Dr Paul Allen

English: Moses striking the rock (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Timed for a Christmas season release, director Ridley Scott ’s intended blockbuster, Exodus : Gods and Kings hit the big screens this past weekend. On its opening weekend the movie shot to the top of the box office charts, displacing the latest Hunger Games movie, but falling considerably short of expected receipts. The best single line analysis of the movie and its failure to garner either critical acclaim or more viewers was offered by Eric D. Snider of Geek Nation: “This big dud isn’t blasphemous enough to be outrageous, emotional enough to be inspiring, or interesting enough to be good.” Well, I partly agree with the first two points of criticism, but I did find the movie interesting. Indeed, I even liked much of the movie, and I would not argue that mature and thoughtful Christians should not see it, even if the concerns about it are major. And make no mistake, the concerns are major. Earlier this year, director Dar...

English: The ark of Noah and the cosmic covenant / L'arche de Noé et l'alliance cosmique / 04 CATACOMBES NOE ET LA COLOMBE SAINTS PIERRE (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The last of the ten antediluvian Patriarchs and hero of the *FLOOD. He was the son of Lamech, who was 182 (Samaritan Pentateuch, 53; LXX, 188) years old when Noah was born (Gn. 5:28–29; Lk. 3:36). a. Name The etymology of the name, nōaḥ, is uncertain, though many commentators connect it with the root nwḥ, ‘to rest’. In Genesis (5:29) it is associated with the verb nḥm (translated ‘comfort’ in AV and RV; ‘bring relief’ in RSV), with which it is perhaps etymologically connected; though this is not necessarily required by the text. The element nḥm occurs in Amorite personal names and in the name Nah̬mizuli which figures in a Hurrian fragment of the Gilgamesh epic found at Boǧazköy, the Hittite capital in Asia Minor. The LXX gives the name as Nōe, in which form it appears in the NT (AV). b. Life and character Noah ...

English: "The Deluge", Frontispiece to Doré's illustrated edition of the Bible. Based on the story of Noah's Ark, this shows humans and a tiger doomed by the flood futilely attempting to save their children and cubs. Français : "Le Déluge", Frontispice de l'édition illustrée par Gustave Doré de la Bible. Basé sur l'histoire de l'Arche de Noé, la gravure montre des humains et un tigre tentant en vain de sauver leur progéniture. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Darren Aronofsky ’s film  Noah   has created quite the stir. Regardless of whether we agree with his portrayal of Noah, we must admit he does raise some interesting questions about this important biblical account. After seeing the movie, I left the theater wanting to know more—wanting to find answers to these tough questions. I’m sure others did, too. But where can we find all the best scholarship and interpretations collected in one place? The  Lexham Bible Guide: Genesis 1–11  is our answe...

English: Noah sent out this dove Русский: Ной выпускает голубя (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I would never go to a movie titled “ Noah ” and expect to witness an accurate account of the biblical narrative. In fact, no one should ever go to a Hollywood production of any kind and expect to see a true rendering of biblical truth. Think about it; if someone has spent millions of dollars to procure for themselves actors and directors and writers of prominence to recreate a biblical story then almost by definition they aren’t going to promote the certainty of Scripture. There is a certain beautiful but dangerous naivety in most evangelical circles that has allowed them to entertain the idea that on some level Hollywood desires to promote the glory of God when they don’t. Perhaps it comes from the newest Christian vogue of trying to win the culture by living like the culture. Perhaps we have tried to become so much like them that now we believe they are like us. Somehow believers have sed...

So what about Noah ? Is it worth your time and money to see it? The answer to that question depends entirely upon what you think is worthwhile. There are at least three criteria by which I make such judgments: execution, story, and fidelity. By execution, I refer mainly to the technical aspects of the film. Was it made well? In terms of production value, Noah is not in the same category as B- movie -Bible-epic-would-be thrillers. In other words, Noah is a little less Left Behind and a little morePassion of the Christ . The cast, cinematography, special effects , acting, etc. are all state of the art. It is a bone fide Hollywood feature. We don’t often get to see biblical material depicted with such a high level of cinematic execution. That by itself makes this film more than a curiosity. On that level, this movie stands out as one of the best of its genre. And that alone draws me to the movie in spite of its weaknesses in other areas. Grade : A+ By story, I refer to the plot and ch...

Concerning the worldwide deluge as recorded in Genesis , we read: "At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen" (Gen. 8:3–6). In Genesis 6, we read of man's great wickedness and of God 's deep sorrow in creating man: "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them'" (vv. 5–7). God was grieved over what became of His glorious creat...

My first experience teaching the Bible came when I was asked at the last minute to teach a Sunday School class of first-grade boys. I was only 16 years old, and I did not exactly volunteer to teach the class. I found myself telling a familiar Bible story to six-year olds and explaining it as best I could. There have been very few Sundays since when I have not taught or preached, usually to a congregation a bit less fidgety than my first. You learn one thing fast when teaching the Bible to six-year-old boys — they often think they can “improve” on the story as found in the Bible. First-grade boys are big on special effects, blowing away bad guys, exploding just about anything, and what we might gently call “narrative overkill.” That helps me to understand director Darren Aronofsky and his new film,  Noah . Aronofsky and his co-writer Ari Handel started with the Old Testament narrative about Noah, just about 2,400 words in English translation, and exploded it into a huge Hollyw...