This short review might contain seem minor spoilers...
The main contributors to this program are, no shocker here- members of the fringe Jesus Seminar, the revisionists who claimed to want to find the "truth" of Christ, yet started their "search" with a number of a priori demands on what Christ could and could not be. He could not be the son of God, he could not be above or beyond nature, he could not have performed miracles, he could not have said anything that would support any of these items...
That's not how you do history- it's the way to do propaganda, which is precisely what National Geographic has done with this abysmal series. Jesus COULDN'T have carried any part of his cross- why? Well, because they got a strong volunteer to try to carry a large piece of wood from a particular tree they picked out...heavens knows that the piece they picked out was the same wood, the same length, the same width, the same weight, etc. as the piece of the cross that Christ carried (they know this how? no one knows! the bible doesn't mention the weight of the cross!)...thus, Christ could not have carried any part of the cross- it's impossible, question solved, the "tale" is a mere myth.
Funny tho- we have numerous accounts of Roman crucifixions where the executed, GASP, carried parts of their own crosses! Forget those historical records, we proved it with out massive piece of wood that we made! Case closed! The show's main goal, whether it admits to it or not, is to DEBUNK the bible stories. This much is clear from the preview of the next segment- "next, we'll show you what really happened" (as opposed to what that silly bible says!) This isn't science, this isn't history, it's propaganda. You don't set out to debunk things- you look into the issues with an open mind, and 99% of the people featured on the show are anti-biblical historians and such...as I mentioned, the show heavily features the members of the Jesus Seminar, men who aren't even taken seriously anymore by most scholars. It'd be a miracle if National Geographic featured an open minded historian in this show, but alas they only really feature a number of outright skeptics.
Did Jesus heal the lame? Well, the story stands up to historical scrutiny, but there was confusion in the room in the bible story, so that's "enough" to leave doubt...and then they completely leave that story! Christ actually just made people FEEL a bit better because they BELIEVED they were better! Amazing! The show on miracles and 1st century medicine started out with the presupposition that miracles never happen, and they want to find the "truth" as to what "really" happened. That's not how you search for truth- you don't say...'this and this and this are totally false, because I say so...now, let's figure out what REALLY HAPPENED.' Again, that's not history, it's propaganda.
The entire show starts out with the premise that the bible is false, that the stories are the relics of backwards people who will believe anything. That just isn't the way it was. The people in the 1st century weren't fools who believed in anything. They weren't all fooled by hucksters. The biblical stories have been hammered by thousands of different people for 2, 000 years...yet, very smart people look into them and still stand by their accuracy.
If you're anti-Christian, if you want to debunk the bible by listening to those singing to the choir- this show might be for you. I, myself, don't search for truth with numerous a priori assumptions in placed before I journey out to find that truth...I don't close my mind before the journey even starts. That's what Natl. Geo. has done with this pathetic series, and it's clear that their agenda was to diminish all biblical stories with a number of 'just-so' explanations, confusing antics, and more. I'll say it one last time- this isn't history, it's not a search for truth, it's mere propaganda. Forget the many experts in various fields that stand by the bible stories- the National Geographic Channel has hired a number of anti-biblical minimalists, and THEY'RE right, the others are wrong. End of story, case closed.
The main contributors to this program are, no shocker here- members of the fringe Jesus Seminar, the revisionists who claimed to want to find the "truth" of Christ, yet started their "search" with a number of a priori demands on what Christ could and could not be. He could not be the son of God, he could not be above or beyond nature, he could not have performed miracles, he could not have said anything that would support any of these items...
That's not how you do history- it's the way to do propaganda, which is precisely what National Geographic has done with this abysmal series. Jesus COULDN'T have carried any part of his cross- why? Well, because they got a strong volunteer to try to carry a large piece of wood from a particular tree they picked out...heavens knows that the piece they picked out was the same wood, the same length, the same width, the same weight, etc. as the piece of the cross that Christ carried (they know this how? no one knows! the bible doesn't mention the weight of the cross!)...thus, Christ could not have carried any part of the cross- it's impossible, question solved, the "tale" is a mere myth.
Funny tho- we have numerous accounts of Roman crucifixions where the executed, GASP, carried parts of their own crosses! Forget those historical records, we proved it with out massive piece of wood that we made! Case closed! The show's main goal, whether it admits to it or not, is to DEBUNK the bible stories. This much is clear from the preview of the next segment- "next, we'll show you what really happened" (as opposed to what that silly bible says!) This isn't science, this isn't history, it's propaganda. You don't set out to debunk things- you look into the issues with an open mind, and 99% of the people featured on the show are anti-biblical historians and such...as I mentioned, the show heavily features the members of the Jesus Seminar, men who aren't even taken seriously anymore by most scholars. It'd be a miracle if National Geographic featured an open minded historian in this show, but alas they only really feature a number of outright skeptics.
Did Jesus heal the lame? Well, the story stands up to historical scrutiny, but there was confusion in the room in the bible story, so that's "enough" to leave doubt...and then they completely leave that story! Christ actually just made people FEEL a bit better because they BELIEVED they were better! Amazing! The show on miracles and 1st century medicine started out with the presupposition that miracles never happen, and they want to find the "truth" as to what "really" happened. That's not how you search for truth- you don't say...'this and this and this are totally false, because I say so...now, let's figure out what REALLY HAPPENED.' Again, that's not history, it's propaganda.
The entire show starts out with the premise that the bible is false, that the stories are the relics of backwards people who will believe anything. That just isn't the way it was. The people in the 1st century weren't fools who believed in anything. They weren't all fooled by hucksters. The biblical stories have been hammered by thousands of different people for 2, 000 years...yet, very smart people look into them and still stand by their accuracy.
If you're anti-Christian, if you want to debunk the bible by listening to those singing to the choir- this show might be for you. I, myself, don't search for truth with numerous a priori assumptions in placed before I journey out to find that truth...I don't close my mind before the journey even starts. That's what Natl. Geo. has done with this pathetic series, and it's clear that their agenda was to diminish all biblical stories with a number of 'just-so' explanations, confusing antics, and more. I'll say it one last time- this isn't history, it's not a search for truth, it's mere propaganda. Forget the many experts in various fields that stand by the bible stories- the National Geographic Channel has hired a number of anti-biblical minimalists, and THEY'RE right, the others are wrong. End of story, case closed.