First off, I highly encourage everyone to watch The Bible miniseries on the History Channel on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. through Easter Sunday night, March 31. Judging from the first episode, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey have done an outstanding job producing the series, which topped every other show that night with 13 million views during the two-hour slot (you can check History Channel for re-broadcasts of the first episode).
The show was highly entertaining and at the same time stuck to the core of the Bible's story. I know that some Christians were upset with some of the embellishments (yes, the angels-turned-ninjas take at Sodom was, er, a little different). To be honest, all major TV and movies with biblical themes will have some sort of embellishments—even Cecil B. DeMille's venerable epic The Ten Commandments has some “innovations” in the script. But I believe the series can nonetheless spark a major interest in people turning to the Bible. I was also encouraged hearing of families that watched The Bible together, using it to teach the children, with parents answering their questions about what they saw.
Churches
(including my home church) are linking up with the show by presenting
messages based on each episode, and showing clips from the
series—encouraging the faith of believers and sparking interest
among those who may not know the Bible.
Christians
need to do two more things with such an opportunity in sparking a
vast interest in the Bible: the first is pray, especially for a
lasting impact on hearts. We can probably all remember people who
were greatly affected by previous great shows, the most recent
example being The Passion of the Christ. But
we can probably also remember some of those same people who claimed
the movie changed them—and sadly watching them never follow through
with a commitment to Jesus. I also remember seeing this during the
showing of another great TV special from the 70s, Jesus of
Nazareth. Speaking of which,
there are several reliable reports that John Lennon became a
Christian after watching that show in 1977. Sadly, apparently for a
variety of reasons, his faith was short-lived. Nonetheless, The
Bible, like Jesus of
Nazareth and other quality
Bible-themed shows, can bring the truth of Jesus right into the
living rooms of people who wouldn't otherwise turn on Christian TV
stations. We need to fervently pray for a continued impact on many
lives, especially those we personally know who are watching and being
impacted by the show's message.
Secondly,
and most important, we need to stay alert for open doors, to discuss
the series with others who may be watching—which can lead to
sharing the truth of Jesus with them, and praying for them. Even the
aforementioned “embellishments” can spark discussion on what the
Bible actual says—and can provide a catalyst for getting deeper
into the truths of God's Word. We can take hold of the promise that
God's Word never comes back void (Isaiah 55:11), and trust that the
Holy Spirit will lead us as we share from the Bible, His Word of
Life.
