The Lord works in mysterious ways but “Persecuted” works in blundering, obvious ways, straining a Christianity-under-attack theme through a dopey thriller.
James Remar plays a Billy Graham-like evangelist who refuses to back a corrupt senator (Bruce Davison) pushing some sort of religious-unity bill for which details never quite emerge but that would effectively neutralize US Christianity. Or something.
Framed for rape and murder in moronic ways that wouldn’t fool anybody, the evangelist turns fugitive while he tries to clear his name with the aid of his dad — a priest played by Fred Dalton Thompson. Hey, you know who else wandered in the wilderness?
Even if you agree that Christianity is being undermined by politicians, this shrill B-movie strictly preaches to the choir.