Certain atheist groups are fuming about a Christian film that debuts tonight, claiming that the producers wrongly paint its protagonist as a martyr. Yet, The Hollywood Reporter (THR) did a commendable job in setting the issue straight.
“I’m Not Ashamed” chronicles the story of Rachel Joy Scott, the outspoken Christian student who was murdered in the Columbine High School tragedy of 1999.
In the film, shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold pepper Scott with bullets before asking: “Well, Rachel, where’s your God now? What would Jesus do? Do you still believe in God?”
“You know I do,” responds Scott, before her killers deliver their fatal shot.
Despite the awesome bravery of this scene, not all viewers have been inspired. According to THR’s Paul Bond, ThatAtheistShow.com went so far as to complain that this conversation is based on allegations without evidence, calling its inclusion in the movie “shameful.”
Although the interchange is not included in police reports, eyewitness and survivor Richard Costaldo claims that Harris and Klebold did indeed ask Scott about her faith. In fact, they asked Costaldo too. After truthfully answering that he did not believe, he was spared. Scott’s belief in Christ directly led to her death.
In addition to showing how the atheist groups’ claims were unfounded, Bond defended Scott’s family against accusations that they have profited off of their daughter’s death through the speaking tours they now run.
Craig Scott, Rachel’s brother, told Bond: “We’ve stopped a dozen school shootings and 500 kids said we helped prevent their suicides. Money has never been our motivation. It’s a mission.”
Bond also mentioned the “scathing review” of the movie trailer posted to YouTube by Atheism-is-Unstoppable, opining that it “belittles Christians.” He further exposed the shameful 11-month removal of that trailer by YouTube, after objectors protested its presence on the site. Eventually, YouTube admitted its wrong actions (“sometimes we make the wrong call”), and restored the trailer for viewing.
Who would have thought that such an inspirational movie could have caused such a ruckus?
