To: Bill who wrote (776443 ) 3/24/2014 9:27:06 PM From: joseffy 1 RecommendationRecommended By FJB
Respond to of 1577028 'NOAH' epic awash in flood of criticism for green agenda and taking liberties with Bible... Noah's director Darren Aronofsky, a self-described atheist who made the Oscar-nominated hit The Black Swan , has described the movie as is "the least biblical biblical film ever made" and called Noah "the first environmentalist". According to one early review, the name "God" is not actually spoken at any stage. It notes that while the film is "inspired by the story of Noah... artistic licence has been taken". And it adds, for anyone unclear about the source material: "The biblical story of Noah can be found in the book of Genesis." It has also highlighted praise for the film by some Christian leaders. After advance test screenings, there were complaints that the film portrays Noah as an environmental crusader to deliver a secular ecological doomsday message. The Pope was dragged into the debate when Crowe tried but failed to secure a private audience during a recent visit to Rome to promote the film there. The famously rabble-rousing star even sent a series of pleading messages to the pontiff's Twitter account urging him to watch the "fascinating" film. The Vatican quashed both proposals. Rev Federico Lombardi, the spokesman, said that the Pope would not watch the film and nor would the Noah team Crowe be granted an audience. Crowe has also addressed the criticisms, saying that the film was not intended to be a "Sunday school story" and would challenge viewers' understanding of the Bible. Brian Godawa, a Hollywood screenwriter and commentator on Christian issues, was one of the first to raise religious alarms after seeing an early version of the script. In an article titled Darren Aronofsky's Noah: Environmentalist Wacko , he said the director transformed a scriptural story into "environmental paganism" by blaming the Great Flood on man's "disrespect" for the environment.