The Hollywood Reporter proclaimed last week "From 'Noah' to 'Son of G-d', 2014 is Jam-Packed with Bible-Based Movies". Their definition of "jam-packed"?
Three.
And even these few aren't without controversy.
On February 28th, Twentieth Century Fox releases "Son of G-d". As of February 21st, the movie has already sold half a million advance tickets and drawn rave reviews from some big-name pastors but others have questioned the accuracy of the movie's portrayal of Christ and His mission. The most widely announced scene that has been cut from the movie involved the events of Matthew 4 when Jesus was tempted by the devil. Apparently the actor who played Satan looked a little too much like President Obama.
A month later on March 28th, Recency releases "Noah" and it appears to have even more serious issues. The Christian Post has published comments from one of the movie's writers indicating that the director is using the movie for "personal crusades of over-population and environmentalism". Oh, sure. Like those are the reasons G-d flooded the earth. Believers are reacting negatively because the movie isn't faithful to Holy Writ.
In December, Scott Free Productions will release "Exodus", the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. The movie stars 30-year old Christian Bale (of American Psycho and The Dark Knight fame) as Moses... who was (ahem) 80 at the time of the exodus (Exodus 7:7). "Exodus" was directed by Ridley Scott, an avowed agnostic, who has chosen an "unconventional" depiction of G-d in the film according to some sources which is also leaving the faithful less than excited about this film.
Why is this happening?
First, with the possible exception of "Son of G-d", the individuals making these movies aren't interested in fidelity to the Word. They are producing these purely for profit. I'm guessing they haven't heard Scripture's proclamation that "the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil" (1 Timothy 6:10). Second (and not surprisingly), Hollywood attempts to remake God in the image they want: a god who is all love and is entirely without justice, righteousness, or holiness. This god is no threat to their way of life so they're OK with him. Or they want an angry, capricious, and vengeful god who has no compassion. That god is easy for them to hate and disregard. This distortion of G-d's character isn't anything new. It's been going on since the Serpent started it back in the Garden.
Why is this important?
Biblical literacy in the U.S. is at an all-time low. Barry Shafer of Youth Worker says, "The church today, including both the adult and teenage generations, is in an era of rampant biblical illiteracy." His partner in ministry, Duffy Robbins, goes even further: "Our young people have become incapable of theological thinking because they don’t have any theology to think about. … And, as Paul warns us, this … leaves us as 'infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching' (Ephesians 4:14)."
Unfortunately, many believers in America today get their understanding of Scripture from popular culture. Fiction books, pop music, and box-office blockbuster movies play a greater role in their knowledge of Christ, salvation, and redemption than the Bible.
So back to my original question: What's Hollywood's problem with the Bible?
Nothing.
As long as they can distort it enough to make them feel comfortable and make money off an unsuspecting audience.
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