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A Better Place to go to Hell From (or Why I Didn’t Like Evan Almighty)

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By Greg Stier
10/29/2007

As I type these words I’m watching Evan Almighty on a plane trip from Denver to Charlotte. I really don’t like this movie. Not only is it pretty low on the laugh-o-meter (unless you find animal poop jokes hilarious), but it’s got some pretty lame, even dangerous, theology.

Now before you accuse me of being some Christian killjoy, you have got to understand that I love humor

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 use a lot of it myself…probably too much. I actually considered going into comedy when I was in my early twenties. I thought that stand up could be a great way to communicate the gospel. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that a preaching comic would just be irritating. Meanwhile a funny preacher was much more unexpected, maybe even a pleasant surprise.

I love funny people, funny skits and funny movies. From Monty Python to Brian Regan good humor goes a long way with me.

When Bruce Almighty, the original God-appears-to-man funny movie, came out to theaters I didn’t want to see it but, on the recommendation of a friend, finally succumbed. I have to admit that I was won over by Bruce Almighty’s core messages (that we would screw up being God and that having every prayer request answered with a “yes” is not a good thing.) And it was a pretty funny movie to boot!

So you’ve got to realize that I was really rooting for Evan Almighty to be good. But, alas, I was disappointed. Here’s why:

1. The movie paints the picture of an eco-obsessed god.
I’m sorry but Morgan gets a small “g” from me in his groovy meets godly depiction of the divine. This cool cat god is much more concerned about the environmental condition of the planet than the spiritual condition of humanity.

Don’t get me wrong. I am convinced that Christians have a moral mandate to take care of and steward the earth. Genesis 1 makes this crystal clear. Wasting resources and destroying creation are unacceptable to the stewardship mandate given to all humans by God himself in the first chapter of his bestselling book (and it didn’t cost him 100 million dollars to produce his literary masterpiece!) But the bigger, deeper “change the world” message in the Bible is for believers in Christ to spread the good news that salvation is found in Father God not Mother Earth.

Jesus didn’t say, “Go into all the world and recycle.” He said, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.” Before you pick up a non-Styrofoam cup to throw at me, let me make something perfectly clear: this little article of mine is not an anti-environmental statement. Unless you’re really uncoordinated you can share the gospel message and pick up your trash at the same time! We have a responsibility to take care of the planet. But we must refuse to preach a temporal, one-sided message that saves the trees but send the lumberjacks to hell.

We can be eco-friendly without being eco-obsessed. There’s a big difference between worshipping the Creator by taking care of his creation and worshipping the Creation. Here’s how the Apostle Paul puts it in Romans 1:21-25
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

2.This movie sideswipes the seriousness of the original Genesis 6 flood account.
Here was the reason that the real God says the real flood destroyed the earth the first time:
The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God…. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark… Genesis 6:5-14

Forget rampant sexual depravity, perversion, hedonism and homosexuality; it was trying to pass a bill in Congress that would allow the development of homes on protected land that brought God’s divine wrath in the politically correct Evan Almighty. By the way if you live in a house, apartment or condo of any size, your dwelling place is taking the place of a tree or two or twenty, unless of course you live in a tree house. Shame on you and on me too. How dare we live and breathe and dwell on the planet God made for us! 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.

Were there any elements of this movie that I enjoyed? I liked the fact that it was a literal flood (not just symbolic.) I liked the fact that God was depicted as the Creator of the universe. I really liked the whole “spend time with your family” and “do random acts of kindness” messages. But that was about it.

Not too long ago I was interviewed by Austrian/German television for a documentary. These filmmakers put a camera in my face after I preached at a Creation Festival East and asked me to spend a few minutes answering their questions. I gladly said yes (this is always the point when our PR department at Dare 2 Share starts to get nervous.) They asked me what I thought of the evangelicals who were putting a priority on creation care and waging war against global warming. I made it clear that on one hand I strongly believed in stewarding creation and that all human beings have a God-given mandate to take care of this great gift that God has entrusted us with called planet Earth. I then said, “On the other hand, God didn’t put us on this earth just to make it a better place to go to hell from.” They got their sound bite right there.

Maybe you really liked Evan Almighty when you watched it. That’s fine. Different strokes for different folks, especially in flood waters. But consider the messages being preached and the picture of God being portrayed in this movie. Measure it by the Biblical description of the true and living God of the Bible and it’s not even close. Or maybe I’m just all wet.

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In viewing the Evan Almighty Movie, I find that most people miss the big picture. The movie stressed a few points that I want to point out. Before doing so, this movie is not blatantly Christian, it is not looking to be biblically correct. Instead it is looking to get a message across. Message 1 the importance of family and sticking by your husband. In the real Noah story, the wife, the son's and the wives of the sons, not only had to believe that Noah spoke to God but that they faithfully built and boarded the ark. The movie does an adequate job of showing that.In the movie Evan's wife and children were skeptical but their faith in Evan was enough to do what God asked him to do. Message 2 Even if you don't believe it when God says something it is true. The word of God is absolute, and blinding faith is all there is. Evan had faith, completely, people said he was crazy, his wife left, he lost the job he worked so hard for, he lost his friends, and he continued to trust that God was true and there and what he said was going to happen. Message 3 Humanity is wicked and of course the most wicked of all is the government. Money and possessions have become more important than humanity. God did make us the stewards of the Earth, in fact he put Adam here to till the Earth. Man's first job was to take care of the Earth and the Animals even before he was told to be fruitful and multiply. By these standards the movie is great, there are inacuracies and satire but it also gives you a since of hope and well being because God is looking out for even the smallest thing like a dam that may burst.

Pastor Kayte 3:05:29pm on 5/17/2008

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I so did not want to see this movie, but the wife o' my life watched it and convinced me to see it. I was right about my assumptions. The only positive thing I saw in the movie was the almost universal and somewhat nonchalant belief in the God of the universe and the Bible as His story. I do not expect Hollywood to do well with “good” stories. I was so afraid when they were going to make Lord of The Rings, because I remember The Hobbit animated film from the 70s. I cringed when they were going to make a Disney movie about Pocahontas…and I was so right about THAT. Hollywood can not stick to the truth, because the writers, directors, producers, actors, etc. are flawed humans. It is our tendency to move our agenda to the fore. In all things we have pre-conceived ideas that get in the way. Look at the movie “A Beautiful Mind.” This is one of the heroes of the left so while this film is inspired by the life of John Nash, there were elements from his life that were deliberately omitted: a) he was married several times; b) in the past, he had several hetero- and homosexual affairs; c) He fathered a child out-of-wedlock in his twenties. And when we see God he is Morgan Freeman hugging a tree, or George Burns filling a car with rain water. We do not see the God depicted in the Bible: Psalm 18 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them. Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. Or the God of Isaac Watts’ hymns: Terrible God, that reign’st on high, How awful is Thy thund’ring hand! Thy fiery bolts, how fierce they fly! Nor can all earth or hell withstand. This the old rebel angels knew, And Satan fell beneath Thy frown; Thine arrows struck the traitor through, And weighty vengeance sunk him down. This Sodom felt, and feels it still, And roars beneath th’eternal load: “With endless burnings who can dwell? Or bear the fury of a God?” Tremble ye sinners, and submit, Throw down your arms before His throne; Bend your heads low beneath His feet, Or His strong hand shall crush you down. And ye, bless’d saints, that love Him too, With rev’rence bow before His Name; Thus all His heav’nly servants do: God is a bright and burning flame. I realize there are many facets to God the Father, but all we ever see in the movies is a milque-toast sissy God.

Lewis Skiles 10:11:47am on 11/08/2007

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For me the movie doesn't really show an eco-obsessed God but it shows one aspect of his concerns for mankind, and that is our environment. Perhaps you don't realize that we have done so much and we're doing pretty well in evangelizing the world. But what would they say if they see a Christian share the gospel while he drives a smoke belching car? The movie is an eye-opener for all of us to start cleaning up our lifestyle and live a clean godly life.

Charles 3:11:52pm on 11/05/2007

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No, actually the article was on target. It is almost a dangerous theology to say that God loves me, when considering western civilizations definition of love. To have a God that simply 'loves us' can be desceptive to the world and it's understanding. Does God love us? Of course! Cristi Christians do need to 'nitpick' things like this. The love message can be dangerous b/c it can be seen as an approval message. For instance, "how can God be love if 'good' people go to hell?" The gospel is concise and we shouldn't just pat with approval everything that comes out of the world that has the resemblance to Christianity, you know? Also, we've not done an entirely horrible job of handling the earth. I believe there has been a learning curve in regards to pollution, but there are naturally occuring phenomenon that puts out more pollution than man's industrial history, i.e. volcanic eruption. God designed this earth with the fore knowledge of nuclear weapons too, but he didn't send a flood to destroy the technology. Why? Because he is sovereign and won't allow things to get out of control from what He has planned. So don't sit up scared to death at night. Trust God to take care of things, while be responsible at the same time. On your third point, I see what you are saying. God did show love to preserve mankind when He could have started over. But, I don't think those drowning were feeling the love. Morgan's line in the movie is slightly skewd and panders to the fluffy sentimentality of our society.

JHitt 12:11:46pm on 11/05/2007

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ETA: "God is eco-centric" is supposed to be "God is ego-conscious" in my first post. Have you ever been typing and someone interrupts you, but your fingers keep going with whatever term first pops into your subconscious? Yeah...

Christi 1:10:22pm on 10/31/2007

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This isn't a purely Christian movie, and I think we need to remember that when we see just about any movie that is put out by mainstream Hollywood. Yes, it has Christian aspects, but we shouldn't expect that it will portray everything that WE want in the way that WE want it to. I prefer to look at the positive side: People are HEARING THE GOSPEL through this movie. God loves you. Yes, there are some small issues that I'd discuss with my kids regarding flaws in the film, but isn't that a great way to open discussion and get them to really THINK about their faith? It's dissapointing when Christians hop up on their high horse and nit pick things like this. The world is never going to hold to Christ's standards. WE can't even hold to Christ's standards. Take the good that God gives through this movie, and use the not so good as a lesson. What if we cut every flawed character out of the Bible? We would have only God and Jesus left. But God wanted us to hear the full story of His promises, not just the part where everybody "gets it". To counter the points in the article; 1. God IS eco-centric. He created the world, of course He's concerned about it. He put us in charge of it, and I think we've done a horrible job. In the movie, God wasn't flooding the valley because they built in it. It was mostly to stop that idiotic bill from going through, effectively eliminating the legal conscience of where to stop mutilating the land for profit. Plus, if this was a real scenario and God really decided to do this, I would NOT want to be the one criticizing God's judgement. Just sayin'. 2. This is a different flood for entirely different reasons (though it is still about what Man is doing with what God gave them). God keeps his promise of never flooding the entire Earth again. I think Freeman's line about the Flood being a love story is right on: God loved His creation (including man) enough to NOT wipe the slate and start from scratch. I feel incredibly loved when I read that story! 3. Humor is totally subjective.

Christi 1:10:30pm on 10/31/2007

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I watched Evan Almighty, but was also disappointed at the way Morgan Freeman portrayed God and its inaccurate accounts to the Bible. Too many of our supposedly Christian movies, plays, and even comedy shows do not dipict Christianity in accordance with the Word of God. Instead, Christians are shown in the same light as non-believers (smoking, partying, drinking, fornicators, adulterers,profanity users, etc.) I believe it is time that we as Christians stand up and say that we are "in the world, but not of the world". We need to transform the world, not conform to it.

Tangi 11:10:31am on 10/31/2007

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I just watched Evan Almighty on Saturday. I was rooting for the movie to have the same hilarity of Bruce almighty (to grab the secular world's attention) yet socking the audience with some sound theology (thereby covertly sharing the deep truths of the gospel). After watching the movie and finding it was no where near as funny as Bruce, nor really have any "deep" spiritual symbolism, I was a little dissapointed. However, as the weekend went on, and into today, I have found myself time and again being convicted of my obedience toward God. Just like Noah, Evan was told to do something that absolutely made no sense, and everyone though he was crazy. Yet, God knew all along what was best for Evan, and in being OBEDIENT he and many others were saved. Its such a simple truth, but so powerful. We have all been there, not knowing why God calls us to something, but seeing in hindsight that there could have been no other way. We should all really examine ourselves and ask "If God was to call me to do something RADICAL and seemingly CRAZY, would I do it?"

Harrison 10:10:53am on 10/30/2007

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in some since i agree with you but it seems like to me that you had more of a problem with the movie that you did not like it then the fact it is unbibical. i kinda agree on the issue that it was enviroment heavy and that we should save the people of this world as a higher priority then save the enviroment. and i do agree that there is the prespective of the flood being God's anger toward the earth and destroying it. but just like any story there are many sides to it. it was a love story towards noah and the animals. (they are God's creation) obviously there was a love for noah and his family that God would spare them. if that was not the case he would have killed them and just started over. that is not a big deal for God to do. then you have 3 points to why you did not like the movie and how it is unbibical but one of them is that it was not funny to you. how does that support your case? you named off two good compilants and then named 4 good things about the movie. "Were there any elements of this movie that I enjoyed? I liked the fact that it was a literal flood (not just symbolic.) I liked the fact that God was depicted as the Creator of the universe. I really liked the whole “spend time with your family” and “do random acts of kindness” messages." i think the fact that you did not like the movie cause it was not funny enough for you, that you took away from the message. evan was all about himself and what he could get and advancing himself. then in the end he is about reaching out to others and save them from the flood. also he reunited his family and got his focus back on them. that is the most important thing for a husband to do. (Ephesians 5) i think life is all about perspective and yours is different then mine obviously. i thought the movie was great, funny, and creative. plus it ministered to me and other people. that is what matters. you said that we should be about reaching out to the lost and hurting but you have a problem with the movie. didn't the movie talk about God's love for noad and the creation. people left that movie knowing that God loves them. sounds like reaching out to me. just because you don't like something or that it was not funny does not make the entire movie a waste and a dissappointment.

Ruben 2:10:01pm on 10/29/2007

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