The Thimblerig Do You Believe? Little Cross Challenge

Keep reading to see what the Thimblerig’s Do You Believe? Little Cross Challenge is…

I just watched the trailer for trailer for Pureflix’s upcoming new film, Do You Believe?, and after the success of God’s Not Dead, it looks like the filmmakers are attempting to up the ante, going from a film with four separate stories that eventually interact to perhaps as many as twelve.

Christian filmmakers continue trying to establish themselves, and continue their attempts at being taken seriously by non-Christian and cynical Christian moviegoers. To help with this, Pureflix has taken part of God’s Not Dead‘s $60,000,000 (edit, now being reportedly close to $100,000,000) worldwide box office and invested it in casting some familiar faces (Mira Sorvino, Sean Astin, Cybil Shepherd, Lee Majors).

I wish Pureflix all the best with this new film, and only hope that the filmmakers took some of the constructive criticism of God’s Not Dead to heart when developing Do You Believe? (including the critiques in my own review).  As I’ve said before, Christians have the greatest story ever told to tell, and we should be making the best films on the market.

That being said, I find myself rather unsettled by the end of the trailer, and the focus on the tiny little wooden crosses.  Knowing that a huge part of filmmaking these days (Christian or otherwise) is merchandizing, I fear that come March 2015, the tiny little wooden Do You Believe? crosses will be mass produced in China or Venezuela and sold in Christian bookstores and Walmarts all across the fruited plains.

This fear has led me to create “The Thimblerig Do You Believe? Challenge”, and I invite anyone to join me in this challenge at any level.

The Thimblerig Do You Believe? Challenge

So here goes:  I officially state here and now that if the makers of Do You Believe? do not sell little Do You Believe? wooden crosses as a part of the merchandising of this film, I will personally donate $200 to the charity of David A.R. White’s choosing.

Also, if the makers of Do You Believe? use some of that 60 million to make the crosses but give them away, or even if they sell the crosses but give all the proceeds to charity, I will donate the money.

I know $200 is not much when compared to the potential revenue of what could be the next WWJD bracelet, but to me, it’s pretty substantial.  I feel particularly strong about this since Do You Believe? apparently focuses on the importance of the cross, and it would be particularly distasteful and even despicable if they turned the cross into just another avenue for building profits.

Hopefully that won’t be the case.

Anyone want to join the challenge?  The more people that join, the more likely the message will get back to the folks at Pureflix.

(Special thanks to Doc Benson for posting about this on Facebook, and drawing my attention to the trailer)

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