God's Not Dead is a 2014 American Christian drama film directed by Harold Cronk and starring Kevin Sorbo, Shane Harper, David A. R. White, and Dean Cain. Written by Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman from a story they co-wrote with Hunter Dennis and inspired by Rice Broocks' book God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty, the film follows a Christian college student (Harper) whose faith is challenged by an atheist philosophy professor (Sorbo), who declares God a pre-scientific fiction. The film was produced by Pure Flix Entertainment in association with Check the Gate Productions, Red Entertainment Group, and Faith Family Films and released theatrically on March 21, 2014, by Freestyle Releasing.[4] God's Not Dead was a commercial success, grossing over $62 million on a $2 million budget.[3] Despite this, it was heavily panned by mainstream critics, who criticized its screenplay, Cronk's directing, performances, mean-spirited tone, characters, and use of straw man arguments and common stereotypes of atheists, instead of any actual debate.[4][5][6][7] The film successfully spawned a film series of the same name, consisting of four sequels.