A non christian friend of mine went to watch the Noah film this week. I have to confess to having been put off from going to see it by the various reviews etc slating it as an unbiblical piece of fantastical nonsense. And somewhat violent and gory.
But my friend - who is rather anti Christianity and with whom I have had a few heated discussions over the years - came straight home from the film and got out a bible to read the Genesis story for himself! And he was enchanted by the whole thing. He came online to talk to me about it and tell me how appealing he found the idea of a creator. He was very impressed by all the animals in the film and for the first time it dawned on him that Adam and Eve were vegetarians :-) We had a really good discussion about the serpent - is he really Satan and if so what does this mean? - and the fact that because of Adam and Eve's decisions God had to kill an animal to cover their nakedness. Thus starting a whole story of sacrifice which was only to be brought to a conclusion in Jesus on Good Friday.
I wonder how many other people who have gone to see Russel Crowe doing his thing on the big screen will be prompted to think more deeply about God things. Probably thousands. Hundreds of thousands. Because God never misses a chance to speak to people.
Ive changed my mind about going to see the film now. I shall go, because I wont be able to answer the
questions if I dont know what its about. I wont be able to correct the errors in conversation with friends if I havent actually seen it. It surely has to be a good conversation starter and if it gives God a toe in the door to people who otherwise would slam it in His face then its got to be worth following up. So when I go I shall not watch it with a teacher's red pen in my hand scoring through all the theological and biblical errors. I shall go with a prayer in my heart that whatever its weaknesses and inaccuracies God will use it for His glory. If my atheist friend can be enchanted and wooed by God through the story of the flood then anything is possible :-)
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