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

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