Now I have to admit that I haven't seen the BBC 2 documentary "The Bible's Buried Secrets" which began last week and airs again tonight in the second of three parts but as one of my friends declared "any excuse". Meaning, isn't it fantastic that we actually have something "Bible" to watch (that isn't on the History Channel).
The host is Dr Francesca Stavrakopoulou (who I met only very briefly at SOTS where she is secretary) who is Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religous Studies in the University of Exeter. She blogs here on the BBC website about making the programme.
I teach on Tuesday evenings and have yet to reach the dizzy heights of a salary that would allow me a Sky+ box so I shall have to await a rerun. Meanwhile I have benn entertained with the reviews of it. I offer a reward to anyone who can find me a review of programme based on the Bible with a male presenter that features so much focus on the presenter's makeup and clothes. Though I suspect you'd be hard-pressed to find a programme that would feature bible archeology and a black cocktail dress (SEE, I told you you *had* to watch it).
The Daily Telegraph and here. Daily Mail readers doubt the ability of a Senior Lecturer ("She looks awful young!"-read "She's wearing knee high boots!") to know anything about anything (look at comments below the article). There's also an interesting article in TIME magazine on Asherah.
Tonight's episode is "Did God have a wife?" Let me know what you think!
A true sign of a Bible nerd is the person who drags another RE teacher out of class to remind her that the BBC Nativity Story starts tonight at 7pm (sqee!) I've played the bones out of the DVD of the Nativity Story so this shall be something new to entertain the troops with.
Andrew Buchan (Garrow's Law, Cranford), Peter Capaldi (In The Loop, The Thick of It) and rising star Tatiana Maslany (Cra$h & Burn, A Grown Up Movie Star) have been cast in a magical re-telling of the classic Nativity story.
Written by Tony Jordan (Life On Mars, Hustle, EastEnders) for BBC One this Christmas and produced by Red Planet Pictures in association with Kudos through BBC Wales.
Over four half-hour episodes the drama will tell the traditional tale known to millions from a very human perspective. With Mary and Joseph's enduring love story at the centre this familiar story is given a contemporary twist, as the drama follows Joseph and Mary from their initial courtship – Joseph desperate to win the heart of Mary – to his emotional turmoil at her unexpected pregnancy.
Tony Jordan said: "The challenge for me was to retell a story that has been told countless times before, a story that everyone knows intimately, yet to do so in a way that will still surprise and move you, to see parts of the story you'd never seen before. I really think that we've achieved that and I'm incredibly proud to have been asked by the BBC to be involved in such a wonderful project."
This gripping and vibrant adaptation will show the Nativity from a fresh viewpoint, highlighting how seemingly ordinary people reacted to the extraordinary and miraculous events that befell them.
Rich in colour and humour the remarkable events that led up to Jesus's birth will unfold across the four nights. From the epic journey of the wise men to the poignant tale of Thomas – a poor shepherd – whose waning faith in God is revived as he kneels beside the crib of the new born king. Jordan's Nativity is a spectacular Christmas treat for the whole family.
Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning added: "We are proud to bring audiences this beautiful story retold for Christmas 2010 by a master story-teller. We hope our version of the Nativity will give audiences all the wonder, magic and inspiration of the original whilst also telling a less familiar tale, that of ordinary people going about their lives with no sense of the enormous importance their story would hold for centuries to come."
An impressive cast joins Andrew Buchan as Joseph; Tatiana Maslany as Mary and Peter Capaldi as Balthasar. Including: Jack Shepherd (Wycliffe) as Melchior; Obi Abili (The Take) as Gaspar; Art Malik (Agatha Christie: Poirot, Holby City) as Nicolaus; Vincent Regan (Clash Of The Titans) as Herod; John Lynch (Mo, Bleak House) as Gabriel; Claudie Blakely (Lark Rise To Candleford) as Anna; Frances Barbour (Agatha Christie: Poirot, The Street) as Elizabeth; Neil Dudgeon (Life Of Riley) as Joachim; Al Weaver (Five Daughters) as Thomas the Shepherd; Ruth Negga (Five Daughters) as Leah and Gawn Grainger (Lords And Luddites) as Levi.
The trailer:
Have a look on Mark Goodacre's blog for the build up and his (bound to be) insightful reviews. (Label= BBC Nativity)
THE BBC has angered Christians with a TV drama in which the Virgin Mary is branded a prostitute and sex cheat.
In The Nativity, written by EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan, 15-year-old Mary is attacked by people who do not believe her claim that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
Her husband Joseph accuses her of “whoring” and even suggests that her pregnancy might have been the result of rape.
The Church of England has described the four-part drama, which goes out before the 9pm watershed from tomorrow, as “a gritty interpretation”.
The Magi (c) BBC-Not a tinfoil hat in sight!
Much more interesting and a better read is the brilliant blog by Matt Page which has a review and lots more info and pics. Well worth a look-his label tag is BBC's "The Nativity"
I'm also hoping Mary isn't in full makeup after the birth scene-my one serious gripe with Kiera Castle- Hughes!
Kiera Castle-Hughes in The Nativity Story
BBC's Nativity Story (c) BBC
Also have a look out for the two Irish actors in the drama-John Lynch will play Gabriel and Ruth Negga will play Leah.
Some of you may scoff and say this just about covers reactions to my lectures on Hebrew Poetry, but far be it from me to shy away from taking a reference from popular culture (something I see as positive by the way, as my colleagues on the exec of the IBA know all too well!) and you can’t get more popular these days than the Lostfinale that was screened this morning at 5am GMT on Sky 1.
Now I’ve a confession before I start-I watched the first series of Lost and dipped in and out for the remaining five, but I am a woman of not much patience and I like to see logic in my TV viewing so I wasn’t able to keep up for the full 121 episodes. However there has been a steady stream of comment on the programme and the biblical allusions, quotations, motifs etc that we can read into it so I’ve put some links up for you to explore and make up your own minds…
E! online has a great blog on the finale which has a good examination of the religious element in the narrative (or parallel narratives), a rather well though out post from Neil Shyminsky on a Ben/Jacob link as well as "BigMouths" great overview.
"All the evidence in 'Lost' is pointing to existence of a truly good higher power, and in turn, to the existence of evil"
Though the show does quote a wide range of philosophers and has made references to various religious terms, like the dharma of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths, there are lots of commentators like Seay who point to the references to the Hebrew Bible.
As a proper obsessive about naming, the character names struck me. There's Jacob, who is the biblical father of the 12 tribes of Israel. And then there is a baby named Aaron, the name of Moses' brother.
Chris states that the story of Lost echoes the Book of Exodus, where the Israelites are brought out of slavery into the Promised Land. While the Jews were literally enslaved, Chris says, the characters of Lost instead bear the brunt of emotional burdens.
Each character has a burden to bear throughout the six series. From a murderer to an alcoholic to a former Iraqi solder who used torture tactics, the characters all have “baggage”. This Chris says, is something that viewers can relate with.
"Deep down, we all know we're not as perfect as we should be," Chris said. That is our personal "land of slavery."
Walt Belcher (Rocking name) of the Miami Herald has a great article which features Seay. Rick Bentley has an article on the more spiritual aspects to the series and a good list of references to the Bible that appear in the show (though some are more religous than biblical) and my first ever link to something associated with wikipedia, the Lostpedia has a mind boggling array of biblical references which include the two major biblical quotations in the series:
Eko recites Psalm 23 in the episode "The 23rd Psalm" and begins to recite it in "The Cost of Living" immediately before the "Monster" kills him.
In the Ajira Airways website, the source code includes the verse John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
In my work with inservices for both second level teachers and chaplains in second level schools, one of the main things I work with is how to rethink the way you use film (and indeed any audio-visual resources you employ in the classroom). One of my clearest memories of secondary school religion class was watching seemingly endless Channel 4 documentaries on abortion in Russia. My brother attributes his love of film to watching films in every religion class in his senior cycle, and they weren't all Shawshank Redemption either! This of course led me to rethink things over the years and I'll post more on the technicalities in future weeks. In keeping with the upcoming Holy Week, I'm starting with a film that is fast becoming a staple in Religion class, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.
Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ
This film is not suitable for all students and to be honest I've never watched it myself as I'm not good with violence (or blood!). The film has an 18 cert in the UK but the Irish film classification board gave it a 15PG. The violence portrayed is harrowing and disturbing and the use of Aramaic dialogue makes it heavy going. Teachers may like to use selected scenes or chapters to illustrate some biblical passages. Various pieces of feedback over the years that I've received from teachers who use it regularly is that girls tend to like it less than male students (staying true to our stereotypes then) and most students find it very hard work-not in terms of understanding it, but coming to terms with the violence and the actual killing of Jesus. On the whole, it is a film that promotes debate and discussion and this is to be welcomed!
An interesting exercise is to try and “follow” the film using the biblical text to see the liberties the director, Mel Gibson has taken with the text. Students are usually fascinated with Gibson himself, was he really against the Jews? What kind of Roman Catholicism is he representative of? Another interesting slant is to see the prominence of women in the film, particularly Mary and tie it in with how Luke depicts the women in his Gospel as the first to spread the “good news”.
Some websites that may help:
The official site has lots of information about the cast as well as the making of the film and the background to it. You can also purchase a church resource DVD on the site (as yet only available in US format), various film merchandise, as well as free downloadable screensavers and wallpaper.
For some more resources you might find helpful have a look at some discussion on the anti-Semitism in the film and an interesting article on the general reaction to the film.
The BBC screened a series entitled The Passion in 2008 and has a fabulous website to provide additional information about the drama. This includes an episode guide, a photo gallery, a timeline of Jesus' last days and an interesting look at what evidence there is for the drama's portrayal of the crucifixion as well as various articles on all aspects of the Passion. The site also has an audio version of the Passion story according to the Gospel of Mark. As yet there is no indication that the BBC are showing the series next week but I wouldn't be surprised if it appears at some stage on BBC4. The DVD is also available on the BBC shop though it is temporarily out of stock. It's cheaper and in stock on Amazon.
The Bible Society has a rather expensive resource pack but you'll be able to find some idea for free on the Internet! Have a look at the excellent bog by Matt Page for his comments. Mark Goodacre over on NT Gateway was an historical consultant for the film (oh what a great job!). Both blogs are a good starting point for looking at themes you can use.
I'm teaching my first postgrad course in Milltown on Images of God in Prophetic Literature. It's fantastic to have a course with postgrads (even though there's only five of us in the group) who are only too eager to share their ideas. The fact that they actually do the readings and assignments helps! As usual it's me who does most of the learning out of the course and one thing that it's renewed my interest in is the images of God (as in the physical images, rather than the metaphorical) that we come across in out daily lives and how these images shape our understanding of God.
One of the images I find most interesting and that is useful to those involved in second-level education is the character of God in the hugely popular Fox network television cartoon The Simpsons. While God does not appear on the character list on the official website he (and God is very much depicted as male) has appeared in several episodes as a reoccuring character , including "Homer the Heretic", "Thank God It's Doomsday", and a quick scene with him, Buddha, and Colonel Sanders in "Pray Anything".
The characeter is voiced by Harry Shearer and is normally seen as portrayed in a very traditional depiction of the Abrahamic God in the Western world: a gray-haired Caucasian man in a white robe with a booming voice. Though is is worth noting that God in The Simpsons is yellow-skinned (like the main “human” characters, but is clearly not of a different race (for instance dark-skinned like Carl, or Asian, like Apu).
In one episode, "A Star Is Burns" that he speaks in "Flanderese", responding to Ned Flanders' "Thanks, God!" with "Okely-dokely!"). His face is only seen in a picture owned by Homer in "Pray Anything" (though this was likely an artist's depiction), a picture owned by Ned Flanders in "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily", and the opening sequence for "Treehouse of Horror XVI". In all other episodes, only his beard is seen as the camera only films him up to the shoulders (God is a head taller than everyone else). His body is usually surrounded by a glowing light, and his robes float around him, though not always. He always wears old-school sandals.
He does not seem to be all-knowing; for instance, when referring to his son, he states that he does not know "what you people did to him" but "He hasn't been the same since". Also, in the Treehouse of Horror XIV segment "Reaper Madness" Homer tricks God by dressing Patty up as Marge. In the episode "Simpsons Bible Stories," where stories in the Bible are played by Simpsons characters, Ned Flanders plays the character of God in the story of Adam and Eve while Homer and Marge play Adam and Eve. In this episode, God's voice sounds like that of Ned Flanders; and while he is not actually seen we do see God's arm pop out of a cloud wearing Ned's trademark green sweater. One of God's distinctive features is that he is the only Simpsons character to be drawn with five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot, though not always (there have been scenes where God has only four fingers like everyone else in the show).
The Simpsons has a surprising amount of scholarly work on the idea of religion and the use of biblical texts. The show is very useful as the episodes are widely available, most students (and teachers and chaplains!) have seen the episodes in question at least once and due to the nature of the cartoon, it is easily to show either entire episodes or some snippets in order to spark debate or find another angle of looking at a biblical passage or concept
Some Internet Links for Resources on the animated series and the film:
Someone who is religious to a bizzare extent. When angry, they will quote scripture at you. Often enforce their morals, values, or ideas on others. Travel in packs.The bible nerds meet every Sunday evening to discuss scripture. Oh damn.
Well that's hardly me then. Or any of the biblical scholars I know! Though I do want one of these. If anyone is looking for last minute Christmas presents.
The definition does make me think of Dot Branning in Eastenders on BBC. Dot (played by June Brown) is one of my favourite television characters associated with the Bible. She admittedly is also the worst biblical exegete I have ever encountered, but her love for the word of God is heartening. She can quote at length from the Bible and uses her vast repertoire to win any argument she feels like she is losing. She is a poor exegete as her quotations are usually designed to confuse rather than to give spiritual guidance and she quotes entirely out of context. The BBC was accused of anti-religious bias by a House of Lords committee, who cited EastEnders as an example. Dr. Indarjit Singh, editor of the Sikh Messenger and patron of the World Congress of Faiths, said: “EastEnders Dot Cotton is an example. She quotes endlessly from the Bible and it ridicules religion to some extent.”
On a survey of 430 students aged 18-23 last year, over 300 hundred of them had seen Eastenders in the past week and over 400 of them knew who Dot Cotton was. She is often depicted as the “old doll” character-the only person left in the world to which the Bible is relevant.
It is difficult to find past episodes of Eastenders as they are copyrighted, but BBCWorldwide has an account on YouTube. The clip “EastEnders: Dot & Den Have Heart-to-Heart in Launderette” has a good moral overtone and many of the other clips available have good “bible-bashing” segments which are great for sparking off debate in a classroom setting.
Flora Hoori has a good examples of task and display work for the character of Lucas in Eastenders (he's a Christian preacher who knows his Bible but who tends to let the side down by killing people, but you can forgive the association because of headlines like "Lucas Bashes More Than His Bible"). The tasks are good but may need to be revised in light of more current storylines. You can also use the scenes where he quotes from the Bible to help students to find the biblical passages he quotes from-what was his motivation behind them? He also quotes the Lord's Prayer before one murder-claiming that he is only carrying out the Lord's wishes (crazy or prophetic?)
