엑소더스

My very Buddhist, Korean wife and I went to see that terrible movie Exodus. I should have know better than to see a Ridley Scott epic, but I was still interested in seeing a biblical movie.

My wife and I had the following conversation:

Wife: "How does Moses relate to Noah?"

(We had seen Noah* some months before, and I had an interesting time trying to explain Noah to her.)

Me: "Noah was first. Then came Abraham, and then came Moses."

Wife: "Is this story [the Exodus tale] a myth?"

Me: "Some of it probably is mythologized and/or metaphorical, but Moses was a real person who rescued the Hebrews. And he was a prophet."

Wife: "So, the plagues were all real?"

(I was surprised that she knew this, because her knowledge of the details of Christian theology are limited. I have been trying to help her out, but the process is a little slow.)

Me: "How do you know about the plagues?"

Wife: "I saw The Ten Commandments."

Me: "Very good."

Cecil B. DeMille, I take my hat off for you. You have had more missionary moments than any other person I could name...ever. No matter who I talk to, if I mention the name Moses, your epic movie comes up. You didn't need CGI. All you asked for was a few thousand extras and a few thousand animals. You directed such a classic movie, and now even Buddhists in Korea know of one of the Prophets and Dispensations of the Church.

When the movie ended, my wife said that Charlton Heston was much better of a Mo-Say (the Koreans pronounce Moses' name as "Mo-Say" 모세). Although, I feel that Bale added a complexity to the character that Heston lacked, but Heston's portrayal was much more memorable and powerful.

And, I have realized that the biblical movies that were controversial and way-off from the original text have offered much better Missionary Moments because of the conversations that can be had.

*More on Noah in a later post.