That there should be NO question as to Fox News being the media mouthpiece for the Christian right is underscored by Fox's obsession about the blasphemy of the movie "Noah" because the word "God" is replaced with "creator." It doesn't seem to be a big problem for the Catholic Church. An article on The Catholic World Report says that "the film is sometimes divisive and divided, but is also deeply serious about Scripture and essential question." An article on "The National Catholic Register," in a detailed analysis of the film, asserts that the "God" thing is "the silliest controversy surrounding the film" because "God is a constant presence in Noah." Yet, Fox's one true right wing religious contributor, Fr. Jonathan Morris, continues to advance "Christian" criticism of the movie. Yesterday's homily, on Fox & Friends, marks his fourth pronouncement of anathema against the movie
The piece, part of the patented Fox & Friends "Fight for Faith" (Fox does love that "conflict" jargon) began with some video from the movie while the chyron framed the controversy: "From Bible to Big Screen, Christians Criticize Authenticity of Noah." Ana Kooiman reinforced the controversy meme with her comment that the movie has "stirred up controversy among Christians, why, because it barely mentions God." Just to make sure that you know how evil this movie is, Kooiman said that while "some Christians are up in arms, environmentalists are all excited about it."
Fr. Morris chimed in that this is "a classic case of the book being much better than the movie." He spluttered about how he is disappointed because Hollywood "could have done an awesome job on this film." The chyron pushed the "controversy" agitprop: "Controversial Cinema, Film Noah Never Uses the Word God." He acknowledged that it's "entertaining" and "escapism" but (For Morris, there's always a qualifier) "it's also escapism from the true story of what's in the Bible." He added "they missed the mark, they're going to pay for it dearly." (WTF?????)
Morris complained that God is portrayed as "enigmatic," and "an impersonal force telling you to do crazy thing." As the chyron read "Artistic License? Noah Uses "Creator" Instead of God," Morris whined that Noah is portrayed as a “borderline schizophrenic." Morris said that the biblical Noah was a great father who was blessed by God. (He didn't mention that the biblical Noah's cursing of his son, Ham, who saw Noah drunk and naked, became a rationale for slavery.) Based on his twitter and Facebook cult followers, who didn't like the movie, he predicted that the movie will eventually flop.
In addition to God and "mammon," Fr. Morris serves Roger Ailes very, very, well.
Other than that, the whole two-thirds God thing, best friend is an animal man, stealing trees from a sacred forest, using the sun to kill a demon, and inflicting plague because he refused to bang a Goddess… Where the hell was THAT in the Bible?!
In the earliest JEWISH traditions (you know—the folks who ORIGINALLY wrote down the stuff that became the “Old Testament” part of the Bible), Noah and his family WERE vegetarians. You know why? The “two of every animal” story that everyone knows by heart.
Well, guess what, schmuck? That is the FIRST version of the story. During the Babylonian Captivity (a period when the Jews were being threatened with assimilation into Babylonian society and losing their own traditions), the rabbis took it ON THEMSELVES to make a “little change” to the Noah story.
See, in the Book of Leviticus (and repeated in Deuteronomy), "God"dictates that ALL animals will be divided into “clean” and “unclean” animals. The “clean” animals were permitted to be eaten by the “Chosen People” while the “unclean” were not—even to the point of not even being allowed to be touched (that was deemed to be an “abomination”).
Now, in Genesis 6, God tells Noah to gather TWO animals, male and female: 19. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
20. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
21. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
In Genesis 7—immediately after the verses I posted above—comes this proclamation:
1. And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
2. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
3. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
Now, prior to Genesis 7, there is NO MENTION AT ALL of “clean” or “unclean” animals. The terms do not reappear until Leviticus, a book of laws which only appeared following the Exodus (an event which, according to standard Biblical chronology, didn’t happen for at least 500 years and as much as 1000 years after the flood but did happen some 500-1000 years before the Babylonian Captivity).
1) They’re so evil and out of control that you actually believe God himself wants to drown them.
2) They see the ark, and the reason given for why it’s being built as a grave insult.
3) They actually try to storm the ark, and take it for themselves.
4) They die, realizing too late that their pillaging, murdering, blasphemous cannibal selves have dun screwed up.
That’s all the movie’s saying- That the happy-go-lucky version in the bible where Noah builds the ark, the animals line up, and the flood happens… Might have left out those subplots. There’s no environmentalism, and it’s not a movie “mocking the bible” because it refrains from saying “God” every two minutes.
When you bring up the fact that “God” isn’t mentioned in any of the US’s founding documents (aside from the Latin abbreviated form in “AD”), the righties and their
The FoxNoise folkkks might want to remember that “God” actually ISN’T used exclusively in most versions of the Bible. The KJV uses “the Lord” at points (as does the New American Standard) while the Douay-Rheims version seems to use “God” exclusively (though it calls Noah, “Noe”). And the World English Bible uses “Yahweh” at first then changes to “God.”