I have now see all the Bible shows thus far and I gotta say, I am not a fan.
It is not because the production looks cheesy. Or that I prefer the "Heston" version of Exodus. Nor am I really put off by the number of just literal inaccuracies. It does not bother me the nuanced is sacrificed for a broad story telling. Not even because of the stories they choose to tell and those they choose the leave out. And while it deeply offends me that the devil looks like President Obama and Jesus is a white guy, even this is not the most offensive bit to me.
The offensive aspect off all this is it is designed to be entertaining.
FoxNews/MSNBC, Dancing with the starts, Days of our Lives, Jeopardy, Duck Dynasty are all entertainment.
They all tell stories that are literally inaccurate, broad and lacking nuance, and they leave out a lot of other stories for the sake of keeping the viewer entertained.
The medium of a 'mini-series' on television carries with it a number of implicit messages that go unspoken but deeply realized. Namely, once you put something on television, those who watch is instantly become passive observers who judge the show on how entertaining it is.
The same is true for televangelists. When you are getting your faith formation from the same device that you are watching Wheel of Fortune, we will tend to treat all the shows the same: something to watch to entertain us.
You see, as we move more and more of the Biblical witness to the idea that it is entertainment, then it moves us into a place that I am not sure I want to go. The Bible, while at times has entertaining stories, is not entertainment. The Bible is a collection of stories that shaped millions of people over the course of time. It is a document that forms us not entertains us.
Please do not cheapen the faith of millions of people (Christians, Muslims and Jews) in order to generate a buck. If you are interested in the Bible, might I suggest the actual Bible.