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Hollywood, An Unwilling Asset?

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by Darrell C, Apr 21, 2015.

  1. Darrell C

    Darrell C Well-Known Member
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    Recently watched the movie "Gods and Kings," which my wife was very displeased with and lamented the production.

    Me, guess I am strange, at least stranger than most, because I look at the errors and the implication of how it was made and see...

    ...great opportunity.

    Think about it, the atheist is going to eat this up. He will watch it, and possibly, because he thinks it follows a Biblical representation, begin looking up more "proof-texts" suggested in the movie.

    And what he will find is that the movie misrepresents the Bible, which gives us opportunity to point out the truth of what happened.

    In the movie I saw God portrayed as a petulant child. Where does this picture come from, and who is it that takes this view of the God of the Old Testament? Atheists.

    Moses is portrayed as an irreverent and tormented man, forced by God to enjoin God's efforts to free His people. Do we see that in Moses? Tormented, perhaps, but not by God...

    ...by other men. Namely Pharaoh and his own people through their sin.

    The point is that even such an erroneous representation of Biblical History can be used in witnessing efforts. God can use such a film as a basis for our own counter to the errors.

    What do you think?


    God bless.
     
  2. Inspector Javert

    Inspector Javert Active Member

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    Well, I just saw it, and I was pre-programmed to assume it would be TERRIBLE...but frankly, I was impressed.

    Remember, Charleton Heston's "The Ten Commandments" isn't exactly the Bible, so departure from it isn't heresy.

    I know you know that (at least cognitively) and I'm not trying to insult you...but, somehow, I think we are pre-disposed to look at a Dino de Laurentis production and assume it's more faithful to the text than something else.

    Regarding the actual text of Scripture....I don't have much to complain about.

    I didn't like (and I don't think many Christians will) the portrayal of God expressing himself in the form of a small boy....(that was a little hard to stomach).

    But, other than that. I think it was (with forgiveable artistic liscense) perfectly in concert with the text of Scripture itself.

    By way of example:
    After God calls mister Moses to free his people, he embarks on a quest to fulfill it via troop-training, terrorism, small guerilla tactics.....

    And he keeps losing...
    I actually found that neat.

    Moses kept doing everything in his own power...
    And he kept making things worse for his people.
    He then meets with "God" again (yes annoyingly portrayed by a small boy)...

    And God tells him something like: "Now watch what I will do".

    Cut then to plague, after plague, after plague, after plague, after plague, after.... (you get the point).

    Only "God" was able to really crush Pharaoh, and he did.
    Annoying as it was to see that small boy portrayal....
    That small boy was powerful and I wouldn't make a habit of ticking him off.....
    Because if you do.....
    It's obvious he'll eat your lunch.

    Maybe I'm a little forgiving, but I went into it assuming the film would be tatamount to blasphemy and saw no such thing. I was pleasantly surprised.
     
    #2 Inspector Javert, Apr 22, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 22, 2015
  3. Darrell C

    Darrell C Well-Known Member
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    I haven't assumed anything about movies for a while...not since they made the Lord of the Rings, lol. Never thought that would be done. Now, if they would just make The Sword of Shannara...

    Again, there was a clear departure from Scripture in my view, the portrayal of God being the worst one. This is an atheist image, because they see God as childish in His actions in the Old Testament. Moses trying to free his people on his power, neat? Not in my view. But, as I said, to talk to atheists about.

    The plagues were depicted as natural catastrophes all explained in the natural, which is something I thought would pander to the atheist. It takes the wonder out of it a little. I can imagine an atheist thinking, "Yeah, I can see that, them alligators killing all those fish, which caused the blood, which caused the frogs, which caused the flies...lol.

    But the premise of the OP is, do you or anybody else see this as an opportunity to speak to atheists about what really happened?

    God bless.
     
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