American Gospel – Christ Alone: Challenging, Empowering, Overwhelming

This movie was selected by my patron supporters over at the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon. Support as little as $3 a month and have your voice heard!

American Gospel: Christ Alone has been a word-of-mouth juggernaut in Christian circles both online and offline. I remember the impact it had on social media Reformed groups back in 2018, and I even remember when my pastor was recommending it at the pulpit during morning announcements. It was crazy. Now, in 2020, it’s landed on Netflix and you would think it was American Gospel: Christ Alone’s second coming, as groups online and offline have been praising its successes.

Through-out the episode we talk about balancing an appropriate appreciation of the documentary alongside healthy critique, how American Gospel: Christ Alone has both an excitement and frustration within its response to the prosperity gospel, and in our closing section, which runs quite long this time around, Daniel shares at length his first-hand experience with the prosperity gospel, and reveals how deep its damaging roots have entered the American culture.

Featuring talking heads with Matt Chandler, Paul Washer, and Benny Hinn’s nephew Costi Hinn, American Gospel: Christ Alone explores the core question of Christianity – “What is the Gospel?” – and juxtaposes the gospel proposed in Scripture against the gospel proposed by popular western televangelists. In doing so, it shines a light on real-life accounts from several prosperity gospel survivors and the dangers that lurk around every corner when misunderstanding and twisting the word of God for monetary gain.

American Gospel: Christ Alone is Rated TV-PG. IMDB doesn’t have a detailed certificate, so I’m going to run off what Netflix describes in their certificate: suicide, substances, and language. It features Costi Hinn, Paul Washer, Matt Chandler, Mark Dever, Justin Peters, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Bill Johnson, and Todd White. Directed by Brandon Kimber. American Gospel: Christ Alone is currently available on Netflix.

Consider supporting Cinematic Doctrine on Patreon! As a bonus, you can gain access to a once-a-month movie poll where you decide a movie we discuss on the podcast, early unedited episodes of the podcast, and merch!!

Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!

Cinematic Doctrine is available on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, and other major podcast apps.

Nine to Five – Fonda, Tomlin, and Dolly Save Feminism – Cinematic Doctrine: A Movie Review Podcast Hosted by Christians

Send us a Question!PATREON MOVIE DISCUSSION: This movie was selected by our Patreon Supporters over at the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon. Support as little as $3 a month and have your voice heard! Kathryn joins Melvin to discuss Nine to Five, a much-loved 1980's office-comedy! The two discuss the incredible performances, clever situational humor, its myriad of feminist ideas, and so much more. Tune in now!Topics:(PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 20-minutes discussing Universal Studios being the first studio to hit $5 billion at the Box-Office in 2026, what's setting them apart from the competition, and why Disney didn't reach this milestone despite Spider-Man: Brand New Day's incredible success. (PATREON EXCLUSIVE)It's a comedy film, but it also has these little details that speak to a heavier topic.The main performances from Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman are incredibly charismatic.Kathryn, "The fact that Dolly Parton herself was so forward in saying, "I'm not a feminist" and it's like, "Okay, but, look at the art you just made!"."Why Doralee's fantasy of Mr. Hart is a clever inversion.Kathryn noticed that aspects of Judy, Violet, and Doralee's fantasies end up happening in one way or another.Applying "fight, flight, or fawn" to the leading ladies at the start of the film.The ending has a soft call-to-action, and Kathryn makes note of a costume detail that motivates this idea.Recommendations:Day of the Dead (1985) (Movie)Ginger Snaps (2000) (Movie) Support the showSupport on Patreon for Unique Perks! Early access to uncut episodes Vote on a movie/show we review One-time reward of two Cinematic Doctrine Stickers & PinsSocial Links: ThreadsWebsiteInstagramLetterboxdFacebook Group 

1. Nine to Five – Fonda, Tomlin, and Dolly Save Feminism 56:23
2. Resident Evil (2026) – Devoid of Thought; Fun to Watch 01:04:45
3. The Runner – Gal Gadon't 01:01:28
4. It Ends – horror in lower case 59:01
5. Buffet Infinity – Cult of (Commercial Television) Personality 58:45