FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q1. Why American Gospel?
A: We believe American culture's influence on the gospel is a problem, so an "American Gospel" is a distorted, corrupted gospel. That distortion happens when you add to the gospel (promises of "the American dream" of health, wealth, & prosperity), or when you subtract from the gospel (due to the influence of postmodernism, relativism, religious pluralism, etc.).
Q2. Why aren’t these films free? Aren’t you selling the gospel? Aren’t you being hypocrites, like the prosperity preachers you criticize?
A: We produce films that focus on discerning false teaching by contrasting it with the gospel message through storytelling. Our films are tools—like a Christian book—that can help people understand the gospel, but they are not “the gospel” itself. Creating films involves research, travel, cameras, computer equipment, writing, editing, graphic design, animation, music composition, sound mixing, color correction, distribution, legal fees, etc. All of this costs time and money, and we believe that the Bible teaches that people should be paid for their work (1 Tim. 5:18). For those who still think it’s wrong to sell a film about the gospel, have you ever made the same objection at your Christian bookstore when you purchased your Bible, a study guide, etc.?
There is nothing inherently wrong with money or wealth. When we critique the prosperity gospel, we are critiquing a specific teaching that is the fruit of the love* of money (*the sins of coveting, greed, idolatry, etc.). This false teaching promises the blessings of health and wealth to believers if they give or sow financial seeds into a ministry. These wolves prey on the poor and sick and often use their donations to live in excess and luxury. We aren’t making those unbiblical promises, nor are we living in luxury because of our work.
Our company is also not a non-profit Christian ministry that can accept donations. We are a small video production company with 3 employees that produces documentary films. When you buy our films, you help us offset the costs of producing a film and support the production of our future projects. Like everyone else, we have to pay others for their work, and we need to be paid for our work to continue supporting our families.
Our films are a tool that the Lord can and has used to help people come out of false teaching and understand the gospel clearly, but they are not essential tools. We only ask that if you appreciate these films, please support us by purchasing our films. Our motives have also been to make our content as freely accessible as possible while balancing the need to support ourselves:
1. The first 40 minutes of our first film has always been free:
https://youtu.be/ocHm18wUAGU?si=xBndS1-ynNfg9GXw
2. Our entire first film, “American Gospel: Christ Alone” is fully free on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUOLt99JnAk
3. We've also released a free chapter of "AG2: Christ Crucified" here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9QVz-iFZp8
If you are having financial difficulty, and are unable to see our films, please contact us at [email protected]
There is nothing inherently wrong with money or wealth. When we critique the prosperity gospel, we are critiquing a specific teaching that is the fruit of the love* of money (*the sins of coveting, greed, idolatry, etc.). This false teaching promises the blessings of health and wealth to believers if they give or sow financial seeds into a ministry. These wolves prey on the poor and sick and often use their donations to live in excess and luxury. We aren’t making those unbiblical promises, nor are we living in luxury because of our work.
Our company is also not a non-profit Christian ministry that can accept donations. We are a small video production company with 3 employees that produces documentary films. When you buy our films, you help us offset the costs of producing a film and support the production of our future projects. Like everyone else, we have to pay others for their work, and we need to be paid for our work to continue supporting our families.
Our films are a tool that the Lord can and has used to help people come out of false teaching and understand the gospel clearly, but they are not essential tools. We only ask that if you appreciate these films, please support us by purchasing our films. Our motives have also been to make our content as freely accessible as possible while balancing the need to support ourselves:
1. The first 40 minutes of our first film has always been free:
https://youtu.be/ocHm18wUAGU?si=xBndS1-ynNfg9GXw
2. Our entire first film, “American Gospel: Christ Alone” is fully free on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUOLt99JnAk
3. We've also released a free chapter of "AG2: Christ Crucified" here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9QVz-iFZp8
If you are having financial difficulty, and are unable to see our films, please contact us at [email protected]
Q3. Why did you include President Trump in the film? He is not a religious leader or prosperity teacher. Why didn't you criticize other Presidents or politicians?
A: One does not have to be a religious leader or teacher to have a theological influence on American culture and its understanding of the Christian gospel, which is why we decided to include clips from people like President Trump, Oprah, etc. President Trump was included in the film because of his direct connections to the false moralistic and prosperity gospels that are critiqued in the film, and at the time of this film’s release (2018), he represented the United States of America. Trump was never directly criticized in the film (no one interviewed ever mentioned his name), but we used two clips to let him speak for himself, so that you can be informed in what he believes, and how to pray for him.
In the first clip, during the campaign for the 2016 election, Donald Trump questioned his need for repentance and forgiveness of sin, because he felt he was a good person who didn't make mistakes. This was compared the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22.
"Why do I have to repent? Why do I have to ask for forgiveness if you’re not making mistakes? I work hard. I’m an honorable person." - Donald Trump
In the second clip, Trump says that his pastor was Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote “The Power of Positive Thinking,” which is a book that essentially teaches the prosperity gospel view of using your positive thoughts/words to create your reality. Trump’s spiritual advisor is Paula White, a Word of Faith televangelist who is featured in the film asking for seed money.
In a film about the “American Gospel” we felt it was relevant to make the connection to America’s President so that you can understand how his theological views shape his decision making as President. Using Trump was not a politically motivated decision, as some have suggested. In our second film, “Christ Crucified” we use other Presidents and politicians (Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, etc.) to illustrate points related to progressive Christianity.
In the first clip, during the campaign for the 2016 election, Donald Trump questioned his need for repentance and forgiveness of sin, because he felt he was a good person who didn't make mistakes. This was compared the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22.
"Why do I have to repent? Why do I have to ask for forgiveness if you’re not making mistakes? I work hard. I’m an honorable person." - Donald Trump
In the second clip, Trump says that his pastor was Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote “The Power of Positive Thinking,” which is a book that essentially teaches the prosperity gospel view of using your positive thoughts/words to create your reality. Trump’s spiritual advisor is Paula White, a Word of Faith televangelist who is featured in the film asking for seed money.
In a film about the “American Gospel” we felt it was relevant to make the connection to America’s President so that you can understand how his theological views shape his decision making as President. Using Trump was not a politically motivated decision, as some have suggested. In our second film, “Christ Crucified” we use other Presidents and politicians (Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, etc.) to illustrate points related to progressive Christianity.
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