MovieChat Forums > The Bible (2013) Discussion > They wouldn't let me give it a zero

They wouldn't let me give it a zero

posted 11 years ago by lujlp
12 replies | jump to latest

First off let me disclose I am an atheist. I don't believe the bible is real aside from a few small historical sections. That being said I love mythology of all cultures and when I saw Mr & Mrs Saved by an Angel talking about how great this project was and how a country founded on Christian religion and ideals (it wasn't, but thats a subject of a different conversation) and how they were going to put the bible on film I thought to myself, I wonder how they are going to deal with the more controversial things like the sex/orgy/gang bang described in the Song of Solomon.

Then I watched the first episode, they condense a score of chapters and hours worth of stories into less than 10 minutes. No creation, no garden, no Cain and Able, 45 second on the story of Noah, nothing of the Tower of Babel or Nimrod, no mention of the angels raping women to death and creating the Nephilim. Nothing on Abrams marriage to his slave Hagar and Sarahis abominable treatment of her.

If fact the movie calls Abram Abraham from the moment he is introduced.

Straight to the story of Sodom, which has sword wielding ninja angels, and miraculously Lot never offers up his daughters for the crowds pleasure, I wonder why that got cut. As did the story of Lots daughters getting him drunk and raping him.

The we skip to the sacrifice of Issac which has his 111 year old mother running more than a marathon to try and stop Abraham, which isn't even in the bible. It makes you wonder who was writing this and how these asinine non existent story lines got filmed.

Then we skip EVERYTHING up until the birth of Moses. See a pattern emerging yet?

Skip real stories of the bible that are uncomfortable by modern ethical standards, inset fake ones which are more palatable.

So now we are in Egypt where the Israeli slaves are decidedly ethnic, and the whip bearing African Egyptians are blindingly white - liberal guilt perhaps?

We have the 10 Plagues, The Red Sea, and Moses walking up and then down the mountain, gone is the story of the rebellion and the reason why they were punished to wander 40yrs, as are any of those stories from that time.

So Now we skip to Jericho. And yet gone is the scene where god commands every man woman and child slaughtered except the virgin women which can be raped in to a god blessed marriage, and gone is the scene where they obey gods command.

I stopped watching after that, I have no doubt such errors continue throughout the entire production.

From what I gather it fast forwards to Jesus and spends 40% of the air time revolving around one three year period.

These people dont care about the bible or the truth.

[–] dblouin 11 years ago

What would you have done in the production which would have been more faithful to the text?
What would have satisfied you? There are 66 books/letters/narratives in the collection we call the Bible. Multiple authors,over vast distances and spans of time, each with perspectives shaped by their cultures added to this historical allegory of faith, doubt, rebellion, and redemption. Asking for absolute accuracy when, as we know from personal experience, even out perceptions of our own lives and times are specific and bound by time and not wholly discernible by our contemporaries, is a convenient way to dismiss the text while appearing to defend it, and to take to task and judge those whose judgment you would reject on its face.

[–] lujlp 11 years ago

I would have found it as enertaining as an oter mythological movie.

As fr dimissing the text, ,=I do that as an atheist anyway.

Tell me though. Were they to make a Hercules movie where he fought frost giants and prevented Ragnarok and people were to complain would you calim the only reason they are complaining is because they are biased against worship Zues?

[–] dblouin 11 years ago

no you don't dismiss the text,;otherwise you wouldn't have bothered watching the show and you wouldn't have bothered posting on this board. I find it disturbing the easiest claim to be able to judge the biblical narrative with any kind of scholarly authority or spiritual insight. I say spiritual insight because, you as an atheist presume a degree of understanding by which you can judge the veracity and integrity of the text and those who try to represent it.

[–] dblouin 11 years ago

My auto correct put in the word easiest when it should have been atheist, but perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing. It is indeed easy for atheists to declaim on spiritual matters and not expect to be held to account for your declamations, while holding others to account.

[–] lujlp 11 years ago

Fair enough. Please then tell me where the bible alludes "spiritually" by not in writing to sword wielding ninja angles slaughtering several hundred Sodomites in the story of Lot.

Or where it mentions Issacs mother running in an hour a journey that took Abraham several days to witness for herself God saying 'it was a test'?

[–] EmpressOfTheSea 11 years ago

no mention of the angels raping women to death and creating the Nephilim

this is one of the few things the series got right. nephilim are NOT biblical. modern day bibles have that added in but jesus himself blows this theory out of the water. so any bible with this word in it is contradictory & ....if you go by the words of jesus...downright satanic & ought to be burned!

you wont find nephilim in a proper bible such as a kjv or nkjv.

what the original verses actually said is: the sons of god (which are christians...or godfearing people such as the hebrews) saw the daughters of men (heathens aka pagan whores) & took them for wives. still not a rape here. this is simply inter-marriage...something which never should have happened. however...ALL were human.

jesus himself says that in the new life "we will be AS THE ANGELS NEITHER MALE OR FEMALE!" there is no marriage sex or farting out kids in the new life...thank god! in fact jesus also says to anyone who believes this nonsense "nay but you do TRULY ERR!"

so...no nephilim! EVER!

also nowhere in a bible does it command the jews to rape. however if they do rape someone they ought to be stoned. jews are among the most merciful of victors. those women do NOT have to marry if they dont want to however they still have to be fed watered housed & given a new life. they will be taken care of. but they dont have to marry. it is consensual. ask any rabbi or messianic rabbi & they'll show you the origina versions from hebrew. nothing about rape there & nothing about rape in a normal english bible.

[–] lujlp 9 years ago

"a proper bible such as kjv"

You mean the book commissioned by the a king looking to have the bible purged of catholic influences to strengthen his political power after the throne tumbled to him when the bastard daughter of a serial killer died without children?

Sounds perfectly legit

[–] Entervine 11 years ago

Ther are lots of things left out of this series, not just the unethical things you mentioned. AbrahAm's signs that he was givin to show his people that he was chosen by God for instance. I could go on and on, why are athiest the first to point out flaws in christians movies/ways? Is it your way of proving to yourself that god is not real? Sure sounds like it to me

[–] lujlp 9 years ago

No, its my way of pointing out Christians dont believe their god to be real. If they did they would be so ashamed as to whitewash his and his prophets actions so quickly

[–] zaprese 9 years ago

You can't give it a zero just because your an Atheist.

How ever, if it was a piece of *beep* then you can give it a zero!!!

[–] lujlp 9 years ago

That is why I gave it a zero, becuase it is a steaming piece of *beep*

[–] Furienna (3377) 7 years ago

Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel were mentioned, even if they hardly covered them more than in passing. At least a few minutes in the beginning were about Noah and the Ark. And you might feel that even that is too short. But it was definately more than just 45 seconds. And yes, they covered the story about Hagar too. And it was the whole New Testament, that got like 50 % of the running time. And that is about more than just three years (much of the last epsiode is about the apostles rather than Jesus himself).

But I can see what you mean about the rest of your post. It is a shame though that you would only gave a fifth of the mini series a chance. As a matter of fact, it is not fair of you to even grade it before you see the whole thing. And I also find unbelievable that you didn't want to give it even one single star. There must have been something about it, that you kind of liked?