Signs and Wonders: Noah needs 'based on a true story' disclaimer

Noah disclaimer. At a presentation in Nashville at the annual convention of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), the organization’s president, Jerry Johnson, called on the producers of the upcoming movie Noah to include a disclaimer at the beginning of the film similar to the one that preceded the 1998 film The Prince of Egypt, saying the film is “an adaptation” of the Exodus story. Johnson said he had seen the entire movie and found much to commend. “It takes some major biblical themes seriously, including sin, judgment, righteousness, and God as Creator,” he said. Johnson added, though, that the movie seemed to promote theistic evolution and it had “too much emphasis on environmental abuse.” Johnson’s bottom line: “This is not a buy-up-a-block-of-tickets moment for churches. However, many people will go to this film and enjoy it. Christians should be ready to engage with them about the main biblical themes portrayed in the film: sin, judgment, salvation.”

Uganda and homosexuality. Uganda’s president, Yoweri Musevena, on Monday signed a law making it illegal to engage in homosexual acts in his country. According to Reuters, “the new bill strengthened existing punishments for anyone caught having gay sex, imposing jail terms of up to life for ‘aggravated homosexuality.’” The definition of “aggravated homosexuality” would include having sex with a minor or while HIV-positive. Homosexual advocates in many Western countries, including the United States, have criticized the law. Museveni spoke directly to his critics during a signing ceremony outside the country’s capital. “There’s now an attempt at social imperialism, to impose social values,” he said. “We’re sorry to see that you (the West) live the way you live but we keep quiet about it.”

HERstory Month. March is Women’s History Month, dubbed HERstory Month on many college campuses around the country. Let me be clear: Women have made amazing contributions to history, and these contributions should be celebrated. Historically, the church has done this by celebrating many female saints through the centuries. But on America’s college campuses, the celebrations take on a different tone. Two years ago, New York University (NYU) celebrated with a presentation by a burlesque dancer named Chicava HoneyChild and a workshop entitled “69 Ways to Use Saran Wrap.” The events were sponsored by the school’s LGBTQ Student Center and Camp Grrl, a club for “queer” women, and were paid for with school funds derived from tuition and student fees. Last year's seminars covered sexually explicit LGBTQ topics. All of which causes me to wonder how many of our tax dollars go to NYU.

Momento mori. According to the BBC, “the oldest known survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, Alice Herz-Sommer, has died in London at the age of 110.” Herz-Sommer was born into a Jewish family in Prague in 1903. She spent two years in a Nazi concentration camp in Terezin.” She was also “an accomplished pianist and music teacher and taught at the Jerusalem Conservatory until 1986, when she moved to London.” A film about her life is up for an Academy Award in this year’s Best Short Documentary category. According to her obituary, “Ms. Herz-Sommer is said to have continued playing the works of Schubert and Beethoven until her final days.”