“The Bible” Review, Part 2

Jared C. Wellman

Over dramatized, under theologized.This pretty much sums up The History Channel’s premier of The Bible. While I appreciate that an organization historically associated with unbiblical philosophies would create such a series, it is unfortunate that so many important theological elements were left out, or just plain inaccurate. The focus was instead placed on portraying what The History Channel interpreted took place in between the lines of the Holy Writ.Much of this dramatization was good. Some was even great. Watching Moses turn water to blood, stand before the burning bush, and divide the waters of the Red Sea were incredible, unprecedented inclusions of the Bible’s portrayal on screen. However, scenes such as Sarah running up the mountain in fear of Abraham sacrificing Isaac, Moses’ overbearing and snide confidence (God provided Aaron because of his lack of confidence), and Pharaoh’s revenge for the death of his son not only embellish the biblical narrative, but in many ways add to it.The following comprises a list of some of the important elements to the true biblical narrative left out of Part One of The Bible. It is not an exhaustive list, but it details a handful of the inaccuracies:1. ABRAHAM’S FAITH, LOT, AND THE PROMISED LAND Abraham (who sounded more Scottish than Hebrew) and Lot were portrayed accurately in that their people began quarreling with one another. It was obvious that they needed to separate from one another. The moment of separation, however, is far more significant than was portrayed on screen. Lot chose for himself Sodom, leaving Abraham with the Promised Land. The focus was placed more on Abraham’s distress over Lot leaving than on God’s faithfulness to provide Abraham with the Promised Land. The theological undertone in the scriptures is that Abraham had faith, even though he gave Lot the opportunity to choose, that God would provide him with the Promised Land.In fact, Abraham’s faith is not given enough credit in the series. It goes without saying that he would have surely been distraught over the thought of sacrificing his son Isaac (Genesis 22), but the scriptures do not portray his faith being shaken as much as was suggested in the episode. The Bible shows Abraham hesitating, but the Genesis 22 narrative reveals Abraham having complete trust in God. This trust was based on the hope that Abraham had that even if Isaac died that God would raise him back up (Hebrews 11:19). In fact, he told the men with him in the biblical story, “Stay here. We will go worship and then we will come back” (Genesis 22:5).Having faith in God to do such a miraculous thing, however, is probably not as dramatic as having Sarah tearfully climb up the side of a mountain after somehow discovering Abraham’s true intent with Isaac. (Because, apparently, it was obvious that Abraham taking a walk with his son meant that he was going to kill him.)Oh, and it was a ram caught in the thicket, not a lamb (Genesis 22:13).2. SODOM AND THE SIN OF HOMOSEXUALITYOne of the biblically documented sins of Sodom was homosexuality. In fact, Genesis 19:5 reveals that the men of Sodom told Lot to bring the men “out to us so that we can have sex with them.” The men in Lot’s house were of course God’s angels.(Had the men known that these angels were apparently lethally trained Jedi knights, as portrayed in the episode, they might not have messed with them.)Instead, The Bible chose to focus on Sodom’s other sin, which was inhospitality. While it is feasible to argue that this was indeed a major sin of Sodom, it is infeasible to conclude that this was the only reason God destroyed the entire city.It plays a major role in the scriptures and it should have played an equally important role in the series. I suppose that doing so might have crossed some cultural lines, however, and we of course don’t want to do that.3. THE SILENCE ON JACOBIt is entirely understandable that many details will be left out when creating a series on the Bible. It is a large book with many stories. However, there are some stories that simply should not be ignored. Jacob, for example, is one of the more important figures in the Bible.After wrestling with God, it is Jacob who earns the name “Israel,” which is the modern day name of the Promised Land.All of this is ignored and the deep Jewish roots of the Promised Land are therefore ignored as well.It was still a fairly entertaining experience, but it is unfortunate that so many important details were ignored, and even more unfortunate that so many details were inaccurate.But, to quote a friend, “At least Kirk Cameron isn’t in it!”Originally posted at http://jaredwellman.com/2013/03/04/the-bible-review-part-one/