If Hollywood pop-culture is any indicator of what people really think, then radical Christians and radical hippies have a lot in common. Both sides would agree that "We're on the eve of destruction." What they would disagree on is where that destruction is coming from and how we can be "saved" from the coming destruction.

Holly and I went to see the new movie Evan Almighty last night to check out what kind of spin the film industry is putting on Genesis 6-9, the story of Noah. If you live in the U.S. or Canada, you've probably seen the commercials for this movie. In case you haven't seen them, this is what the movie is about: "God" (played by Morgan Freeman) instructs a modern-day Noah (whose name is Evan) to build an ark. People think Evan is crazy but, in the end, people run onto the ark to get saved from a flood.

Sounds just like the Bible, doesn't it? Well, Hollywood got it wrong.

Now before I start complaining that lemons are sour or that cows moo, let me assure you that we didn't expect the film industry to get the original story right. We just wanted to see how they changed the message to spoon-feed it to the crowds of people who may never pick up a Bible to see what the real story is about.

What is the original story about? "The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. . . So the LORD said 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth' . . . But Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD." --Genesis 6:5-8  The original story is about a righteous and holy God revealing His wrath on sinful mankind and about God's merciful plan to save a remnant.

What is Hollywood's take? [Warning: Spoiler follows. Skip the next two paragraphs if you don't want to know how the film ends.]

Hollywood's take is, "We can change the world." The heart of the movie is uncovered in a dialogue between "God" and Evan. "God" tells him something to the effect of: "People get the wrong message about what happened with Noah and the ark. They think it's about my wrath and judgment. It's actually about people coming together, just like those animals came together two by two, and how Noah's family all worked together to get something done." This theme of "we can change the world" is sewn together with a mish-mash of peace-child references. The main character is referred to as "John Lennon" and "the fifth Beatle." Beatles music (Revolution) and other songs from the 1960s are used as part of the soundtrack. Evan's oldest son is named Dylan (most likely a reference to Bob Dylan considering the other thematic elements). 

Not only that, it turns out that the flood is not caused by "God," but by mankind. A greedy land developer built a shoddy dam that ends up breaking and flooding the city. That same land developer wants to destroy a nature refuge to make money. Saving the environment is what is really at stake. The icing on the cake is when the ark washes up on the steps of the Capitol building and the masses show up on Congress' doorstep to make policy changes. In short, the message of the movie is that we must all unite if we want to forge our own destiny and save ourselves from ourselves.

To me that sounds like a different story in Genesis, just a few chapters over: "Then they said, 'Come let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heaven, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.'" --Genesis 11:4. Hollywood didn't build the ark; they gave us a blueprint for Babel. 

Sure, Hollywood tries to take the sting away from the inconvenient truth of a wrathful God but, in doing so, they rob God of His holiness. But we know from 2 Peter 6-7 that just as sinful humanity was judged once by water, so shall it again be judged by fire. God is right to judge the sins of mankind. Let us not forget that the same God who mercifully saved us by allowing Jesus to suffer in our place is also the righteous Judge. 

"Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death. Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins, The Lord says, 'I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea, that you may plunge your feet in the blood of your foes, while the tounges of your dogs have their share.'" --Psalm 68:21-23