The Bible Series On The History Channel

[Socrates]

I never said that they should be portrayed as "simple natural occurrences" as you claim I said. I was merely saying that many of the scenes were too over-the-top to be believable. 

 

Yes, I believe that all the events in the Bible occurred, but no, I do not think they looked like they do in this movie. There is a reason we have faith and reason. I think it's what makes us Catholic, and not Protestant.

 

The miracles of the Bible may well have been more "over-the-top" and amazing than shown in the TV program.  After all, they were worked by God Almighty, not some Hollywood cgi artist.

Since neither of us was there personally to witness them, I don't think either of us can say with certainty, but your description of the show actually sounds closer to the actual words of the Bible than how you say you'd prefer to see them portrayed.

 

If we believe in an Almighty God above and beyond the laws of nature, there is nothing unreasonable about thinking that God could perform amazing miracles defying the laws of nature to show His power and justice.

 

And many very orthodox Catholics (including my pastor) share my view on this matter.  It's fidelity to the authority and teaching of the Church that makes us Catholic, and not protestant.  The modernist "rationalist" interpretation of Scripture, after all, is the invention of liberal protestants.

[HisChildForever]

Who's behind the series? Christian? Catholic Christian? Just curious if there are any leanings.

[Guest]

Your comments make you look like you've only watched a few minutes of the series.


Well, I'm sure that the miracle of the bread turning into the body and blood of Jesus Christ at your mass resembles an overly produced over the top CGI production, complete with bloody effects, eyeliner and fake beards, but at the mass I attend, Jesus keeps it a bit more humble.

lol

[Apotheoun]

The Eucharist is a miracle, but not a visible one, because the Church's doctrine has never claimed that the bread and wine consecrated into the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ take on the appearance of human flesh and blood, but Jesus walking on water was a very visible miracle, and one that shocked the apostles when they saw it. Context is everything.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Apotheoun

[Didacus]

It's been good so far, even if there was some artistic license taken with Moses trolling Pharaoh, by waiting until he was floating on his back in the Nile to turn it to blood. Also loved the artistic license taken with Pharaoh having a KHANNNNN moment with "MOOOSSSEEEESSSSS".

Thats like the Disney movie <the Prince pof Egypt>.

 

And that Khan moment was taken from Moby Dick - the novel.

(well, Khan's quote was, not the actual screaming).

 

Nothing new undre the sun my friends.

[Norseman82]

I didn't know Samson was black...

[dUSt]

The Eucharist is a miracle, but not a visible one, because the Church's doctrine has never claimed that the bread and wine consecrated into the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ take on the appearance of human flesh and blood, but Jesus walking on water was a very visible miracle, and one that shocked the apostles when they saw it. Context is everything.

Yes, but what I am saying is it is simply enough to show Jesus walking on water with winds blowing. It makes it seem like a fantasy if you show him walking on water while surrounded by tornadoes, monsoons and tidal waves.

[Anastasia13]

Either make your own bible movie or stop whining.

 

No.

[dUSt]

OK, so I watched the whole thing. I was actually quite pleased with the portrayal of Jesus and his apostles.

1. Jesus was very handsome.
2. Peter was clearly the leader of the apostles, and they included the "you are Peter, and on this rock" part. Later on, one of the apostles even said to Peter, "you are suppose to be His rock".
3. At the end, they mentioned Peter was crucified upside down in Rome.
4. They didn't leave out the "John, this is your mother" part.
5. After Jesus rose from the dead, the first time the apostles see him is when they are turning the bread and wine into the body and the blood--they made a point of putting emphasis on communion a few times--even though they didn't go all out Catholic with it and explicitly get into the true presence.

It is clear that they borrowed a lot of ideas from The Passion of the Christ, like the way the devil was portrayed, and showing the "Pieta" shot after Jesus was taken down from the cross, etc.

Anybody else have comments on the New Testament part of the series. I clearly think it was done better than the Old Testament part.

My one major annoyance is superficial... Roma Downey has clearly had work done on her face, and her portrayal of Mary was hard to watch--not because of her acting, but because I was distracted by it. :(

[MIKolbe]

5. After Jesus rose from the dead, the first time the apostles see him is when they are turning the bread and wine into the body and the blood--they made a point of putting emphasis on communion a few times--even though they didn't go all out Catholic with it and explicitly get into the true presence.
 

 

I liked that they did that, but it seemed like a 'beetlejuice' moment.. 'oh, let's say these words and Jesus will appear'

 

like it is magical instead of grace filled...

 

friendship can be magical, but Jesus is grace.

 

 

I liked it too, for what it was...

[BG45]

Thats like the Disney movie <the Prince pof Egypt>.

 

And that Khan moment was taken from Moby Dick - the novel.

(well, Khan's quote was, not the actual screaming).

 

Nothing new undre the sun my friends.

 

Ah okay. :)  And the Prince of Egypt did the parting of the Red Sea better!

[LouisvilleFan]

There are some powerful Marian scenes, especially during the scourging at the pillar when Jesus is reaching out to Mary and Mary is reaching back toward him.

[Brother Adam]

I have been told there are far too many errors and deviations from scripture to be useful for catechesis. Is that true? People have told me that they are also concerned by the literalistic interpretation of the Bible. Are there any parts that seem anti-Catholic? Also, is it boring? I only saw one episode, but I fell asleep watching it and noticed a few places where they made up their own version of the Bible. It seemed like reallly long movie trailer. Hoping the rest isn't like that.

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

I thought the deviations from scripture were distracting and unnecessary (made up stoning scene w/ Mary, prominence of Mary Magdalene  etc.). I only watched the final three episodes, but I think it'd be a catechetical challenge to use it in class and have to keep correcting it. I'd be curious to see the first two, especially how they handled creation.

 

There were a few things that I thought were very Catholic, like Jesus' first resurrection appearance to the apostles coming only when Peter repeats the last supper sacrifice. But then there was Paul being baptized "in the name of Jesus." Maybe they tried to throw a bone to everyone; it definitely wasn't anti-Catholic, Cardinal Wuerl was among the consultants to the producers.

 

It was decent, and generally entertaining. Some of the acting and production were over the top or just second rate. In fact, the over-the-topness kind of ensured it wouldn't be boring - there was a lot of emotion written into every scene (sometimes too much). I wasn't a huge fan of the portrayal of Pilate (cheesy), Caiaphas (over the top), and Paul (stoic), but I'm probably getting too critical there. I applaud them for bringing a sincere Christian production to major TV.

 

Maybe there will be a study version released, or you could just use the some of the best clips in lesson plans without showing the whole thing.

Edited April 2, 2013 by thedude

[dUSt]

Or you could use the scenes as teaching moments.

[MIKolbe]

I have been told there are far too many errors and deviations from scripture to be useful for catechesis. Is that true? People have told me that they are also concerned by the literalistic interpretation of the Bible. Are there any parts that seem anti-Catholic? Also, is it boring? I only saw one episode, but I fell asleep watching it and noticed a few places where they made up their own version of the Bible. It seemed like reallly long movie trailer. Hoping the rest isn't like that.

Jesus washed the feet in the wrong order....it was horrible

[Brother Adam]

Or you could use the scenes as teaching moments.

 

You can use Arius & Luther successfully as teaching moments too but typically not until the Junior/Senior year of high school. I don't know many catechists that would want to sit there with a video in CCD and say "this is wrong" and "that is wrong" over an over again.

[Brother Adam]

I thought the deviations from scripture were distracting and unnecessary (made up stoning scene w/ Mary,

 

Wait, what? Which Mary?
 

[Brother Adam]

Jesus washed the feet in the wrong order....it was horrible

 

No, they were clearly in the right order. It is dUSt's fault - this happened because he put Winnie & Hasan in charge and broke the space time continuum and changed history.

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

Wait, what? Which Mary?
 

The Virgin Mary is surrounded for stoning by a crowd after her pregnancy is discovered, until Joseph saves her.