Is Genesis History? | |
---|---|
Directed by | Thomas Purifoy Jr. |
Written by | Thomas Purifoy Jr. |
Produced by | Thomas Purifoy Jr. |
Starring | |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2.6 million[2] |
Is Genesis History? is a 2017 American Christian documentary film that promotes creation science. It was written, directed and produced by Thomas Purifoy Jr. It was released to 704 theaters on February 23, 2017.
Synopsis and cast
Del Tackett, the creator of Focus on the Family's "The Truth Project", narrates the film.[3][4] The goal of Is Genesis History? is to make "a positive case that the Bible is historically reliable" through looking at the differing views of and questions concerning the origin of Earth, the universe, and man.[5] Interviewing thirteen creation scientists, the narrator of the film argues that Genesis portrays real historical events.[3][6] Other speakers include George Grant, Paul Nelson, Marcus R. Ross, Andrew A. Snelling, and Kurt Wise, as well as Larry Vardiman in the film's bonus features.
Production
The director of Is Genesis History?, Thomas Purifoy Jr., was inspired to make the film after his daughter began asking him questions about the creation–evolution controversy after watching a debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham on February 4, 2014.[7] Compass Cinema began principal photography in June 2015, filming Art Chadwick and the Dinosaur Excavation and Taphonomic Research Project in Wyoming.[8]
Release and box office
Is Genesis History? was released into American theaters on February 23, 2017.[1] It was shown in 704 theaters and grossed $1,796,182 in one night.[1] Over 143,000 people saw the film that night,[9] and its box office earnings were the highest of any film in theaters in the United States that night.[9][10][11][12] Due to its commercial success, the film was shown again in theaters on March 2 and 7 in the United States,[9][11][12] as well as in Canada on March 14, 2017.[9] The film went on to earn a total box office of $2,570,355, after the encore showings.[2] The film was re-released in over 850 theaters for an anniversary showing on February 22, 2018, with a bonus scene of Wheaton College students touring the Ark Encounter.[13]
Reception
The Christian blogger Joel Edmund Anderson provided a five-part review of the ideas in the movie, and wrote: "Well, I've watched it, and I'll be honest, I felt as if my head was going to explode. The reason why the movie angered me so much was not because of the answer the makers gave to their question. No, what angered me was that no matter how well-done the movie might have been made, no matter how well-intentioned and sincere Del Tackett might have been, the stone-cold fact is that it was fundamentally dishonest from the very beginning to the end."[14] Some Christian bloggers who do not accept a young Earth, writing on Reasons To Believe[15] and The Gospel Coalition's websites,[16] gave the film negative reviews, objecting to the film's portrayal of young Earth creationism as the only alternative to the standard scientific paradigm. While praising the film's cinematography, Gregg Davidson, Joel Duff, and Ken Wolgemuth, writing for The BioLogos Foundation, said that the movie makes "ubiquitous" and "massive" misrepresentations about science and natural history and associates those misrepresentations with Christianity, something which they argue will harm the faith of Christians and efforts to evangelize non-Christians.[17] A reporter for the Orlando Sentinel wrote: "Just a guess, the twist is going to be that the movie answers its own question with a resounding 'NO!'"[4]
The movie was endorsed by young Earth creationist organizations such as Answers in Genesis,[18] the Institute for Creation Research,[19] Creation Ministries International,[20] the Associates for Biblical Research,[21] and Timothy G. Standish of the Geoscience Research Institute.[22] Jerry Newcombe of the politically conservative website WND also endorsed the film,[23] along with WORLD magazine.[24] In April 2018, Newsmax, using a criteria of highest box office scores and making a "significant impact", rated the film at twelfth place out of its "top 25 conservative documentaries of all time."[25]
Patheos bloggers published positive,[26] negative,[27] and ambivalent[28] reviews about the film, as well as interviews with key cast members.[29]
Philosopher Paul Nelson, who was interviewed in the film, later published an article stating that the film distorted his arguments and presented "a false dichotomy" between naturalistic evolution and young Earth creationism while omitting other viewpoints.[30] Director and Producer Thomas Purifoy wrote a response entitled "A Tale of Two Dichotomies" in which he presented the full film interview with Nelson as evidence and stated that "as a philosopher, Paul seemed to be shifting back to viewing things from a philosophical perspective. The film, however, was not about comparing two different philosophies, but two different histories."[31]
See also
- Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, 2008 documentary film
- The Principle, 2014 documentary film
References
- ^ a b c Is Genesis History? at Box Office Mojo
- ^ a b "Is Genesis History? (2017)". The Numbers. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ a b Law, Jeannie (February 16, 2017). "Evidence of Young Earth Creationism Will Debunk Current Scientific Paradigm, Filmmaker Says". The Christian Post. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
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(help) - ^ a b Fraser, Trevor (February 16, 2017). "Movie Musings: Genesis, Leon Russell and More". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
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(help) - ^ "Press release: Where Does Everything Come From? Documentary 'Is Genesis History?' Explores the Biggest Questions". Religion News Service. November 29, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ Tomlin, Gregory (November 29, 2016). "Is Genesis History? Film Aims to Answer Questions of Creation, Evolution, Global Flood". Christian Examiner. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
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(help) - ^ Storm, Christie (February 18, 2017). "Daughter's Queries Prompted Genesis Film". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
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(help) - ^ "10,000 Dinosaurs in One Meter of Mud – Is Genesis History?". Is Genesis History?. 2016-07-07. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
- ^ a b c d Standish, Timothy G. (March 7, 2017). "Strong One-Day Attendance to Biblical Creation Film Prompts Additional Showings". Adventist Review. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
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(help) - ^ Guerrasio, Jason (April 5, 2017). "How religious movies are thriving more than ever before under Trump". Business Insider. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
- ^ a b Law, Jeannie (March 4, 2017). "'Is Genesis History?' Film on Young Earth Creationism Returns to Theaters for Encore Screening". The Christian Post. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
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(help) - ^ a b "Is Genesis History? Fathom Event Hits #1 In Box Office, Returns to Theaters March 2nd and 7th". AMFM Magazine. February 27, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
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(help) - ^ Showalter, Brandon (February 21, 2018). "Young Earth Creationist, Wheaton College Students Speak at 1-Y Anniv. Release of 'Is Genesis History?'". The Christian Post. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
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(help) - ^ :* "Digging Deep into the Movie, "Is Genesis History" (Part 1): Rock Layers, Paradigms, and How This YECist Movie Tries to Bury the Truth". resurrecting orthodoxy. 2 June 2017.
- "Digging Deep into the Movie, "Is Genesis History?" (Part 2): What is the Text of Genesis 1-11 Really About?". resurrecting orthodoxy. 3 June 2017.
- "Digging Deeper into the Movie "Is Genesis History?" (Part 3): Dating Methods You Can't Trust, and Epochs that Aren't in the Bible". resurrecting orthodoxy. 5 June 2017.
- "Digging Deeper into the Movie "Is Genesis History?" (Part 4): Baraminology, Faster Than the Speed of Light, Babel…and David S. Pumpkins". resurrecting orthodoxy. 7 June 2017.
- "Digging Deeping into the movie, "Is Genesis History?" (Part 5): The Culture Wars, Creation as Judgment, and the Inevitable Conclusion". resurrecting orthodoxy. 11 June 2017.
- ^ Zweerink, Jeff (February 24, 2017). "Thoughts on Is Genesis History?". Reasons To Believe. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
- ^ Ortlund, Gavin (May 5, 2017). "'Is Genesis History?': Revisiting an Age-Old Debate". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Davidson, Gregg; Duff, Joel; Wolgemuth, Ken (March 1, 2017). "A Geological Response to the Movie "Is Genesis History?"". The BioLogos Foundation. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Ham, Ken (January 6, 2017). "Is Genesis History? Film Coming to Theaters". Answers in Genesis. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Hebert, Jake; Thomas, Brian (March 1, 2017). "Reviewing 'Is Genesis History?'". Institute for Creation Research. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Sarfati, Jonathan. "Is Genesis History?". Creation Ministries International. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Smith, Jr., Henry B. (January 18, 2017). "A Great New Film: Is Genesis History?". Associates for Biblical Research. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Standish, Timothy G. (February 17, 2017). "A Review of the Documentary Film "Is Genesis History?"". Geoscience Research Institute. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
- ^ Newcombe, Jerry (February 14, 2017). "'Is Genesis History?' – A Must-See Movie". WND. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
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(help) - ^ "Deep time out – WORLD". world.wng.org. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
- ^ Anderson, Troy (April 4, 2018). "Newsmax's Top 25 Conservative Documentaries of All Time". Newsmax. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
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(help) - ^ Morris, G. Shane (2017-02-22). "'Is Genesis History?' Is Not Your Dad's Creationist Documentary". Patheos. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
- ^ Seidensticker, Bob (2017-04-18). "Movie Review: "Is Genesis History?"". Patheos. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
- ^ Williams, Chris (2017-05-02). "Kicking off summer with "Is Genesis History," MST3K, Batman and more!". Patheos. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
- ^ Hamby, Dewayne (2017-02-20). "'Is Genesis History?': Answering Age-Old Earth Age Questions". Patheos. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
- ^ Nelson, Paul (February 23, 2017). "New Film Is Genesis History? Presents a False Dichotomy: I Dissent from My Role in It". Discovery Institute. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ "A Tale of Two Dichotomies – Is Genesis History?". Is Genesis History?. 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2017-08-30.