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'I'm Not Ashamed' - Atheists slam faith-based Columbine massacre film

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Witnesses claim Christians were targeted but Atheists disagree.

Movies based on true stories come out every year - but of course the faith-based films get the most controversy, primarily from Atheist hate groups.

Highlights

By Kenya Sinclair (CALIFORNIA NETWORK)
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
10/20/2016 (7 years ago)

Published in Movies

Keywords: I'm Not Ashamed, Colombine, shooting, Atheists

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "I'm Not Ashamed" is a new faith-based film focused on the Columbine massacre that occurred in a Colorado High School.

The school shooting occurred on April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Columbine, CO. Fifteen people were murdered, including both shooters Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.


Rachel Scott was one of the duo's thirteen victims that day.

"I'm Not Ashamed" follows Scott's unshaken Christian faith.

In fact, when one of the shooters aims his weapon at her and asks if she believes in God, Scott's character replies, "You know I do."

He responds, "Then go be with him" and kills her on the spot.

The powerful story of martyrdom serves as an inspiration to Christians around the world - but of course Atheists have a problem with it.

They claim the official police report never included such an exchange between Scott and Klebold, though Richard Castaldo, a friend of Scott's, was present and heard the conversation.

Castaldo was only spared a bullet to the brain because he answered the question honestly. No, he did not believe in God.

The Hollywood Reporter explained a scene in the film between Scott, Harris and Klebold goes as follows:

"Well, Rachel, where's your God now?" Harris sneers.

"What would Jesus do?" Klebold asks.

"Do you still believe in God?" Harris asks as he trains his weapon on her.

"You know I do," she replies.

"Then go be with him," Harris says before shooting her down.

According to an Atheist blog post, it is "shameful" to frame the film around "allegations that do not have any evidence to support them."

Castaldo, who was shot and paralyzed from the waist down during the attack, later revealed Harris and Klebold asked both himself and Scott about their faith.

When Scott admitted she did, the boys began yelling at her, asking "about God and do you believe in God."


Craig Scott, Rachel's older brother, was in the school library during the shooting. He claimed "Eric and Dylan knew her. There is audio tape of them calling her a 'stuck-up Christian bitch.' She may have died anyway, but in that moment, she was killed for her faith."

In the library, Craig witnessed another teen being killed because of her faith, giving credit to Castaldo's claim that a conversation about God did in fact occur between the shooters and Rachel.

"I know from the library how brave it was for my sister to say yes because, what happened there, was a girl simply saying, 'Oh God,' and that's what caught their attention," Craig recalled.

"She was crying and begging for her life. They asked her four times if she believed in God, and finally she said yes, and that's when I heard gunshots. Her name was Val Schnur.

"This is a real event and they want it told the way it happened, and I can respect that. But they're not privy to the information we have. All they have are police reports and news articles."

Meanwhile, on one Atheist site, people are arguing the film is "dangerous" for "portraying non-believers as the enemy."

Some complain the country is divided enough without a movie attempting to tell people to "find Jesus."

There was so much Atheist-driven controversy YouTube actually removed the film's trailer for nearly a year before finally putting it back up and claiming it made the "wrong call."

A statement released from YouTube to the Reporter explained: "With the massive volume of videos on our platform, sometimes we make the wrong call on content that is flagged by our community. When this is brought to our attention, we review the content and take appropriate action, including restoring videos or channels that were mistakenly removed."

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Brian Baugh, the film's director, argued the film is not meant to be only for Christians. He told The Wrap: "I started reading the script thinking it was going to be about some boring, sheltered, high school church girl who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I was wrong."

He read Rachel's diaries and realized she was like most girls her age, "complicated, messy and full of heart."

Baugh claimed he "could see that this project had the chance to connect with the audience no matter what they believed."

He added, "At the core, the film is about the universal process of learning to stand up for your beliefs. Even though I knew this was going to be marketed as a 'Christian film,' I thought it had a chance to connect with mainstream audiences if given the chance."

The film is available Friday, October 21. Watch and decide for yourself whether the faith-based film warrants unnecessary Atheist backlash.

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