A.D. THE SERIES . . .
the Bible Continues
REVIEW by Bernie Lutchman
Two years after a
successful run with the BIBLE miniseries, on the History Channel, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey have accomplished something spectacular, which no ministry or Christian leader could have done alone.
They managed to get the Almighty name of Jesus, the
Son of God onto primetime television!
Additionally A.D. The Series
was aired on a major media network, NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation). Whether or not this was a
great marketing move for NBC (and we think it was),
Jesus Christ and His Gospel is now going around the world, over the air, and completely
uncensored!
There were
obvious errors in moving the Biblical text to modern, American TV and/or
movie production, but there will always be poetic license, liberty and
alteration of God's word whenever man tries to bring
powerful truths to television and movie theaters of the world. Even with a
successful run on NBC, Burnett and Downey may be
hard-pressed to match the success of both "The Bible", and "AD The
Series ... the Bible Continues".
As a student of the
Bible, author, and observer of culture, there are certain pros and
cons to be considered in this particular body of work, listed below. Both are worth noting, for the sake of anyone who may consider watching these series from a website or Netflix.
PROS:
As aforementioned, the
message of Jesus Christ, as the unmistakeable Son of God, Savior and
Lord, who rose from the dead, is still stunning to me - on prime time,
mainstream, network TV. That alone is priceless!
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| Jesus appears to Saul on Road to Damascus in AD The Series |
The second positive
development is this time, Burnett and Downey stayed close to Scripture
and the facts, than some of their creative paraphrasing of the“Bible
Series” from 2 years ago. The History Channel series which launched
A.D. was criticized by conservative and reformed scholars, of
which I am one.
However I saw the value of The Bible
Series, yet was called a heretic and unsaved pagan by some, because I supported the showing of The Bible Series! A.D. the
Series is also causing controversy, and conversation between people.
The
third positive aspect of the showing of A.D. the Series is that it gave us a glimpse
of how tough things were for the early church. Christians were displaced by the
millions, chased out of their homes, murdered, beheaded, and worse, is confirmation that
nothing has really changed for those who will inherit eternal life. The
brutality of the Romans and the Jewish religious authorities against the
followers of Christ, was phenomenal.
And regardless if intended or not, A.D. The Series should have edited out their anti-Semitic notion that the Jews alone killed Jesus. Anyone who has seen historic documentaries, or read books about the Roman Empire, can testify to the extreme nature of the Romans. Their viciousness brought on a 300-year reign-of-terror in Rome, against our brothers and sisters in Christ. It was only the supposed conversion of Emperor Constantine which ended the persecution.
And regardless if intended or not, A.D. The Series should have edited out their anti-Semitic notion that the Jews alone killed Jesus. Anyone who has seen historic documentaries, or read books about the Roman Empire, can testify to the extreme nature of the Romans. Their viciousness brought on a 300-year reign-of-terror in Rome, against our brothers and sisters in Christ. It was only the supposed conversion of Emperor Constantine which ended the persecution.
For more controversial "pros", and the compelling "cons", of Bernie's review of A.D. visit his website, before viewing this Biblical event with your family!
Also see Bernie's review of Christian Production "Little Boy"
Bernie Lutchman's Family Ministry site - be a part of his outreach ministry Businessmen in Christ, and watch his weekly Christian TV program Plumbline.
Pick up a copy of his book "Danger Zone", then follow +BernieLutchman on Google+, on Facebook he's under Bernie Lutchman Jr., and on Twitter @BernieLutchman
