To Noah or not to Noah? That is the question

This past weekend was the opening weekend of the Darren Aronofsky’s, an atheistic Jew, version of the Noah story in theaters nation wide. I am always amazed at the reactions by many to a Hollywood adaptation of a Biblical story. By and large, the conservative Christian leaders denounced the movie as anti-biblical, heretical and that “no Christians should go see it.” One reviewer said that, “any Christian leader who encouraged people to go see it should be burned at the stake.”

Despite their warnings, the movie trailer intrigued me, featuring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and amazing computer generated images. How would they depict this epic story from the Bible? Yet, another Christian reviewer said that the only thing this story had in common with the Bible was that his name was “Noah.”

Much like the phrase, “don’t look” only causes us to look, I decided to go see the movie. Honestly, I was thrilled that there was a movie that was a major production about a biblically themed movie. However, I considered that the movie was made by Hollywood and an atheist director. My expectations were pretty low concerning the Biblical content, but curious of how they would depict the event.

Do You Know Your Bible?

Today’s blog is not an actual review of the movie, but an argument for why we need to be Biblically literate people. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” And “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” The truth of the Scriptures should lead to a freedom and a confidence, not to fear. As Paul told young Timothy, “God has not given you the spirit of fear, but of power and a sound mind.”

To many reviews seemed to be fearfully driven. Some claimed that because of Aronofsky’s movie an entire generation will be raised with a distorted view of Noah. Wow, that left me speechless. How many movies change an entire generation?

Watching the movie did not cause me to fear that it would overtake the truth. Actually the movie contained a lot of truth and a lot of non-truth and a lot of poetic license. The question is, fellow Christian, can you watch the movie and discern what is biblical and unbiblical? Can you point out the error and validate the truth?

So many jump to conclusions about Noah, and yet never employ a critical, theological discussion to any of the other movies they watch. Yet we should constantly be asking ourselves about the media we ingest. What does this say about God? What does this say about sin? What does it approve of that the Bible disapproves of? What is the redeeming value of this (if any)?

The Core Story

A quick read of Genesis 6-9 will give you the Biblical account of the story of Noah. What you will find is that the sin of mankind had become so pervasive that God wanted to destroy the entire human race. However, one man, Noah, caught the favor of God because of his faithfulness to God. God told Noah to build a big boat that would be used to rescue and redeem the human race through Noah’s family and all the animals. God was going to send judgment on sin and start fresh.

Aronofsky’s film had the elements that the Creator was disgusted with the evil of the mankind and was sending a flood to wipe out the world. The Creator told Noah to build a boat for all the animals and Noah’s family. A universal flood covered the earth and wiped out all of the human race except Noah and his family. There was a fresh start on the earth.

I found it interesting that Noah, while on the ark, told his family the story that they were entrusted with protecting, that is, the story of the Creator. Noah tells a very detailed account of the 6 days of Creation, the Fall and the first murder. His story shows the depravity of man and why mankind deserved to die.

The Extras

 Unfortunately I can’t say that the rest of the story was accurate. There was a very strong environmentalist theme of “animals good…humans bad.” Industrialization and eating animals seemed to be the biggest sins the Creator punished. Two key Biblical teachings were only mentioned by Tubal-Cain, the evil king: the first that man was created in the image of the Creator, and secondly that man was to have dominion over the animals. Having Tubal-Cain as the source leaves a negative view on these teachings.

I don’t have time to go into the rock people, the Watchers, and their beginnings and redemption. Or why Aronofsky tried to weave the Abraham and Isaac story into Noah, or why Noah went a little mad and tried to kill his family. Nor do I have time to dialogue about Adam and Eve being people made of light, or why the righteous line wrapped the skin of the serpent around their arms to pass on the truth. There is a lot that could be said, but I won’t.

The Takeaway

Whether you go and see the movie or you don’t, I think you should be ready to talk about Noah. Read Genesis 6-9 and thank God for redemption, for second chances, for provision and life. Be ready to give an answer for the hope that you have with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). I am excited for movies like this because I have opportunities to talk about the Bible with people who otherwise may not be interested in it.

In many of my conversations with fellow Christians I heard a few times “oh, that is in the Bible?” or “I really need to read my Bible.” When those who claim to be followers of Christ don’t even know what the words of Christ say, we have far bigger problems then Hollywood producing erroneous movies about Bible stories. If you claim to be a follower of Christ, spend time in His Word, learn from Him and trust Him to be the one who delivers people, not Hollywood.