[November 1999]

One of the best movies of all times was "The Ten Commandments" which pulled off many spectacular special effects in the movie's portrayal of the miracles wrought by God in the Bible. Christians are most interested in seeing Biblical themes in the movies and TV, especially if it is done well and accurately.

If a movie is based on a well respected classic book that most people have read and enjoyed, one of the most jarring and annoying things a viewer may experience is if the producer distorts, changes or takes liberties with the story. If they leave key parts out, miscast characters, scenes inserted or changed significantly, or the acting is poor, then those who are familiar with the book and love it are disappointed. If this is done with a Biblical theme, the disappointment is amplified thousands of times, since many people know, memorize, and love this book.

Many people are eagerly awaiting a movie version of the Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkein. This is a daunting project because many people have read this series many times and know the characters by heart. If the producers of this movie series depart from the book in any way, they will hear about it from the many fans of Tolkein.

In the same way, the Noah's Ark miniseries was a frustrating experience for Christians who know and love their Bible and the God in heaven whose words it contains. I could stand to watch only a few minutes of it (see noahzzz.html) because what I saw departed radically from the Biblical account and I thought the acting and portrayal of Noah, his family, and God was poor.

In contrast, I thought the movie "Prince of Egypt" was well done. The only disappointment I had with it was that I thought it ended too soon. There were few departures from the Biblical account, and most of these were nitpicky. For instance, the movie had Pharaoh's wife finding Moses in the basket, whereas the Biblical account says that it was Pharaoh's daughter that found him. In this case, the error did not detract from the story.

What would Christians like to see in the Jesus miniseries, or in any other Biblical movie?

1. The Bible warns us not to add or detract from his word (Revelation 22:18). Please don't take liberties with it.
2. Portray Jesus with uncompromising power and spirit, not as a pious, effeminate, weakling. Please do not give us another wooden performance like the version with Max von Sydow in the 60's.
3. Show all of the major events of His life:

his birth
dedication at the temple
boyhood
baptism
40 day fast
temptation in the wilderness, miracles
healing the sick
walking on water
feeding the 5000
the scene with Nicodemus and the concept of being born again
the plan of salvation
cleansing the temple
casting out the devils
cleansing the lepers,
the woman at the well
the entrance into Jerusalem
the last supper
the crucifixion
the resurrection
the disciples on the day of Pentecost

4. Contact and employ Christians as consultants in making the movie. Ask several well-known Christian churches or evangelists for members to serve on a panel. The best candidates for this would be ordinary grandmothers who spend hours in prayer.
5. For once, we would like to see Hollywood get it right.

Stay tuned on the Revolution Against Evolution web site and see how well Hollywood does this time. We hope and pray that for once "Jesus" will be both a smash hit, and an accurate one.

The Bible is a fertile ground for material that never has been covered on TV. A miniseries could be made on the book of Acts, the lives of Abraham, David, Daniel, Joshua, Peter or John. We hope TV producers will get the message that there is a market for good material of this sort if it is done right.

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