The movie Noah starring Russell Crowe is going to be a lot of fun. There are spectacular special effects, great acting, the most complex scene ever created by the amazing artists at Industrial Light & Magic, and it’s a good adventure film.
But the movie is Darren Aronofsky’s story, not the Bible’s. Paramount Pictures has said, “The film is inspired by the story of Noah. While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values, and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people.”
It’s good because Noah will raise our awareness of the Bible.
This impressive movie based on a story in the Bible (and the Quran, for that matter) will raise our awareness of the content of the Bible.
We Americans say the Bible is important to us, but we don’t know what it says. We’re a nation of biblical illiterates. The Barna Research Group says 60 percent of Americans cannot name five of the Ten Commandments. And 12 percent believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife.( In case you missed that lesson in high school history class, Joan of Arc was a French heroine who lived from 1412 to 1431.) At least the movie Noah should clear up that.
The movie Noah will get us talking about a story, which in the Bible is one of love, redemption, and God’s provision and covenant promise. God tells Noah and his family to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” It’s a story of new beginnings.
It’s bad because it misses the reason God sent the Flood.
Like people throughout history, we enjoy and encourage sin; God, however, is holy and cannot tolerate sin, even though He loves us. The Bible says God sent the Flood because wickedness was rampant on the earth. There was violence, sexual immorality, corruption, and widespread lawlessness. People ignored God. “Human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night.”
Aronofsky’s God, however, destroys the world because mankind has destroyed the environment. Evil is pictured as killing animals for their horns, much as poachers in Africa kill elephants for their tusks. Aronofsky’s story contains a strong environmental message: God “must be giving us a chance,” says Noah. “If we change; if we work to save (the world), perhaps He will too.” Aronofsky has said his “Noah was the first environmentalist.”
The point of the ark in the Bible was to save humans and animals; the point of the ark in the movie is to save the environment.
A few details
One of the key inventions in the movie is Noah’s uncertainty on how to carry out the will of God. It leads to dramatic tensions that are good for an adventure movie, but are not in the Bible. It also results in a profound statement (at least in an early draft of the script). Noah becomes upset with Ham, slaps him, realizes with horror what he has done, and says, “we are no different than them (the sinners outside the ark). The same wickedness is in all of us.” Noah realizes he is an imperfect sinner. We like to make people into heroes, but in reality, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We put an intolerable burden on our heroes when we fail to realize “the same wickedness is in all of us.” Perhaps Aronofsky overdoes it because his Noah is a dark character, but the point is valid.
The movie fancifully answers two questions that are always asked about the animals.
How did the animals get to the ark? In the movie Noah plants a magic seed and a healthy forest grows in the midst of a barren world. A gentle fountain springs up and flows throughout the world. The animals then follow the water to the ark. It's as good an answer as any because the Bible says the animals "will come to you to be kept alive."
How did the animals survive a year on the ark? They sleep the entire voyage under the spell of a smoke Noah creates. God causes them to hibernate.
Noah is a terrific adventure. The stars are great. The special effects and digital creations are amazing. It’s worth watching.
But biblically accurate? Don’t count on it. It’s a story by Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel that uses the story of Noah as a framework to deliver their own environmental message.
In a world where the Bible is too often ignored or misunderstood, though, it’s a great opportunity to talk about Noah: The Real Story.
But the movie is Darren Aronofsky’s story, not the Bible’s. Paramount Pictures has said, “The film is inspired by the story of Noah. While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values, and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people.”
It’s good because Noah will raise our awareness of the Bible.
This impressive movie based on a story in the Bible (and the Quran, for that matter) will raise our awareness of the content of the Bible.
We Americans say the Bible is important to us, but we don’t know what it says. We’re a nation of biblical illiterates. The Barna Research Group says 60 percent of Americans cannot name five of the Ten Commandments. And 12 percent believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife.( In case you missed that lesson in high school history class, Joan of Arc was a French heroine who lived from 1412 to 1431.) At least the movie Noah should clear up that.
The movie Noah will get us talking about a story, which in the Bible is one of love, redemption, and God’s provision and covenant promise. God tells Noah and his family to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” It’s a story of new beginnings.
It’s bad because it misses the reason God sent the Flood.
Like people throughout history, we enjoy and encourage sin; God, however, is holy and cannot tolerate sin, even though He loves us. The Bible says God sent the Flood because wickedness was rampant on the earth. There was violence, sexual immorality, corruption, and widespread lawlessness. People ignored God. “Human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night.”
Aronofsky’s God, however, destroys the world because mankind has destroyed the environment. Evil is pictured as killing animals for their horns, much as poachers in Africa kill elephants for their tusks. Aronofsky’s story contains a strong environmental message: God “must be giving us a chance,” says Noah. “If we change; if we work to save (the world), perhaps He will too.” Aronofsky has said his “Noah was the first environmentalist.”
The point of the ark in the Bible was to save humans and animals; the point of the ark in the movie is to save the environment.
A few details
One of the key inventions in the movie is Noah’s uncertainty on how to carry out the will of God. It leads to dramatic tensions that are good for an adventure movie, but are not in the Bible. It also results in a profound statement (at least in an early draft of the script). Noah becomes upset with Ham, slaps him, realizes with horror what he has done, and says, “we are no different than them (the sinners outside the ark). The same wickedness is in all of us.” Noah realizes he is an imperfect sinner. We like to make people into heroes, but in reality, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We put an intolerable burden on our heroes when we fail to realize “the same wickedness is in all of us.” Perhaps Aronofsky overdoes it because his Noah is a dark character, but the point is valid.
The movie fancifully answers two questions that are always asked about the animals.
How did the animals get to the ark? In the movie Noah plants a magic seed and a healthy forest grows in the midst of a barren world. A gentle fountain springs up and flows throughout the world. The animals then follow the water to the ark. It's as good an answer as any because the Bible says the animals "will come to you to be kept alive."
How did the animals survive a year on the ark? They sleep the entire voyage under the spell of a smoke Noah creates. God causes them to hibernate.
Noah is a terrific adventure. The stars are great. The special effects and digital creations are amazing. It’s worth watching.
But biblically accurate? Don’t count on it. It’s a story by Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel that uses the story of Noah as a framework to deliver their own environmental message.
In a world where the Bible is too often ignored or misunderstood, though, it’s a great opportunity to talk about Noah: The Real Story.
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