A REVIEW OF THE BIBLE - Part 5*

• Episode 9 "Passion"
• Episode 10 "Courage" 

Part 5      

In this last two hours of The Bible, the viewer finds once again a mixture of accuracy with flagrant disregard for the sacred text that they are supposed to be showing.  In fact, the presentation seems to vacillate between the two.  What actually happened was that Judas told the chief priests and the elders to take back their money.  He said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it.”  Then he threw down the money in the temple.  In the miniseries, however, he throws it at Malchus, who has just brought Jesus down the steps and made a quick announcement to the crowd that Jesus has been found guilty and is worthy of death.  Judas says, “Take back your money.”  Then he goes out and hangs himself.  None of the gospel writers hint that Malchus made such an announcement or that Judas threw money at him.      Pilate’s wife warns him three times against condemning Jesus.  Mary watches Jesus being scourged while the priests are busy stacking the crowd to be sure that Barabbas is released instead of Jesus.  Jesus before Pilate was accurate—even to the governor saying, “What is truth?”  Pilate washed his hands as he reluctantly turns Jesus over to be crucified, and Jesus begins His journey to Golgotha.  At one point where He stumbles, His mother Mary reaches Him, and He tells her not to be afraid—that all things are possible with God.  After this error, they accurately portrayed Pilate refusing to change the title that would be placed above Jesus ‘ head.  It said, “King of the Jews,” and would not be changed to: “He said He was the King of the Jews.”  

The Crucifixion      

As Jesus is climbing the hill of Golgotha, a lamb and two turtledoves are being offered by the high priest.  Meanwhile Pilate comments to his wife, “He’ll be forgotten in a week.”  Mary reaches up and touches His foot while Jesus is on the cross, an action which arose from someone’s imagination.  The most accurate part of the crucifixion is that Jesus says the seven things He is recorded as saying in the Scriptures (although two of them were out of order).  After this portrayal, the consideration of truth deteriorated quickly.  From this point on, the miniseries becomes more and more disappointing.  Although there are dark clouds that roll by at the time of Jesus’ death, no darkness covers the land for the last three hours of His time on the cross.  The lampstand in the temple overturns, and an earthquake causes the veil of the temple to come crashing down, but it is supposed to tear from the bottom to the top.  The centurion presses the spear into Jesus’ right side, but no water and blood comes forth.  The spear, when removed does have red upon it.      

The stage is set; the centurion looks up at the cross, and the viewer is waiting for those wonderful words that the actual centurion spoke: “Truly this was the Son of God.”  But only silence greets one’s ears.  What would it have taken—three seconds—for him to have uttered those powerful words?  Why were they omitted when they just as easily could have been included?      

Nicodemus and someone unidentified (presumably Joseph of Arimathea) take Jesus out to the tomb, but they have no hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes with them.  Meanwhile Mary is sent back to Galilee—even though John just promised to be her son a day or two earlier.  She is not among those in the upper room.  None of the other women are with Mary Magdalene, and when she gets to the tomb, no Roman soldiers are in sight.  She sees the rock split (as opposed to angels rolling it away) and enters the tomb (John 20:1; Matt. 28:2).  She goes in and sees His clothes, but no angel is inside the tomb.  Then Jesus speaks to her and tells her to go tell the other disciples, which she does.  They tell her that it is not possible and that she saw someone else.  Peter and John go with her and see the empty tomb.  Peter returns and recalls the Last Supper.  Thomas laments, “No, this isn’t real.”

The Ascension      

The miniseries does have Jesus inviting Thomas to touch His wounds, and the hole in one of His hands is interesting.   When Jesus ascends into heaven, He first tells them that the Holy Spirit will come upon them. Then He commissions them: “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to all creation….”  Then, silence—again.  They left off the part about, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.”  Jesus concludes by saying, “Peace be with you”; then He ascends.  Pentecost       The disciples become excited to see Stephen arriving in Jerusalem, but nothing of his background is stated.  He is present, as is Mary Magdalene, on this crucial day as the mighty rushing wind begins as they are reciting the Lord’s prayer (which is doubtful); however, no cloven tongues as of fire sit upon them.  They all praise God in different languages (which is better than some lame attempt to make them ecstatic utterances).  But no accusation of drunkenness follows, and Peter does not preach the first gospel sermon.  The Bible has been leading up to this day for centuries, and the proclamation of the gospel is critical, but the producers just ignored it.  No gospel message is included.  Not one of the 3,000 souls is baptized (Acts 2:41).      

Peter heals the lame man from Acts 3 on the same day, and Stephen is also stoned.  Those responsible for The Bible were more unkind than the Jews.  They, at least, let Stephen preach before they stoned him.  He presented no message here.  Although he does see the heaven open and the Lord on the right hand of God, he is not portrayed saying, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.”  

Paul of Tarsus      

No, you read it correctly.  Although the Bible never calls the persecutor of the church Paul of Tarsus, the miniseries introduces him this way.  If anyone is looking for a designation of this 10-hour miniseries, the Paul of Tarsus version of the Bible would encapsulate its errors.  No one ever referred to Paul that way; furthermore, he was not called Paul, period, until after his conversion and the beginning of his first missionary journey (Acts 13:9).  He certainly did not go by Paul at the stoning of Stephen.  One wonders who the producers could have possibly consulted with on these matters—surely, no one who knows the Bible well.      

Paul of Tarsus gets Malchus to join him in persecuting Christians, and they invade a place where Christians are meeting.  They torture a disciple who tells them that Christians have fled to Damascus.  So Paul  gets on his phantom horse that he has been riding ever since Good News for Modern Man was published, showing Saul falling off a stick figure pony.  He saw Jesus and then became blinded.  The men with him do not see anyone.     

In Damascus, Jesus commissions Ananias to go to “Paul of Tarsus,” who is blind and very nervous.  When Ananias approaches, he wants to know who is there.  Ananias restores his sight and says, “I, Ananias, baptize you, Paul, in the name of Christ” and he pours a pitcher of water over his head.  Exactly what Biblical or historical fact is this nonsense based on?  Was there no one working on this project that read Acts 8, where Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and came up out of it again?  It’s hard to get a pitcher of water out of that!  “Paul’s” conversion is only the next chapter!        

They had done such a wonderful work of showing John in the Jordan River baptizing Jesus by immersion.  What happened?  Did someone tell them, “You will alienate many in Protestant denominations if you leave it at that”?  Did someone advise them to show some other method of baptism so as to be more inclusive?  They had baptism right initially; this switch from the accurate portrayal of the act was obviously a sell-out aimed at pleasing those who refuse to do it properly; it was a  clear compromise of what the Bible teaches.  Later at the house of Cornelius, they dip everyone’s head into a well.  The only surprising thing at this point is that no one sprinkled water on the penitent.    James, Paul, and John       Someone must have rolled the dice and said it was time to change the order of historical events.  James the brother of John is put to death (which occurs in Acts 12).  The apostles realize they have to finally leave Jerusalem.  Someone asks John where he thinks he will go, and he answers: “North, to Ephesus.”  Does any Bible student think that if John was asked this question that he actually answered these words?  Didn’t think so.  Besides, Ephesus is north and considerably west of Jerusalem.  Furthermore, Paul was the first apostle to actually travel there (Acts 19).      

At this point Paul came to Jerusalem and tried to join with the disciples.  One of Paul’s detractors said, “I have friends in Damascus; you paid them a visit,” which is untrue.  Saul the persecutor never visited Christians in Damascus because he was struck blind first.  Rejected by brethren, he began quoting 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, a great text, which he wrote several years later.  The previous critic changed his mind and embraced Paul.  Anyone guessing that Paul’s benefactor was Barnabas knows the Bible better than The Bible’s producers.  They have Luke responding positively to Paul.      

Shortly thereafter, Peter is arrested and taken to Cornelius, who, rather than do him harm, wanted to hear the gospel.  Everyone bowed to him, and Peter did say he is a man like they are.  Of course, Peter was not brought to Cornelius by Romans, and this event (recorded in Acts 10) happened before James was slain (Acts 12).  Peter did not dip Cornelius’ head in water to baptize him.  The Holy Spirit coming upon Cornelius and his household to prove that the Gentiles were acceptable to God did not occur—especially since there were no Jews with Peter anyway in this version.

Conclusion    

The ten hours comes to a close by moving down the road twenty years and mentioning that, according to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down in Rome. Paul is arrested for preaching to prisoners. Actually, that is inverted, also. Paul preached to prisoners after he was jailed (Acts 16, et al.). Paul is not shown being arrested in Jerusalem and taken to Rome. Nothing is said about that at all. The narrator informs the audience that John was poisoned in Rome. What? But then he adds that the Romans were unsuccessful in their attempt and banished him to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote Revelation. Nothing is ever said about him being in Ephesus, as predicted earlier. He sees Jesus, but it is not the vision from Revelation 1. He talks about there being no more pain and death, affirms that He will make all things new, and promises that He is coming soon. His final words are, “May the grace of the Lord be with all God’s people,” to which John adds, “Amen.” Our conclusion is that this “Paul of Tarsus” version, except for about 30 minutes out of ten hours, is not worth seeing and will only confuse the viewer. It is riddled with inaccuracies and misinformation. The Nativity and The Passion of the Christ are far better and more inspirational. As far as the Old Testament, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments remains the best, though it contains several errors as well.

Gary W. Summers

*altered format from original publishing to correspond to aired episodes

A REVIEW OF THE BIBLE - Part 4*

Episode 7 "Mission"     

This section tries to capture Jesus’ public ministry, and it concludes with His trial.  The events and teaching are continually out of sequence, but the essence is fairly well captured, even if the details are all wrong. It opens with Jesus teaching the parable of the mustard seed at an event that occurred in Mark 2.  There is a logical fallacy here as it is presented.  Jesus is teaching in a courtyard, which is crowded but not packed.  Yet, the four men with the lame man cut a hole in a roof adjacent to the courtyard, and lowered him through it.  He seems to be on a blanket rather than a bed.   The complaint against Jesus forgiving his sins was spoken out loud, however, rather than Jesus knowing what he was thinking.  Everyone (except the murmurer) rejoiced when the man arose and walked.      

The healing of a leper was well done, as was the scene involving the Pharisee and the publican.  The publican happened to be Matthew, and he became Jesus’ disciple from then on. 

The Woman Taken in Adultery

Although the overall effect is the same as that recounted in the Scriptures, the producers changed a few details.  They have Jesus writing on the ground prior to the woman being brought into His presence.  Several have picked up stones and are ready to kill her, when they point out that the Law said to stone her but then ask what His judgment is.  Jesus picks up a stone, and the crowd wonders if he is going to cast it at her.  He walks amid the crowd with His stone held high as though he was going to hurl it at her any minute.  Then He says, “I will give my stone to the first man who tells me he has never sinned.”  They slowly drop their stones and walk away.  Jesus does tell her to sin no more. 

Kingship      

After Jesus feeds the 5,000, He rejects the kingdom.  The disciples want to know why.  “Aren’t you going to be our king?” one says.  “Jesus responds, ‘Who do you think I am?’”  Peter then makes the good confession, but this is the wrong time and place for Peter to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  That event occurred far to the north in Caesarea Philippi.  At some point, Judas says, “A Messiah should be a warrior, a conqueror like David.”  Peter answers him, “Violence is not the way.”   

Walking on Water      

Mary Magdalene always seems to be with the twelve.  No doubt she frequently was, but so were other women.  She is present on the boat when Jesus comes walking on the water.  Instead of Peter asking to join Him, Jesus invites him to step out of the boat.  Except for that discrepancy, the rest of this event is accurate.  Peter slips beneath the waves, and Jesus grasps his hand to save him, asking “Why did you doubt, O you of little faith.”  If some portions can be correct, why can’t they all be?                   

Episode 8 "Betrayal"

A variety of events from Jesus’ life are portrayed in the remainder of part four of The Bible.  But a tremendous out-of-order episode is now placed into the mix.  Whereas Jesus began His public ministry by going to Nazareth and reading from the Isaiah scroll, the producers of the program insert it now—after the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on the sea.  When Jesus said that the passage that He read was fulfilled in their hearing, one Pharisee made several accusations against Jesus, one of which was, “His healing is the work of demons.”  When Peter decided he had had enough of this detractor, he pulled back his fist and was about to slug him when Jesus stopped him by saying, “Peter, turn the other cheek.”  Out of vengeance for being challenged and threatened, the man tells them that John was dead.  He’s been “executed, beheaded.”  Of course, this incident was fabricated and intertwined with teaching from Matthew 5.         

In another invented scene, Pilate slaughtered some rebellious Jews, and the high priest says, “Imagine what he could do at the Passover.”  Later, the narrator states:  “Just 30 years ago, the Romans killed thousands during Passover demonstrations.”  This becomes the motivation of the high priest to do something about Jesus so that He does not ruin their Passover. 

Lazarus      

In this miniseries, Jesus does raise Lazarus from the dead, but that is the only fact that remained intact.  One would think that at this point everything would be fairly accurate, but, no, apparently the way God wrote the New Testament was not sufficient for the producers of this work.  They present it the way they wish John would have recorded the facts.  In this dynamic equivalent visual rendering, Martha greets Jesus and takes Him to the tomb of Lazarus.  The entrance to the tomb is covered by a mound of rocks rather than a stone.  After they are removed, Jesus, instead of calling, “Lazarus, come forth,” enters the tomb.  He says, “Lazarus, I am the resurrection and the life.”  Then He kisses Lazarus on his hair (his head being uncovered instead of wrapped), and having been dead for four days, he suddenly opens his eyes and sits up.  Jesus concludes the event by saying, “Whoever believes in Me shall never die,” to which Lazarus gives an Amen.  He walks out of the tomb dressed in a regular garment.  His body had not been anointed in the usual Jewish custom.        

In the triumphal entry, Jesus is riding a donkey, and they do spread palm branches before Him.  Barabbas shouts to him, “Why don’t you make us free?  Save us from the Romans, Lord.”  Barabbas also mocks the coming of the kingdom.  Jesus stares him down and walks past him into the temple area where He overthrows the tables of the moneychangers, interspersing some of His teaching from Matthew 6 at the same time.         

When Jesus is asked by Nicodemus (acting on behalf of the high priest) if the Jews should pay taxes, Barabbas shouts, “No pay! No pay!” but Jesus gives the appropriate answer.  However, instead of talking about the destruction of the temple only to His disciples, He says it publicly so that His enemies can hear Him, and it becomes a major part of their case against Him from that point on.   

Nicodemus and Judas: Swapping Loyalties      

Nicodemus now comes to Jesus secretly during the Lord’s final week instead of early in His ministry, as recorded in John 3.  Jesus told him that he must be born again—not in the flesh but in the spirit.  Jesus makes the wind blow and says, “And so it is when the Spirit enters you.”  What Jesus actually said was: “So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).      

Meanwhile, Judas went to the chief priest and made an arrangement to betray Jesus.  He was reluctant to do so, however, saying, “He has a power….”   The high priest retorted: ”If he were the Son of God, IF, would he abuse God’s house?”  Judas asked: “What do you want with Him?”  “Just a talk,” is the lame reply. 

The Last Supper, Arrest, and Trial      

Pilate threatened to put the city under a curfew (?).  Jesus announced to His disciples that He would be crucified, and they actually show Him giving the disciples the bread and the fruit of the vine, saying, “Remember Me by doing this.”  After telling them that one of them would betray Him, Judas ran out, right past Satan, who will be spotted several times this evening among the people and the crowd.  Nicodemus tried to defend Jesus, but the high priest asks, “Has He fulfilled any of the signs of a true Messiah, as written in our Scriptures?”  Nicodemus says that having a trial at night is illegal.  It must be held in court, in daylight, and in public.  The high priest answers that it may not be legal but it is necessary.      

Jesus has told Peter, after the Last Supper, that he will betray Him three times before dawn (rather than before the rooster crowing).  This section was handled so poorly that even someone who knows little of the Bible could see the contradiction.  Instead of Peter betraying Jesus that night, it is the next morning—well after daylight.  Then they compound this error (which is actually in part five) by having Peter recall Jesus’ words—only they lop off “before dawn” from them!                

Jesus is accurately portrayed in the garden of Gethsemane, even to the healing of Malchus’ ear and His telling Peter to put away his sword (although the intrepid apostle had already knocked Judas down and called him a traitor).  However, they then throw a bag over Jesus’ face and whisk Him away like a mafia snatch.  They beat Jesus along the way.  The high priest asks Jesus, “Are you the Son of God?” and the answer is surprisingly accurate: “I am, and you will see Me coming with the clouds of heaven, sitting at the right hand of God.”

Gary W. Summers

*altered format from original publishing to correspond to aired episodes

A REVIEW OF THE BIBLE - Part 3*

Episode 5 "Survival"

Part 3 of the miniseries on The Bible contains the fifth and final hour devoted to the Old Testament and also the first hour of dealing with the New. The previous hour had ended with David’s life, with only an honorable mention made of Solomon. His glorious reign is not mentioned; neither is the division of the kingdom after his death. Nothing is said of Rehoboam and Jeroboam, nor his putting the two golden calves in Dan and Bethel. The northern kingdom is never heard of again. The series is silent about Ahab and Jezebel, the time period of Elijah and Elisha. None of the southern kings are noticed, either (Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Josiah). Any reference to the Assyrian Captivity is absent. The viewer is instead taken to just prior to the Babylonian Captivity and King Zedekiah, who is described as the 21st king of Israel.    

Zedekiah was, in fact, the 19th king over the southern kingdom, following three kings of the united kingdom (Saul, David, and Solomon), which obviously would make him the 22nd king—unless they did not count Saul since he was of Benjamin rather than Judah, but if so, they are the only ones we know who count the kings in that manner. No reference work calls Zedekiah the 21st king.    

Jeremiah and Zedekiah do speak to each other, but the conversation they had alone is not shown. Jeremiah tells the king to surrender or die, and he is beat up. The producers did get one part correct—Zedekiah and his sons do escape through a secret passage and are caught. His sons are killed before his eyes, and then his eyes are put out. Daniel and his three friends are taken alive, but Jeremiah is said to escape. In actuality, Jeremiah was set free by the conquering Babylonians and was given the choice to do whatever he wanted. He chose to stay with a remnant of Israel, who decided, against the counsel of God, to go into Egypt. None of those things, however, were referenced; instead the focus of attention now becomes Babylon. 

Babylon    

When Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he only mentions Babylon and the kingdom of God. Nothing is said of Medo-Persia, Greece, or Rome. When Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (whose Babylonian names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) told Daniel they could not bow down to the king’s golden idol, he tried to talk them out of it, saying, “Don’t do this; he’ll kill you.” Really? One does not expect this behavior from one of the most faithful men of God who ever lived. The reason he is not required to bow down is that he is considered part of the king’s party (thus exempt from the command). The image stands above them, and apparently the fiery furnace is below this observation deck. Daniel does, however, try to talk the king out of punishing them, claiming, “They will serve you faithfully, all their lives, as I will, but they will only worship God.”     

This fiery furnace bore no resemblance to the one described in the Scriptures. Rather than being thrown into a furnace seven times hotter than normal from above, they are made to walk into it; then the fire is lit. God appears in the furnace, and the three lads come to no harm. King Nebuchadnezzar cannot believe it. He puts his hand forth toward the fire and brings it back burned. While this serves to show that the fire is real and that it was a miracle that the young men were not consumed in flames, it is not the way the event occurred. Afterward, the people of Judah are told to arise. All other captives apparently had no objection to worshiping the image.     

In the Scriptures, Nebuchadnezzar becomes a wild beast that forages in the fields, but in this version he is imprisoned in chains and seems to die as a raving madman. Daniel laments that he is unable to help the Jews and says they will need to rely on the next king. Actually, King Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity was restored. Cyrus and Daniel    Cyrus is let into the city of Babylon without a fight. It is stated that the Babylonians knew they didn’t stand a chance. Had those producing this miniseries read Daniel 5, they would have known that the kingdom of Babylon fell the night that Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall for Belshazzar, who did not welcome a new king to take charge from him, but rather he was slain (Dan. 5: 30). The king that conquered Babylon (and he did so by diverting the water that flowed into the city so his soldiers could enter surreptitiously) was Darius the Mede. It is in the reign of Darius that Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den; Cyrus is only mentioned at the close of Daniel 6 (v. 28).    Trying to persuade Cyrus that he should let Israel return to their land, Daniel says, “There’s a prophet here in Babylon—Isaiah…” and then he points to the prophecy of Isaiah (44:28 or 45:1) saying that Cyrus will let them go. The only problem is that Isaiah had died 100 years earlier, having preached from about 740-700 B.C. (This event occurs about 536 B.C.)    

When Daniel is taken to the den of lions, it is by his enemies; no king comes to wish him well, but he does show up the next morning. Only two lions were visible, for some reason, we always envisioned more than two. This segment ends with Cyrus granting leave to Israel to return to their land. But nothing is mentioned of Ezra, Nehemiah, or Esther, the rebuilding of the temple, or the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. As the Jews leave the city, Daniel speaks some sort of prophecy which ties together certain elements that have no connection to one another. The Old Testament five hours now comes to an end, and now the viewer will see how they handle the New Testament.

Episode 6 "Hope"

Rome and Herod    

As the New Testament era begins, the narrator comments that Israel suffered under the Romans like never before. Hmm. Does that include when they lived a life made bitter with hard bondage under Egypt? Was the government of Rome worse than being conquered by Babylon, in which thousands were killed and others were taken captive? Of this sorrowful event Jeremiah wrote his Lamentations. Was it worse than life under Antiochus Epiphanes, who offered a sow on the altar in Jerusalem, thus causing rebellion to erupt? To be sure, Rome was despised and hated, and probably at times their ruthlessness rivaled some of these other occasions, but it would be a stretch to say that it was worse.    

Although the Bible does not mention it, Herod the Great allegedly put an eagle (the symbol of Rome) above the Jewish temple, which caused great offense. Some men are killed while trying to remove it. Herod seems like another contender for Monday Night Raw on the USA network. He is totally self-absorbed, which likely is an accurate portrayal. He seldom speaks without bellowing.   

Mary is greeted by an angel in the midst of a skirmish between Jewish zealots and Rome. Their conversation is not lengthy. Soon she begins showing, and Joseph spurns her. She asks him to believe her and to trust her—that she had not been with a man. He rejects her pleas, saying, “Mary, God doesn’t do this to people like us.” Interesting. However, after an angel speaks to him, he defends her and rescues her from a crowd that was on the verge of stoning her. Nothing is reported concerning her visit to see Elizabeth, who was about to give birth to John the Baptizer.   

Herod only consults the priests after the wise men leave. Predictably, the wise men come to Mary and Joseph in the stable on the night Jesus was born rather than when they were living in a house some time later (Matt. 2:11). Instead of being warned by an angel to leave Bethlehem for Egypt, Joseph sees a vision of Rome coming, and they leave. The narrator says, “And one child escapes.” Technically, that is true, but it was due to God’s intervention. The soldiers do come and kill the remaining children.    

One final event occurs with Herod. He has his oldest son brought in, and he is put to death before the wicked king himself dies. The Jews stage a rebellion, sensing an opportune moment, but it fails, and about 2,000 are crucified in Galilee. This event concludes this section of history.

The Baptism of Jesus    

One of the more well done events of the miniseries arrives at this point. John is preaching and immersing people. We can almost forgive a dozen inaccuracies for getting this important fact right! The reason that we rejoice in this accurate portrayal is that some have made movies with John waist-deep in the Jordan River, with people wading out to him while he preaches—and then he pours water over their heads! Apparently, no one is supposed to ask, “Why would John be out in the middle of the river if he only needed to pour a little water on someone? How preposterous is that!     

But in The Bible John is doing it correctly. When he sees Jesus, he says that he had need to be baptized of the Lord. However, instead of Jesus saying, “Allow it to be so to fulfill all righteousness, He says, “What you are doing is right,” which must be another one of those lackluster dynamic equivalences. Also, John only says that Jesus will baptize with fire, omitting the part about “with the Holy Spirit.” After Jesus’ baptism, a picture of clouds rolling along overhead is shown, but there is no voice, which says, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”—and no Holy Spirit descending as a dove.

The Temptations in the Wilderness    

Jesus is walking through the wilderness after His 40 days without food, and he falls to the ground from weakness. While he is lying there, a serpent slithers over His body. He sits up and turns around to see a hooded figure approaching Him. Satan, who has long black nails, picks up a rock and throws it to Jesus. He catches it, but it has become bread. Challenged by Satan to turn the stone into bread, Jesus answers that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Unfortunately, for the second temptation, Satan only asks Jesus to throw Himself off a cliff instead of the pinnacle of the temple. His answer varies from the Scriptures here in that He says, “How dare you put God to the test?”    

But the third temptation is done most cleverly. As Satan is offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, He experiences alternate visions. He is seated upon a throne of splendor, and Pilate places a crown upon His head; this vision is countered by one in which the crown of thorns is placed upon His head. Pilate pours water on his ankle and foot, kissing Him there, but he also sees the nails being driven into His body, with Pilate saying “Crucify Him!” Jesus answers Satan, “I worship the Lord My God and serve Him only.” The serpent slithers off.    

This scene became the most controversial of the entire series because the appearance of Satan was a cross between the Sith Lord of Star Wars and Barack Obama. Many believe this resemblance was intentional, since the actor portraying Satan is white. Others, however, point out that Roma Downey and Mark Burnett are supporters of Obama. So, it remains a mystery how this likeness occurred. Maybe, it is just that the devil is in the details.

The Conclusion    

The sixth hour of the series ends with the death of John the Baptizer intertwined with the calling of Peter to be His disciple. Jesus walks out to Peter’s boat and asks for a hand to get inside, which Peter gives Him. Then he asks, “What do you think you’re doing?” Jesus smiles and replies, “We’re going fishing.” Peter has protested that there are no fish out there, but they haul in two nets full. Andrew, James, and John are not around. Jesus offers to make him a fisher of men. “What are we going to do?” Peter asks. “Change the world,” the Lord replies. Jesus never said those words, but He did in fact change the world.     

Meanwhile, Herod Antipas is visiting John the Immerser in prison. Herod says, “What am I going to do with you and your dangerous mouth?” The viewer has no comprehension of the reason John is in prison. Nothing is portrayed of John telling him that it was not lawful for him to have his brother Philip’s wife. John answers that Herod should listen. Herod asks: “To a seditious fool? I don’t think so.” John answers that he should listen to God’s message. As per the miniseries, John’s only crime was mentioning the coming King. Just before Herod has him killed, John says, “He is already here.” Nothing is said about Herodias and her daughter’s part in his death—or the fact that this was all due to his preaching on the subject of marriage and divorce.

Gary W. Summers

*altered format from original publishing to correspond to aired episodes

A REVIEW OF THE BIBLE - Part 1*

Episode 1 "In The Beginning"

The week before this 10-hour series premiered (3-3-13), Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel) and her husband Mark Burnett (Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice, Shark Tank) made guest appearances on various television shows to promote The Bible, which together they produced. They assured audiences that they had consulted several sources in order to be accurate, two of them were Rick Warren (The Purpose-Driven Life and The Purpose-Driven Church) and Joel Osteen, also a successful writer. Neither one of them would probably know enough to compete against a group of fifth-graders in a Bible Bowl. Still, many of us held out hope—until the first night; then we knew the presentation was only going to be accurate in spots while at other times it lost out to fanciful thinking and outright distortion.    

The way it began was interesting—with the Flood. While the ark is being tossed about on the waves, Noah recounts the history of the world. He describes each day of creation, while depictions of what occurred on those days are shown. When Adam arose from the ground, his face was caked with clay; the special effects were quite good. And, mirabile dictu (marvelous to say), when Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it was not an apple. This fact alone was enough to make Bible students want to stand up and cheer! The size of the ark was considerable, and the flood was worldwide. Praise is due for getting all of these important details correct.    

But, the inside of the ark was a mess, water pouring in from everywhere. Back in 1958, the Four Preps had a number 2 hit record with “26 Miles.” It went: “26 Miles across the sea, Santa Catalina, is awaitin’ for me. Santa Catalina, the island of romance, romance, romance, romance. Another verse switches measurements, beginning with, “40 kilometers in a leaky old boat.” That is what the ark resembled. Noah at one point picks up a mallet and drives a peg back into the side of the ark. No evidence of pitch is seen anywhere.  

The audience could probably overlook Noah talking in an Irish (or Scottish) accent, although it seems peculiar since there was only one language at this time in the world. But the big question was, “To whom was Noah reciting all the details of creation?” It was not an adult, but someone about the age of 13-15. Only eight souls were on the ark; so who was this girl? She certainly was not Noah’s wife or any of his sons’ wives. A Bible student has got to be wondering where this girl came from. Apparently, she was made up out of thin air. It would have worked just as well if Noah had been recounting these things to his daughters-in-law or the entire family. The rainbow after the Flood was nice. 

Abraham and Lot    

Few events and Bible personalities are mentioned. The Tower of Babel is entirely omitted, and we find Abraham being told by God to go to a new land. “We already have a land,” Lot’s wife says. The viewer has a bad feeling about her from the get-go. After the herdsmen struggle, it is her idea for them to separate. Abraham protests that the family must stay together. Uh, well, actually it was Abraham’s idea that they separate (Gen. 13:8-12).    

When the four kings square off against the five cities of the plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar), and Lot’s family is captured, Abram rescues him. Before even thanking him for saving them, they tell Abraham that they are going to move to Sodom while he again insists that they should stay together. Then comes the visit from the three angels, and those watching the program begin to understand what it is like to see portrayal of Bible personalities in a multicultural age. The angel of the Lord looks Jewish, but the other two are Black and Asian. When they get to Sodom, they look like they have been beaten, and they appeal to Lot for help. No, it’s not quite the same as Lot seeing them at the gate and inviting them home.  

When a few men of Sodom knock at the door, the angels then go out to face them, and the angels give them a vicious look, which makes them hurtfully blind. But others come, and the Asian angel reaches over his head to remove two swords strapped to his back. He and the Black angel slice their way through the men with ease, looking satisfied with the carnage. Nothing is said about Lot offering his two daughters, which is just as well, since they look to be about 11-13 years of age. Furthermore, as one critic put it, if the viewer did not already know what the sin of Sodom was, he would not have learned it from this miniseries.

Abraham and Sarah  

 The best scene between Abraham and Sarah involved her giving her handmaid Hagar to him. The viewer gets to see what a bad idea this was, without the characters ever having to say a word. The looks on their faces were sufficient. Many of the characters seem dirty all the time, and Sarah does not seem so beautiful that the king of Gerar would just have to have her, but these are minor points.     

When God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, He responds by saying, “Haven’t I shown my faith to you enough?” But he obeys, nevertheless. Instead of traveling away three days with his servants, he climbs a hill in his back yard instead. When Sarah realizes what is going on, she chases after them. Abraham struggles with Isaac, who is not cooperating. After the angel of the Lord calls to him, and he does not need to kill Isaac, he turns around and sees a baby sheep (instead of a ram). Sarah arrives and thinks Isaac has been sacrificed, but then he walks into view.

Episode 2 "Exodus"

Moses    

Jacob and Joseph are part of one sentence in the narrative, and then the focus of attention moves to Moses. As in Cecil B. DeMille’s classic, The Ten Commandments, Moses does not know his heritage (even though he was nurtured by his own mother). He does kill a taskmaster, but a slave hides the body for him. He leaves Egypt, but no mention is made of him having a wife or children during the 40 years that follow.    

He steps out of his tent to see the burning bush (neatly done) in his back yard. There is not much conversation between the two of them. God does not require him to remove his sandals because he is standing on holy ground, nor does Moses make five excuses not to go deliver the Israelites. He asks God, “Are you real?” The Lord answers, “I AM.” Moses readily accepts his assignment.    

When Moses and Aaron first demand the release of the Israelites, there is no rod turning into a serpent; in fact, they are beaten and removed from Pharaoh’s presence. Nothing is said about making bricks without straw. Moses and Aaron view Pharaoh swimming in the Nile from afar. When the rod turns the Nile red, Pharaoh emerges all bloody—even on his head.  

Pharaoh looks and sounds like a refugee from Wrestlemania. He can only shout. When the people are released from Egypt, it only looks like about 500 people on the shore instead of 2-3 million, and they only cross the sea a few at a time, which would have probably taken six years. There was no pillar of cloud or fire, moving from the front of the camp to the rear to fend off the Egyptians. The closing of the sea was the most well done part of the account. God did not speak the Ten Commandments to the people, and Moses’ receiving of them could not match the DeMille version. Nothing is said about a golden calf, either, and the quick departure of the people from God.

Gary W. Summers

*altered format from original publishing to correspond to aired episodes