There has been a lot of conversation surrounding the new TV mini-series, The Bible. Wikipedia reports that the first episode which aired on March 3rd was seen by 13.1 million people, the largest cable television audience of 2013 to date. The husband/wife team of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey were inspired to do the series after watching watching Cecil B. DeMille's version of The Ten Commandments.
The mini-series has sparked controversy in the Christian community because of its occasional departure from the biblical record (i.e. angels fighting their way out of Sodom and Gomorrah, a few hundred Israelites crossing the Red Sea, etc.) Someone ought to call the History Channel and tell them to pull the series off the air. “Not so fast,” the apostle Paul would caution.
The Book of Philippians was written by Paul from a Roman prison. While Paul was cooped up in jail, others were taking to the streets and preaching the Gospel. But not all of them were doing it right, or for the right reasons. Some of Paul’s friends appealed to him to do something to stop this travesty. But Paul’s response was, “Why? In every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice” (Phil. 1:18).
As for the mini-series, the occasional inaccuracies will not undermine the faith of true believers, and the program certainly has the potential to start the conversation with unbelievers. So don’t fret. Rather, rejoice! Christ is being preached, and a lot of people are listening.
Pastor Todd Weston
The mini-series has sparked controversy in the Christian community because of its occasional departure from the biblical record (i.e. angels fighting their way out of Sodom and Gomorrah, a few hundred Israelites crossing the Red Sea, etc.) Someone ought to call the History Channel and tell them to pull the series off the air. “Not so fast,” the apostle Paul would caution.
The Book of Philippians was written by Paul from a Roman prison. While Paul was cooped up in jail, others were taking to the streets and preaching the Gospel. But not all of them were doing it right, or for the right reasons. Some of Paul’s friends appealed to him to do something to stop this travesty. But Paul’s response was, “Why? In every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice” (Phil. 1:18).
As for the mini-series, the occasional inaccuracies will not undermine the faith of true believers, and the program certainly has the potential to start the conversation with unbelievers. So don’t fret. Rather, rejoice! Christ is being preached, and a lot of people are listening.
Pastor Todd Weston
