I went online and plopped down for top of the line AVX movie tickets to see the latest big box office flick, Noah last night. And...big surprise...it was a film made by a guy who does not profess to be a believer, and he took some liberty in filling in the gaps in the biblical version of the story to make a Hollywood film that would get butts in the seats and munching expensive popcorn!
What did people expect?
To me the film explored some of questions that I and many others have had about the story of Noah.
Like, how did he take care of all those animals?
What was the world like back then?
Who were the "giants" that were the result of the sons of God laying with the daughters of men?
Are these life and death issues for me? Not really. It was along time ago and I am sure the story must have had many revisions up until it was finally written down...but then again, people lived a looooong time back then according to the scriptures. Like Noah himself who actually lived 350 years after the whole "ark" incident.
Here's my beefs with the whole reaction thing...
Christian hypocrisy can really get ugly when it comes to movies.
If we don't like the way Hollywood sees the Bible, then get your own millions of dollars and make your own movie! Oh and then, find a theater to play it...then try and promote it!
Hollywood is interested in $ pure and simple. If people pay to see it, they will make it.
I think they are especially liking the fact that the Noah movie raised controversy...more free publicity!
And about the "liberties" taken with the story, I think many will refer to the "Watchers" as the straw that broke the camels back for them. Talking rock people?? Come On!
...but wait a minute. As Christians...we believe a man (really two men) walked on a stormy sea! We believe that a donkey SPOKE! We believe that a city fell flat after loud trumpet playing and shouting! We believe that a guy caught a fish with a coin in its mouth to pay his taxes! We believe water turned to wine! We believe the dead were raised!!
I could go on but you get the idea.
A movie like this is a good mirror. This is the way the "world" sees us believers. Can you blame them sometimes? If movies like this upset you...maybe you should think about how you have been representing God to others. Too often they only see hate and narrow mindedness. I remember that the only crowd who got really uptight about Jesus were the "religious" people who saw Him threatening to bring down their system of control.
I enjoyed it as a movie and took what I could from it. I know Hollywood is not into evangelism.
Am I going to "jump on the boat" and say this film is historically accurate? Of course not! I think the writer used his imagination and tried to convey a story with real characters in a very odd situation. I would trust that people are mature enough to make up their own minds and do the research for themselves to find out the real story.
If I sound passionate it's because I have to credit a movie for leading me to the bible in the first place...but that's another story!
Stay tuned!
PS. I still have not seen the Son of God movie. To me, "The Passion" still rules!
PSS: I could have made a throwaway joke off the top about the movie not being "watered down", but I thought it was low hanging fruit. Feel free to FLOOD me with comments!
