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2005 film by Brian Flemming

The God Who Wasn't There is a 2005 independent documentary written and directed by Brian Flemming. The documentary questions the existence of Jesus, examining evidence that supports the Christ myth theory against the existence of a historical Jesus, as well as other aspects of Christianity.

Most of the film is a presentation of the argument for the Christ myth theory. Flemming and those he interviews in the film make these claims:
The history of Christianity, especially the doctrine of the earliest Christians, is consistent with Jesus having been a mythical character, with historical details only added on later. The Pauline epistles, which were written before the Gospels, show no awareness on the part of the author that Jesus had recently lived. Paul mentions only the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension, presenting them occurring in a mythic realm rather than an earthly one. The death resurrection ascension sequence was common in earlier mythologies and religions, suggesting that the Jesus character was inspired by similar forebears, divorced from any tangible experience on Earth. Other details of the Jesus biography offered in the Gospels have precedent in earlier writings of Judaism: for example, the Massacre of the Innocents appears directly inspired by a nearly identical story in the Book of Exodus.

A reviewer for Impose Magazine wrote that the film "poses some serious questions" and said, "if nothing else, this film should be recognized as an important addition to the study of Gibson's masterwork. Film scholars should take note. This is an idiosyncratic film that weaves the arc of Flemming's transition from a religious life to a non religious life into the larger questions surrounding the dilemma of a 'belief in God.' It's a bold undertaking and he pulls it off." Rovi reviewer Jason Buchanan, in a New York Times review summary, thought that the documentary "attempts to do for religion what Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me did for the fast food industry" with a "bold quest to seek answers to the difficult questions that few are willing to pose From the ignorance of many contemporary Christians as to the origin of their religion to the striking similarities between Jesus Christ and the deities worshipped by ancient pagan cults and the Christian obsession with blood and violence, this faith shaking documentary explores the many mysteries of the Christian faith as never before."

In Christian Communications Worldwide Susan Verstraete offers four criticisms of Brian Flemming's arguments. First, the comparison of Galileo's difficulties with the Catholic Church with arguments about the existence of Jesus are a non sequitur. "[I]t’s like saying that because your dentist isn’t an expert on small engine repair, your family doctor probably can’t diagnose chickenpox." Second, to assert that "Christianity" is responsible for things like the "Spanish Inquisition, Charles Manson, David Koresh and other unbalanced, psychotic people who claimed to be doing God’s will" is a hasty generalization— "an inference about all Christians on the basis of a poorly selected sample." Third, Flemming exaggerates the gap between the traditional date of Jesus' death and the composition of the Gospels, and picks and chooses elements from various mythologies to "prove that Jesus was a compilation of 'dying and rising god' myths." Fourth, she says that Flemming argues "Paul never believed that Jesus was a physical human being" because he "never quotes Jesus or talks about Jesus’ early life." In reply she says "Paul’s letters are not meant to introduce Christ to a new audience, and so understandably don’t reiterate the stories of the Gospels," and in addition she cites verses from the Epistles that do reference the humanity of Jesus.

In December 2006, the atheist organization Rational Response Squad announced it would give free DVDs of the film to the first 1,001 people who participated in the Blasphemy Challenge, an Internet based project encouraging atheists to declare themselves publicly.