My Week in Atheism isn’t your normal documentary. When we come across documentaries, most often the topic reflects the filmmakers own cherished beliefs. John Christy broke that mold with this film.
Accompanied by his friend – and his adversary – David Smalley, Christy travels through the world of atheism to establish the movement’s true motives and arguments. His week in atheism eventually turned into a yearlong process, where he attended atheist conferences, debating publicly, and interviewing prominent atheists such as AronRa, David Fitzgerald, and Matt Dillahunty. In the synopsis of the film, Christy says:My Week in Atheism isn’t your normal documentary. When we come across documentaries, most often the topic reflects the filmmakers own cherished beliefs. John Christy broke that mold with this film.
“The way the world is today, people too often view others with different beliefs as their enemies. But David and I have developed a deep friendship – even though we talk, and argue about religious differences all the time…As I’ve gotten to know David more, I appreciate his challenge to my faith. Rather than digging in my heels to defend myself, I’ve tried to take an honest, intellectual look at what motivates atheism and why I believe what I believe…My goal with this film is to encourage viewers to examine the foundation of their beliefs whether Christian, atheist, or undecided. Being pushed to explain my Christian faith has led me to a deeper understanding of the Bible and its applicability to everyday life situations.”
Rarely do we find this among the believing community. And I commend John Christy for doing the hard work most theists flat-out refuse to.
Before opposing a position, I believe one must fully understand that position. I can criticize members of both the theist and atheist communities; most are quick to scoff at those who think differently before truly understanding what that difference really is. I think this is significantly inappropriate to do such a thing, but John sets a standard that I hope both theists and atheists aspire to reach.
To be honest, I can’t pick a memorable scene; I thoroughly enjoyed the film. I believe John was fair to the atheist movement. He presented a fair, concise, and entertaining tale involving frustration, friendship and love. I hope this film helps the theistic community realize atheists aren’t arrogant, snide, and rude criticizers; we’re people trying to understand the world as well. With that, I hope this film also shows those in the atheistic community realize theists are people as well and deserve a fair, well-reasoned debate if that is what they want. I truly recommend this film for anyone who wants to visit atheism through the eyes of an honest man; whose quest to understand the world of atheism brought him closer to those around him.
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You can visit the official website here.
You can purchase on DVD here.
You can purchase on Blu-ray here.
Joshua Brucker 