kevinrexheine
Ever since the Scopes Monkey Trial (a half-dozen generations ago) the onset of postmodern intellectual elitism has steadily moved to progressively denigrate and marginalize Christianity within the public square. In education, entertainment, news media, and courts the God of the Bible is routinely ignored, mocked, ridiculed, or worse by postmodern intellectual elites. Like it or not, contemporary America is a nation where Christianity is under open assault on many fronts.The Genesis Code rebukes that assault on three current social and cultural issues: religion vs. science, end-of-life decisions, and religious discrimination on college campuses. In each, the movie supports conservative views without actually taking a position. The intent is to open the door to a side of the discussion that hasn't had much constructive public play lately.The religion vs. science argument receives the least direct treatment in the movie, but is the major promotional selling point. At issue is whether physical cosmology (accepting the Big Bang Theory and holding that the universe is approximately 15,750,000,000 years old), or the Ussher Chronology (based on the Bible and holding that creation's first day was Sunday, 23 October, 4004 BC) is the correct answer. Kerry Wells' stand, revealed early in the story, is that creationism is right, and science will eventually catch up with Biblical truth.Kerry's brother Mark and his colleagues, Lin Chen and J. T. Bochner, use the phenomena of time dilation and cosmic microwave background radiation in tandem to explain how two very different conclusions for how old the earth is can be harmoniously reconciled. The explanation is brilliant (aided by amazing graphic effects) without getting the viewer lost in math and physics. The result is a plausible and understandable explanation for how both 6 days and 15.75 billion years can be correct simultaneously, and establishes that God has the right answers even when man's limited understanding cannot grasp them.Right-to-Life is about more than opposing abortion on demand; it's about building a culture of life in America. It's about restoring the foundational belief that a human life, regardless of quality, has an inherently sacred and superior value assigned by God that attaches at conception and remains so until natural death. That, not surprisingly, is why the Founding Fathers identified life as first among the chief unalienable rights that every person is endowed with by their Creator.On the other hand, evolutionary biology (based on Darwin's Origin of Species) by its very nature completely disregards the inherent value of human life in and of itself, choosing instead to superimpose a relative value assigned by those who are seen as being somehow superior to the masses. It is this very abrogation that has spawned abortion on demand, sexual licensure, slavery in every form, and essentially the entire eugenics agenda. The arguments supporting and advancing these positions conveniently ignore Charles Darwin's own admission that his defining literary work was effectively all theory and little evidence.But what of people who lie in hospital beds, comatose, unable to communicate their intentions or wishes? At what point, if at all, does life support become an exercise in futility, denying The Creator the right to call a person home any time he sees fit to do so? End of life issues are inherently tricky. Advance Medical Directives are helpful, but do little to stanch the emotional turmoil of the people who must execute those directives.Carl and Ellen Taylor, Blake Truman's grandparents, are in the unenviable position of having to carry out a directive sworn out by their daughter, Beverly, before the cancer ravaging her body reduced her to a comatose state. Blake fights the directive, but Judge Hardin ultimately rules against the motion for injunction; the scene in the court's conference room closes with Blake and his grandparents debating the merit of an appeal.As the plot unfolds, we learn there's a reason that Blake doesn't have much confidence in the power of prayer. Kerry's persistent displays of faith eventually make their point, however, and Blake's appeal is ultimately filed (just not in a courtroom).With regard to religious discrimination, I find it more than ironic that the same postmodern intellectual elites who preach tolerance and understanding take the exact opposite approach when it comes to Christianity. Religious discrimination can take on many forms, but peer pressure from Blake's teammates and academic ridicule from Professor Campbell pales compared to the thinly veiled mockery and contempt leveled by Myra Allitt, Kerry's academic adviser.Tyler Ross, Shane Thomas, and Chase Laughton are gradually worn down by Kerry simply and openly living the combined advice of Matthew 5:13-16 and 1 Peter 3:14-16; their mea culpa is a beautiful rendering of "A Soldier's King" by Shane. The song briefly and subtly touches on the two things that make Christianity the most reviled religion humanity has ever known or will ever know.As for Professor Campbell, a conversation at a shooting range between him, Blake, and Rev. Jerry Wells show us that things are not always as they seem. The discussion hinges on comparison and contrast between microevolution and macroevolution relative to speciation.Myra Allitt, however, is a horse of an entirely different color. Her meeting with Kerry starts out with praise, but rapidly goes downhill from there. Myra mentions that she has some reservations in recommending Kerry for grad school, and then proceeds to systematically ridicule Kerry's faith in detail, treating it as an insult to postmodern intellectualism (her concluding argument is a misuse of 1 Corinthians 13:11). Without giving anything away, let's just say that a follow up meeting goes considerably differently.As my final thought, The Genesis Code is a very worthwhile movie that effectively supports conservative viewpoints and values. It's billed as "the Christian movie of the year," and may well deserve that honor. I highly recommend that you take the time to catch The Genesis Code while it's in theaters.
jenniferpoort
This movie was awesome. I loved the mix of science and absolute biblical truth. A few years ago, I actually read the paper that the theory in this movie is based on. It really gets you thinking. The casting was wonderful. I especially liked the portrayal of the minister... a real-life, down to earth, sports loving man. It was very refreshing. Catherine Hicks as the guidance counselor was a curve-ball of a casting choice, but she did a fantastic job. I was so emotionally stirred by her performance, I wanted to through something at the screen. Family Friendly, Christian movies have come a long way. This one felt natural and real. Multiple story lines with complexity and depth. If you have analytically minded secular friends, this would be a wonderful movie to take them to. It just might provide the little opening for God to touch their lives. The movie could stand on its own even without the science vs. God storyline, so they won't be disappointed. A must see movie for all ... young & old, believer or skeptic.
J klein
This is an excellent movie and I would recommend it to anyone, it was one that challenges the way we think about the very way we were created. I loved the way the film tugged at topics that are rarely discussed in any setting other than a church pew. I liked that it was a film based in a secular world with real life issues that were presented with a Christian viewpoint. I appreciate that this wasn't just another movie at the box office designed to provide us with a cheap laugh, it took real life questions and gave real life answers. When you go to the theater you think its about going to sit there and be entertained for an hour and half, then you get into your car and probably laugh about some parts later but in general it lends nothing to your life, this movie won't be like that! This movie will make you think, make you question what you believe and why you believe it and it will answer the one question that has perplexed humans from day one, where did I come from???
claudiammachado
It is refreshing to watch a movie with so many positive elements and family values, clean and very entertaining. Needless to say I was at the edge of my seat and will be buying it as soon as it comes out, for 2 reasons, I want to own such a brilliant piece and I want to support the work done by people like these. For me and my family this movie is 2 thumbs up, 5 gold stars, a movie worth watching.Since the evolution theory is so widely accepted but not researched, (at least I know I did not evolved from an ape, neither did my grandparents and ancestors) It is easy to see that we want to question everything and come up with the strangest things when we cannot explain. I read in Readers Digest magazine about how at one point in history Charles Darwin saw an ivy plant on a tree trunk in south America and based on his observation, he thought that the ivy was feeding from the trunk, thing that of course was inaccurate, proving that Charles Darwin, as human that he was made mistakes too.
