I'm watching Noah...but you don't have to

     I honestly wasn't going to see Noah. It was Hollywood. It was going to be unbiblical...because, well I've read the Bible and there isn't a lot of dialogue in the flood story. My dad talked me into it though. He mentioned that I should take my youth group to see it. A plan was hatched right then and there. We would look at the ever popular flood narrative in our time in Sunday School and then head to the movies.
     But then, as it always does, Facebook happened. Through the magic of the share button I was bombarded with info of the atheism of the director of Noah. Protests were hatched among the social media masses. Well, not really protests...many just avowed to not give their money to the atheists. But still, there was a tone that seemed to imply that not only would many not go see the movie, but I would be kind of a bad person if I did.
     I think dialogue above all things we typically do as humans should be celebrated and also not lost. Social media allows us to preach 140 characters at a time. What is missing is the back and forth. Rather than figure out the good and the obvious bad that would be inherent to any Hollywood take on the Bible, we often just walk away from our computers (not our phones though; we never walk away from those). So, lets look at the objections...

Objection #1 The director is an atheist

This is definitely a pickle. Should we give money to atheists especially when it is for a leisure activity? Not going to a movie is a perfectly acceptable response. But it does beg one question...do you apply that same standard to the other leisure areas in your life? If you do, be prepared to abstain from the following:

*All things Microsoft or Bill Gates related
*Titanic, Avatar and all other movies directed by James Cameron
*All things Brad Pitt (guys, you might have been there already)
*Star Trek, Priceline, and all other things William Shatner
*Green Day, Rob Reiner, Johnny Depp, and the list goes on ...

There is incredible irony in not seeing a movie because it would put money in the pockets of an atheist while posting about it on Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, of course, is an atheist.

The point here is consistency in our message. As Christians, we are ALL hypocrites. We cannot possibly life up to the standard that is Jesus Christ. That of course is why we need Jesus.  But we can choose to put our money where our mouth is and make consistent decisions. When we don't, we get laughed at by an atheist community that doesn't care about our opinion to begin with. Looming larger than that, they laugh at our Savior.

Objection #2 True, but this atheist is dealing with Biblical subject matter

1) You are correct sir! They are dealing with a Biblical narrative. Maybe its good that an atheist is at the helm because God has a long history of using atheists. Wait, what?!? Yes, it is true. Pharaoh, King Nebuchadnezzar, and Pontius Pilot to name a select few all used mightily by the Creator. They are all part of the Bible itself.  What we find is that God uses these people to show His power, His control, and His mercy.

2) I have less problem with atheists mishandling the Bible than I do when believers mishandle it. Lest we forget the epic Bible Mini-Series on the History Channel. There were radical failures to show the portions of the Bible that weren't that action driven. Of course, we did learn that Noah was a wee bit Scottish. Bottom line, when my children (at that time ages 9, 7, & 5) are pointing out where the series is going wrong then it has to be bad. And lets not forget this...

Apparently the Bible was based on the Series

3) God's Word never returns void. It would do us all well to not just randomly say this verse when it suits us but to remember God is ALWAYS in control. Maybe we should stop singing "have thine own way Lord," if we don't believe He can actually have His own way. In the words of Isaiah 55:11...

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 

Objection #3 This atheist has thumbed his nose at God

You have probably seen that articles citing the director's heinous claim (if not then here you go). But here is the problem...all atheists are actively thumbing their nose at God. Atheists are not silent. They speak loudly and more often than seemingly anyone else on the planet (ever heard of Ricky Gervais; by the way you also can't watch the new Muppet movie). They are all activists. Here is what I know personally. For a decade of my life, I spent my time despising God and trying to deter the faith of others. God put Christians in my life that were willing to engage in conversation with me. They cared about me. They didn't refuse services at my place of business because I was an atheist. Jesus used them to draw me closer to Him. The other alternative for Christians was to push me further away. I am a bigger fan of the former than the latter.

Objection #4 God is not mentioned in the movie

I give you the book of Esther. God isn't mentioned but God is all throughout the book. When God is at the center of something, you don't have to explicitly mention Jesus as every other word. He will be evident through the result. Noah is in the Bible. The Bible is about God. Therefore, the Noah movie contains God. It really doesn't matter what the director has to say...just consider the source.

Okay...so what...

The problem is not Hollywood. The problem is that we as Christians expect them to do the job designated for us (please read Psalm 78 if you don't agree). When they don't, we complain about it. Frankly, we are in crisis mode people. I'm not mad that an atheist doesn't know the story of Noah. I'm mad that there is a generation of kids that don't know it either. I deal with youth in a church setting all the time and here is what they don't know- the Bible! So often when they do know the story, it is a watered down version that removes the importance of the story.

The story of Noah contains the Gospel. It had never rained before, yet Noah believes in what he cannot see. We call that faith. There is one door that cannot be opened or shut by human hands. That is Jesus-the Way, the Truth, the Life. There is an ark made of gopher wood. This was the wood used to make coffins. The message is that we must die in order to live. A torrential flood in a huge coffin gives us the first recorded baptism in human history. We see a God that carries us through trials. We see a dove return with a symbol of peace that echoes the vision we see in the Holy Spirit descending at Jesus' baptism. We see the covenant relationship God has with believers in the sign of the rainbow.

See the movie or don't see the movie...but do you know that story? Do your children know that story?

Facebook Love

“An intense look between the two future grandparents expresses an ineffable nuance of love that a dictionary could not provide.”   --Once Upon A Fastball

           I really fell in love with this sentence the other day. Read in a book that I didn't want to read (but had to as to not break my daughter's heart) it prompted me to do the one thing I NEVER do...dog ear a page of a book. Books hold a place in my heart that I cannot explain, thus I won't try.
  
           I think this line of prose is one of the most beautiful I have encountered in the world of fiction in quite some time. Personally, I feel it transcends fiction and attaches itself to real life in such an insightful way. It describes love in such a romanticized way that it must be true. It doesn't speak though of here and now. Instead, it attests to their staying power and the future. In the immortal words of Shakespeare (or whoever the last movie about Shakespeare says the author really is):

"Ay, there's the rub..." --Hamlet

           One could wax philosophical on the subject of what love is, but I prefer to start by doing things the American way (to celebrate Independance Day and all). The American way is to tell you what it is not. Plus, this shows off a little of my rhetoric degree as I amaze you with names of people you probably haven't heard of like Kenneth Burke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Burke).

           In the world of teen movies and all things social media we see the lingering effects that have led to what I now deem affectionately...Facebook Love (its a thing). There is this perception that we should be working, continuously trolling the waters if you will (or if you won't, its my blog) for that perfect someone. We can probably blame Disney for perpetrating this myth, but I think Facebook has continued the agony for millions of others.

          The truth is (definitely a facebook pun going on there) that finding someone is fairly simple. I know there are certain obstacles to finding that special someone. The problem is that we put so much effort into the front end (dating) that we think the back end (marriage) takes care of itself. Divorce statistics really speak for themselves. As many labor daily for: date or pass, lms (like my status), or truth is, the result is a lot of heartache and an emotional roller coaster that teaches a tremendous falsehood lie:

"They lived happily ever after."  --Every movie ever

           That is not to say that happiness doesn't lie ahead. It is to say that its not that simple. In marriage, you will squeeze the toothpaste from the wrong end, debate over or under on toilet paper and its roll postion, and you will encounter hard times. You will encounter sickness and loss. You will have times where there isn't enough...food, money, time, etc. You will have to stop being just you and being a family.

           Those things are worth tears (well, not the toilet paper). Those things are worth the emotional roller coaster. They can't be answered in truth is and it takes much more work than date or pass ever will. Those things are worth it.

           My advice, stop working so hard. The time to really work is still to come. If you still need hope that you will find that special someone, here you go. Remember, even I was able to sucker my wife into marrying me. That means there is hope for you too. You can save the work for later.