The Bible

Easter Sunday will see the last installment of The Bible. While I have not seen all of the previous programs, I have seen bits and pieces, enough to realize that the series leaves some big holes in the Old Testament, takes some liberties with the stories, and is too Catholic for me. Nevertheless, I find the series interesting.

What fascinates me about The Bible is its popularity. It is the highest ranked cable program and outranks most of broadcast television. The rise of postmodern thinking in America has seen a rise in interest in the spiritual. Sadly, that interest is not necessarily in biblical Christianity. Nevertheless, there is an opportunity to introduce genuine Christianity into daily discussions based on the popularity of this program.

What fascinates me (and I will have to admit – what pleases me) even more, however, is the liberal apoplexy over its popularity. Check most of the discussions concerning The Bible and you will see all kinds of reasons why this series should not be popular – from shoddy production to insipid dialog to unfaithfulness to the current version of Christianity. Much of Washington, DC, the liberal media, and Hollywood just cannot comprehend people’s interest in things religious and spiritual. God (any god other than themselves) does not fit into their worldview. The current administration in DC is not interested in God because He stands in the way of their agenda. The more spiritual people become, the less likely they are to be interested in the current state religion and the less dependent on governmental handouts and fiat decisions they will desire to become. The liberal media has to be able to analyze every deed and statement, but faith does not fit neatly into their humanistic interpretation of the world. Hollywood has known for years that faith-centered movies and television programs have been extremely popular and frequently out-pace other genres in attendance and income. Nevertheless, Hollywood continues to produce films that are either out-and-out ungodly or put Christianity into a bad light.

Paul explains in Rom 1 that God has revealed Himself to the world, but because of man’s depravity, the result is not worship of the Creator of humanity. Instead, mankind creates gods made in their own image. The liberal god is very human indeed – made like “corruptible man.”