This song (starts about 1:15 into the clip) is by far the best part of the Unstoppable movie, a new Christian propaganda film from Kirk Cameron and Liberty University. Whatever I might think about Warren Barfield’s worldview, the man can sing. This song about speaking out for one’s beliefs, a lesson that should extend far beyond those for whom it was intended. Arguably, that lesson should apply much more to those who have not formed their beliefs by placing faith in the words of an ancient tome rooted in a pre-scientific view of how the world works and a pre-humanistic view of how humans ought to treat one another.
I’ve found three critical reviews of the movie so far, two of them hosted here at Skeptic Ink:
- Damion’s review at BGP – Unstoppable featuring Kirk Cameron
- Brian’s review at GPS – GPS reviews unstoppable featuring Kirk Cameron
- Holloway’s review at Crosswalk – Unstoppable movie review
Of these, I think the last of the three may be the most devastating, because it was written by a Christian writing for a Christian audience. Here is the money quote:
While Cameron preaches the Gospel, he effectively dodges the question he promised to answer. In the film’s final montage he even states outright, “I won’t even try to pretend I could answer a question like that.” Well, then… what was the point?
…
Unstoppable touches on much, but delivers on little, possibly because of some fatal flaws. Primarily, the problem of pain cannot be answered without asking several other questions first. And knowing “how we got here” means more than rehashing stories from Genesis. One must gradually build a theological framework based on answering questions such as free will/determinism, eternal destiny, spiritual warfare, etc. Cameron touches on some of these, but not in direct, coherent ways, and sometimes he seems to flip flop on his own opinions (like evil and free will vs. God being in control of everything). If we don’t take the time to clarify what we believe about foundational issues, any approach to the problem of pain will fall flat.
On the whole, Unstoppable probably would have had more punch if it had been 20 minutes instead of an hour, and was marketed to churches specifically instead of anyone and everyone who’s ever wondered about pain. I hope that the message Cameron does deliver is able to reach and encourage many who struggle with this issue, although I can’t unequivocally recommend bringing a seriously, deeply struggling friend to the viewing.
Naturally, I would (somewhat equivocally) recommend the opposite. To paraphrase Zachary Moore, Kirk Cameron may not be a good apologist, but he is the apologist that contemporary Christianity deserves.
