesse Metcalfe and the late Fred Thompson, among many others, focuses on the plight of a public school history teacher named Grace Wesley (played by Hart) who finds herself in the crosshairs after discussing Jesus in the classroom.

“When Brooke, a hurting student grieving the loss of her brother, reaches out to Grace, their coffee-shop conversation leads to Grace sharing the hope she finds in Christ,” reads an official synopsis. “However, when Brooke asks an honest question about Jesus in the classroom, Grace’s reasoned response lands her in big trouble — almost before she finishes giving her answer.”

As for what success will mean for the second film in the franchise, White said that it is all about making an impact, noting that "God's Not Dead 1" is still being shown around the globe, and that the film is building peoples' faith.

"All of these emails and tweets and people that have been moved over and over and over by the movie, that they're still watching it," he said. "They're still writing in about how this movie changes their lives or changes someone's life that they know."

Listen to White discuss "God's Not Dead 2" during an interview with The Church Boys podcast last year below:

In the end, White said that the topics being tackled ring true to the audience and that, for many, "it's not just a movie, it's more than a movie."

He also explained why Pure Flix chose the teacher narrative for the sequel, departing from the plot of “God’s Not Dead 1” which focused on atheist Professor Radisson, who was played by Kevin Sorbo, and his threat to fail a Christian student named Josh Wheaton after the pupil refused to disavow the existence of God.

"In the first one, we had a student who was a male and we really wanted to tell it from a female's perspective," he said, noting that the battle moved from a college classroom to the public square.

White also said that "God's Not Dead 2" "takes it a step further" to tackle the question of who Jesus is and "is he really the son of God?"

Find out more about God's Not Dead 2" here.

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