{"id":13459,"date":"2014-04-19T12:10:58","date_gmt":"2014-04-19T16:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecrescat\/?p=13459"},"modified":"2017-01-25T19:52:01","modified_gmt":"2017-01-26T00:52:01","slug":"noah-you-so-crazy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecrescat\/2014\/04\/noah-you-so-crazy.html","title":{"rendered":"Noah, you so crazy…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u2026 So I saw the movie Noah<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Good Lord, what a ghastly mess. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m no theologian but somehow I don\u2019t recall reading about Noah\u2019s bloodthirsty, psychopathic, stab all the babies tendencies. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t all bad. Noah<\/em> was entertaining enough with decent special effects. My absolute favorite part of the movie was when the stone giants<\/a> protected the Hobbits. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

Wait. What movie is this again?<\/p>\n

OK, so it wasn\u2019t the worst movie I ever saw. That honor belongs to Apocalypto<\/em>, the only movie I\u2019ve ever walked out of. <\/p>\n

Noah<\/em> had many fine moments, enough so that I couldn\u2019t say it was a complete waste of time and money. The story of creation was absolutely stunning and just won\u2019t be as awe inspiring if you wait to see the movie on DVD. <\/p>\n

Also, as Fr. Barron noted<\/a>, <\/p>\n

What is most important is that this contemporary midrash<\/em> successfully articulates the characteristically Biblical logic of the story of Noah. First, it speaks unambiguously of God: every major character refers to \u201cthe Creator.\u201d Secondly, this Creator God is not presented as a distant force, nor is he blandly identified with Nature. Rather, he is personal, active, provident, and intimately involved in the affairs of the world that he has made. \"\"<\/a> Thirdly, human beings are portrayed as fallen with their sin producing much of the suffering in the world. Some of the religious critics of \u201cNoah\u201d have sniffed out a secularist and environmentalist ideology behind this supposed demonization of humanity, but Genesis itself remains pretty down on the way human beings operate\u2014read the stories of Cain and Abel and the Tower of Babel for the details. And \u201cNoah\u2019s\u201d portrayal of the rape of nature caused by industrialization is nowhere near as vivid as Tolkien\u2019s portrayal of the same theme in \u201cThe Lord of the Rings.\u201d Fourthly, the hero of the film consistently eschews his own comfort and personal inclination and seeks to know and follow the will of God. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With which I agree. However, Fr. Barron loses me at \u201cfourthly\u201d.<\/p>\n

At the emotional climax of the movie (spoiler alert), Noah moves to kill his own granddaughters, convinced that it is God\u2019s will that the human race be obliterated, but he relents when it becomes clear to him that God in fact wills for humanity to be renewed<\/strong>. What is significant is that Noah remains utterly focused throughout, not on his own freedom, but on the desire and purpose of God. God, creation, providence, sin, obedience, salvation: not bad for a major Hollywood movie!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No, he relents because all he has is love in his heart when looks at those beautiful babies (his own words in the film)\u2026 and because Noah is not a psychopathic baby stabbing bastard! Duh. <\/p>\n

God\u2019s will does not become clear to Noah till much later in the film \u2014 as evident by all the Javert-ish moping Noah does because he feels like he failed God by not sacrificing his entire family in a Gladiator-esque rage. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That whole stab all the family, mad man on a boat script looked and felt too much like Hollywood\u2019s typical habit of portraying followers of God as fanatical lunatics. <\/p>\n

We get it, this was no easy task for Noah \u2014 build a ginormous boat, fill it full of animals that eat each other, repopulate earth and save all humanity. But God wouldn\u2019t have picked Noah if he wasn\u2019t up to task. People follow the will of God everyday, without the adverse side effects of wanting to slaughter their entire family. It\u2019s called faith, people. And Noah had it in abundance. <\/p>\n

My conclusion: Yes, Noah<\/em> wasn\u2019t bad for a Hollywood movie. In fact it was completely typical for a Hollywood movie. <\/p>\n

But hey\u2026 it got me interested in re-reading Genesis again. So that\u2019s something, I suppose. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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