No, uh…No, Really
- by Aaron
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in By Aaron
Have you ever watched something, done something, or read something that did nothing to enhance God's Kingdom or your life on this earth; something where you walk away saying, "that is two hours of my life on earth that I will never ever be able to get back?" I just had that experience myself about a week ago, I was suckered into watching the movie Noah.
Let me just tell you what the movie got right because it is easier than telling you what it got wrong. I can count on one hand, and I could even be missing one of my fingers, and be able to list what was right according to the Biblical narrative (which is where the writer and director said they got their information from):
Aside from the horrible special effects, the bad acting, and the worse theology, it just wasn't even a good movie. There are just so many things wrong with this movie that I am flabbergasted (see, it's a real word) that anyone thought it was any good.
Let me simply give you my biggest issue with the entire move, it was predicated on the goodness of a man, Noah, and the tyrant like characteristics of a God, God. In the movie the fallen angels are fallen because they wanted to help man after the fall, they disobeyed God by reaching out to and loving on mankind…this displeased God so He cast them to earth and encased them in rock. If you have ever seenThe Neverending Story, just think of the rock guy with his, "good strong hands" that couldn't even save "the stupid bat," that is what they look like.
I love good fiction, but Noah is simply another way for someone who doesn't know the goodness of God to tear down the goodness of God; it is another way to try to get people to think that the God of the scriptures is an irrational tyrant that throws tantrums.
In reality, the God of the scriptures is a God who makes a way to rescue His wayward children. After the disobedience of man, when WE brought sin into the world, God promises Himself to come and rescue us in Genesis 3. We were a people with no hope and God came to restore us because of His own goodness.
In the movie the character of Noah goes crazy, trying to kill newborn babies because he is convinced that God wants it because God has remained silent. The truth is that God has NEVER remained silent. He has spoken to us through prophets, priests, and kings for millennia, He gave us the scriptures to so we have His words in writing, and most importantly He came in the person of Christ, the clearest revelation the world has ever seen or known.
The problem is what we did, and do, with God's clear revelation, we try to get rid of it in favor of our own wants and desires. Roman's 1:21-23 reminds us of the peril we all face: For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. IN verse 25 it is even more clear that they exchanged the truth about God for a lie…
Noah is a perfect example of that exchange, the truth for a mythical lie that only furthers misunderstanding of a gracious God. It would be good to examine our own lives and see the instances we have exchanged God's truth for lies. These could be in areas of faith, finance, family, friendships, or service. Our culture lives under this horrible lie that God is not as good as He has revealed Himself to be and that Satan is not so bad as he has shown himself to be.
How about when something begins to question the character of God we simply trust in His goodness as it has never been false. May we as a people surrender ourselves to His providential grace even when we don't know why the rains come. Let us be committed to trusting God's truth, as revealed to us throughout the scriptures, rather than letting Hollywood dictate our theology.
Let me just tell you what the movie got right because it is easier than telling you what it got wrong. I can count on one hand, and I could even be missing one of my fingers, and be able to list what was right according to the Biblical narrative (which is where the writer and director said they got their information from):
- There is a guy named Noah
- He has three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth
- There is a boat (ark)
- There is a flood
Aside from the horrible special effects, the bad acting, and the worse theology, it just wasn't even a good movie. There are just so many things wrong with this movie that I am flabbergasted (see, it's a real word) that anyone thought it was any good.
Let me simply give you my biggest issue with the entire move, it was predicated on the goodness of a man, Noah, and the tyrant like characteristics of a God, God. In the movie the fallen angels are fallen because they wanted to help man after the fall, they disobeyed God by reaching out to and loving on mankind…this displeased God so He cast them to earth and encased them in rock. If you have ever seenThe Neverending Story, just think of the rock guy with his, "good strong hands" that couldn't even save "the stupid bat," that is what they look like.
I love good fiction, but Noah is simply another way for someone who doesn't know the goodness of God to tear down the goodness of God; it is another way to try to get people to think that the God of the scriptures is an irrational tyrant that throws tantrums.
In reality, the God of the scriptures is a God who makes a way to rescue His wayward children. After the disobedience of man, when WE brought sin into the world, God promises Himself to come and rescue us in Genesis 3. We were a people with no hope and God came to restore us because of His own goodness.
In the movie the character of Noah goes crazy, trying to kill newborn babies because he is convinced that God wants it because God has remained silent. The truth is that God has NEVER remained silent. He has spoken to us through prophets, priests, and kings for millennia, He gave us the scriptures to so we have His words in writing, and most importantly He came in the person of Christ, the clearest revelation the world has ever seen or known.
The problem is what we did, and do, with God's clear revelation, we try to get rid of it in favor of our own wants and desires. Roman's 1:21-23 reminds us of the peril we all face: For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. IN verse 25 it is even more clear that they exchanged the truth about God for a lie…
Noah is a perfect example of that exchange, the truth for a mythical lie that only furthers misunderstanding of a gracious God. It would be good to examine our own lives and see the instances we have exchanged God's truth for lies. These could be in areas of faith, finance, family, friendships, or service. Our culture lives under this horrible lie that God is not as good as He has revealed Himself to be and that Satan is not so bad as he has shown himself to be.
How about when something begins to question the character of God we simply trust in His goodness as it has never been false. May we as a people surrender ourselves to His providential grace even when we don't know why the rains come. Let us be committed to trusting God's truth, as revealed to us throughout the scriptures, rather than letting Hollywood dictate our theology.
