My Big Problem with Noah and Exodus:Gods and Kings

I just finished watching Exodus: Gods and Kings and I must say that I am left feeling roughly the same way I felt after Noah, which I'll get to in a moment.

on Accuracy or the lack there of:
Many people of Jewish or Christian faith take issue with the movies because they are not 100% faithful to the Biblical telling, I do not have this problem. In Noah's case if the writers stayed true to the Bible the movie would have been a lot shorter with a lot less dialogue. In Exodus's case it may well have been longer.

In regards to Noah, I do not mind that the Nephilim in Noah were rock monsters who became angels through their sacrifice, theologically speaking no one really knows what the Nephilim were, so rock monsters are as good an explanation as any. I don't mind Noah's crisis of faith, in fact I applaud it, if the deluge was actually earth covering and humanity destroying I hope that Noah had a crisis of faith, I have a crisis of faith every time I even think of Noah's Ark and the cute little cartoon Noah and animals that adorn too many children's bedrooms. I don't mind Noah getting drunk, it's Biblical whether you like it or not. I don't mind that the children aren't as married as they should be. I don't mind because in my opinion none of that really matters nor does it change the story.

In regards to Exodus, I do not mind that Moses is tighter with Ramses and Seti. I do not mind that Moses gets banished as opposed to running away. I do not mind that there is a little boy who is either God or a messenger of God or that Moses is stuck in mud when he encounter this boy/messenger/God. I do not mind that Moses seems a little more in the dark about God's plan. I do not mind about the marital issues that Moses's revelation causes. I do not mind the crisis of faith that Moses has during the plagues. I frankly applaud Moses telling the boy/messenger/God that the death of the firstborns is wrong.

on the Problem:
All of that is not to say that I didn't have problems with the movies, because I did. some small, some big but none as big as what I am left with at this moment, much like the last moment. When did Moses, and Noah before him, become a warrior? Seriously, when did that happen? Why did that happen? Noah built an ark and then planted a vineyard and got drunk and cast out his son because he saw him naked and did nothing about it. Moses was not a prince of Egypt nor a general, he didn't want to set his people free because he had a speech impediment. He didn't threaten Ramses. He didn't teach the Hebrews war. He didn't stand down Ramses in the middle of the Red Sea as the waters crashed over them.

THIS. IS. NOT. THE. WAY. IT. WAS.

on Biblical Beauty:
The beauty of the Biblical story is that God does not choose the hero, God does not choose the strongman, God does not choose the born leader, God chooses the one with the disability, God chooses the shepherd boy, God chooses the youngest, God chooses the least, God chooses the harlot, God chooses the normal one, the one who can't accomplish it on their own, because they are too small, they are too weak, but God chooses them anyway. Moses does not need to threaten Ramses with a sword to his throat because he has a staff [not a sword] that he can turn into a snake, or that he can use to touch the water and make it as blood [without supercrocs], or touch the waters of the Red Sea and have them part miraculously. He triumphs over Ramses not because he has been schooled in the ways of war or because he is really good with a sword [assassins? seriously assassins?] but because God does every single thing that needs to be done, God chooses Moses, give him Aaron to speak for him, and leads him every step of the way.

If we need the Biblical heroes to be warriors then perhaps we've simply missed the whole point of the Bible in the first place.

Peace and Love,
Pastor K

A Year Long Quest to Read: Book 7

When I first began my quest to read I perused all 26 of the explanations for the books I was to read. I made several notations then about books that I might want to read that would fit the requirements. I came to "#12 A book with a lion, a witch, or a wardrobe" and simply assumed that it would be some kind of novel, either a fantasy or a science fiction and I skipped it at that time, figuring I would decide on what novel it would be at some point later.

A few weeks in I decided to do a more detailed look at the list to try to really map out where I was going in my reading and I decided to look at my wife's bookcase to see if there were any books that she had that would fit my list. It was from that perusing of the bookshelf that I landed on Confederates in the Attic, which I have already read and reviewed, and Notes From a Small Island which will be showing up somewhere down the line, and book 7, The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell.

The Partly Cloudy Patriot is not a novel at all, rather it is a collection of loosely connected essays. In addition it doesn't expressly contain a lion, a witch. or a wardrobe, but there is one essay in the book where Ms. Vowell focuses on the Salem Witch Trials, which while not actually about witchcraft at all is close enough for my needs, while the book list is something I came across it has most assuredly become my reading list and I will choose to bend the rules when I so choose. The end of the last sentence is what takes this from a potential task to a personal adventure.

As I stated a few sentences above The Partly Cloudy Patriot is a collection of essays on various topics, such as Tom Cruise's performance in Magnolia, an underground cafeteria at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, German Cinema, George W. Bush's first inauguration, being a twin, the Gettysburg Address, and the first Thanksgiving that Ms. Vowell had at her home in New York with her parents and sister and nephew. When I say that they are loosely connected I am using that is a very loose sense, they are all stories stemming from Ms. Vowell's experiences in America and her attachment to said country, its origins, its story, its entertainment, and its future.

My wife highly recommended this book to me, and if I am honest it took me a while to get into it, I prefer my books to be a lot less loosely connected, but when I did get into it I enjoyed the experiences that Ms. Vowell had. If I had to guess I would say that she writes like she talks, which I like a lot, mainly because I tend to think that I do the same thing. Ultimately I suppose the real question about any book that you read by an author that is new to you is would you read more books by him or her, and I would read more of Ms. Vowell's books.

Peace and Love,
Pastor K