Review: The Bible Episodes 2&3 - lies from the pit of hell

I know the title of this review sounds harsh and shocking, but I believe it to be entirely accurate.  Rather than dealing with the individual errors in episodes 2 & 3 of The Bible (a task better left to those who have two hour daily broadcasts since there was not a single scene in the The Bible that accurately reflects the text of the Bible and the errors are simply too numerous for anyone who shepherds a flock and preaches every week to deal with in detail) I want to address two profoundly dangerous intentional theological errors that permeate these episodes.

The first thematic heresy is the elimination of sin and repentance from The Bible.  If a person who isn’t familiar the Bible were to take their understanding of God from the The Bible they would be entirely unaware of sin and God’s righteous wrath and judgment against sin and what a godly response to an awareness of sin in the life of a believer is.

This denial of sin and the need for repentance first comes to the fore in The Bible’s treatment of the book of Judges.  Through the voice of the narrator The Bible identifies the root of the chaos in Israel in the period of the judges is a “lack of strong leaders like Moses and Joshua.”  But Scripture clearly identifies the source of the problems in Israel as God’s judgment against Israel for doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD and worshiping idols.

It is not just sin that was ignored it was also repentance and it was ignored in a spectacular manner.  The treatment of two of the greatest chapters on repentance in the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 12 and Daniel 4 are illustrative of The Bible’s view of repentance.  It blasphemously mangles one and completely ignores the other. 

Second Samuel 12, Nathan’s confrontation with David over his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah the Hittite,  records no immediate response from David, although when his son is afflicted (as Nathan foretold) he fasts and spends days prostrating himself before God.  David’s heart response to the exposure of his sin is recorded in Psalm 51 and it expresses profound brokenness, admissions of guilt before a holy God, pleas for mercy, and promises to bear witness to the word of God to others (The Bible puts the words of Psalm 51 in the mouth of Daniel in a manner that teaches that obedience in difficult circumstance robs the believer of the joy of their salvation).  Taken together Psalm 51 and 2 Samuel 12 paint a picture of David as a man broken over his sin and his standing before a holy God.

But how does The Bible claim that David reacted?  After being confronted by Nathan and hearing that God declared that his son will die as a judgment on the sin of David and Bathsheba the David of The Bible (not the Bible) defiantly says “We’ll see.”  That is not artistic license, that is showing David displaying the exact opposite behavior and attitude that is recorded in Scripture.  The Bible’s teaching on David is the exact opposite of the Bible’s teaching about David.  This is a lie straight from the pit of hell, and exactly how the serpent twisted the Word of God in the garden.

And just as bad is The Bible’s ignoring of Daniel 4.  Nebuchadnezzar is a major character in The Bible episode 3.  And according to the The Bible he goes insane in response to Shadrack, Meshack and Abedndigo being delivered from being burned at the stake (not a fiery furnace) and seemingly dies bound in chains in a dungeon (that’s how he is last seen in the episode).  However the Bible records that Nebuchadnezzar is struck with madness as judgment for the sin of pride years later.  This is a serious enough error, but it is the omission of Nebuchadnezzar’s repentance that is truly stomach turning.  Daniel 4:34-37 (a passage I quoted in my baptismal testimony because my pre-salvation life was characterized by the sin of pride) records Nebuchadnezzar’s confession of repentance.  Nebuchadnezzar didn’t die in a dungeon as an insane unrepentant sinner, he died as a redeemed believer who became one of the authors of inspired scripture (Daniel 4:34-37 records in its entirety a letter written by the repentant king).  But since in The Bible there is no sin there is certainly no need for repentance.  Again The Bible teaches the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches!

As sickening as its message on repentance and sin is, The Bible’s view of Jesus is out and out undisguised blasphemy.  They functionally deny His role as savior and His deity. 

There are no more important passages in all of Scripture for understanding who Jesus is than the accounts of his baptism.  When John (the baptist) sees him approaching he exclaims “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” and when Jesus comes up out of the water the Spirit descends on Him like a dove, and the Father speaks from heaven “this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.”  But guess what is missing from The Bible’s account.  John’s confession, the Spirit descending, and the Father Speaking.  No trinity, no sacrificial lamb, and no deity, just blasphemy.  The Jesus of The Bible is no more the Jesus of the Bible than the Jesus of the Book of Mormon, the Koran or the Oprah Winfrey Network.   And incidentally (and it is incidental at this point) in a profound twisting of Luke 5 the Jesus of The Bible came not to save sinners from the wrath of God but to “change the world.”

The Bible presents lies as truth by twisting scripture until it teaches the exact opposite message than the living and active Word of God.  This has been the devil’s favorite tool to drag people into hell since the beginning.  It is what he did in the Garden, it’s what he did when he tempted Jesus, and it is what he is doing now on the History Channel.

[And if your interested check out my new blog of Marriage, Love, Multiple Sclerosis and Suffering here]