Greg Stier: Why I Didn't Like Evan Almighty
by Greg Stier, Christian Today Guest Columnist
Posted: Saturday, October 13, 2007, 12:13 (BST)
Jesus didn't say, "Go into all the world and recycle." He said, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations." Before you pick up a non-Styrofoam cup to throw at me, let me make something perfectly clear: this little article of mine is not an anti-environmental statement. Unless you're really uncoordinated, you can share the gospel message and pick up your trash at the same time! We have a responsibility to take care of the planet. But we must refuse to preach a temporal, one-sided message that saves the trees but send the lumberjacks to hell.
We can be eco-friendly without being eco-obsessed. There's a big difference between worshipping the Creator by taking care of his creation and worshipping the Creation.
Here's how the Apostle Paul puts it in Romans 1:21-25
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen.
2. This movie sideswipes the seriousness of the original Genesis 6 flood account.
Here was the reason that the real God says the real flood destroyed the earth the first time:
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. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.... Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark... Genesis 6:5-14
Forget rampant sexual depravity, perversion, hedonism and homosexuality; it was trying to pass a bill in Congress that would allow the development of homes on protected land that brought God's divine wrath in the politically correct Evan Almighty. By the way, if you live in a house, apartment or condo of any size, your dwelling place is taking the place of a tree or two or twenty, unless of course you live in a tree house. Shame on you and on me too. How dare we live and breathe and dwell on the planet God made for us!
Have your say on this article
The comments below are readers' personal opinions and are in no way intended to reflect the editorial opinion of Christian Today.
Added: Monday, October 15, 2007, 19:38 (BST)
I tend to agree with Gilbreath on this one. No ill to you, Greg S., but its not what i got out of the whole story. To me, the whole eco / law / development thing was all parabolic or side story. What I got from it..
1) What it might have been like for Noah. It was nice to laugh at and identify with what it might have been like to have been the 'good' guy, possibly well respected and then asked to build an ark because the entire world is about to be flooded - and oh yeah, the God that you all have forgotten about, He told me to do it.
2) God has a plan and direction for our life. We think we know what we need and how to get it. Many times God surprises us with what we would least expect.
Okay, so sure there were many silly things in the movie I could have done without. Same goes for Bruce [and its the 'little things' in Bruce why i will not show it to my youth group]. But, Evan was much tamer and qaulifies in my book as a film that is safe for my youth and will provoke imagination and thought about the biblical account of Noah and about the God they serve.
Thom Grubbs, Edenton, NC
Added: Saturday, October 13, 2007, 19:43 (BST)
Hmmm. I thought the movie was funny. My six year old picked up on the story and ran to his room to get his Bible to show me the story in the scriptures. I did have to convince him that the actor was not God for real.
I did see the overbearing eco-god thing, but was not really offended by it. However the element of the congressmans lies being exposed should also be pointed out.
I think the movie did as best it could as a comedy to blend the biblical story and modern concerns together.
I guess we all have differences of opinion. Be blessed.
Pastor Matt Brown, Byron, GA
Added: Saturday, October 13, 2007, 16:51 (BST)
I really like this article and Greg Stier had some good points. His comment about saving the trees but sending the lumberjacks to hell was well put, especially as I have heard of a lot of pastors going "green."
I have not seen this movie yet and as I'm not one to find animal poop jokes funny, I think I will skip this movie.
Kathy Norris, Clearwater, Florida United States
Added: Saturday, October 13, 2007, 14:18 (BST)
You have got to be kidding! This movie was so way more spiritually focused than Bruce - I was with you till you got to the eco-god part (like 3rd paragraph) but that was so off-base I just had to comment. I think you suffered from the old "can't see the forest for the trees" syndrome while watching Evan... The real story was about changing the world of Evan's family, it was about love and trust and faith - not about development. I guess compared to Bruce, which was a little nasty - about us being God - we would fail... Evan's underlying theme would seem a little lame - but really, isn't our Father God giving us an opportunity to change the world with our ARK rather than omnipotence?
Greg Gilbreath, Covington TN 38019
