Selling God is a 2009 documentary, which is now available on Hulu. The documentary explores religion and how preachers and evangelists sell their god to their consumers. The film was directed and written by Carl Christman. Throughout the film, a variety of popular figures make appearances, including Bill O’Reilly, Kirk Cameron, Jerry Falwell and even Noam Chomsky.

 

Oh and don’t forget good old Pat Robertson. He is in there, as well. Going into the documentary and based on the film’s name, I suspected the film would be about the monetary income associated with preachers and televangelists. The name of the documentary is somewhat deceiving in this regard, since it takes a different approach. Instead, it attempts to show how the faithful leaders convince their flock to follow their lead. In this regard, it doesn’t necessarily produce anything new, but it is still interesting nonetheless.

 

The documentary is informative, but somewhat comical, at times. It definitely seeks out those that cannot be considered stupendous. It speaks with blind followers, who are dull-witted. In this sense, it definitely does an excellent job pushing its agenda onto the viewer. If this was the only documentary one ever watched about Christianity, the viewer would form the conception that Christians and other religious individuals were ignorant and possibly illiterate.

 

Of course, maybe this isn’t far from the truth, depending on your stance on such issues. The documentary itself will be judged based on the viewer’s individualistic beliefs. If you’re a devout Christian, it is almost certain the movie will anger you greatly! Don’t worry though, because those involved are most likely headed straight to hell. If you’re a freethinker and open minded to discussions, you’ll find the documentary somewhat insightful, a little comical and a little lacking.

 

In the end, both sides can agree that Selling God attempted to peddle its wares for far too long. The 85 minute documentary could’ve been summed up much quicker. Unfortunately, the substance just wasn’t there and could’ve been tremendously better. An insight into the financials and income of those spreading the words from the Bible would’ve been much more interesting and compelling.

 

So, the documentary is okay. A 6 out of 10 is probably realistic here. Regardless of your stance on the issues, you’ll likely find yourself yearning for more and Selling God doesn’t have the capital to provide.