Renewed Day by Day

“I wouldn’t run unless something was chasing me.”  That’s what I used to say.  But now, as I’m approaching my forty-second birthday, I realize that something is chasing me.  So now I run. 

            I never thought that I would become a runner.  I never understood those people, with their athletic clothing and their sportsy jargon.  I’ve never been an athlete.  I’ve never had much stamina or endurance.  As a kid, I played one season of soccer, but quit after that.  My asthma prevented me from sports that involved a lot of running.  In addition, I’ve always hated the jarring sensation of my heels striking the pavement as I run. 

            But now I run.  Because something is chasing me.

            My fitness journey began in January, when I noticed that I could no longer fit into some of my favorite clothes.  At the same time, the scale tipped past the point where I was comfortable.  So I set a weight loss goal for 2014.  But by the beginning of Lent, I had only lost three pounds.  So I decided on a low-carb fast for Lent, that would add a spiritual dimension to my need to lose weight.  During Lent, I began to get more spiritually and more physically fit.  The pounds began to fall off.  At Easter, I decided that the dietary changes I’d made needed to go beyond Lent, and needed to become a lifestyle change.  So I eat differently these days.  And it’s a good thing.  Besides the weight loss, I’ve noticed a few other medical benefits to my new diet.  For one thing, I no longer have acid issues.  And, with all the pollen we had this spring, I didn’t have any problem with asthma. 

            So a month or so ago, I started running.  I had no respiratory excuses.  I researched breathing techniques.  I learned how to run so that I avoid over-striding, which causes the heels to strike uncomfortably and can lead to damage.  I started out walking, and then moved to walking and running at intervals.  Now, I’m delighted to find that my intervals are changing, and that I’m able to run more and walk less.  I never imagined myself as a runner, but as I lace on my shoes it’s starting to feel like something I look forward to, rather than something I dread.  I even bought myself some of those athletic clothes that I always thought looked so dorky on other people.  But my perspective is changing with my body, and I think I look pretty good.

            I’ve learned that there’s something meditative about running, which appeals to my contemplative, monkish personality.  There’s something about the repetition of footfalls, combined with synchronized breathing that lends itself to mental chanting.  As I run, I find myself repeating things like, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we’re renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4.16).”  I like that one, because it has a good cadence, and it rhymes!  Then there’s the more simple, “Put off your old self…put on the new self (from Ephesians 4.22-23).”  Or, “Rise on wings as eagles…run and not be weary (Isaiah 40.31).”  These types of scriptural meditations aren’t new to me, but adding them to the rhythm of footfalls and breathing has become something that I look forward to.

            I’m still a slow runner, but I’m making progress.  I don’t have a lithe runner’s body, and maybe I never will.  But outwardly, I am wasting away—and that’s a good thing.  And as my waist is wasting, inwardly I’m renewed day by day.

            Today I’d like to encourage you to combine spiritual fitness with physical fitness.  You don’t have to be an athlete to get better day by day.  Just get started slowly, and eventually your baby steps will lead to running with endurance the race that the Lord has set before you (Hebrews 12.1).

Boats, Bikes, and Beginning Again

I practically grew up in a canoe.  From a very young age, my father took my brother and me canoeing.  We often rivers like the South Anna, the North Anna, and the mighty James.  I learned how to canoe at 4-H camp, and perfected each type of stroke through hours of practice.  Then, I grew up.  As an adult, I neither had a canoe nor borrowed a friend’s.  For a very, very long time.  Then, a friend of mine took me canoeing a few years ago, and it was like beginning again.  I had to re-learn the strokes, and how to keep my balance.  With my friend, I regained the ability that I thought I had lost.  The good news is that it could be done.  This week, I bought my own canoe.  I was so excited to use it for the first time!

The redneck way I carried my canoe home from the store

Before my initial excursion, I had a phone conversation with my brother, a former canoeing instructor.  He asked me if I remembered the J-stroke, the Crosshand Draw, and a few others.  I couldn’t remember any of them by name, but I didn’t want to admit it to him.  “Of course I know those strokes,” I told him.  And I wasn’t lying.  The first time I took my new canoe out with my son, I navigated the boat perfectly.  Even though I couldn’t remember the strokes by name, I knew every one of them.  With my friend, I had practiced them to the point that they had become muscle-memory, and I could execute them without really thinking about them very much.  Even though I had forgotten how to paddle, my friend had encouraged me and helped me re-learn what I’d forgotten.

Recently, my wife Beth has been visiting the bicycle section at various department stores where we shop.  She’s begun to look with nostalgia at the bikes on the rack, and wonder whether she might be able to ride again after so many years.  Everybody has heard the expression, “It’s like riding a bike,” which means, “This is something that you never really forget how to do, or at least it’s something you can re-learn quickly.”  If she decides to buy herself a bike, I suppose she’ll find out that riding a bike really is like riding a bike. 

For a lot of people, going to church is like my canoe or Beth’s bike.  For one reason or another, they grew up and got out of the habit.  They told themselves that it was for kids, or that they’d outgrown the need for church.  It may have been second nature when they were growing up, but now they’ve been away for so long that they worry what might happen if they darken the door again.  Will they be able to keep their balance?  Will they figure out how to navigate the unfamiliar waters of church once more? 

Let me tell you, getting back to church is like riding a bike.  If you’ve been away for awhile, you may think you’ve forgotten what to do when you’re there.  But once you return it’ll be like you never left.  Job 22.23 (NIV) says, “If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored.”  Like paddling a canoe, you’ll find that when you return to the Lord it doesn’t take long to regain what you’ve forgotten.  I hope you’ll return and re-learn.  It’s going to be a great ride!

Glowey Moey

Moses and His Mistranslated "Horns of Light"

          I get a kick out of the way people sometimes treat me differently because I am a pastor.  It’s kind of funny what happens when people find out what I do.  Some people will watch their language more when I’m around, afraid of offending me by some slip of the tongue.  Others will make sure they tell some off-color joke when I’m around, just to see what I’ll say or do in response to their level of humor.  Some will push me to the front of the line.  In some churches, I would be referred to as “Pastor Greg,” “Pastor Smith,” “Reverend Smith,” or simply as “Pastor.”  Some of these distinctions can be good.  Some are bad, when the minister is literally set on a pedestal above the rest.  Some are indifferent.  I do always find it interesting, though, the way people treat ministers differently.

Some pastors wear clerical church all the time, separating themselves from the laity, and others never do.  I only ever owned one clerical shirt, and only wore it for certain occasions.  It was good for making late-night hospital visits, or visiting someone whom I’d never met before, or mental institutions.  It was good for that because people could immediately look at me and know that I’m a minister, so no matter what state of mind they’re in, the symbol communicates why I’m there.

I remember one time when I was at another church, I went to visit a church member who was in the mental ward of a local hospital.  On the way to the parking deck, I was in the elevator.  The elevator stopped at the next floor down, and a middle-aged couple got on.  Their eyes looked tired and red from crying.  As soon as the door shut, the woman looked at me, saw my collar and the Bible I was carrying, and immediately gushed out all of her emotions.  They were there visiting a relative who was not expected to live.  She asked if I would pray for them, and I assured them I would.  It was a short visit…just a minute or so on the elevator.  But when she looked at me, she KNEW that I represented God, and poured out her concerns to me.

It was an event that really affected me.  Probably more than it did her.  It really sobered me to realize how much I am a visible representation of God on earth.  People who didn’t even know me could look at me and see that I was a symbol of Jesus, just because I was wearing that collar.  Then I got to thinking, what would it be like if ALL CHRISTIANS were immediately recognizable as representatives of God here on earth?  What if we all wore huge cross necklaces and everybody knew that we were Christians?  How would our behavior change?  You’ve heard of the Mark of the Beast, in the book of Revelation?  Followers of the Anti-Christ will have a mark of some kind on their hand or forehead.  What if all Christians bore a visible mark—the Mark of the Lamb?  What would be the effect of being immediately recognizable as a Christian? 

In Exodus 34.29-35, we read about a man whose relationship with God could be seen on his face.  When Moses went up to the mountain to hear from God, he came back down, and his face literally glowed with the radiance of God’s glory.  They could all tell that he had been with God, because “Glowey Moey” was actually shiny!  It was more than the red glow of a face that has sunburn—Moses emanated the brightness of God’s presence!  What a remarkable thing, to be so close to God that you actually glow!  Now, I’ve never seen anybody who physically glowed from being with God, no one who shone like a light bulb.  But I have seen people who glow from the inside out, because of the relationship they have with God.  I want to be one of those people.

          Do you remember the little children’s song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine”?  In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

 Now, Moses was a good leader, a wise man, and a holy prophet.  But he didn’t always do what he was supposed to do.  The Bible says that he covered his face so that the people would not see his glow.  God had allowed Moses’ face to shine, as a symbol of the close relationship Moses had with God.  It would bolster the people’s confidence in Moses as their God-appointed leader.  But Moses did not want to frighten the people, and he put a veil over his face.  In 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul writes, “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit .”  He also says, “When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed (3:16).”  Moses was not supposed to hide the brightness of his face from the people; he was supposed to let his light shine.

One of the most remarkable things anybody has ever said to my mother happened when we were eating at Shoney’s.  A woman was watching my mother as she interacted with us at supper.  As she was getting up to leave, the woman put her hand on my mother’s arm and looked into her eyes.  “I know this sounds strange,” she said, “but when I look at you, I see Jesus.”  What an amazing testimony about the way a person can witness without saying a word! 

Our faces are not to be veiled.  Our candles are not to be hid.  Jesus said we are to let our light shine forth!  Can other people see Jesus in you?  Can total strangers see a glow on your face?  A sparkle in your eyes because of the relationship you have with the Living God?  Let it be our prayer that Jesus would make us glow for all the world to see, that he would set our souls afire! 

A Fitting Memorial

            Memorial Day is almost here—a time for picnics and family get-togethers, a time to remember all those who died in the service of our country.  Sometimes I wonder whether our Memorial Day practices are truly a fitting memorial for those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.  Do we truly honor them with our tailgate parties?  Is that the freedom for which they died?  Pardon my cynicism, but I take issue with the Zac Brown Band “Chicken Fried,” which says:

I thank God for my life
And for the stars and stripes
May freedom forever fly
Let it ring

Salute the ones who died
The ones that give their lives
So we dont have to sacrifice
All the things we love

Like our chicken fried
And cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up

            If our men and women in uniform died so that we don’t have to sacrifice our fried chicken, cold beer, comfortable jeans, and loud radio, then they died for no reason at all.  Our selfless soldiers who sacrificed their lives on our behalf gave themselves to a greater cause than that.  They died to free us from political tyranny, religious oppression, and economic slavery.  This, and not our “chicken fried,” is something to die for.  For that, we owe them far more than a cheesy country song.

            In the same way, sometimes I wonder whether we offer a fitting memorial to Jesus, who paid a far greater price to save far more people than our soldiers ever will, and in far more eternal ways.  In John 15.13 (ESV), Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”  Jesus shed His blood and died to prove His ultimate love for us.  Yet the Lord gave far more than His blood—He gave His holiness as well.  The Sinless One traded His righteousness for our sin, that we might have eternal life.  If He did this much for us, how do we memorialize Him?

            If you walk around any church’s building and grounds, you’ll find all sorts of memorials to faithful people and to the Lord.  Plaques on walls, windows, stones, furniture, and other markers honor the memory of saints who contributed of their spirit and substance in order to build the church.  Crosses, paintings, statues, and icons direct our gaze heavenward, inspiring us to remember our Lord.  But are these the most fitting memorials we can give?

            A son may send his dad a card on Father’s Day, but the best way to honor a good man is to live like him.  Similarly, the most fitting memorial we can give the saints of God who formed our faith is to model ourselves after their holy lives.  Even more so, believers who cast themselves in the mold of their Maker bear a far better image than any statue ever could.  What’s the most fitting memorial?  To live as someone worth dying for. 

            This Memorial Day, I hope you’ll honor the ones who gave their lives so that you might be free.  I hope you’ll remember Jesus, who gave far more than they ever could, so that you could be eternally free.  Then, I hope you’ll offer a fitting memorial.  Far better than a plaque on carved rock, 1 Peter 2.5 (ESV) says that “You are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.”  This is our memorial.  This is our thank-you gift.

My Help Comes From the Lord

          Much confusion exists concerning the meaning of distress signals.  The traditional SOS has been misunderstood to mean “Send Out Succour,” “Save Our Ship,” and “Save Our Souls.”  Actually, was officially ratified as the universal distress signal in 1908, and was chosen simply because it was easy to send the morse signal that consisted of only three dots, three dashes, and three dots, and it could not be misunderstood.[i]  The distress call “mayday” is actually an English version of the French m'aidez (help me) or m'aider (to render help to me).[ii]  Each of these distress signals anticipates help that may come from nearby ships or other rescuers. 

            We know that ultimately our help comes not from reliance on people, but dependence on God.  In Psalm 121 (ESV) we read:

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
 He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
 The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

            Because our Lord is the Maker of all things, we know that all things are under His control.  As the psalmist looked to the hills, he may have been asking himself if his help might come from ally armies just over the horizon.  But he realized that his help comes not from beyond those hills, but from the Maker of the hills.  As the mountains provide a firm foundation, so God gives you a firm place to stand, and so you will not be moved.

            While they rested in their homes, city dwellers depended on the watchfulness of their night guards.  Yet even these could fall asleep.  Rather than relying exclusively on these sleepy sentinels, the psalmist tells us to depend on God, who never closes His eyes.

            As the sun’s harmful rays can be very damaging to the traveler, “the sun will not harm you by day” refers to God’s physical protection.  God is the “shade on your right hand,” says the psalmist.  Whereas our maps orient with the north to the top, ancient Jews used maps that oriented toward the East—so the right hand would be toward the South.  From the south, or right hand, came the sun’s scorching heat.  The psalmist says God protects you from that, but He also shelters you from the moon.  Since the moon’s forces were reputed to affect the tides of human emotion and levels of sanity, “nor the moon by night” speaks of God’s psychological and spiritual protection.  In other words, God is there to help you, inside and out.

            “He will guard your going out and your coming in,” says the psalmist.  Not only will God protect you inside and out—He will also protect you before and behind.  In fact, God will defend you from all sides. 

            Then, not only will God preserve you inside and out, and from all sides—God will keep you through all time.  “From this time forth and forever” means that our times are in God’s hands.  Inside and out, all around, and through all time—in all ways, God shields those who trust in Him.

            Now, we must temper our reading with understanding.  Some falsely interpret “The Lord will keep you from all evil” as a wholesale promise that nothing bad will ever happen to the believer.  This is neither realistic nor scriptural.  Rather than indicating God’s protection from misfortune, this verse promises that God will shield us from moral evil.  Indeed, God keeps our souls, to be pure and clean, when we trust in Him.  Still, those who look to God for their salvation can know that even when bad things do happen, the Lord preserves our souls so that no damage that is done can ever touch the eternal.

            I invite you to pray today, placing your body, soul, and spirit in God’s care.  Remember that your help does not come from high places and lofty people.  Rest in the knowledge that God cares for you in every place and through all time.  Know that your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

---

[i] “What is the Meaning of SOS?”  Krzenski, Jim.  http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/060199tip6.htm.  April 19, 2011. 

[ii] http://ask.yahoo.com/20011218.html  April 19, 2011.

Enter In

According to John 20, on that first Easter morning when Mary Magdalene starts for Jesus’ tomb, she has no idea that she will meet with a miracle.  She thinks she is going to complete the embalming process that had been abandoned on Friday, because of the Sabbath.  But instead of finding Jesus’ body, she discovers the stone rolled away.  She runs to tell the disciples, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”  Peter and John run to find out what’s going on.

            Now, at the point where Mary tells them about Jesus’ disappearance, John the gospel writer refers to himself not by name, but as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  Yet, by the time he reaches the tomb he simply calls himself, “the other disciple.”  You might think this is modesty, since he reaches the tomb before Peter did—John just doesn’t want to brag that he’s the faster runner.  But there’s an element of shame in the way John refers to himself.  Perhaps he regrets his inaction.  He reaches the tomb first, but instead of going in he reluctantly waits outside.  Stooping to look into the tomb, he peeks into the tomb long enough to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness.  In the gloom, he sees the linen burial cloths lying there, but is hesitant to enter in.  On the other hand, Peter demonstrates his usual boldness by plunging into the tomb’s dark mouth as soon as he arrives.  He doesn’t wait to allow his eyes adjust, but blindly rushes in to see the miracle.  Only after Peter has gone into the tomb does John enter in and believe.

            Peter and John represent two different kinds of Christians.  There are those whose who, though they are “the beloved,” yet are reluctant to venture into the unknown.  Tentatively they stand at the door of faith, looking in yet not fully experiencing all that God has for them.  Then there are those who plunge headlong into the darkness—those who can say, “We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5.7).”  Abandoning all caution, they take leap into the darkness, no matter what lies ahead. 

            The church needs both kinds of believers.  John may be embarrassed about his hesitancy, yet perhaps it’s because John was already there, and had already looked in, that Peter has the boldness to run into a dark tomb without looking.  Peter needs John’s settled spirit in order to give him the courage to act boldly.  Then, John needs Peter’s courage in order to know that it’s safe to enter into the tomb and see what God had done.  The point is that both eventually do enter in, and both believe.

            Are you a John, or a Peter?  Are you more comfortable waiting, observing, and considering before you act?  Or are you the kind who forges ahead into new things, often acting before you consider the consequences?  Both play a part in the story of the resurrection.  The church needs its pioneers, and it needs those with settled spirits.  The important thing is that you enter in.  Enter in, and experience the risen Savior.  Then help others to enter into relationship with Him as well.  In this way, the message of the resurrection is spread throughout the world.

The Movie "Noah" - One Pastor's Perspective

So, I finally broke down and saw the movie "Noah," directed by Darren Aronosfsky ("Requiem for a Dream", "Pi", "Black Swan").  I'd read reviews that referred to it as "the most unbiblical biblical film ever made."  I was familiar with many of the ways in which "Noah" diverged from the Biblical account of the Great Flood, yet I was hopeful about the film nonetheless.  I even re-posted an article that I read, which encouraged Christians to go see it, on the basis that whether they're good or bad, believers need to support biblical movie-making in Hollywood--otherwise, there might not be other biblical movies made.  I said on Facebook that while the pastor within me couldn't recommend "Noah," Greg was pretty excited about it.  I mean, who wouldn't like a biblical movie starring Russel Crowe (Silence of the Lambs), Emma Watson (Harry Potter), Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), and Jennifer Connelly (Hulk)?  

Turns out that "Noah" would probably have been more biblical if in addition to actors, it had thrown the gladiator, Hermione, Hannibal Lechter, and Hulk's girlfriend together in a blender and mixed them together to get a storyline.

Don't get me wrong--it was enjoyable to watch.  As an adventure/disaster film, it was well-made and engaging, full of tension and astounding special effects.  But it would have been better if they had changed the biblical names of Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, Tubal-Cain, and Methuselah to other names entirely.  Any similarity to the biblical story ends with these names and the facts that there was a flood, people died, Noah built an ark and rescued the animals, ravens and doves acted as messengers, there was a rainbow and a mountain, and Noah got butt-naked drunk afterwards. 

Spoiler alert:  I'm about to mention elements of the movie that you wouldn't have been able to get from reading the Bible.

In addition to the Bible, "Noah" relied heavily on the ancient Book of Enoch for its content.  I enjoyed reading the Book of Enoch, with its supernatural creatures like Nephilim and Watchers...but Aronofsky even gets his Enochian elements mixed up, confuisng Wathchers, Nephilim, and Golem legends.  He has rock giants who help Noah build the ark, and who protect Noah and family from attackers.  These rock giants are actually angels who tried to help humanity--and because of this, God punished them, contorting their shape into beings of stone!

Which leads me to my biggest problem with the movie: its depiction of God.  Nowhere in the film does God speak to Noah.  Noah has visions and impressions where he feels he needs to build an ark.  Noah draws conclusions about God's will, and acts on them in disastrous ways.  But nowhere does God give explicit instructions to Noah.  The bibilical God had a relationship with the man and family that He saved.  In this movie, God is silent.  And if God could be characterized in any way, He is a god of wrath who punishes any violation--even to the point of cursing angels who just try to help humans.  

These fallen angels, by the way, are heroes in the movie.  The last time I checked, fallen angels are called demons--and they seek humanity's destruction rather than its salvation.  In the movie, the skin of Eden's serpent is a tool for blessing and healing, giving further implication that demonic forces are actually forces of good.  So it seems that Aronofsky has his roles reversed.  It's not surprising that an athiest would be mixed up about his impressions of God and demons.

Some other problems with "Noah" are:

• In the Bible, Shem, Ham, and Japheth were all married.  In the movie, only Shem had a wife.
• In the Bible, these three and their wives repopulated the earth.  In the movie, Shem and Ila have twin girls (so, how is this re-population supposed to work?)
• In the Bible, Noah is righteous; in the movie Noah goes insane, and acts murderously---even toward his own family.  (And, actually, his family's quick forgiveness of him is unrealistic at the end.  It's as if he can brush his hair and straighten up his clothes, and the would-be murderer becomes a source of blessing again.)
• In the movie, Noah becomes so outrageously nasty that when we get to the fight scene at the end, where Noah takes on his nemesis Tubal Cain, along with fighting against his own sons Shem and Ham, you find yourself actually hoping it's Noah who gets killed.  He's just that bad!
• In the Bible, the Nephilim (giants who are descendants of the union between fallen angels and human women) are bad guys.  In the movie, the're heroes.

Now, I do have to give Aronofsky some credit for the following:

• I'm glad Aronofsky included peripheral biblical characters like Methuselah and Tubal-Cain in the story.  They added richness to the story line--even if they were greatly exaggerated.
• Biblically, Noah and his family were vegetarians.  Aronofsky continues this tradition, but he juxtaposes vegetarianism against the carnivorous Tubal-Cain and his people.  In other words, "Vegetarians good, meat-eaters bad."
• I do think that Aronofsky hit the nail on the head when he contrasted the mechanized society of Tubal-Cain against the natural, environmentalist lifestyle of Noah and family.  There's a lot of animal-loving, tree-hugging going on my reading of Noah's story.
• Honestly, I think that the post-flood account of Noah's drunkenness in the Bible is a pretty realistic approach to a man who's been through everything that Noah endured.  Who wouldn't have a little PTSD and substance abuse problem after something like that?  Aronofsky's depiction of that part of the tale wasn't too bad.
• The circular rainbow was a nice touch, since circles are symbols of covenant.

I've heard lots of people saying, "Yeah, it was the most unbiblical biblical movie ever made, but at least it gets people talking about the Bible."

To that I ask, "But what does it have them saying about the Bible?"  Does it teach that the god of wrath employs murderous madmen and demons in order to save the world from Himself and His own destruction?  That demons are the good guys, and heroes are really evil?  That the biblical story in which the world was destroyed and reborn through the remarkable work of one family isn't exciting enough--that it needs to be "dressed up" into something it was never intended to be?  That would be like saying the horrifying real-life Battle of Thermopylae wasn't exciting enough--that it needed to be made into a graphic novel and later a blood-and-gore move.  Oh--wait--somebody did that too!  

So, while at one time I said that the pastor within me couldn't recommend it but Greg was pretty excited about it--I have to say that Greg wasn't too thrilled with it, either.  The movie was well-made, to be sure.  I'm a fan of fantasy movies, and wouldn't have had any problem with a similar story that changed the names and didn't represent itself as a biblical account.  But when athiest Aronofsky starts to tell Bible stories--watch out!  

I'm sure I'll get flooded with comments on this one--let me hear what you think.