The Court Movie Reflection

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Recommended: evolution in school

When I read the plot summary for this movie, I knew that I was interested. I am a Christian, so I wanted to see if this movie would challenge my beliefs (or perhaps strengthen them). I also found the premise of the court case to be interesting. I do believe in some form of evolution, but I think that it would be ridiculous no matter what my beliefs to arrest a teacher for teaching evolution. I wanted to see how the case (although it was partly fictional) was handled and how it aligned with or affected my beliefs. The scene at the beginning where Cates was arrested was shocking in the language used by the man arresting Cates. The very idea of a statute that denies teachers the right to teach any theory denying the theory of God’s creation …show more content…

He said that those who believe that man descended from beasts should act like the beasts that they believe they are descended from. Brady (and many of the citizens of Hillsborough) are more extreme Christians, and their words and actions conflict with the idea of peace and love that they claim to believe in. Christians are supposed to love and accept all people, even those with different beliefs or lifestyles that they do not agree with. Brady’s speech showed that he does not truly hold these beliefs the way he would like everyone to think. Furthermore, the townspeople’s reaction to hearing that Henry Drummond, a well-known atheist, would be involved also contradicted the accepting nature Christians are supposed to have. One man yelled “send him back to hell” and others shouted about keeping him out, all because he is an atheist. The people in this movie do not at all align with my beliefs about how we should behave as …show more content…

Rather than even listen to her daughter, Reverend Brown called her and Cates sinners, saying that he hates Cates because he hates the Lord’s enemies. Once again, this contradicts the idea of accepting people with differing beliefs. When Rachel tried to reason with her father, he started praying (almost maniacally), completely ignoring Rachel until she left in disbelief and frustration. While I certainly agree that prayer and following God’s will are important, Reverend Brown’s actions were incredibly rash. He did not even listen to his daughter and try to understand where she was coming from. Rather than either accepting her choice or gently guiding her away from her choice, he was harsh with her and then broke down in prayer. Later in the movie, Reverend Brown’s sermon about cursing nonbelievers and “calling down hellfire on the man who has sinned against the Word” is yet another example of the people of Hillsborough’s extreme Christian views. It pains me to know that, although this is only a movie, there are people who hold these beliefs and preach them to others; they make Christians look

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