March 24 1999Oh God! Essay, Research Paper

Answers #1-71.a) Jerry LandersJerry’s role in the movie was to spread the word for God. God chose him and knew he could do a good job. His role was to get people to gain faith in God and tell everyone about God.

b) Bobbie Landers Bobbie’s role was to show conflict. Jerry was trying to do what God told him to do and Bobbie tried to make him think it wasn’t true and he was crazy. She later believed Jerry and supported him on his journey.

c) Rev. Williams Rev. Williams’ role in the movie was to show how people get the wrong idea about God. He was preaching lies about God and taking people’s money when he wasn’t telling the truth.

d) Mr. Summers Mr. Summer’s role was also to show conflict. He told Jerry that if he kept preaching that he saw God, he would lose his job. His role is also to show that some people don’t believe in what Jerry is telling them.

2. Bobbie’s initial reaction to Jerry’s message was she thought he was crazy. Her argument was that seeing is believing, not hearing. Bobbie eventually believed when God appeared in court and made the cards disappear and reappear.

3. The significance of the conversation between God and Jerry in the bathroom is to show that God isn’t much different from us. He made us and he can resemble us. It also help Jerry understand that he wasn’t totally crazy and it really was God he was talking to. It also gave him a better way to tell people that he met him and talked to him.

4. The significance of the “Dina Shore Show” was to show how people do not have faith, even if they have a religion. It was to show how hard it was to make people believe Jerry really saw God. Instead of listening and believing, they laughed at Jerry and made him feel foolish. It hindered Jerry’s goal to spread the word because people all thought he was a joke.

5.a) “Religion is easy, I am talking about faith”This statement means that anyone can have a religion. A person can be raised as a catholic, but doesn’t believe or have faith in God. A person can also be very religious but be unsure about God’s existence. Faith means being confident and really believing. Religion is just your view of something.

b) “You have the strength that comes from knowing.”This statement means that Jerry has seen God, he KNOWS he exists, which gives him strength not to give up on the people who don’t believe. No matter how many people don’t believe him or think he’s crazy, he knows he’s not crazy and that there is a God, so he feels the need to prove it to others.

c) “The heart is the temple wherein all truth resides”This statement means that your heart is where the truth is, and you can use it, or you can lie, but if you dig deep into your heart you will find truth in what you say. If you have faith and believe in God with all your heart, that is the truth for you.

d) “If you find it hard to believe in me, maybe it will help you to know that I believe in you.”This statement means that if someone believes in you, it gives you confidence to believe in him and confidence in what you believe. It means that God believes in Jerry. That means Jerry gains confidence in himself and his beliefs and knows God exists in his heart.

e) “You talk, I’ll listen”This statement means that God doesn’t want to tell us what to do, he wants us to decide what to do on our own. He wants us to do stuff for ourselves, to gain confidence to stand up for what we believe in, and he will listen to what you have to say.

6. The court scene was the turning point of the movie because it went from people thinking Jerry was crazy, to them seeing God for themselves. The movie was about Jerry trying to get people to have faith in God. Once God appears for everyone to see, it gives them a chance to believe for themselves whether he is real or not, and whether to have faith in them.

7. How to respond to the call of God is difficult because God cannot be seen. God either lives in your heart, or doesn’t live in you at all. You can be told or taught that there is a God, but it is up to you to research the topic yourself and chose yourself if you believe and have faith or not, it is not something that can be taught to you by a teacher or parent. Examples in the movie were when God first started talking to Jerry, he didn’t know whether he was going crazy or it really happened. He wasn’t sure if he should go to the appointment that he had with God from the letter. Bobbie didn’t believe until she saw God in person. She believes seeing is believing, so she was unsure until she saw him.