American Gospel

American Gospel is a documentary series first shown on Netflix. Two episodes have been produced to date: American Gospel: Christ Alone (2018) and American Gospel: Christ Crucified (2019). The former deals with the Word of Faith movement and prosperity theology, while the latter addresses theological liberalism.

For the musical genre, see Gospel music.

American Gospel
Original film poster
Directed byBrandon Kimber
Production
company
Transition Studios
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
2018–2019
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The films adopt a Reformed theological perspective.[1] They feature interviews with Voddie Baucham, Alistair Begg, Matt Chandler, Bryan Chapell, Alisa Childers, R. Scott Clark, Ray Comfort, Mark Dever, Kevin DeYoung, Michael Horton, Jackie Hill-Perry, Julius Kim, John F. MacArthur, John Piper, 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.

The series has had a mixed reception.[2] Speaking in favor of the film and its mission, Owen Strachan of The Gospel Coalition stated that Christ Alone "champions the true, saving gospel, and it unpacks this message with clarity and conviction."[3] Conversely, writing against the films in Baptist News Global, Rick Pidcock called Christ Alone "small-minded and abusive",[4] and said that Christ Crucified was "stuck in a time warp."[5] 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, 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."[6]

A third film, American Gospel: Spirit & Fire, is scheduled for a 2022 release. It will critically examine the view of the Holy Spirit taught in the New Apostolic Reformation movement.[7]

References
  1. Whitten, Emily (January 16, 2021). "Rightly divided theology". World. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  2. Bjornson, Greta (May 29, 2020). "'American Gospel Christ Alone' Controversy: Why The Film is Dividing Netflix Viewers". Decider. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  3. Strachan, Owen (January 17, 2019). "'American Gospel' Blows a Hole in the Prosperity Gospel". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  4. Pidcock, Rick (August 14, 2020). "Six ways 'American Gospel' is small-minded and abusive". Baptist News Global. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  5. Pidcock, Rick (December 28, 2020). "American Gospel: Christ Crucified is stuck in a time warp". Baptist News Global. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  6. Horn, Trent (March 15, 2022). "REBUTTING "American Gospel" on Catholic salvation". Catholic Answers. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  7. "American Gospel: Spirit & Fire (2022)". Retrieved October 6, 2021.
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