Reasons why not to see the new Noah movie.

I may or may not see the new Noah film. The title above was because we tried to google reason why not to see it, and found none! Also I am not an expert, but here are articles on people who know much more than I do, and are based on people who actually have seen the film: Noah: Five Negative Features about this Film Dr. Jerry Johnson, President of the NRB, shares some negatives of the new Bible film. | Ed Stetzer Noah: Five Negative Features about this Film PARAMOUNT PICTURES The following post is a guest post from Dr. Jerry Johnson. Jerry A. Johnson, Ph.D., is President & CEO of National Religious Broadcasters (NRB). He's a theologian who has taught on cinema and theology. Find him on Twitter @DrJerryJohnson. This post is about the March 28, 2014 movie Noah. I interviewed Jerry about the film last week at the NRB meeting. In that interview, he mentioned asking Paramount to add a disclaimer and they just did (see the bottom of this post). Last Friday, Jerry shared five positives of Noah, and today he's sharing five negatives. Here are some of Jerry's well-informed thoughts. Note: Spoilers ahead, including the fact that there is a big flood and only a few people make it through the flood in a big boat. But, really, these are big spoilers... so don't complain if you read on. Finally, this is part analysis and part review. There is stuff in the film that is not in the Bible (gasp!) and you are about to find out if you read on... and then there is opinion about how it has handled. From someone who has actually seen it. If you are thinking about seeing the new Noah film you will want to weigh the positives against the negatives. Previously we looked at the plus category, listing "Five Positive Facts about this Film." Now we look at the negatives. Noah's main character does not ring true. When the title of a movie is the name of the main character, you have to nail it. This does not happen. Aronofsky's Noah becomes so disturbed by human sinfulness that he obsesses on the idea that the race should not survive. God must be using the hero's family just to save the animal kingdom and then mankind will die out. If his son's wife has a baby girl, Noah announces a plan to take that life to prevent the human race from going forward. Later, with Noah's knife raised over twin daughters you sense a composite, Noah mixed with a bit of Abraham and going crazy. When the title of a movie is the name of the main character, you have to nail it. This does not happen. The portrayal of Noah during this part of the movie is so dark that you do not want to like him. It is hard to reconcile this character with the "righteous" man described in Genesis 6 or the man of "faith" described in Hebrews 11. Jews and Christians will have a hard time recognizing Noah in this film. The environmental agenda is overdone. While showing images of war, violence, theft, and sexual sin, the main evil of humankind according to Noah is the abuse of the environment. Man has been guilty of a scorched earth policy brought about by primitive industrialization, resulting in apocalyptic scenery reminiscent of the Mad Max trilogy. Think Global Warming. At least that is what Aronofsky wants you to think. Killing animals is also condemned as a departure from the lifestyle in the Garden of Eden. This environmental theme reaches a "preachy" level that secularists would mock if applied to some evangelical doctrine in any other movie. While much in the film feels like a set up for this agenda, the film does not set the hook. Perhaps some of the back and forth in the editing process (described in the press) caused them to moderate that message. To the contrary, the words in Genesis 6 used to describe the sins of Noah's generation are: wickedness, imagination of the heart on evil always, corruption, and violence. The textual emphasis is on "violence." Not a word about hunting or mining; knowing this, the environmental agenda feels phony. Noah, the film, fails in this regard. The theistic evolution scene will be a concern for many. In the darkness of the ark, Noah retells the creation story to his family. From the beginning, there is the Creator, who calls forth the light. So far—so good. However, visuals are supplied once life gets going, which show primitive species morphing again and again to more sophisticated creatures. That cinematic slight-of-hand notwithstanding, there is a clean break in the cycle when Noah speaks of the first man and woman. They just appear hand in hand, no anthropoid halfling in between. Let's be clear about what this is, and what it isn't. This is macro-evolution, from amoeba to aardvark. But contra Dawkins and company, the beginning and end of it seem sacred. God starts it from nothing and ends it by starting something altogether new with man. Many conservative evangelicals, like me, believe that a straight forward reading of the biblical text indicates that new "kinds" of life were specially created, not evolved. If you agree with this view, this scene may rub you the wrong way. In the larger cultural war, the tip of the hat to a Creator will equally be a frustration to the new atheists. The Nephilim concept seems convoluted. Here's the "CliffsNotes" summary: The "Watchers" helped mankind with technology; humans abused it for evil; God cursed the angels for this and turned them into rock giants; these fallen angels help Noah build and defend the ark; when they die in the battle against the bad guys, the mysterious beings go up to heaven. Whew! You have to see this—not to believe it. In the long line of biblical interpretation about the Nephilim concept, which is quite rich, this one definitely takes the cake for being the most fanciful. Besides that, in Christian theology fallen angels do not go up to heaven in the end, but down to the other place. Secondary biblical details are blurred. It has already been noted that Noah follows the main lines of the biblical plot. However, secondary elements do not fare so well. Two of Noah's sons (teenagers, not adults) do not bring wives on the ark, but the one son's wife has two twin girls. Are these future wives for the other two? The main nemeses (Tubal-Cain) hacks his way into the ark, eats some lizards as a stow-away, and tries to kill Noah. There are "magical" objects that do the supernatural: a seed, a potus, a drink, and a birthright snakeskin. Are these occult or just extra-biblical miracles of biblical proportion? In some cases, it looks like two of every species are packing into the ark rather than two of every biblical "kind." That would make a very tight fit. Conclusion So Noah gets Noah wrong, gets the environment wrong, gets evolution wrong, gets angelology wrong, and gets some biblical details wrong. Compounding these problems, add the fact that none of these negatives can be deduced from watching the previews that have been released. Given these facts, and facts they are, the movie trailer may feel like a "bait and switch" to Jews and Christians. For instance, in the trailer where Noah says, "I am not alone," he is not talking about God. You'll see. So, what do I think Christians should do—go see it, ask our church to buy up block-seating, protest, or boycott it? That question will be answered in the final blog: "Noah: Application for Christians and for Hollywood." http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/february/noah-five-negative-features-about-this-film.html Published on November 19, 2013 in Current Issues in the World. Is the movie trailer promoting the blockbuster film Noah—to be released in March—part of a Hollywood con? Why would I even suggest that? Well, if you watch the movie’s trailer, it seems that the film might be compatible with the biblical account of the Flood and Ark of Noah. But I believe the trailer was put together very carefully and cleverly to attract Christians and Jews—those who might be inclined to pay to see the film and not speak out against it. In fact, many Christians and Christian organizations have already come out publicly to say they can’t wait to see this movie. But what will Noah, with movie star Russell Crowe, really show? Should Christians promote this movie just based on what Hollywood is letting them see? We have heard from various sources—including two close friends of AiG who watched a rough cut of the film—that it is not at all faithful to the biblical account in Genesis. The final movie will probably be very unbiblical in some bizarre and shocking ways. For example, the main characters of the movie are Noah, his wife, and three sons—and one little girl they rescued after all in her family were murdered by an evil tribe. She was badly injured when they found her, but Noah’s wife placed healing nectar on her stomach and she later grew up to become the eldest son’s wife. For the longest time she was barren in the womb until Noah’s wife convinced Methuselah to bless her womb—against Noah’s wishes. Noah at first is portrayed as a humble yet strong good man—a father and husband who protected his family from the evil that had come upon the world. But as he helped build the Ark, he was portrayed more like a basket-case who was convinced that his family was the last generation. He repeated over and over again that God would not let them repopulate since God would replant Eden without man and perfection would be reestablished with the “innocent animals” God brought on the Ark. Even when Noah’s eldest son brought news to the family on the Ark that his wife was expecting, the movie’s Noah said essentially, “If it is a male, he shall live. If a girl, I will kill her because it is not God’s will for man to repopulate.” Here are a few more problem areas seen in the rough cut of the film, most of which I expect to be in the final film: In the film, Noah was robbed of his birthright by Tubal-Cain. The serpent’s body (i.e., Satan), which was shed in Eden, was their “birthright reminder.” It also doubled with magical power that they would wrap around their arm. So weird! Noah’s family only consists of his wife, three sons, and one daughter-in-law, contrary to the Bible. It appears as if every species was crammed in the Ark instead of just the kinds of animals, thus mocking the Ark account the same way secularists do today. “Rocks” (that seem to be fallen angels) build the Ark with Noah! Methuselah (Noah’s grandfather) is a type of witch-doctor, whose mental health is questionable. Tubal-Cain defeats the Rocks who were protecting the finished Ark. A wounded Tubal-Cain axes his way inside the Ark in only about ten minutes and then hides inside. Tubal-Cain then convinces the middle son to lure Noah to the bottom of the Ark in order to murder him (because he was not allowed a wife in the Ark). Tubal-Cain stays alive by eating hibernating lizards. The middle son of Noah has a change of heart and helps kill Tubal-Cain instead. Noah becomes almost crazy as he believes the only purpose to his family’s existence was to help build the Ark for the “innocent” animals (this is a worship of creation). Noah repeatedly tells his family that they were the last generation and were never to procreate. So when his daughter-in-law becomes pregnant, he vows to murder his own grandchild. But he finally has a change of heart. Noah does not have a relationship with God but rather with circumstances and has deadly visions of the Flood. The Ark lands on a cliff next to a beach. After the Flood Noah becomes so distant from his family that he lives in a cave, getting drunk by the beach. There were many other bizarre, unbiblical aspects in the preview cut. Though it’s possible that some of these elements may not make the final cut (though we suspect most will), compare the above list to the trailer that has just been released! The comparison should be very revealing for you. You wouldn’t get much of a hint of most of the biblical problems in the list above based on watching on this cleverly-put-together trailer. A real con job, to be frank! Do you really want your family/children to see such an unbiblical Hollywood portrayal of a very sobering event in Scripture, one that was a result of man’s wickedness? Do you want your kids to see Noah’s Ark portrayed by Hollywood as above, instead of the fact it was an Ark of salvation because of the grace of God—reminding us that as Noah and his family went through a door to be saved, so we need to go through a door? [Jesus said,] “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9) Do you really want your family/children to see Noah portrayed by Hollywood as it is in the above summary, instead of how God’s Word describes him in the “Hall of Fame” in Hebrews 11? By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Hebrews 11:7) Again, we don’t know what will be in the final cut of the film. But this list we have presented should be enough for Christians to understand that this movie is unbiblical! Now, I do recognize that God is Sovereign and He can even use this Hollywood production to cause people be directed to His Word. Let’s pray that despite the unbiblical nature of this movie, that God will move hearts to seek Him. As for AiG, we will continue to focus on the ministry the Lord has called us to, including building the Ark Encounter that will be as biblically accurate as we can make it—all in an effort to share the truth of God’s Word and the gospel with the world. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying, Ken http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2013/11/19/dont-be-taken-in-by-the-noah-movies-promotion/

Are our minds worth trusting?

Leaning on our own understanding is something the scripture teaches not to do: Proverbs 3:5-6 5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart,And lean not on your own understanding;6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,And He shall direct your paths." And yet we do. The Hebrew word in Proverbs here is biynah which means: understanding, discernment. Interestingly enough, the very first temptation was to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:17) The Hebrew word knowledge here is daath, which means: discernment, understanding, wisdom. It seems we are tempted to use our own minds to figure things out, and we're not supposed to. In the army the officers would tell the enlisted "Don't think soldier, you're not paid to think." The goal of the military training was so that you just acted, responded, because in a battle situation you may not have time to think. Adam and Eve were perfect, and yet their own knowledge, once they ate of the tree, was not good. God's knowledge was good enough. We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) does this mean we are to default back to our own minds? NO! Lean not to your own understanding! Don't we want the Lord to lead us and guide us in all things? At what point do we say to God, "No, that's OK, I got it from here." Are we fools!? To God be all glory and honor and power. To Him we lift up our praise. To the human intellect we say; submit to Christ's. In this world we are taught to think for ourselves, but Christ has won that battle for us! He is risen. Trust in Him, and His mind! His will never fail. I have friends the have dementia. Their minds are no longer trustworthy, but I ask; "Were they ever?" If God say we are not to trust in ourselves, but to trust in Him, shouldn't that include our understanding? A teacher that is trying to teach his student something they don't understand, if that student refuses to be taught, and insists that he is right, above his professor, and is indeed wrong, then this student is considered a fool. And when our teacher is Christ, how much more the fool are we if we do not listen and learn from our master. Unless of course He is not our master, but in intellect we still retain ourselves as master. I had a national parks ranger in the Grand Canyon tell me "The Lord has my heart, but not my mind" in the area of scientific understanding. Let me tell you something; when we think we know best when we are lost, we will remain lost for a very long time, if not for ever. If we pretend to know better than God at any point in time, we are lost. It's funny we think we can trust in our own minds when scripture teaches us to constantly renew it through the washing of the water of the Word. (Ephesians 5:26) "Lord we need You. Every hour of everyday we need You. Forgive us for our pride. Jesus please save us. Save not just our hearts, but renew our minds as well, through the washing of the water of the word. In Jesus name, Amen."

Repentance from sin, and living no longer in it.

In 1 Peter we are given this:4 "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin," This is actually saying cease from sin. We can stop sinning, YES! Then followed by this 2 "that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God." We've done it. We've proven we can live in sin, that's done now. Now we can live fully in Christ. This follows: 3 "For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries." Skip a few verses and we have this:7 "But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”" Simple truths, simply said! Love. The message of the cross, the very meaning of His coming. We wants us. He died for us. So let us live for Him, for He wants to live in us. "Lord, help us in Jesus name, Amen."

Straighten up and fly right!

Straighten up and fly right Sounds like a military slogan, but it's a message for us. Nat King Cole sings a song that has these lyrics in it:"Straighten Up And Fly Right: A buzzard took a monkey for a ride in the air, The monkey thought that everything was on the square. The buzzard tried to throw the monkey off his back, The monkey grabbed his neck and said, "Now listen, Jack..." Straighten up and fly right, Straighten up and stay right Straighten up and fly right Problem is it's not in the monkeys nature to fly, so he's hitchin a ride with a vulture, whose nature it is to eat monkeys! Sounds like the wrong kind of partner!Here's the scripture: Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. So even though our nature isn't to fly, we have a new nature, for: Galatians 2:20 "It no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me." And, 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." We must not give in to our old man, and we must have the partnership of Christ, because it's only in Him we can do the impossible, like fly!

Stand Firm

I do not understand this man's fight. I don't get it. But his passion has captured my heart. He feels strongly, he bleeds, he is a man on a mission. He has a cross, and a shield. WHen you're facing an enemy hurling this at you, normally the last thing you'd want is a cross in one hand, but yet he has one. It's really important to him. He has steely determination. I have never seen a man more serious. I would listen to him. Whatever he had to say, I'd lend him an ear. In fact, this picture makes me want to hear his story. It's as if I can see his heart, and I want to hear more. God is like that with us. He sees our heart, our passion. But He knows how to help. That's why I carry the Cross. That's why when I'm being attacked, like today, I carry Christ with me everywhere I go. Right into the battle, the false accusation, with determination I approach Christ; help me please. Help those who are hurting. Help us Lord. And He will. He will. He will answer. After the attack started yesterday, after much prayer, these are the scriptures I was sent and saw, some without any knowledge of the battle raging: Acts 18:9 Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city. Vindicate me, O Lord, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip. Psalm 26:1 Isaiah 43 1-7 43 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. 4 Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life. 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; 6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth— 7 Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” john 9:31 We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but He listens to anyone who worships and obeys Him. And finally, "If God be for us who can be against us." Romans 8:31b When my battle started almost a year ago, this was the scripture God gave me, it was actually just on my computer, I didn't put it there: Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Stand firm men of God, stand in Christ, and you WILL stand.

Darkness and light don't mix.

The dawning of the day. Each morning I wake up, and it's still dark outside. Then the sun begins to rise and slowing the light chases away the darkness. A little bit at a time, until it is fully light, and everything can be clearly seen. Our spiritual lives are a little different. Christ comes and changes darkness to light, from sinner to saint, instantly. Then when it is fully light, we sometimes ask the darkness back in. Before the sun comes up in the morning and we can kind of see, can be the most dangerous, because you can't really see well, but you think you can. When pride blinds us, and our hearts are far from God, then darkness will only help us trip, and fall. We need the light of Christ to shine on the darkness, so it's not dark anymore. We don't need some of the light, we need it all. I remember trying to play basketball or football at night, without enough light. When a football is flying through the air and you can't see it until it's right in your face, it can be tough to catch! We need the light to see. As I get older, I realize how much more I need good lighting. Even in photography or film making, good lighting is essential, even in low light scenes, there needs to be enough light for the camera's lense to be able to operate efficiently. The Spirit of God does not allow darkness to share it's light, the two can't co-exist together, and still be called darkness and light. Some how we've been fooled into thinking darkness and light can share our hearts and be happy companions together, but they can't. Light and darkness don't mix, it's either one or the other. It's either dark, or it's light. Jesus, in You there is no darkness at all, and since You have come into our lives, we too are lights, and no longer dwell in darkness. Let us be children of the Light. Let us walk at all times as children of the Light. Jesus, You saved us and made us to shine You into this darkened world, so let us shine, let us love from a pure heart, which is only possible if the True Light shines through us every moment of everyday. Lord, I am Yours, take me.

Saints, that we are, if in Christ

Much has been made about saints, and certain people being holy. Let's define this a little better. “Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.” (Philippians 4:21-22) These are living breathing people, not having died yet, simply living holy lives. The apostle Paul typically began and ended most of his church epistles with greetings to and from “the saints.” The context in each case shows that this term was applied to all those who were “in Christ Jesus”—that is, all true Christians. The Greek word hagios meant essentially those people or things that are set aside or consecrated to the Lord. It is frequently translated “holy” and can be applied to objects dedicated to the Lord, as in Hebrews 9:24 (“holy places made with hands”). Paul even identified some as teaching the saints, 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4) Since the sole biblical criterion to be classed as “His saints” is “them that believe,” that includes us! That being the case, should we not be zealous to see that our lives are such as “becometh saints?” (Ephesians 5:3) I have asked many people this question, are you holy? Usually posed to Christians, most don't feel like they are. I understand that, because none of us are worthy! Christ alone is worthy! But understand this, if Christ is in you, He cannot be anywhere that is not holy, so He had to make you holy, and He did! It is Christ's work on the cross that made you holy, not something you have done, it's by grace through faith that we've been saved, not of works, because then we could boast it was something we've done! (James 5) So, you are holy, not being made holy, but are, if you are in Christ! So. Go and be holy, be set apart be His!