No one really expects mainstream Hollywood to go out of its way to glorify God in the films that come out of Tinseltown.
But the way Christians rolled their eyes at Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Noah in the movie of the same name and with misgivings piling up over the upcoming EXODUS: Gods and Kings, you could be forgiven for wondering if filmmakers are going out of their way to stomp on the Bible.
Ken Ham, best known for his work to advance the “young earth” theory of creationism, is adding his voice to the body of believers who are expressing doubts, suspicion and outright opposition to the way the new film will portray Moses and the exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt almost 3,500 years ago.
“Biblically themed movies from many years ago (such as The Ten Commandments) were reasonably true to the biblical text, even though they took a bit of artistic license. But we’ve been noticing in recent times that movies based on biblical themes (such as Noah) are not just inaccurate, but seem to totally disrespect the Bible,” Ham writes on his blog. “The directors don’t seem interested in accurately portraying the events as recorded but in using the events for a drama that puts the Bible and the characters in a bad light.”
Ham cites the way the parting of the Red Sea is “explained” in EXODUS, which premieres Dec. 12 in cinemas across the country, as proof that the screenwriter and director have no respect for God’s Word.
“In this film it is not God who parts the Red Sea, but an earthquake,” Ham writes. “Apparently the director ‘want(s) to treat the incident as realistically as possible’ and thought that he’d ‘better come up with a more scientific or natural explanation.’ The result is a parting of the sea caused not by God, as the Bible says multiple times (Ex. 15; Ps. 77:10-20), but by an earthquake and its resulting tsunami.”
Ham also reminds his readers of how actor Christian Bale (of Batman’s Dark Knight fame), disrespected Moses in an interview leading up to the film’s release.
As reported on CharismaNews late last month, Ham writes that Bale said, “I think the man was likely schizophrenic and was one of the most barbaric individuals that I ever read about in my life. He’s a very troubled and tumultuous man who fought greatly against God, against his calling.”
On this, Ham comments, “Keep in mind that Scripture describes Moses as the most humble man living at that time (Num. 12:3); God calls Moses faithful (Num. 12:7; Heb. 3:5) and a man of character who refused the riches and pleasures of the earth in order to identify with his kinsman and obey God.”
He also writes, “A description of Moses as ‘schizophrenic’ and ‘barbaric’ from the lead character in the film seems to suggest that the film will deviate quite a bit from the biblical account found in Exodus. In fact, Bale has already said earlier that EXODUS is ‘a far cry from what Charlton Heston and Cecil B. DeMille delivered 60 years ago’ with The Ten Commandments (which was, with some exceptions, largely faithful to the biblical text) and that Exodus has ‘a lot of shocking stuff about it.'”
CharismaNews also reported a week ago that director Ridley Scott had cast a young boy as the voice of God, giving further evidence that little is considered holy in Hollywood.
“I believe such attitudes toward the Bible in these new movies reflect the secularization of the culture and the increasing anti-Christian sentiment that has permeated society,” Ham concludes.
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