Tragedy changes a person’s life. Some lives change for the better; others change in not so great a way. Some are pulled closer to God during times of pain and grief; others push God as far away as they can. Sol Harkens pushed God away.
Let There Be Light is a love story. It is about love lost and regained in a marriage. It is about the love a wife has for her husband. It is about the love between a parent and child. It is about the love God has for a person, even if that person habitually bad-mouths him.
Sol Harkens’s wife was a Christian. When they lost a son to cancer, especially after Sol heard his wife pleading with God for her son to live, his nonexistent faith that Sol had plunged even deeper into denial. How could a loving God allow his son, his innocent son, to be ravaged by cancer?
Sol sets out to convince all that God is a myth by debating those with a different opinion—Sol Harkens thought of himself as the Muhammed Ali of atheist debaters. His career to convince others to abort God is highly successful, but his ex-wife is one whose opinion he cannot sway.
Sol’s journey away from God is not a pretty one. To outsiders, it looked as though he had it all: money, possessions, women, whatever he desired. But those looking in from the outside didn’t see what he was experiencing on the inside. They couldn’t see the pain he felt, experience the major loss of sleep, or see the memories that haunted him.
His destructive habits lead to a car crash and a brush with death. Four minutes of death changes Sol’s outlook on everything to the point where he internally debates himself. He becomes a man torn between atheism and Christianity.
In Let There Be Light, you get to see inside of a man who has rejected God and his love because of anger. He experiences all the pleasures this world has to offer, yet they only give him momentary happiness, nothing that lasts. Travel with Sol Harkens on the road that leads him to true and lasting happiness.
I was sent a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. If you would like to read about what Sol Harkens experienced and finally acknowledged, I’ve provided an Amazon link below.
Amazon Link: Let There Be Light
After reading the book, I had to see the movie, so I rented Let There Light from Amazon.
Kevin Sorbo plays Sol Harkens in the movie. I must say that he plays a convincing atheist. I also saw him as the atheist professor in God’s Not Dead.
His facial expressions, his tone of voice, and his gestures during his debate with Dr. Reinhardt Fournier towards the beginning of the movie are extremely convincing and show Sol to be a smartass. During debates, he is on top of the world. When home by himself, he is on a diet of drugs and booze. He is about as low and depressed as one can be.
A humorous part of the book and the movie is Sol’s addiction to home shopping. And he doesn’t buy just one of each item he orders; he orders cases of them. He has to do something with all the money he is making, right?
And there is one point where he and his wife walk into the apartment where his is living. On the wall behind him is a poster of Kevin Sorbo as Hercules.
After the car crash, during the four minutes that he is dead, he wakes in the afterlife, surrounded by memories of his son, Davey. He is happy there and wants nothing more than to stay, but Davey tells him that he must return because it isn’t his time yet. And he has one more message for his dad: let there be light.
This powerful movie allows you to see that there are times when the death of someone works a miracle for those who are left behind. Our God is alive and at work, and he knows just what he is doing.
In a way, this movie could be called a family affair. Sam Sorbo plays Sol Harkens’ wife, Katie, in this powerful movie. Braedon Sorbo and Shane Sorbo, the sons of Kevin and Sam, also star in the movie, playing the sons of Sol and Katie. The movie is also directed by Kevin and Sam Sorbo, and its executive producer is Sean Hannity.
If you would like to rent or buy this movie from Amazon, I’ve provided a link below for you.
Amazon Movie Link: Let There Be Light
open up to imagination, www.studentpulse.com
Favorite Sentences:
Sol Harkens thought of himself as the Muhammed Ali of atheist debaters.
No matter how much he drank or how many pills he popped, there were those to whom he could feel superior.
Even three sheets to the wind, his eloquence was undeniable.
New Words Learned:
dulcet – pleasant to the ear; melodious
esoteric – understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest
folderol – mere nonsense
About the Authors:
Dan Gordon is the screenwriter of fifteen Hollywood feature films, including The Hurricane, (which earned Denzel Washington an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor), Wyatt Earp (Kevin Costner), The Assignment (Sir Ben Kingsley), Murder in The First (Kevin Bacon and Gary Oldman) and Passenger 57 (Wesley Snipes). Gordon also has more than two hundred hours of television programming as a writer, director and/or Executive Producer, including head writer on Michael Landon’s long-running series, Highway to Heaven.
Until recently, Sam Sorbo hosted nationally syndicated The Sam Sorbo Show. An accomplished actress, author, and international model, in 2015 Sam performed in Just Let Go, winning “Best Supporting Actress” from the Utah Film Awards. She has authored a few books, including They’re YOUR Kids: An Inspirational Journey from Self-Doubter to Home School Advocate. Her most recent book, Teach from Love: A School Year Devotional for Families drops August 2017 (Broadstreet Publishing.) Sam co-wrote, produced, and co-starred in the feature, Let There Be Light, which became fourth highest-grossing faith film of 2017, and spun off the devotional Share the Light (Broadstreet, 2018).
