Greg Stier: Why I Didn't Like Evan Almighty
by Greg Stier, Christian Today Guest Columnist
Posted: Saturday, October 13, 2007, 12:13 (BST)
What ticks off Evan Almighty's super eco-god? Not the personal sins of humanity but home builders! Again, I'm not saying that those who use and abuse his creation do not raise God's ire. I am saying that, time and time again throughout the Scriptures, from Old Testament to New, it's the personal sins of everyday people that cause God's foot to stomp down and burst the grapes of wrath into a flood of judgment.
When the E.A. god is talking to Evan's wife in a restaurant, he shares his view of the original flood in the Genesis account. He says that he viewed the biblical account as a love story, all the animals together side by side with Noah's family on a global boat ride of love in this floating minivan of maximum affection. Monkey, mouse, mongoose and man all living together in perfect harmony.
And all God's children said, "Kumbayah, my Lord. Kumbayah!"
The problem is that the original "love story" destroyed the entire earth. All the animals (minus a few from each species), all humanity (minus Noah and his family) and all the environment (minus the water on the planet) was completely destroyed, wiped out...gone. I'm sure the people outside the ark clamoring for higher ground as the flood waters got higher and higher didn't view this deluge as a lovefest or a comedy, but a disaster of, well, Biblical proportions.
3. The movie itself was not all that funny.
Maybe some of the one hundred million dollar budget could have been better spent on making the movie funnier instead of the truly special special effects.
While I'm thankful that Hollywood is trying to cater to Christians (shout out to The Passion of the Christ and The Chronicles of Narnia) I kind of felt taken advantage of with this particular movie. Just because you use some elements of a biblical story doesn't make the movie biblical. I thought this one managed to stay decidedly unbiblical while remaining comically bland at the same time.
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
