Ark builder Ken Ham: Noah movie is disgusting and evil

[nazz]

I think the rock transformers were awesome, but Brad Pitt would've made a much better Noah.

Charlton Heston wasn't available

 

[work in progress]

Would you mind if I borrow your irony meter sometime? Seems like it is more useful than writing paragraphs as a rebuttal.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I saw the Noah movie yesterday, and I am not a big fan of Russell Crowe's acting abilities....his ego seems to transcend the characters he plays...but in this one, his brooding, angst-ridden Noah is perfect for the story. And there's more to the story than Crowe's Noah, since the movie is a world created by CGI graphics, and there are other important characters - like Tubal-Cain - the bad guy of the story, who is only briefly mentioned in Genesis as the son of Cain and is credited with inventing the forging of iron and bronze. So, I guess that having him still around at the time of the Flood and his fight with Noah, is either some flight of fancy or more likely is found in some sort of Apocryphal work...like these big talking & walking rock giants (which reminded me of the Ents - the tree creatures in Lord of the Rings) who were the fallen angels cursed to dwell among the rocks after the fall of man...a story lifted from the book of Enoch. This is likely one of the reasons why a uptight fundie like Ken Ham could never appreciate this movie!

Darren Aronofsky wants to tell stories through film, and I wanted to see the movie because it's a Darren Aronofsky film, and I am a fan of his work...even the films that no one seems to like or understand - like The Fountain....so, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

Myth has to be taken in context, not applied by modern day rules of culture. I notice that both fundamentalists and most antitheists seem to be guilty of trying to shoehorn modern sensibilities into the story.

Noah is a world where The Creator has made everything and can do whatever he wants with his creation...that's just the way it is, so Noah doesn't question why the Creator wants to cleanse the Earth...he just does, and for reasons Noah doesn't understand, has chosen him to play an important part in saving and rebuilding his creation. Another apocryphal addition to the story of Noah is that Noah himself has been given the final choice by The Creator to decide whether he and his family should be the last of the very dangerous and destructive human creatures...leaving behind a pristine world, or whether the human race should have the chance to continue on.

Don't mind me. I've been slyly stalking your posts today (which I've been appreciating). I'm a fan of Aronofsky, too, and especially "The Fountain." Hubbie fell asleep when we saw it. Not his kind of movie at the time. I was enthralled.

I've been interested in seeing the Flood Myth come to life like this. Thanks for the review.

 

[Skwim]

I think the rock transformers were awesome, but Brad Pitt would've made a much better Noah.

Don Knotts.

Build an ark? Who, Me!!!
​

 

[work in progress]

Don't mind me. I've been slyly stalking your posts today (which I've been appreciating). I'm a fan of Aronofsky, too, and especially "The Fountain." Hubbie fell asleep when we saw it. Not his kind of movie at the time. I was enthralled.

I've been interested in seeing the Flood Myth come to life like this. Thanks for the review.

Thank you. I just thought that the movie is storytelling that can be appreciated regardless of the metaphysical baggage that the viewer brings along with them when they enter the movie theatre to see it.

I'm noticing today, that I'm seeing it criticized by fundamentalists who want it treated as scientific fact, while atheists and hard nosed materialists want to reject the flood narrative in its entirety and don't consider that there might be something of value for us today...even as allegory.

On The Fountain: My wife and I first saw it with our eldest son and his wife...we loved it/they hated it...complained it was confusing and boring. So, I had to go through listening to some carping and complaining afterwards. I'm glad I had someone with me who also appreciated the film though.

I didn't understand it completely when I first saw it either. It's a story that demands some thought, not the usual mindless moviegoing experience...your average comic book-based movie for example. I've noticed that it pops up regularly on MPIX, and has a dedicated fan base, which is good to see, since it's the kind of movie that a producer/director should be rewarded for attempting, rather than making more mindless crap.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I saw the Fountain once, in the theaters, and never watched it again because it broke my heart. Too emotional for me.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Then there's always "Black Swan"....which is flippin' brilliant, too.

I've seen more backlash hand in hand with more of the intrigue with the movie after its weekend's debut.

 

[work in progress]

A little update on the minor controversy around the new Noah Movie. We discussed previously that fundamentalist literalists like Ken Ham and his ilk...who demand that all of the stories in the Bible be treated like science and history, have conflicts with modern day science, and legitimate historical analysis.

But, there is one aspect of fundamentalist Christianity that I wasn't aware of before:
Belief in an almighty creator actively tinkering behind the scenes adjusting the weather - think Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell declaring that God sent a category 5 hurricane to New Orleans to punish the City for allowing and especially celebrating its gay district - God is actively and directly behind the ecology of this planet, and that means global warming is impossible, and the idea that man could destroy the Creation, or degrade it so badly that God would consider erasing humankind because of their wanton disregard for the Creation is directly at odds with their cosmic worldview that God created this world as our sandbox to play with and do what we like with...and if we make any big messes, God will fix them, because he won't allow us to destroy the planet no matter how hard we try! So, the well financed Christian lobby group - The Cornwall Alliance - which includes some of the wealthiest and most prominent evangelical leaders, provides their review:
Movie Noah Trades Redemption for Destruction

Darren Aronofsky missed two key parts of the Biblical story when he decided to create this movie based on the worldview of radical environmentalists.

First, God put man over the earth to steward it. Genesis 1:26–28 states:....................

God gave man dominion, which means that, in order of importance among creatures, man comes first. Environmentalists, of course, don’t agree. Godawa pointed out that the ethic behind Noah’s belief that his family should not procreate was “The same as all environmentalist activists: The ends justify the means. ‘We must weigh those [human] lives against all creation.’” Environmentalists like Aronofsky believe that man only damages the earth, but we know better.

Humanity being made in the image of God has the ability to innovate and create. When God gave man dominion over the earth, it was because under the stewardship of man the earth is more productive.

Second, Noah the movie is a story of death and destruction rooted in evil. The Biblical story of Noah is one of both just judgment and gracious redemption.

This attitude based on hubris and greed, which is typical of all religions with transcendent Gods (above and separate from Creation) leads directly to anthropocentric disregard for nature as a collection of raw materials to be turned into products for our own use. This is the story of capitalism in a nutshell in our age, and betrays the likelihood that transcendent gods were created by the early patriarchal farming communities (which included animal husbandry), which had...or believed they had discovered how to separate themselves from the limits of nature.

The traditional religious worldview...beginning in prehistoric times was of an immanent Creator or Creators, who could not be separated from nature. So, the pantheist has a more difficult pathway to becoming the careless, oblivious consumer, destroying nature in his path and looking for more unspoiled territories to plunder! On average, the regions of the world that resisted the imposition of Christianity and Islam on their societies, have had to be dragged along against their will on the modern consumer capitalism project.

The notion that God's in charge, and we can't destroy ourselves and the rest of life on earth, might be comforting to people concerned about the direction we are taking this world today, environmentalism must be applied in using the resources of this planet responsibly, and God is in charge of the biosphere and its ecosystems, so global warming is impossible...regardless of the incontrovertible evidence that it is happening today!

So, the The Cornwall Alliance, has this to say specifically about contains these principles in it's official statement on climate change: An Evangelical Declaration on Global Warming

WHAT WE BELIEVE

1. We believe Earth and its ecosystems—created by God’s intelligent design and infinite power and sustained by His faithful providence —are robust, resilient, self-regulating, and self-correcting, admirably suited for human flourishing, and displaying His glory. Earth’s climate system is no exception. Recent global warming is one of many natural cycles of warming and cooling in geologic history.
2. We believe abundant, affordable energy is indispensable to human flourishing, particularly to societies which are rising out of abject poverty and the high rates of disease and premature death that accompany it. With present technologies, fossil and nuclear fuels are indispensable if energy is to be abundant and affordable.
3. We believe mandatory reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, achievable mainly by greatly reduced use of fossil fuels, will greatly increase the price of energy and harm economies.

That would be scary enough if it wasn't for the fact that a UAL- Huntsville climatologist - Roy Spencer, wasn't also on the board of directors at the Cornwall Institute. Spencer is one of those few deniers with actual qualifications in climate science, who are such a small minority in their field, that every commenter, blogger, conservative radio windbag, Fox News personality etc. cites his name or a handful of others for authority on the subject. Spencer - by signing on to that mission statement, shows us why he would be motivated to disinform, rather than inform the public on the dangers of climate change - he, like the evangelists on the board of directors, believe that a supernatural hand will come down and intervene, if we put the world on the path to destruction.



So, the net result is that a religious movement that uses faith to allow out-of-control exploitation and destruction of the environment, is not going to be happy with the theme or message of the new Noah Movie, even though it follows the biblical narrative relatively closely. While more pragmatic church leaders and religious communities who are averse to tempting fate, are the ones who can appreciate the message.