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.

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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.

The Runner – Gal Gadon't – Cinematic Doctrine: A Movie Review Podcast Hosted by Christians

Send us a Question!PARTY PLEASER:Kathryn joins Melvin to summarize what might be 2026's punching-bag movie, The Runner, featuring Gal Gadot! The two endure against the film's confounding plot, poorly edited "action" sequences, and the continued self-inflicted humiliation of Gal Gadot. Topics:(PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 20-minutes discussing The Hollywood Reporter's "‘Resident Evil’ Filmmaker Zach Cregger Reveals the Key Adjustment He Made After Test Screenings" from Brian Davids, specifically how Cregger cut-back on the jokes, and why tone is so important in horror. (PATREON EXCLUSIVE)Melvin & Kathryn are convinced that the majority of the film is Gal Gadot's stunt-double with Gal's face super-imposed over their body.Melvin tries to go into movies with a bad reputation thinking to himself, "Well, maybe it won't be as bad as people say."… but sometimes people are right.Is the movie confusing, or a plain mess?Maybe they're just "too woke", but Melvin & Kathryn agree there's a moment in the middle of The Runner that gives them the ick.Kathryn cuts to the chase, "I do not like this storyline."Talking the "Gal Gadot" problem.Kathryn reveals something that Melvin missed… something that bums him out!Recommendations:Cheap Magic Inside by Beirut (2011) (Music Video)Colony (Gunche) (2026) (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. The Runner – Gal Gadon't 01:01:28
2. It Ends – horror in lower case 59:01
3. Buffet Infinity – Cult of (Commercial Television) Personality 58:45
4. Better Off Dead – Teens Are Absurd 50:12
5. I Can Only Imagine – A Monumental Song, A Serviceable Movie 01:11:52