April 2014
June 2012
How Should Christians Respond to “Noah” - the Movie? By Trevin Wax The Gospel Coalition
W
hen I first heard that a movie based on the biblical story of Noah was being made, I figured it would be some low-budget film along the lines of the television travesties we’ve seen about the Great Flood. The trailer reveals that much more time and money has gone into this film than I would have expected. Whenever Hollywood takes a biblical story as its basis for a movie, evangelicals tend to respond in one of two ways. 1. THE CRITICS First, there is the group that is primarily concerned with biblical accuracy. Taking any sort of dramatic license is akin to tampering with the text, which can lead to the solidification of errors in the minds
of the viewers. This group gets on blogs or comment streams and points out all the flaws and errors in the director’s vision for the film. • If it’s The Nativity Story, they point out that we don’t know the wise men were kings, or that there were three of them. • If it’s The Prince of Egypt, they point out that it was Pharaoh’s daughter, not his wife, who discovered Moses in the river. • If it’s The Ten Commandments, they remind us there is no biblical record of an Egyptian princess saying “Moossseeeess, Mooosseeeess!” so many times. • If it’s the History Channel’s
Bible series, they point out the Bible does not attribute ninja moves to the angels who helped Lot flee Sodom. You get the gist. This group wants biblical accuracy, and all movies are judged based on their ability to get the details right. 2. THE CELEBRATORS Second, there is the group that is flattered to see Hollywood pay any attention to the Bible at all. No matter what Hollywood does with the sacred stories, it’s “getting the word out,” or “making the Bible seem cool.” This group hosts preview screenings as a witnessing tool for the Lord (and a marketing tool for the
Cont. on p.21
Caught Serving p. 8
(New) Counselor’s Corner p. 10
In The News p. 15
Special Christian Schools Section (Center-pullout) The Ambassador
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