God's Word is Pure

Many Hollywood film adaptations of written works have been wildly popular and successful.  In many cases, like with the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies or Narnia films, there seems to always be "purists" who are known for expressing disdain for changes made by a director in storytelling.  They do not like how the modern portrayal of characters can deviate greatly from the author's intent or new characters or conflicts are introduced which do not appear in the original books.  When novels and plays are adapted in our modern day, stripping away critical elements from a classic can feel like betrayal for financial gain or to advance a political agenda.

I have not watched the recent adaptation of The Odyssey, and the director in an interview made it clear the film was an adaptation of the original.  Lately I have wondered if it is more likely to enjoy an film adaptation when you have never read the book because there are no points for comparison, no expectations of a character to be shattered by recent interpretations.  In a conversation yesterday, I found myself in complete agreement that the Bible is unique from all other classic works because it is revealed to be the word of God.  It is impossible to make an adaptation of the Bible directed by people that is divinely inspired like the Bible, and to deviate from the text for creative license will undermine and oppose what is written in other passages of the Bible.  To add dialogue the Bible does not have is to run the risk of deviating from the truth and even promote deceptions.

Agur said in Proverbs 30:5-6, "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar."  As children of God by faith in Jesus Christ, we are given a great opportunity and joyful responsibility to read God's word for ourselves.  We place our faith in God based upon what He has spoken in His word--not how Jesus is presented in a show or movie.  Every word of God is pure, so we must be careful in our observation, interpretation and personal application of Scripture once delivered to the saints.  This warning against adding to God's word is given because this is our human tendency.  This was observed among the Pharisees in Jesus' day, for they taught the traditions of men as the commands of God.  They went beyond what God said to advance their self-serving agenda.

There may be a market for biblical screen adaptations, and when done faithfully they can be helpful for some.  Yet there is no substitute for the word of God which had no budget, directors, producers, actors or creative writers.  It is fitting the last book of the Bible concludes with a stern warning to any who add to the words of the book or those who take away from the book of prophecy (relevant to Revelation and the whole Bible), for every word of God is pure.  Our natural impulse is to seek to shield those who mean well but are inaccurate in their representations of God's word, yet God is a shield to those who put their trust in Him--regardless of how unpopular or jarring His word might be in our modern day.  God alone has the words of life, and let us feed upon them daily.

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