''American Gospel'' is a documentary series about the distortion of Christianity through American culture. Two films have been produced to date: ''American Gospel: Christ Alone'' (2018) and ''American Gospel: Christ Crucified'' (2019). The former deals with the

Word of Faith Word of Faith is a movement within charismatic Christianity which teaches that Christians can get power and financial prosperity through prayer, and that those who believe in Jesus' death and resurrection have the right to physical health. The ...

movement and prosperity theology (appearing on Netflix in 2020), while the latter addresses theological liberalism and the meaning of the atonement. The series is the basis for a streaming service, AGTV. A third film, ''American Gospel: Spirit & Fire'', is scheduled for a 2023 release. It will critically examine the view of the Holy Spirit taught in the New Apostolic Reformation movement.

Perspective

The films adopt a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

theological perspective. They feature interviews with

Voddie Baucham Voddie T. Baucham, Jr. (born March 11, 1969) is an American pastor, author, and educator. He serves as Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia. Education and career Born in Los Angeles, Baucham studied at New Mexico ...

Alistair Begg Alistair Begg (born May 22, 1952) is the senior pastor of Cleveland's Parkside Church (located in Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, Ohio), a position he has held since 1983. He is the voice behind the Truth For Life Christian radio preaching a ...

, Matt Chandler, Bryan Chapell,

Alisa Childers Alisa Childers (born Alisa Noelle Girard; April 17, 1975) is an American singer and songwriter. She is known for being in the all female Christian music group ZOEgirl. She has had a string of top ten radio singles, four studio releases, and recei ...

R. Scott Clark Robert Scott Clark (born 1961) is an American Reformed tradition, Reformed pastor and seminary professor. He is the author of several books, including his most recent work, ''Recovering the Reformed Confession''. Biography Clark earned a Bachel ...

, Ray Comfort,

Mark Dever Mark E. Dever (born August 28, 1960) is a theologian and the senior pastor of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and the president of 9Marks (formerly known as the Center for Church Reform), a Christian ministry he co-founded "i ...

, Kevin DeYoung, Michael Horton,

Jackie Hill-Perry Jackie Hill Perry (née Jackie Hill, born June 21, 1989) is an American poet, writer, and hip hop artist who initially garnered popularity for her performances of spoken word pieces such as "My Life as a Stud", "A Poem About Weed", and "Jig-a- ...

Julius Kim Julius Jason Kim is a Korean-American theologian and president of The Gospel Coalition. Biography Born in Los Angeles, Kim spent part of his childhood in South Korea before returning to California at the age of 12. He received a BA from Vanguard ...

, John F. MacArthur, Nabeel Qureshi (who died in 2017, before the first film was released), and Paul Washer. ''Christ Crucified'' also has interviews with Bart Campolo and Tony Jones, whose views are being critiqued.

Reception and critiques

The series has had a mixed reception.

Favorable

Speaking in favor of the film and its mission, Owen Strachan of

The Gospel Coalition The Gospel Coalition, or TGC, is a union of evangelical and Reformed churches. History It was founded in 2005 by theologian D. A. Carson and pastor Tim Keller. TGC describe their mission as being “deeply committed to renewing our faith ...

stated that ''Christ Alone'' "champions the true, saving gospel, and it unpacks this message with clarity and conviction." Ben Ditzel of the Worship through Song Project commended the production of ''Christ Alone'' stating it lays out "boldly, clearly, and concisely what the gospel of Jesus Christ is" and the film calls out prosperity teachers' "misleading and Gospel-deprived promissory messages of so called health, wealth, and happiness."

Critical

Conversely, writing against the films in Baptist News Global, Rick Pidcock called ''Christ Alone'' "small-minded and abusive", and said that ''Christ Crucified'' was "stuck in a time warp." Catholic Answers apologist Trent Horn, meanwhile, commended the series for its critique of prosperity theology but accused it of misrepresenting and distorting the teachings of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, particularly with its claims that Catholicism is a "plus religion" that opposed "those who were holding a biblical gospel", saying that the series is "just flat out wrong when it tries to refute the Catholic plan of salvation with the biblical gospel."

References

External links

* * * {{IMDb title , 11465650 , American Gospel: Christ Crucified Netflix original documentary films 2018 documentary films 2018 films 2019 documentary films 2019 films Documentary film series Films about evangelicalism Christianity-related controversies