In a community such as Collegedale, it comes as no surprise when many are interested in a Hollywood production such as the recent film Noah.
With the movie being of secular origins, we are curious to see what kind of spin media culture can put on our revered Bible stories.
Starring big names such as Russell Crowe as Noah, Anthony Hopkins as the ancient Methuselah, and Emma Watson as the mother of Noah’s grandchildren, the epic appeal of this movie is not in short supply.
But is this rendition of one of God’s faithful heroes meant to draw people toward Christ? Or away from the truth? After seeing the film and analyzing it thoroughly, the conclusion reached is that the underlying theme throughout Noah directly contradicts the idea of God’s presence and grace in the Bible.
“So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen. 6:7-8, NKJV). Chapters 6 and 7 of Genesis cover the story of Noah. The verse here describes the wickedness of the earth at the time and what appears to be how God feels about the state of humanity. If God was feeling sorrow and even regret (assuming the great God of the universe has feelings) about his creating the race of man, then is it a natural assumption to assume God just wasn’t thinking about his plan of salvation involving sending his only son to the earth?
Beginning with the opening chapters of the book of Genesis and continuing to the book of Revelation, God the Father reveals His plan of salvation and His loving desire to re-establish the broken relationship between Himself and man. This points out that the ever-present God is always and always has been in control of the destiny of man and the world.
The main theme in Noah which was unsettling and contradictory is the theme that man himself occupies the earth and thus holds everything in it. The film even goes to portray that the control of destiny that man has is the very definition of a man. The decision to save man or eradicate them falls on the shoulders of Noah, not God.
The film addresses the fact of “The Creator” continuously, but not once does it suggest that He has done anything involving the earth besides create the disaster that it turned out to be. In fact, characters attempt to communicate with The Creator multiple times only to be met with a silent sky and emptiness in their hearts.
So what is this film telling the viewers? It is up to man to save ourselves, for we are fully capable. God’s grace is not a necessity, or rather His grace abandoned us with the consumption of the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. Man brought sin upon ourselves, and so we can save ourselves from it.
Though many in this community want to attend Noah for the purpose of harmless speculation, it’s important to know the facts. Noah was a faithful messenger and hero chosen and used by God to guide the human race by his will. As a flawed race, God and his plan for salvation is the only thing we can count on to be flawless.
Whether you view Noah as a roaring entertainer or an epic thought provoker, go into Noah expecting nothing, but regarding everything.