A gathering of apparently poor Bible readers

As I prepare to teach a class on Genesis 22, my mind is drawn back to the mess the History Channel's The Bible miniseries made of the text.  Every detail was wrong, from Abraham's reaction to the age of Isaac to the animal used as Issac's substitute.  (It doesn't take a scholar to realize the difference between a ram and a lamb.)

Besides Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, who were some of the people who green-lit this 2013 debacle for the Christian community?   Below are some who appear on the series' proud page of praise.  They are quoted as stating that the series "reflects... the Holy Bible," "lets the Bible speak for itself, without commentary," and shines with "biblical fidelity."

To be fair, it would be wrong to brand these men and women as false teachers for simply enjoying this bit of television cinema.  Not all of them teach from the Bible full-time. Even so, it would be equally wrong to trust any of them to properly understand and explain the scriptural passages represented on screen.

  • Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington
  • Joel Osteen, Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church
  • Dr. Rick Warren, pastor, author.
  • Bishop Michael Sheridan, Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs, CO
  • Bishop T.D. Jakes, author, pastor, The Potter’s House
  • Anthony “Tony” Robbins, speaker and author
  • Jim Daly, President, Focus on the Family
  • Frank Wright, Ph.D., President & CEO, National Religious Broadcasters
  • Craig Groeschel, pastor, Lifechurch.tv
  • Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
  • Nicky Gumbel, Alpha International
  • Dr. Bob Beltz, Sr. Pastor, Highline Community Church in Denver; Sr. Advisor to Chairman of The Anschutz Corporation
  • Geof Morin, American Bible Society
  • Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, Chief Executive Officer/Secretary General, World Evangelical Alliance
  • Tom Peterson, Catholics Come Home® / Virtue Media™
  • Bobby Gruenewald, Pastor, Innovation Leader at LifeChurch.tv and founder of YouVersion
  • Andrew K. Benton, President, Pepperdine University
  • Craig Detweiler, PhD, Director, Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture Pepperdine University
  • Dr. Aaron Tabor, MD, CEO of Jesus Daily®
  • Lisa Harper, Ministry Director of Women of Faith
  • Luis Palau, president of Luis Palau Ministries
  • Tony Campolo, Professor Emeritus, Eastern University
  • Ken Foreman, Senior Pastor, Cathedral of Faith
  • Timothy F. Winter, President, Parents Television Council
  • Pastor Jeff Schreve, First Baptist Church, Texarkana, Texas and From His Heart Ministries
  • Dick Rolfe, co-founder and CEO, The Dove Foundation
  • Daryl Nuss, Executive Director/CEO, National Network of Youth Ministries
  • Jess Stainbrook, Executive Vice President of Scripture Union USA
  • Leith Anderson, President, National Association of Evangelicals
  • Dr. Maya Angelou
  • Pat Boone, CEO, Pat Boone Enterprises
  • Evy Baehr, Movieguide®
  • Fr. Dave Heney, Pastor, St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church
  • Bishop Rodney Sampson, MBA
  • Gabriel & Jeanette Salguero, Co-Founders, National Latino Evangelical Coalition
  • Dr. Samuel Logan, International Director, The World Reformed Fellowship
  • Randy Raus, President / CEO, Life Teen
  • Bishop Sam Jacobs- Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux
  • Bishop Gregory Mansour, Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn
  • Deal Hudson, Founder of Catholic Advocate and Crisis Magazine
  • Steve McEveety, Producer of The Passion of the Christ, Founder and CEO of Mpower Pictures
  • Paula White, Paula White Ministries and New Destiny Christian Center
  • Charles Jenkins, Pastor, Fellowship Baptist Church
  • Father Eric Andrews, President, Paulist Productions
  • Father Mike Manning, Presiden, Wordnet Productions
  • Sister Rose Pacatte, Pauline Center for Media Studies
  • Sarah Christmyer, Director, The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study Program
  • Fr. Willy Raymond C.S.C., National Director of Family Theater Productions
  • Greg and Jennifer Willits, Catholics Next Door radio show; NewEvangelizers.com
  • Mark Goodacre, Associate Professor in New Testament, Duke University, North Carolina
  • Craig Evans is Professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College of Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada
  • Dr Paula Gooder, writer and lecturer in Biblical Studies, consultant to BBC television and radio Bible projects
  • Dr Helen K Bond, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh; author
  • Candida Moss, Award-winning author

Popular posts from this blog

RE: "Pastor Dayna Muldoon EXPOSED"

Image
It enough to make your heart ache.  "Pastor" Dayna Muldoon  has been pitching her tent in Florida, and like Todd Bentley before , false claims to miracles, healing, and prophecies litter her campsites. This video of a Calvary Chapel pastor exposing her as a false prophet has been appearing in various places, and its been uploaded to YouTube multiple times.  Even Todd Friel got animated about this , and nothing gets him hyper. Here's the deal: Muldoon set up her tent-meetings right down the road from Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg , peeking the interests of many attending the church.  When they listened to the message she presented, however, they found it not to be the Gospel, but instead the typical narcissistic message of health and blessings from God. This is coming from a Calvary Chapel crew, folks that are typically non-cessationists themselves.  Many churches, including this particular Calvary Chapel , host after-glow services where one ex...
Click to read more...

Was Rebekah a child when she married Isaac?

Did Isaac marry a three-year-old?  If you've never pondered this question, it's because nothing in the straightforward reading of the text would suggest that Rebekah was a toddler or that their marriage was arranged. Even so, a couple of verses out of context could be used by skeptics to prove anything.  While perusing the web for a related topic, however, I found a thread stating that the Bible isn't against the raping of children .  The cited evidence was this issue, the claim being that Isaac engaged in pedophilia. The question comes from the fact that Genesis 22:23 announces the birth of Rebekah after the binding of Isaac.  Tradition states that Isaac was then thirty-seven, and Scripture says that the two wed when Isaac was forty (Gn 25:20).  Hence, Isaac robbed the cradle. The whole theory is fraught with assumptions, the primary being that Scripture never records a age marker for Rebekah.  Further complicating the matter, however, is Jewis...
Click to read more...

MacArthur: Calvinism in a Nutshell

Image
From YouTube: Calvinism (Also know by Doctrines of Grace or Reformed theology) John MacArthur use Romans 8:28-30 as main text. The five points of calvinism are Total depravity (total inability), Unconditional election, Limited atonement (Also called particular redemption or definite atonement), Irresistible grace (also called efficacious grace), and Perseverance of the saints. Full sermon http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/90-427 Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. And these whom He predestined, He also called. And these whom He called, He also justified. And these whom He justified, He also glorified."
Click to read more...