FOR TIMELY AND RELEVANT Lenten viewing, you can watch “The Bible”, a 10-hour television mini-series based on The Bible and produced by Mark Burnett and wife Roma Downey for the History Channel, covering the Old Testament books from Genesis to Revelation, then books of the New Testament. They said their aim is for the series to "affect a new generation of viewers and draw them back to the Bible."
It became a hit on cable TV and produced the off shoot “Son of God” now showing in our theatres. We heard ABS-CBN bought the rights to air it locally and, no doubt, there will be lots of potential viewers here since we’re a largely Christian country.
We’ve seen it and the first two episodes, “Beginnings” and “Exodus” dwell on Noah, Abraham and Moses. It starts with Noah in his ark and he retells the story of creation while the deluge is going on. God is shown making a covenant with Abraham and he’s tested with his son Isaac. Also featured are the stories of Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah. Then we see Moses leading his people out of Egypt and parting the Red Sea.
In the 3rd episode, “Homeland”, Joshua takes over from Moses and we see the story of Samson and Delilah. In the 4th episode, “Kingdom”, we’re presented the story of Saul, David and Goliath and Solomon. The 5th episode, “Survival”, shows the Babylonian captivity and the story of Daniel.
The 6th episode, “Revolution”, starts the story of Jesus Christ when an angel appears to Mary to announce that she will bear a child. We then see the Nativity Story, the massacre of the innocents, John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan and Satan’s temptation of Jesus.
“Mission”, the 7th episode, shows Jesus feeding the multitudes in Galilee, Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life and his entrance into Jerusalem while on a donkey.
The 8th episode, “Betrayal”, shows the Last Supper, Jesus praying in Gethsemane, Jesus being arrested and his sham trial at the Sanhedrin. The 9th episode, “Passion”, shows Jesus being tortured, his crucifixion, Peter denying Jesus and Judas hanging himself. The 10th and final episode, “Courage”, shows Jesus being resurrected, the Acts of the Apostles with Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, and the revelations made to John.
Those who made the series took a lot of liberty in telling their own version of the Bible stories and Bible loyalists will surely be questioning this. For instance, in the Sodom story, the angels turn into expert sword warriors who slay the sinners. Nothing like this is mentioned in the Bible. In David’s story, after he hears the death of Saul and his friend Jonathan, David takes revenge by driving away the Philistines from Judea for good. Nothing like this happens in the TV series.
We’re sure Bible experts will find more inconsistencies when they watch it. Still and all, we commend those who made the series in their attempt to bring the word of God closer to today’s generation of viewers. If it would make young people today more interested to read the actual text in the Bible, the better for them and for all the faithful.
