And Now A Word from Your Pastor...

You may have heard about The Bible, a miniseries produced and directed by Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel) and Mark Burnett (Survivor) airing on The History Channel beginning Sunday, March 3rd.  A few of you have asked what I think about it, perhaps not realizing I've seen as little of the actual show as you have.  :-)  

Nonetheless, here's what I think:  if you want to watch it, go right ahead.  If you've got kids, be warned:  the producers suggest it's in the vicinity of a PG-13 movie, so it might not be appropriate for your entire family, but that's your decision to make.  Kristin and I plan to watch it (but not with Ainsley and Alanna) and we will hold an Adult Education forum to discuss the entire miniseries on Sunday, April 8th during the Education Hour at St. Petri.

The thing to keep in mind with this, as with all art, is that the eye/ear of the beholder is far more important than we often believe.  The Bible will be a re-telling of the stories of our Biblical faith, much the same as were The Passion of the Christ, The Ten Commandments, Jesus of Nazareth and even edgier fare such as The Last Temptation of Christ or Jesus Christ Superstar.  There may be elements of this particular miniseries with which we may not agree.  There may be moments in this particular miniseries that will tell the Biblical stories in ways we've never considered before.  But whatever is broadcast through our television screens, what bears far more importance is what we process in our minds and ponder in our hearts.  

Don't be afraid of a television show, but don't put too much worth into it, either.  Let the love of Jesus shine in your flesh-and-blood world; that will tell the story of God in a much more effective way than even the best movie ever could.