Yes, God, Yes

Good film!

Led by the likeable Natalia Dyer, <em>'Yes, God, Yes'</em> is a fairly amusing and entertaining watch. It's pretty straightforward and there aren't any thrills or anything, but it is a competently made film that doesn't overstay its welcome; 78 minutes well spent. Dyer is very good, as I knew she would be - I'm a fan of her from <em>'<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_Things" rel="nofollow">Stranger Things</a>'</em>. Worth a watch.

This movie does not portray religious people as they truly are, contrary to what some might think; rather, it reveals how non-religious people imagine them—a projection intended to provide the non-religious with psychological comfort. To avoid feeling like they belong to a "corrupt" group, they generalize corruption, claiming everyone is corrupt. They may even convince themselves they are superior because they do not hide their corruption—ignoring the fact that concealing wrongdoing is a virtue, not a sin. Concealment serves to maintain the distinction of sin as sin; if no one hid their transgressions, the very concept of sin would vanish, as people would argue, "If it were truly a sin, they would have tried to hide it." In any case, I do not deny the existence of hypocrites—those who display only the positive aspects of their lives, whether religious, political, or moral. Hypocrisy is everywhere. However, attempting to paint all religious people as hypocrites is merely an effort to pigeonhole them through negative stereotyping, all to make the opposing side look better. These are psychological tricks and mental ruses; they show no respect for the viewer's intelligence, assuming no one is smart enough to see through their malicious game. Look, I am a Muslim—not a Christian. I stand to gain nothing from defending Christians, especially the religious ones; I know full well that the majority of religious Christians dislike Muslims. Yet, in the interest of fairness and truth, I recognize that portraying religious Christians this way is a tactic designed to tarnish their image in the eyes of young women. The goal is to prevent these women from joining their ranks, thereby increasing the chances for non-religious men to gain sexual access to them—because they know that if young women were to join the ranks of the religious, it would become difficult for non-religious men to gain access to their bodies—as religiosity would pose a formidable barrier. This movie aims to break down that barrier solely so that non-religious men can exploit these women's bodies; that is why it is a truly terrible movie.