Engaging the secular with True Story - the Bible

This weekend people around the world will watch in theaters the film based on the true story – the four chapters in Genesis – the story of Noah from the Bible.

When Darren Aronofsky was 13-years-old these chapters inspired him to write a poem about Noah for his English class. That poem won him a United Nations contest and put a seed in Darren. Now, a movie director, he finally made a movie he has always wanted to make - "Noah.”

You may hear a lot of criticism because the film has fictional lines and ideas in it, it is not like the Bible story in details.  But, consider the main idea – telling the world that the story of the flood was real!  Noah was a real person, chosen by god to save human race from first judgment.

Two years ago when we travelled to New York on family vacation we passed through Palmyra, the place where Mormonism was born.  They just hosted the “Book of Mormon” Broadway musical. Those who had seen it say that it is outrageous, irreverent and flat-out hysterical, it pokes fun at the Mormons for two solid hours!  And yet the Mormon church chose to spend their money on it.  Since its release the whole country is more interested in Mormonism!

 It is interesting how Hollywood is spending millions of dollars producing stories from the Bible.  In the coming years stories of Goliath, Moses, Mary will be coming in production.  What would happen if Christians instead of criticising, disconnecting, would use it as opportunities to tell the gospel? Would it not be like what Jesus did in his day, using the folklore with his own twist to communicate the good news of Loving God?

I find it interesting that Russell Crowe’s start-up acting role was in an advertising flick for the Avondale College, a Seventh-day Adventist college in New South Wales, Australia, advertising the Religious Studies program, training for pastors!

Could it be that God is doing the work of evangelism through agencies we could not in our wildest imaginations think of, just like in the days of prophet Daniel he used Nebuchadnezzar to reveal the future?

Engage the world around you, stop pushing away people who are searching for truth, just because they don’t have everything right…yet.