noah...

Joe and I went on a date last weekend. We went to dinner and saw the much-talked about "Noah", despite the bad reviews it got on Facebook. I didn't think it was great, but I thought it was ok. The special effects were impressive and seeing what it must have been like for those animals to board the arc was pretty neat. Neither of us liked the fundamentals that were changed to make it more dramatic.

Like it needed to be more dramatic… The real story is quite dramatic enough.

The Bible says Noah was a righteous man and did what the Lord asked of him. The fact that the movie made that unclear was disappointing. Otherwise, as Joe said, the gaps in the Biblical text leave much to be imagined. The rock people didn't upset us that much.

Why don't I just insert what Joe said in this week's bulletin piece right here? Afterall, his opinion is worth more than mine when it comes to this theology stuff…

People are laughing at Noah…again. On a Wednesday night back in the fall, we laughed a little at Noah as portrayed in “The Bible” because he was more Scottish than we remembered. The heavy accent distracted some of us from the important message as he retold the story of creation and the fall of humanity from God’s side.  

Oddly enough, the new movie “Noah” also uses Noah to explain the fall from grace. Certainly there are some moments where the moviemakers got carried away with poetic license and started telling a completely different story. However, for much of the movie, they took full advantage of the space between the words in the telling of the account in Genesis 6-9. That didn’t bother me, even though some movie reviewers laughed at some of their choices, I know the story from Genesis and there is some amazing stuff going on in the text already. What bothered me was the lack of respect for Noah that happens when they leave God’s script and create their own.  

People made the mistake of laughing at Noah thousands of years ago as well. They ridiculed him and his family and probably his understanding of God, someone they no longer cared about or knew. Noah knew what God asked him to do, and there was no confusion about the task. Noah did what God wanted, and it must have been one of the grandest acts of faith anyone has ever heard about (then and now). He proved God’s faithfulness, and he shows us still that salvation is possible through God’s plan.

Even though we didn't think the movie was the best, the reminder of Noah's faith and God's faithfulness is always relevant, especially during Lent.

Yesterday we returned from a few days in Savannah. It is rainy here in Sandersville (as it is in much of the South) and I am glad. I'd rather have the green all over the radar than the green all over my car, porch furniture, in the air, and everywhere else!

Monkey is sitting behind me in the desk chair eagerly waiting for me to close the laptop. Her quiet time is over and a movie snuggle-session is in order. Happy Sunday!