'Noah' And The Great Flood

Noah’s Ark hits the big screen. We’ll talk with top theologians about the meaning of the story of Noah and the Great Flood.

In children’s stories, the story of Noah and his ark is almost sweet and appealing.  All the animals, two by two, going for a boat ride with a nice bearded man in a robe.  Then there’s a rainbow.  In the Bible, it’s a good bit darker.  God looks around, finds his creation is wicked, and decides to wipe it out with a flood.  On the big screen with Russell Crowe, Noah’s story is full-on apocalyptic.  Dark and raging, with battle scenes and giants.  And a bitter struggle over whether to end all humanity forever.  This hour On Point:  we’re digging in to the Biblical story of Noah and the Great Flood.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Ingrid Lilly, Old Testament scholar. Visiting scholar at the Pacific School of Religion's Graduate Theological Seminary. Executive producer of FloodOfNoah.com. (@FloodOfNoa)

Joel Baden, associate professor of Old Testament studies at the Yale Divinity School. (@JoelBaden)

New York Times: Rain, Heavy at Times -- "'Noah' is occasionally clumsy, ridiculous and unconvincing, but it is almost never dull, and very little of it has the careful, by-the-numbers quality that characterizes big-studio action-fantasy entertainment. The riskiest thing about this movie is its sincerity: Mr. Aronofsky, while not exactly pious, takes the narrative and its implications seriously."

Los Angeles Times: Religious tide turns against 'Noah' -- "Usually, though, the material's devotees don't believe the filmmakers will burn in hell if their ideas are ignored. (OK ... maybe the Dark Knight crowd does. We all know they can get a little intense.)But that's precisely the belief with 'Noah,' Darren Aronofsky's $130-million retelling of the Old Testament account of apocalyptic deluge and a floating ark that opens on March 28. "

TIME:  Russell Crowe Says Flood of Noah Complaints Not Drowning Him — "Some religious groups have decried Noah as an inaccurate and disrespectful portrayal of events in the Bible. The film was also banned in a number of Islamic countries. Given the criticism, Paramount Pictures has added a disclaimer to its marketing material to note that “artistic license has been taken.”