I think I'll go see it. It looks like it could be a blockbuster, and I could use a night at the movies after 150 days of lousy weather.
I don't know how Noah will be received. It wasn't made by a Christian. It was made by a talented and reportedly atheistic filmmaker named Darren Aronofsky. It seems that Christians as a general audience have one of two responses to any movie which is based on the Bible or a biblical theme. If we feel the filmmaker has taken too many liberties with the story, we'll put on our sentinel faces and sternly warn the masses to stay away because this "isn't what the Bible says." If we like it and deem it "true to the text," we'll buy a block of 300 seats and make it a big church event, followed by a 4-week Bible study using a devotional published by Zondervan (free t-shirt, too!) and an invitation to all our non-believing friends to join us for awkward discussion groups in our living rooms.
I think I know why we do this. For a long time, evangelicals abandoned the arts because they didn't serve our purpose, which is to "get people into heaven." Once we realized that our lack of artistic involvement had made us irrelevant to the people we were trying to reach, we started making "Christian" art to get back in the game, so to speak. This explains things such as Left Behind movies and this music video which defies description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VPcPCwK_G0.
Anyway, over the years I've developed a theology of art. (I wrote a paper on it in seminary. Yes, I got an A.) I believe that art for art's sake glorifies God. I believe that, as creatures made in the image of our Creator, we were made to create. It's an expression of the imago dei in each of us. Whenever and whatever we create--whether we acknowledge our Creator as we create or just create because we are creative--we are glorifying the Creator who created us. (That, my friends, is one heck of a sentence I just created.) So we glorify God when we spin a pot on the wheel, draw cartoons of talking animals, carve a wooden box to hold our jewelry, write a poem about Kansas in July, or edit a video of our children dancing in puddles. We don't have to write a verse on it or put a cross on it to make it "Christian." The art itself is enough. Theologian Philip Ryken says, "The doctrine of Creation teaches that by God's common grace, the gift of art inevitably declares the praise of its Giver." This is beautiful. This is what it means to be human. This is a gift from God. I can't think of anything on earth which points to God more than people making beautiful things.
So I don't know if Noah will be any good or not. It might be boring, boorish, or even blasphemous. I do know for certain that it's not completely true to the biblical narrative, because that story involved a hundred years of waiting, bark-stripping and beard growing, which sounds about as entertaining as watching Out of Africa, backwards, in French, on my phone. But this time, instead of judging its value based on whether it's "Christian" enough, let's determine if it's well-acted and well-shot, has believable characters and a good score, and gives us something to talk about over dinner. (At least it has Russell Crowe!) And good or bad, let's not start up the Christian bandwagon with an 8-week series' called "Drowning?" or flood the culture with cries of protest. Let's just grab our $5 Milk Duds and $8 Coke, then sit back, enjoy the movie, and remember that we create because he first created us.
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thought provoking blog. Of course, it created in me some questions that I struggle to get right in a variety of areas, but you addressed art and a biblical themed movie. So I will for the most part limit my comments to that arena.
I appreciate and agree with your comments about art and “that art for art's sake glorifies God.” I’ve heard R. C. Sproul and Philip Ryken preach on this subject and am persuaded that at least some art does indeed glorify God. It helps us in our understanding of Gods creativeness. By nature I am not the lover of the arts as many are; but perhaps God is working on me to appreciate it more, so that I worship Him more.
However, as the saying goes, “not all art is created equal.” For example, Andres Serrano’s work of "Piss Christ", a red-tinged photograph of a crucifix submerged in a glass container of what he says was his own urine. It won awards, but of course I have a little trouble embracing it as something good. That is not to say it does not have value. As painful as it is, it is important for all of us to understand not everyone values the work of Christ in the same way. Also, we often learn and understand our world by contrasts. We would not understand God’s grace and mercy, if there was not also condemnation and wrath. Likewise, we could not distinguish good art from bad. Even though, in a perverse way, I can find value in the work, in good conscience, I could not give praise to "Piss Christ", nor behave in such a way as to help Serrano create more of these.
Similarly, I have a problem with art that distorts and perverts scripture. The account of Noah and the flood, and the accompanying covenant is an extremely important event in the history of redemption. Instead of conveying that story, it reportedly conveys a contemporary political message of extreme environmentalism (I don’t know the validity of this claim. I have not seen the movie, and I acknowledge that unless I see it or have reporting that I can truly trust I won’t know if it is true. Nor do I know if there is any other value in it). Now I could find some value for the movie. For example, as you noted, its value could be in how well it is acted and shot, if it has believable characters and a good score; for art’s sake. Or, there is value in being able to compare and contrast the movie with the biblical account. For you in your role as a Youth Pastor, it is almost your duty to go see it. Many of the kids you minister to will see it, and you should be able to discuss it.
But what is my role in the greater Christian community? We place supreme value on the faithful understanding of the scriptures. Long before the movie is art, it is a commercial enterprise. If I supremely value the accurate portrayal of scripture, how do I square that with financial support that encourages more movies that distort scripture and Gods drama of redemption?
So let’s put aside for the moment the difficult question of whether a movie is Christian or faithful enough, since some creative license will always be required; this will always be a judgment call. Let’s also put aside this particular movie, and assume we have a movie that is cut and dry, anti-biblical and defames Christ. The cast is loaded with Oscar winning actors, producers, editor and director. It is a truly stunning, epic movie. What do we, in the greater Christian community do? On the one hand, do we see and support an epic movie for the sake of enjoying it, for the sake of art, or should my conscience tell me that seeing and supporting such a movie may not be for the greater good, nor honoring to God?
God has made the Christian body truly diverse. From the earliest days of the church, one group had a clear conscience about eating meat sacrificed to idols, while others were clearly troubled. Drawing a dividing line can be tough. If you do, where do you draw the line with movies that draw their inspiration or story line from the bible?
(Sorry if I got too serious and too long. Like many, I agonize over where to draw some line in many areas of life – movies are relatively easy. Listening to and understanding people I respect helps to put these decisions into perspective. Thanks!)
ReplyDeleteVery thoughtful points, Bob. All art is not equal, and you give the most obvious example I could think of (which is really a fallout from extreme nihilism). Discernment is necessary, and you are right, if art is just downright evil or blasphemous, and has zero redemptive value, then it's not worth watching or supporting. If that's the case with Noah, then we should skip it. The amazing thing is that even the worst creative works still speak, unintentionally, to the existence of objective beauty, which comes from God. That makes for a great conversation starter. "The shadow proves the sunshine." So I guess I'm saying that, in the end, we can stay level headed and realize that a good Christian worldview provides confidence, joy, appreciation, and the calm voice of perspective in a world prone to alarmism.
ReplyDeleteOh, and "objectively" speaking, if your comments about the blog are longer than the blog itself, they are too long :^) haha