A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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As a subscriber to the Judeo-Christian faith, in particular the Christian theology, I must tell you that movies such as the latest Hollywood rendition of The Flood, and Noah's story, worry me. There was a time in America when the populace was Bible literate.
Sadly, and to our everlasting shame, we no longer are.
In fact, we are even more ignorant of the Holy Scriptures than we are of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and even the names of our own US Senators and Representatives in the US House of Representatives.
We Americans are truly an ignorant lot.
You know what that makes us? It makes us ripe for the picking -- and any evidence you may need that what I have just said is true is borne out by the fact that B.H. Obama was elected as President of the United states, not once, but TWICE.
Intelligent people would not have done that.
Intelligent people learn from their mistakes -- and correct them -- and then take great pains to see that they don't make the same mistake again.
Its not just "low info voters" who are the primary danger to America. It is the entire low IQ citizens who make up the great majority of the nation. We're sorta like low hanging fruit for those whose greatest desire in life is to grasp all the power over us they can possible embrace.
I grew up in an America where people took great pride in education -- getting as much of it as they could and making an effort to retain that learning and expand upon it for their entire lifetime.
I once had a grammar school teacher who admonished the class by saying: "There's no shame in being ignorant. The shame is in remaining that way."
The danger presented by movies such as the one mentioned above is that movie goers, most of whom will have zero experience with the Holy Scriptures, will absorb the movie -- and assuming it is from the Bible -- will leave the theater believing they have just had a religious experience by way of a lesson in Scripture.
That is, of course, false.
Having not seen the movie and having no plans to do so, I will not pan the movie here.
Judging from what I have read, about the only similarity between the story in Genesis (The first book of the Old Testament in the Bible) and the movie -- is the word "Noah."
Leading creationist Ken Ham, who recently debated Bill Nye, says that the new blockbuster, starring Russell Crowe, is an insult to Christians: "Ultimately, there is barely a hint of biblical fidelity in this film. It is an unbiblical, pagan film from its start" -- SOURCE: http://time.com/42274/ken-ham-the-unbiblical-noah-is-a-fable-of-a-film/
Mr. Ham goes on to say in the same article: "Also, while the extreme wickedness of man was depicted, the real sin displayed in the film was the people’s destruction of the earth. Lost within the film’s extreme environmentalist message is that the actual sins of the pre-Flood people were a rebellion against God and also man’s inhumanity to man." -- SOURCE: http://time.com/42274/ken-ham-the-unbiblical-noah-is-a-fable-of-a-film/
Consider this: "Unfortunately, Noah’s first week box office, after being engulfed in controversy, will also encourage them to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at faux Biblical stories that have the effect of subverting the core messages of the sacred texts of the Judeo-Christian belief system that underlie American culture." -- SOURCE: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2014/03/31/noah-vs-god-not-dead?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
I can assure you that if you read the story from the Bible you will quickly see that God destroyed man, not because man was unkind to the earth, but because man was unkind to man and mankind was evil to the core in such intensity that the very earth itself was corrupt.
Noah, compared to other men of his time was a "relatively" righteous man (He was perfect in his generations.) ... ergo ... he was chosen by God, along with his family, to be the sole survivors of this calamity.
The selection of Noah follows the pattern of God choosing men to do his bidding who were what we would call today "real men." They were cussing men, fighting men, fellows you'd want at your side -- and your back -- in a fight.
There were even a few murderers chosen by God. One, King David, whom God even remarked was a "Man after his own heart," was an adulterer and an a murderer.
Moses, you may recall, was wanted in Egypt for the murder of an Egyptian overseer of some rank. Even Saint Paul's hands were drenched in the blood of the early saints. He literally hunted down Christians -- and killed them. And Saint Peter, he of the hot temper, lost it -- and cut off the High Priest's servant's ear. Then, after Christ was arrested, cursed and swore that he had no idea who that Yēšūă' (Jesus) fellow was -- THREE TIMES! He later repented, of course, and some church tradition has it that Christ founded his church upon Saint Peter ... the Rock. That is open for debate -- but -- that is a commentary for another day.
The point is, the meek need not apply for God's work.
So, I have no problem with portraying Noah as a bad a**. He probably was. Judging from God's record of choosing real men, Noah would seem to fit the mold.
My concern is the corruption of the scriptures by such presentations as Noah. It misleads people.
Look. I am a southerner, a descendant of numerous Confederate soldiers. I live, every day, with the lies of rewritten, revised, history about my family -- and -- my extended Confederate family. It IS painful.
That's one thing. But to deliberately revise or rewrite the Holy Scriptures to promote some modern day fantasy about man destroying the environment, and further the propaganda of global warming, is unforgivable.
Look. I'm not advising you to NOT see the movie. In fact, I'll probably see it sooner or later. What I WILL advise, however, is that you read the original story from the Bible BEFORE you go spend your hard earned money for a movie ticket. You'll find Noah's story, the story of the Great Flood, in Genesis (The first book of the Bible) beginning with chapter 6, verse 9, and continuing through chapter 8, verse 19.
Is the story of Noah and the Great Flood true? Well, allow me to answer socratically: Why does every major civilization on the planet have a similar story as that of Noah in Genesis?
J. D. Longstreet
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