Brian Flemming - The God Who Wasn't There

In 2005, Flemming released his third feature-length film, the documentary The God Who Wasn't There. Through interviews with biblical and folklore scholars, Flemming investigates the evidence for the existence of Jesus, concluding that it is highly improbable that the Christian savior ever actually lived. Then, Flemming discusses the beliefs of conservative Christian fundamentalists, Christian moderates (who, he argues, simply enable the fundamentalists), and returns to confront the principal of the fundamentalist Christian school he attended as a child.

Flemming launched three unusual media campaigns to support his documentary:

• In December 2005, Flemming's company, Beyond Belief Media, cheekily declared "War on Christmas" and sent troops of volunteers into the streets of U.S. cities to give away copies of The God Who Wasn't There. The stunt landed Flemming on Fox News Radio for the first of many appearances, where Alan Colmes interviewed him about his "war."
• In April 2006, Flemming, along with the Rational Response Squad (an internet radio show), began the "War on Easter" to “provoke conversation about the dangers of religious belief”. Participants were invited to place DVDs of the documentary or downloaded flyers in or near Christian churches and send in photos of these actions in exchange for DVDs. Flemming posted the photos on a website. Flemming himself planted videos in Los Angeles' Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and tricked Cardinal Roger Mahony into posing with him for a photo. In May 2006, Brian accepted the offer to discuss/debate the central thesis of his video with Christian apologist and blogger Frank Turk.
• In December 2006, Flemming and the Rational Response Squad started the Blasphemy Challenge, which called on participants to upload videos to YouTube in which they "damn themselves to hell" by making their own statement which must include the phrase: "I deny the Holy Spirit", thus committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The first 1001 users who did so received a DVD of The God Who Wasn't There. The Blasphemy Challenge was the most successful of the three publicity stunts, gaining coverage by Newsweek, NBC News, Fox News and many other media outlets, and actual participation by Penn Jillette, Richard Dawkins and Raël. In 2006, Newsweek magazine included Flemming on its list of America's Ten Most Influential Atheists.