2 months ago #9
the final bahamut posted...
I just love the idea that a university would tear down a historic building rather than, say, reappropriate the building for something else. Or that the pastor is doing something momentous by ceeding what is ultimately an open-and-shut case, since his church was using facilities they didn't own and didn't have a binding claim to.

It's more complicated than this. The church owned its own facilities and was self-supporting, yet it was within the campus of a university. Unlike the last two films in which the plot was unrealistic and Christians were put in positions that don't actually happen in American schools, this one had pretty equitable arguments to make on both sides. It's ambiguous as to what the "right" answer is in the case. Within this movie, public support was on the side of the church and it seemed that a jury would likely support the church while a judge would likely support the school. The battle of the movie is really more over public opinion than the legalities; both the school officials and the pastor/lawyer brother are essentially running PR campaigns and seizing on each other's public mistakes in order to win the battle for public support.
I steal your sock.