Noah! To See or Not To See?

I haven’t seen the Russel Crow movie, “Noah,” yet. I am not sure I will to honest about it. I mean, there is no real tug at my heart to run out and stand in line to see the movie. I will probably eventually see it but that’s not what my blog is about.

This is not Hollywood’s first rodeo at bringing Holy Writ to the ever so present “talking movie sets” we enjoy today. In 1956 several celebrity status actors brought us “The Ten Commandments”. You remember either seeing the original (produced before I was even born) or even the countless times it has shown on television. Remember these names: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson? Even then there was the added drama to make the movie something that Christians would find entertaining enough to watch. After all, even with the advancement of props, technology and better trained actors – we need some high tech drama to make any Christian film interesting or entertaining in today’s culture.   But is that what we have done?  Have we so surrendered to Hollywood for entertainment that we think it’s divinely inspirational for someone like Aronofsky to produce a movie based on a Bible character?  Not sure but someone told me Aronofsky is an athiest and from several interviews he’s given – I’m going to say he’s as close as you will get to a “Godless” man.  What’s wrong with this picture?

I think what we have done is we have attempted to take holiness and righteousness to Hollywood and ask their assistance with making the Bible “come to life.”   Our culture of entertainement, fast paced electronic gaming and illiteracy handicapped society finds instant gratification in entertaiment that images Christian themes – its teh path of least resistance for many.  After all, why read Scriptures when you have Aronofsky and Crowe?   Again, I’m not against movies being made about Christian theology, ideology and just plain ol’ life-ology. When you compare Charleston Heston’s “Ten Commandments” with Crowe’s “Noah” there is obviously a vast difference in how the movies were made and what they pretend to portray. Let’s toast to the increase of human intelligence!   Noah’s trailers set us up for some mind boggling screen shots.  Fasten your seat belts!

While we have advanced our ability to produce movies, pick celebrities to play the characters and pour millions into the actual production of Hollywood based “Christian” movies – are we advancing the Kingdom of God at all?  Settle down! I am smart enough to know that we can’t leave Hollywood the task of evangelizing the nations. They really wouldn’t know where to begin unless they had a make up artist and two or three contract agents to help them finalize their plans.

What we cannot afford to do as believers is sit back and come to some possessed idea that since Hollywood has gotten on the bandwagon of producing “Christian themed” movies – is sit back, wait till it comes out on DVD, run to Wal-Mart and buy it, schedule a night at our church to show it and then give an altar call – and call it evangelism.  Won’t work. Wasn’t intended to be that way. I doubt anyone ever assumed they would have to credential Charleston Heston as an evangelist anymore than we would make the same consideration for Mr. Crowe. Hollywood does not within itself make up one of the five fold gifts to the church – evangelist. That task, as difficult and inconvenient as it is today, was left up to us.

What we are coming close to doing is trading evangelism for entertainment. If I’m right about this, the weakened Western church will fall even shorter on her task of reaching people for the kingdom of God.  Movies don’t lead people to Jesus. People lead people to Jesus.  That’s the way the Author and Finisher of our faith intended it to be.

If I see Noah it will be for the sake of pure entertainment. But then again Frozen will run so close in capturing my entertainment window that I’m not sure which one will win out. Besides, there’s the production of “God’s Not Dead” that runs closer to pure intentions than Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah” ever has.

Stop calling me names.   Settle down.   Be careful what you say.   See you at the movies!  Popcorn anyone?