On The Bible

This isn't a usual post nor is it an indication of a return to usual posts, but I just felt that this would be something good to share. Many of you may be familiar with the weekly series The Bible currently being showcased on the History Channel (or History, whatever they want to call themselves nowadays...). Something surprising that was brought to my attention was that since its premiere on March 3rd it has been the number one show in all TV.

As much as I'd love for Christian artists to just go out and express themselves, there's an expectation that the art also be true, good and beautiful (see here). I attended a Catholic conference earlier this year where they showed a preview of the series, recounting Abraham taking his son Issac to be sacrificed, and there's something about The Bible that hasn't sat well with me from the beginning (see what I did there?...). In an attept to "fill in the gaps" (so to speak) of these stories in Scripture, the producers implement over-hyped drama causing inaccurate character developments that lead to theological fallacies throughout the series (don't get me started on their portrayal of the Exodus...).

Granted, I understand the audience they're reaching is vast (not only encompassing believers and non-believers, but even the various denominations of believers), but that's no reason to compliment TV-14 action with barely-age-of-reason-level catechesis. Now, I'm not trying to condemn the series or persuade viewers to stop following it, but I've seen enough of it to suggest that the level of compromise present be watched with a grain of salt.

Before ranting any further, I just wanted to share a discourse on the series provided by Father Mike Schmitz at the above mentioned converence. Having only seen the snippet of Abraham and Issac, he comes to a similar conclusion about the producers' aims.

Abraham and Issac in The Bible - Commentary

from "#GOODGOD #BADMEDIA" by Father Mike Schmitz

Be sure to check out The Bible for yourselves, which will be showing Part 3 of its 5-Part series tonight at 8pm EST on History. And if you liked the commentary above and are interested in 5GB of similar talks and/or related resources, then check out what FOCUS has to offer!

Pax,
Kelvin

P.S. - I'm asking for forgiveness instead of permission as I'm posting this without Fr. Schmitz's knowing =/ ...