I read the bible. I have been a student of it for most of my adult life. I am not a scholar, though I am a practitioner. I am a Lutheran Christian and a Pastor. I read and think about and interpret the biblical story for personal faith and for the community of faithful people to whom I am called as pastor. The bible tells the story of a people and their God. It is the story of the Israelites and the Christians. It is a story of emerging ancient near eastern monotheism that began over 3,500 years ago. There is a good it of human history in the bible. And the bible has had an impact on western civilization like nothing else. Not even the invention of the electric light has had as much of an impact on the world.
I am watching "The Bible" on the History channel, the five-week miniseries meant to visually depict the biblical narrative from cover to cover. A daunting task. For people familiar with the bible, you must provide enough details from the text to make it worth watching. For the unfamiliar, you can't get bogged down in too many characters and details. If the Harry Potter series took eight full length motion pictures to tell it, the Bible is going to take more than five.
So the trouble with the series is that they are only able to give their audience an edited version of the bible. And the editing room is where the story goes off the rails for me. The choices to omit or ignore characters, plots, themes, and language tells another story. What they don't show us matters as much as what they do show us in understanding the larger meta-plot. For example, the highlight Samson and skip Deborah. They skip the story of Hannah and Samuel's birth---a story that clearly influences the Christmas narratives. If you omit something or someone from the Old Testament, its going to impact your telling of the New Testament story.
Their version of the bible is much more anthropocentric than the bible itself. That is, the people drive the story. I might suggest that the movie is lacking a main character, a protagonist. One would think that the LORD, YHWH, GOD, would fit the bill. But God remains largely hidden, silent, and elusive; speaking only occasionally through the rants of strange men or acting in an occasional violent miracle. And it has been difficult to connect emotionally with anybody they have portrayed. Neither Moses nor David evoke any strong feeling. If they are Israel's heroes it's impossible to understand why. Thus far, violence is the primary driver of the story. There is violence in the Old Testament. But there is also love and mercy present too. They have chosen violence, because our culture expects to see violence. So, it is a version of the bible people might want to watch, as opposed to a bible people don't want to read. The series is not theological, which might appeal to the public even if it betrays biblical integrity. God voice is found in the pages, but rarely on the screen.
My hope for any people watching the series is that you read the books from which these stories come and find out what the story means. Finally, the bible is a community's scripture. It is not meant for individual consumption in front of the flat screen. Find others to watch it with and discuss. And if a question comes up, ask someone who might know.
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