Creation in 3 minutes, and 33 seconds.

If you didn’t see Darren Aronofsky’s Noah film, you missed a remarkable and imaginative depiction of creation. It’s narrated by Russell Crowe in the title role, and told to his family as they lurch and bob in the darkness of the ark, not long after the waters have covered the earth.

Check it out:

Interestingly, some people hear in this account a literal six-day interpretation of Genesis 1. Others see in it an old-earth view that traces the path of theistic evolution (although Adam and Eve seem to enter the scene suddenly). Personally, I love the fact that it can be interpreted both ways!

The Genesis account portrayed here also tells us that God made man in his own image, and charges him to exercise dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). Part of what it means to bear God’s image is the power and ability to create. Part of what it means to subdue the earth and exercise dominion over it is the call to build a civilization and harness the earth’s resources for the greater good. So a digitally rich and visually imaginative depiction of creation seems to be quite appropriate to me.

For what it’s worth, I saw the movie and thought it was pretty interesting. There were some parts of the movie I really liked, and several things that I would have done differently. Just don’t approach it with any idea that they are trying to be faithful to the biblical text!

The early chapters of Genesis are really fascinating to me because we really don’t know what the world was like before the flood. That’s why they are fertile soil for the imagination.

If you found the movie interesting (even if you found it unsatisfactory, as I did), you might enjoy Brian Godawa’s novel Noah Primeval. His is an equally imaginative telling of the Noah story, but one that strives to stay faithful to what Scripture has revealed. It’s an entertaining book.