Review: Genesis Paradise Lost

I recently reviewed Is Genesis History? and was well pleased with it overall.  In that vein, I decided to also review Genesis: Paradise Lost. This film is in an entirely different style, one which is less suited to a documentary and more suited to a feature film. The film appears to be in two minds about what it is trying to do.  This article will be a brief review of Genesis: Paradise Lost and hopefully give the reader an idea of whether this is worth purchasing.

I went into this film predisposed to like it. It features many of my favorite speakers, I had already seen some of the visuals from the film and knew they were awesome. The visuals did not disappoint. They were top-notch. The dinosaurs looked alive, and the visual portrayal of Eden was spectacular.  The music was perfectly matched to the visuals on screen and evoked the necessary emotions.  I was highly impressed with how both well-orchestrated and well-illustrated the film was. They did an excellent job. The visuals were stunning, the musical chilling and the effects perfect.

The contents of the film were also spectacular.  It features the standard, well-known creation science speakers like Ken Ham, Dr. Georgia Purdom, Dr. David Menton  and Dr. Danny Faulkner, but it also introduces less well-known speakers such as Dr. John Baumgardner, Dr. Charles Jackson, and Dr. Jeremy Lyon.  Lyon and Jackson, in particular, are less well known.  Lyon is a Hebraist and features prominently in the film.  He discusses the Hebrew text and why Genesis cannot be read as allegory or be combined with evolution.  His sessions are excellent. He does an excellent job explaining the text and undermining the errors of the long-age compromisers.

Jackson, while less cultured than Lyon, is equally effective. He is sarcastic, and a bit coarse, but also makes excellent points. He is knowledgeable and well versed in the evolutionary ideas as well as creationist thought.  He adds a lot to the film.

In addition to a few less well-known creation scientists, the film also features Ray Comfort and Voddie Baucham.  Comfort is not featured a lot but when he is, he is solid and presents a solid case for creation. The film is narrated by Voddie Baucham. If you have not heard Baucham speak, you are in for a treat. He has the perfect voice for narration and does an excellent job making the film compelling and fun to watch.

The film also does something that Is Genesis History? did not do, at least not well in my view. Genesis: Paradise Lost closes the film by presenting the Gospel. Being that Ray Comfort was involved, this should not be a surprise. If Comfort were to be knocked unconscious, he would be witnessing to the paramedics trying to revive him.  Between him, Lyon, and others, they present a clear, thorough Gospel presentation to the viewer which makes the film worth using as a potential evangelistic tool in a way that Is Genesis History? simply isn’t.

However, as a documentary, I felt that Genesis: Paradise Lost made some odd directorial decisions. The information presented was excellent. The problem was not the information. The problem was in how it was presented. The way the film was edited, there was a near-constant jump from one speaker to the next. This led to a slightly jumpy feel to the film. Further, ideas that were addressed at one point in the film, would then reappear further into the film with a different speaker. There was no coherent formula or flow to the film. It felt disjointed and scattered. Someone not well versed in creation science might have found it hard to follow or would have perhaps been confused by the film presenting bits of various topics at different points in the film, then referring back to them later.  the film could have been better organized.

Overall, I was pleased with Genesis: Paradise Lost. It could have been better organized, but, in providing a clear Gospel presentation, it made itself a useable resource. If a filmmaker were to combine the graphics of Genesis: Paradise Lost with the narrative documentary style of Is Genesis History? I suspect that film would do very well.  If you had to choose between the two, you need to consider your motive in purchasing it. If you are looking to increase your own knowledge, Is Genesis History? is the way to go. if you are looking for an evangelistic tool, then you want Genesis: Paradise Lost.  Both are enjoyable, but do different things.