Thanks to Oprah, I had the privilege of listening to Al Gore present his opinions on global warming. I don’t want to discuss the pros and cons of his opinions. What I found interesting was that Oprah compared him to Noah. It was interesting to see his reaction. He looked a little shocked and wouldn’t accept the comparison. At the end of the show Oprah told him that she thanked him for being our Noah. By then, he seemed willing and even pleased to accept the comparison.
Al Gore presented his opinions with all kinds of larger than life charts and statistics. He showed projections of what scientist predict will happen if we don’t fix the problem. He kept telling us that we need to do something now. We needed to fix our world and we have the power to do it. We’ve got to save it so our children and their children will be safe.
What Al Gore didn’t do was bring God into the picture. He never suggested that since God made the world, He is the one we should seek help from. He never once suggested that the most important thing is to prepare ourselves for eternity. He never once acknowledged that we are not in control.
Noah, on the other hand, didn’t go around from city to city like a celebrity telling everyone that he had figured out how to stop the flood. There wasn’t anything in his message about the scientist of the day that proved it was going to happen. Noah didn’t suggest that everyone build their own boat. He didn’t suggest that everyone start living "green" so that the flood wouldn’t come.
Noah proceeded to obey God by building the ark. He laboriously built the ark while others made fun of him. He taught the people that God was going to send a disaster (flood) and that they needed to prepare themselves by obeying God. There was nothing but Noah telling the people what God said. He taught them to obey God.
What a difference in their messages. One is about the physical, the here and now, telling us that we have the power to save the world. The other is humble and hard-working, teaching others to obey God.
No, Oprah. I wouldn’t compare Al Gore to Noah.
| Al Gore | Noah |
| Warns of Global Disaster | Warned of Global Disaster |
| His source is men (today’s scientists) | His source was God. |
| Solution is for man to fix the problem so disaster doesn’t happen. | Solution was to begin obeying God and teach others to do the same. |
maybe it's because global warming is due to our sin of overconsumption and not obeying the command to be good care takers of the world that we're in this situation. I definitely wouldn't compare him to Noah…but maybe to one of the prophets, who told us to turn from our sin and return to God (so I guess Gore only has half the message!)
I don't understand who Oprah even came up with that comparison…It's scary how people want to attribute characteristics of God or someone in the Bible with no understanding of what made them who they were. I don't know if that makes sense, but I'm sure you understand what I mean :)
Hey, interesting observations….thanks for sharing this.
I saw his movie, and I personally got the impression that he's trying to make his life count for something. Parts of the movie were about him….. strange for a global warming movie. It's almost like he lost his bid for the big prize, and now has to do something redeeming with the rest of his life. Something to be remembered for. I might be wrong on this….but it seemed kinda sad to me.
bethanyrae
Thank you for sharing this.