By Marcy Bryan
In Religious news, the movie “Evan Almighty” is a recent release. “Evan Almighty” is about a news anchorman who becomes a senator and moves his family to Washington D.C. As they struggle to adjust to this new life, the family begins to pray. Finally Evan prays “God help me change the world.”
The next day, things start showing up in Evan’s yard—old fashioned tools, a delivery of wood. And animals start following him where ever he goes. First a dove, then several badgers, then a pair of skunks, squirrels, and finches. Next Evan’s beard starts growing no matter how fast he shaves it. All of this causes a lot of stress at work and at home.
Ultimately God visits Evan and tells him to build an ark. While Evan works, animals begin to congregate, as do jeering neighbors and television crews. In the Bible, in the Old Testament book of Genesis, you’ll find the actual story of Noah and the ark in Chapters 6 through 9. In the Bible, God goes to Noah because Noah is righteous and is surrounded by people who have become evil.
In “Evan Almighty” God comes to Evan because Evan, although selfish and opportunistic, asks for help to change the world. In the Bible, the world is covered in water and all the people die except for Noah and his family. In “Evan Almighty,” a nearby dam breaks and the waters cover the valley and Evan gets all of his critics on the boat and saves them.
If you compare the Old Testament story to the modern day movie, there are a lot of discrepancies. But if you look at the value of the story within “Evan Almighty,” you will find some delightful lessons. God is played by Morgan Freeman and is kind and mysterious and serious all at the same time. Evan’s wife struggles with her husband’s changes in look and vocation, and although she leaves him, after a visit with God she realizes that they are a family and they are all in it together. The antagonist, who is a power hungry, money grabbing senator, is shown for who he is. The computer-generated animals are believable and delightful. “Evan Almighty” is another faith-based movie worth watching.