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I'm joined today by Josh prevail he is a filmmaker Mentalist and
author whose third documentary losing God is currently in production
Josh great to have you tell us a little bit about your background as it comes to
religion and about this documentary
sure David that they sent me in and
basically I am most of my life
I was raised as a Pentecostal Christian
answer pretty hardcore *** speaking in tongues slain in the spirit that whole
thing
and also I was homeschooled and then Christian school
finally went to a public high school so
religion was pretty much my entire life all my friends
if we know about any yes you know what is that an
and if that was my life and I believed
completely fundamentalist Bible
hardcore that in basically that's
my a very short version 9 background
in religion an so head when you went to the pub public high school
after having been homeschooled and then Christian schooled
what was it like sitting in science class for example
yet while it's funny he
whole you know evolution intelligent design thing evolution wasn't big part
of my curriculum that I was
really covered until you know I gotta at college pretty much
I guess different schools will do it differently curriculum wise but
for for me I just kinda went along with everything
knowing that it was caught in intelligent design it
all this up that we did kenna disgrace over with now that it was accurate
I knew that which obviously in a little different now but
so you can sit there and you will hear it you knew that it wasn't really what
you believe you knew it was really God who are designed everything but for the
purposes have like defeating in doing well in class you kind of played along
oh yeah definitely yeah interesting okay so
then at a certain point you decide to leave Christianity
yeah I it really happened over
I get a two year period and being
a mental as a performer I was big in a skeptic community I followed a lotta
you know that big names James Randi michael Shermer those kinda guys
right and you know I didn't believe in psychics neck and stuff but
never question God cuz why would I that's my life
I believe everything like watching it at all and
one day I actually found a video or James Randi was talking about how he's
an atheist
and I was shocked I was genuinely shocked how could he be an atheist
then I started researching what an 80's is all-white
could possibly come against you know the Bible back and stuff
and it really ended up being a process where I stumbled
across Christopher Hitchens in he made total sense
and roughly that two years I you know grew into
looking for answers myself not just taking it for leadership in believing it
and based off there were actually really research it on male
and then ultimately you left Christianity and
you notified your family how to tell us about that process
yeah what's funny because most of my family is religious
very few one of them I didn't even realize was it religious until after I
kinda publicly came out if you will as an 80 S
and I wrote a letter began a son everything up because
many of them when I mentioned it we're very confused you know
is is this a new or ship what is this you know and
in very some other get angry and mean I i've
I've had a lot better though than most people and he did that I've
read some stories about other people the you know their family abandoned them
basically
and Easter tingle all the first East Easter as an atheist
because someone had brought accusations against me towards how I'm wrong in this
in this
side is replied to them and it turned out I was was it the quietness and
everybody night could have mailed say
now thankfully also my family has move through this with me
because if this film this project I'm doing I write a letter
and the letter actually kinda grew into
the film the film is gonna change and I guess
now everyone's kinda dealing with it even if they don't agree
but so this is really for religious family this is a big deal
right when Josh is now no longer speaking in tongues in believing the
stuff we believe
this is like a big deal this is it just you have a disagreement over a movie
that you that you like
and somebody else didn't I am a very big deal
in it was really hard I'd have to say to my grandmother
and she's gonna have her whole life and I'm really close and my grandmother
mmm and for her and brought her shame is the words that she hears
and that's really heartbreaking down the grandmother talk about it
and in a you know feel bad for our kiss you feel shame and it is just
I'm just trying to be who I am saying and I A just
it was it was kinda difficult but we're growing together in
you know they're I you know they love me and I love them that's important
you know let's talk a little bit about the documentary is called losing God I
wanna play one clip here and this is one where you decide to take the question 22
people to believers to Christian believers and say
up would you sacrifice one of your own children or grandchildren in one case
if you believe that that's what God wanted you to do let's take a look at
that
have 1.5 girl so I've got an issue to sacrifice one in your children
would you do it i cant I can answer you right now because
I don't know what the circumstances would be idle but
my my heart is that yes
on but God is God cuz I get my bike it for nobody
okay it's really that simple God tell you to sacrifice
cordata would you do it the title guy doing yes
that but see that to be re all testing argue
okay I'm that's why Lucky's because jesus did it for me
totally no I many children do you have
never I'll altogether my family
made above the 28
angering kids included or yeah 2011 Greg
above 26 in the bible god told Abraham to kill his son
and in stock in the foreign debt stop many
right but would have gone toward you to kill you on your children your
grandmother would you say
way rodeo I I'm not Abraham
so what did he tell you to do it be hot but
that gonna because I don't believe in we've only
died at so tell us a little bit about
how you came up with this question what the go-live including this question
wasn't and we're
whether you were surprised by some of the answers or whether they they made
sense to you
given your background as as a Christian
sure I wanna state before going into that
that everyone is moving with the exception of I one guy did in the end up
being in the movie
and it was a pastor that was with the street preacher that you see
and he didn't want to be in it but in the long run I want to say
they're all great people and they're genuine people and
day care about me in all the believers out there
but the reason I brought this question up is because I consider
that train of thought to be harmful to take the lead to say
yes I would kill my child of God only to i think is very harmful
and I don't think that many believers realize
how extreme that is you know it the that viewpoint
is jury Napoli system is so you're falling n
I I think it's important to put in there you know do and I don't think most
believers have any religion
have that extreme a train if that I mean that that to me is very very extreme
knowing people who are of different grades of religion ya City
across many many religions to find people that would say if I really
believed God wanted me to kill my kid
I would kill the kid rather than question why God
wants me to do that we're talking about the fringes here aren't we
well i i think it's another point and that's been brought up by a lot of
believers I have a strong Internet presence a lot people engage in open
dialogue and I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt if I'm just right
you tell me
night and I think that at I alotta believers have come to me on the
internet and they have said
listen this doesn't represent night you Christianity how I believe
yeah and I said well I think it's a boring cuz I think it represents
a large group of people I mean these people are people from my hometown
I knew some love them previously someone I met through the film
and these are the any mystery picture was in the center my hometown
in a well-known artists everybody knows just leominster massachusetts a little
town
in Massachusetts okay so only about an hour if we were based in Northampton
Massachusetts
I'm very familiar with leominster and it's not a place you would think I've
as a kinda religious bastion although central Massachusetts
is the most conservative part of the state right now exactly i mean you sum
that up right there
in he's our real people like I said I I love these people
they love me they're good people but I think
that their belief may have pushed a little too far
in their thinking that's just my personal view I may have said the same
thing a few years ago
I don't know I don't have any kids obviously that I I think
that's that's important to think about I think the point is don't do is open
dialogue
and think the SL think about what you're doing in
and where you believe is taking you alright so Josh how can people what's
the status of the movie when is the release how can people get
sure I it's funny we did a small ego campaign a fundraiser
and you know him it may not have the friendly is picked up a few other
sources
picked it up in a shared it we didn't meet their goal nearly
at all we had a very large cool but it's funny we actually got some
some equipment that we needed the name read to me raise the money
disagreeing is acquittal was donated by a believer a believer donate it to us
to using a film so you know it's just a little to the right there but
basically right now it's still in post-production where we're not fully
completed
we're shooting within the next month or two it will be done will be a DVD
release online you're invited to my website
and we may do it online rental and if you go to
you know Twitter Facebook YouTube and eating really keep updated at kennesaw
go to their website just for the luck on
and what we'll be posting updates as we get more information
all right we're gonna keep on it Josh prevail the documentary is called losing
got approaching its
release it's very very exciting keep up the great work Josh great to have you on
a date thanks for having me