Just imagine.

What would happen if, after all of the clamor and debate about Darren Aronofsky’s controversial film Noah quieted down, I — a mild-mannered higher-ed communications specialist by day, and a cantankerous film reviewer by night — sat down in a Seattle pub with…

  1. Dr. Jeffrey Keuss — a professor of Christian ministry, theology, and culture at Seattle Pacific University, and director of SPU’s University Scholars Program;
  2. Dr. Christine Chaney — professor of English, and interim director of campus writing at Seattle Pacific;
    and
  3. J. L. Spohr — an ordained minister, and the author of the novel ;

… and we discussed the highs and lows of the movie over pints of some of Seattle’s finest ale?

What if people were crazy enough to wire us with microphones and make this all happen in front of a live audience?

Settle down, settle down. I know you’re ready to buy plane tickets and fly to Seattle just to witness such a thing. Truth is, it already happened. And the whole thing was recorded. And now you can listen to it.

You’ll find out:

Did the theologian think the movie was “un-Biblical”?

Did the English professor think the “rock monsters” in the movie were “stupid”?

Did the ordained minister think that God was absent in the film?

Did the film critic think it was “the worst Christian movie ever made”?

Did any of us think the film was Gnostic?

The film has been accused of all of these things.

It was time to get beyond the 140-character reactions and dig deep. Why are so many Christians angry about this movie? Is it worth seeing? What do we know about this mysterious Darren Aronofsky character?

I hope you enjoy the conversation. I had a fantastic time in this excellent company.

In case you missed it, here are my previous posts about Noah:

All the Noah That’s Fit to Print: A compilation of Noah reviews and commentaries that are well worth reading.

Part One of the Looking Closer Review: The Dramatic Story of a Man, a Movie, and an Audience

Part Two of the Looking Closer Review: A Conversation About the Movie Itself

 

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