My weekly teaching program, Together Through The Bible returns to air in September, but the production on next season’s programs goes on now through the end of summer.

Yesterday I was given the first cut of episode one for the second season. We built a new set and added new localized elements to the program to spruce it up a bit.

During the first season of TTTB the program was often one of our most watched shows on Eagle TV. We’re hoping for a repeat of that when season two goes on the air this fall. Meanwhile, we’ll be posting each program as it’s completed, for Internet viewing before the on air release. Take a peak at episode one, below. Comments welcome.

Together Through The Bible 2×01 from Tom Terry on Vimeo.

What happens to you when you read the scriptures or go through a Bible study? Many people take their time with the word in stride like it was any other function of their day. I do that sometimes. Some people avoid time in the word, not wanting to be confronted with some transformational truth they know they will be accountable to. I’ve done that more times than I want to admit.

I think one of the difficulties for many Christians when it comes to spending time in the scriptures is not that they don’t understand what they are reading, or don’t want to learn, it’s that the scriptures do more than unfold principles about Christian living. The scriptures unavoidably and unmistakably point us, in all things, to the person of Jesus Christ.

In my own spiritual journey I’m beginning a recognize a new development. As I go into the word or go through a study or book that emphasizes scripture strongly, I feel a compelling, absolute need to share it with others, write about it, teach it—specifically how it relates to the person of Jesus. I’ve felt such strong feelings before, but not approaching this level. Has that ever happened to you?

Recently I took some friends from the States on a church visit. We settled in for the service as the auditorium began filling up. We noticed how people entered the church with joy, even expectation. The worship was exuberant and thankful. When the pastor arose to speak I noticed he had his notes prepared and laid out before him. He spoke passionately and with conviction. He told Bible stories. I’d say that at least half of his message was stories from the Bible. It was impressive. I can’t think of a sermon I’ve ever heard in the States that had so many stories. But there was one thing missing.

The Bible.

The pastor, obviously familiar with the scriptures, did not bring the Bible to the pulpit. He told stories from the Bible, but only abbreviated or summarized in his own words. There was no reading from the scripture, almost no referencing to the scripture itself, and no leading the congregants through the text of the living word of God. It was heartbreaking for me to watch because nearly half of the people I observed in the congregation were furiously scribbling notes of everything the pastor said. The hunger for spiritual truth in the room was prolific! I’ve never before seen so many people hanging so tightly onto every word out of a preacher’s mouth. Imagine the level of transformation that could come if the Bible wasn’t missing.

In thinking about this recent experience I was reminded of a passage from the book, God is the Gospel, by John Piper. In it Piper asks:

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?”

He then provides what should be the answer for us:

“Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. If we don’t want God above all things we have not been converted by the gospel.”

This is not to say that anyone who does not have Christ as his or her supreme affection, at this moment, will not go to heaven. Rather, the transformation wrought by the Gospel through our spiritual growth should have the affect of making Christ our supreme affection. And can we be on such a path if the scriptures do not become to us as breath and blood?

Too often, way too often, the scripture has been missing from my life. I remember it, remind myself of its commands and stories and attempt to live by its precepts. But that’s not the same as giving myself over to the living word of God. Because when I open the pages and consume what is before me it is incredibly different than the occasional mental reminder. It is much deeper than that. It becomes absolutely compelling and the desire to let it transform me and come out of me becomes overwhelming.

It’s like the admonition of James 1:22, “Prove yourselves to be doers of the word.” That little Greek word for “doers,” is powerful. In virtually all other Greek literature of the period it was used to mean, “maker” or “producer,” as in someone who produces a stage play, or someone who creates something with inborn talent. Let that sink in. “Prove yourselves to be makers and producers of the word.” That only happens when the word of God populates our being so fully we cannot help but naturally and normally live lives with the intention of being the living, walking embodiment of what that word says.

For Christ to become our supreme affection we must have “Christ formed in [us]” (Galatians 4:19). That happens when we give God’s word primacy in our lives, because, “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edge sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

There’s an important page in your Bible that, if you are like most people, goes completely unread. Chances are, you are like most Christians who rip past this page without a moment’s thought. In fact, in all of the Bible this page might be described by some as the most irrelevant, unnecessary, useless page between its soft leather covers. Virtually no one earmarks it, thumbnails it, highlights it, or contemplates what it represents in God’s grand scheme. Yet I’ve found this page to be one of the most important reminders to me that God is always sovereignly at work, performing his will in the world and in my life. Before I tell you where to find this page in your Bible, allow me to share a story.

Craig was an up and coming political star, somewhat controversial, but completely dedicated to his mission. He passionately wanted to represent righteousness in the political system but often found himself frustrated. We were on the phone one day, discussing his latest machinations with his political party and race for power when he pulled a big question out of his hat that was probably the most important question he’d ever asked me.

“Tom, why don’t I hear God speak?”

“What do you mean Craig?” I asked.

“When I go to church I hear about God speaking to so-and-so, or impressing someone with something. It’s like it’s normal for God to speak to someone. But to be honest, I’ve never heard God speak to me. I want him to speak to me. But he doesn’t and I don’t know why.”

Very quickly I silently prayed for wisdom then decided to answer Craig’s question with a question of my own. “How much time to you spend reading the scriptures?”

Craig hesitated for a moment. It was the kind of hesitation that was an answer in itself. “Uh, well, things are so busy I haven’t really had a lot of time to read the Bible. There’s just so much to do.”

“Craig,” I said, “If you’re not listening to what God’s already said in his word, why would he have anything else to say to you?”

There was a long moment of silence on the other end followed by, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Since that conversation so many years ago Craig poured himself into God’s word, making himself a student of its precious pages. The more he paid attention to what God said, the more God had to say to him.

There are times in our lives when God is virtually silent. In my experience God is usually silent for two reasons. First, God is silent because we aren’t giving attention to his word. We often fill our time with things to do, entertainment, and other relationships, but we relegate God’s word to a corner bookshelf. This is nothing less than a form of idolatry. Like God’s rebuke of Jerusalem in Jeremiah 6:10 we “cannot listen,” because when it comes to the scriptures we “take no pleasure in it.” When we keep God on the bookshelf rather than at the table we find that even what we may already know from the scriptures can illude us. To my friend Craig, God seemed far away. But once he began to apply himself to the scriptures things changed. Not only did he become a student of the scriptures, God began giving him influence with his party and peers that he had never before enjoyed.

The second reason for God’s silence comes when God is at work. There are times when we are listening to the Lord, keeping Christ at the table instead of the bookshelf, and yet it seems that God is not speaking to us. The heavens seem shut and God is silent. We wonder if we’ve done something wrong, if God has rejected us, or if there is unconfessed sin in our lives. Israel faced a time like this when God was silent. It was a period of 400 years represented by that single empty page in your Bible between the Old and New Testaments.

During this silent period of Israeli history no prophet walked the land. But remarkable things happened that prepared the way for Christ. The Roman Empire was being built. Instead of abandoning God for idolatry once again Israel responded by deepening its religious commitment. A group of dedicated Jews formed the Pharisaical order, dedicating themselves to God’s law (the Pharisees didn’t start out as bad guys). Israel finally abandoned the idol worship that had plagued them from Moses to the Exile. The temple of God was being restored. And the family line of David quietly lived their lives, passing on their dedication to God until it finally reach a young virgin willing to carry the Christ. God was silent during that 400 year period, but he was at work, laying the foundations of kingdoms and roads that would carry Christ to the ends of the earth. He would finally speak again through his Son.

So why is God silent with you? Is it because your ears are tuned elsewhere or because he is at work, preparing you and those around you for the next horizon he will take you?

When you spend time giving attention to God’s word, take a little extra time with that empty page between the Testaments. Contemplate the history it represents and what God was doing to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus. Let God’s silence speak to you.

Generally when a Christian wants to share the good news about Jesus with someone there are three overall categories of reaction. The first is Indifference. This usually takes the form of non-interest, or a polite hearing of the Gospel followed by a general rejection amounting to a “thanks, but no thanks.”

The second category is, Opposition. That’s pretty self-explanatory, but for the sake of the unfamiliar, opposition isn’t a simple rejection, rather it is a verbal or physical attack, or the threat of attack as a result of someone sharing the Gospel or anticipation that it might be advocated.

The third response is, Acceptance. Also self-explanatory, but for the uninitiated it is when upon hearing the Gospel someone believes and commits his or her life to Jesus Christ.

However, I think our Steppe-by-Steppe team has discovered a new category. We’ll call this the, Tell Me About Jesus, or I’ll Kick Your Butt category. We have to classify this as an actual category of response because, in Mongolia, we’ve run across it more than once! Yes. You read that right. Have you ever heard of anything in the missionary venture so strange?

It happened most recently when one of our teams was presenting a Bible movie and study to a group quite far away from UB. Without warning there was a power surge (not uncommon) and the projector suddenly fried in a lovely poof of smoke. The group of more than 200 attendees waited for the movie to restart, but sadly were told that the projector was kaput and the movie could not continue.

First came the usual grumblings of disappointment you would expect. But it was soon followed by shouts. Then people began rising to their feet. Then people started picking up their chairs. Then some began banging their chairs around in anger, demanding something be done! Several angry attendees said, “We’ve heard about Eagle TV’s Bible movies, and how good they are. We’ve been waiting for this a long time! Now we can’t watch them!” Some of the attendees were on the verge of violence.

The SBS team members have faced this before (minus the violent chairs). Solving the problem was rather simple—a promise to return quickly soothed the agitated crowd. Of course, when they return they’ll bring MORE movies, and do even MORE Bible studies, and as happens everywhere they go, even MORE lives will be changed.

I’m always amazed at the openness of Mongolians to want to hear the Gospel. I’ve read some reports in a few isolated locations where the Gospel isn’t received well. But those are truly isolated reports. In general, Mongolians are very interested in spiritual things, and are especially happy to talk about the Gospel when given the chance. While a few stick to the old Buddhist notions, in reality, the number of new churches being established is outpacing Buddhist temples and centers by 3-to-1. Most just aren’t finding truth and satisfaction in Buddhism. When given a free and open opportunity to learn about the Gospel and what the Bible teaches, most of our hearers are eager to learn. For many Mongolians, Christianity represents a truth they were denied for too long and they are eager to entertain its message.

You might respond, “Well duh, movies are a natural attraction—especially in communities that have almost nothing.” Certainly that is true. But in the average month that 4,000 people attend our movies, nearly all remain after the movie for a short presentation about Jesus, and roughly half to two-thirds of attendees return the next day to take part in studies to learn more about the Bible.

Many give their hearts to Jesus Christ.

For some areas of the world telling someone about Jesus could get you strung up. But in Mongolia, apparently, you could get your butt kicked if you DON’T tell them about Jesus.

Never in my nearly 25 years of ministry did I ever imagine such a thing. And yet I cannot help but try to imagine what might come next—except maybe flying chairs.

If you’d like to help replace one of two countryside-fried projectors, or sponsor one of three surge protectors, please email me.

I hate to pray. There. I said it. I know that there are times in my life when I pray that the Lord will confront me with something that needs attention. Why can’t I have the “feel good,” prayers, the “peaceful” prayers, the prayers of “wisdom” and “revelation?”

Today I’ve been reading in Colossians, going through its verses again and again until finally this little passage hit me between the eyes:

“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” – Colossians 4:2.

This is not the kind of verse that normally stands out to people. For me the passages that stand out the most are those that describe the majesty, power, or sovereignty of Christ—or passages on ethics and the Fruit of the Spirit. But Colossians 4:2, a simple admonition to prayer? What’s so special about that, that it should take hold of my attention?

Maybe its that little word, “Devote.” Ouch. The meaning here is not simply to perform a function regularly, or to be dedicated. The Greek word used for “devote,” is the word, “proskartereo.” It means, as John MacArthur points out, “to be courageously persistent.”

Wait a minute. “Courageously persistent” in prayer? Isn’t prayer supposed to give “peace,” “strength,” and so on? What need is there for “courage” in prayer?

Since I already had my MacArthur commentary on Colossians opened I read further to see just why Paul uses such a profound word about prayer. MacArthur quotes a 1976 Christianity Today article by Virginia Stem Owens, and it’s a jaw dropper.

“Once you start praying there is no guarantee that you won’t find yourself before Pharaoh, shipwrecked on a desert island, or in a lion’s den. This is no cosmic teddy bear we cuddle up to…we must struggle with him as Jacob did at Peniel where he earned his name Isreal—”he who strives with God.” We too must be prepared to say, ‘I will not let you go until you bless me.’ But in this combat with God we must be ready to bear the consequences…’Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint, and he went away lame.’ Awful things happen to people who pray. Their plans are frequently disrupted. The end up in strange places. Abraham ‘went out, not knowing where he was to go’…After Mary’s magnificent prayer she finds herself the pariah of Nazareth society. How tempting to up the stakes, making prayer merely another consumer product. How embarrassing to admit that not only may prayer get you into prison, as it did Jeremiah, but also that while you’re moldering away in a miry pit there, you may have a long list of lamentations and unanswered questions to present to your Lord. How are we going to tell them they may end up lame and vagrant if they grasp hold of this God?”

MacArthur continues the theme…

“That stands in marked contrast to the glib self-centered prayers of our day. [God] is too often viewed as a sort of automatic teller machine. If we punch in the right code, He’s obligated to deliver what we want. The Lord might well ask the modern church what He asked the rebellious priests of Malachi’s day: ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my respect?’ – Malachi 1:6

As I thought through the examples provided through the lives of the Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles I realized that there isn’t a Christian I can think of that I admire that hasn’t struggled in prayer. Every one admired are those to whom God has said hard things—of whom God has required difficulty and suffering. The ones who met God in the ring are the ones who walk away in triumph to do great things. They are the ones who establish the kingdom and who become a living example of their Lord. But the prayers only for personal satisfaction, of peacefulness and calm—these are the prayers to nowhere.

Only then does Paul’s admonition to be persistently courageous in prayer make sense. Likewise his following admonition to be alert (you are in a battle!), and be thankful—God uses the man or woman who has struggled with him in prayer.

I was reading an article today from Touchstone magazine on language usage and the movement to make the Bible, “relevant,” to the average reader. Part of the article captured my attention, not so much for the longstanding difficulties that some people in Mongolia have with Bible translation and terminology issues, but because of a project we are working on to translate more than 75 hours of seminary level video instruction.

We entered into an arrangement with Third Millennium to translate a Masters level course on the Old Testament, including classes on Making Biblical Decisions, and Building Your Theology. Our desire for some time has been to present the Mongolian Christian community with the highest level of biblical education available, absolutely free over the airwaves. Third Millennium, which features course material from some of America’s leading seminary professors, was a perfect match for what we wanted to do. The challenge, however, is that translating such material into Mongolian—for a general audience—is a daunting task.

The team that works on the project meets regularly and consults with one another often, and they consult with me periodically on theological issues. But we are all aware that much of what is being translated in truly new ground for Mongolian Christianity. Much of the terminology necessary in Mongolian to convey the original meaning of what is being presented, just doesn’t seem to exist. Therefore, we have come up with creative ways of describing certain concepts that remain true to the intention of the instructor (and the theology), while at the same time making the concepts accessible to the viewer.

Of course we believe that the first translation will not be perfect. In fact, it will be far from perfect. That’s why we intend to go back and do it again once the first round is complete. In fact, we intend to retranslate the entire series at least 3 times over the next 3 years, each time raising the level and quality of translation until it matches the academic standard as closely as possible. Our team does not have all of the skills or knowledge base to make a highly academic translation of this material. However, we can begin contributing to the knowledge base now so that it can be built upon and improved as time goes by.

Since we are translating the project for television, we know that the broader audience will primarily be people who are not Christians. However, they are not the target audience. In fact, we have no intention of marketing these programs to our primarily unbelieving audience. Our target audience is, rather, Christians. The Third Millennium programs are designed to serve the educational and discipleship needs of the Mongolian church—to make solid, academically oriented Bible instruction as widely and repetitively available as possible for the next 3 years.

It was said for many years that Eagle TV made the name of Jesus a household word. But my vision (my personal vision, if I can call it that), is to make biblical concepts household concepts. The Gospel doesn’t begin or end with Jesus. Jesus is the center of the Gospel and it is out of him that all things which we concern ourselves with, spring. There is a whole lot more to the Gospel than the simple message that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. That is what is means to “Make disciples” (Matthew 28:18).

So—to get back to my original reason for writing this post—as I read this article from Touchstone, I was reminded of the difficulties that our team faces when taking highly academic material and trying to present it to a Christian audience with almost no historical knowledge or other background for the theological concepts presented. One might argue that “Mongolians aren’t ready for that.” But in the words of the great sitcom theologian, Sherman T. Potter, “Horse hockey!” From the earliest Christian fathers to the reformers, the great leaders of the church worldwide didn’t dumb down their message for the masses—the vast majority of which were illiterate and had no ready access to education, books, etc. On the contrary, they presented those illiterate masses with their best. Mongolians are not illiterate, or without reasoning skills. Mongolian Christians are, in fact, hungry and eager to learn as much as they can. Our job, and our opportunity, is to present them with what they need so they can learn on their own, or assisted, and trust the Lord with the outcome.

So with that I present a link to the article that got all of these things stirring around in my head this evening. The article is entitled, Preaching Without Reaching, (awesome title). If communicating the Gospel is important to you, especially if you are in full time ministry, I highly recommend you read the entire article.

I just came out of a nearly two-hour meeting with our Steppe-by-Steppe field ministry team listening to testimonies about what God is doing through our field strategy using Eagle TV movies in the countryside. I never imagined when we conceived of the strategy a year-and-a-half ago that so much would be accomplished so quickly, and how it would begin to change people’s perceptions of the Bible and Jesus Christ.

From whole families who have received Christ, to communities that turn out by the hundreds to learn about the Bible, amazing things are happening, but none more important than the change in attitude about the Bible.

Again and again our team members are being told that they have great difficulty understanding the Old Testament they have. As a result they quickly give up reading it and only read the New Testament, and often times not even that. Even then they often don’t understand certain things because the New Testament is filled with references to Old Testament characters, events, and principles. Yet after watching our Old Testament series of movies and attending the corresponding Bible studies a two-fold response always takes place: (1) People gain a new understanding of the Old Testament and its meaning opens up to them for the first time, which (2) Drives them back to the Bible to study God’s word and learn again from the treasure within its pages. This is exactly what we hoped for!

One of our staff shared with me that the communists used to travel the countryside in the 40s and 50s showing Russian movies about communism. The older people remember those days. So to have a group now traveling to these same areas bringing the message of God’s love and forgiveness instead of the cold, unforgiving brutality of atheism and oppression, is welcomed and greatly anticipated.

In the last 5 months our team has delivered 108 presentations with thousands attending movie showings, and thousands attending the corresponding Bible studies from start to finish to learn more about Jesus. Hundreds of New Testaments have been given out, and lives are being transformed for Jesus Christ. Virtually every community we have visited has asked for a return visit and for our team to continue teaching them about the Bible.

What a wonderful privilege to be associated with these men from our Steppe-by-Steppe team. Their work is transforming thousands of their countrymen for Christ.

I sat down in my hotel room in Beijing on Friday night to waste away a couple of hours on a movie – One Night with the King. The movie, now on DVD, tells the story of Esther, the biblical figure who saved the Jewish nation from destruction at the hands of Haman. Now, I may be late in seeing this movie compared to most back in the States, but when I did watch it I confess that I was disappointed.

One Night with the King was promoted as one of the best-produced movies based upon the Bible in decades. In many ways that is true. It’s production values, acting, directing, all very good. When I first read about the movie and saw the previews I was hoping it could be another movie for Eagle TV to use to tell the Bible’s story. After all, the official website for the movie asserts boldly: “The True Story of Queen Esther.”

It is not the true story of Queen Esther. It is a mix of biblical elements, speculation, and downright fiction. Only a completely made up story using the same names would be further from the truth.

Like so many Bible-based movies which are entertaining, and try to even honor the text of the Bible, there are extra-biblical scenes in the movie – most of this movie in fact is extra-biblical – that so draw you in that unless you are already familiar with the story of Esther from the Bible, you won’t get a clear picture of what really happened in the actual history. Even the elements of the story that are taken from the Bible are so edited and altered that the events themselves differ radically from the scripture.

The story is set by telling of King Saul’s defeat of the Amalekites and the wife of Agag escaping to eventually have a son who would form a tribe dedicated to the destruction of the Jews – Nazi cross and all! This is used as a plot device to set up Haman’s motivation of hatred for the Jews. In these first 8-minutes of the movie I knew the story was headed for trouble.

Along comes the Agagite descendant Haman, portrayed in the movie as a man sowing hatred of Jews at barely-secret rallies as if he was some kind of Adolph Hitler building a new Nazi party, all the while trying to ingratiate himself to the king. Haman’s continual ridicule of democracy also figures prominently in the second half of the movie. One wonders why the producers felt it necessary to give ancient biblical figures 20th century, pre-World War II political motivations.

In the movie Haman is at least being suspicious of Esther sympathizing or being a Jew. But the scripture portrays Haman in no such way. When called by Esther to a feast, Haman is again suspicious, ready to accuse the Queen before the King from the first moments. But the Bible reveals that Haman was so deceived by his own pride that he felt only good things could come from his participation in the feast (there were actually two feasts – but why nitpick). Esther’s appearance before the King, in risk of her life, has a certain cuteness to it – perhaps even a hint of sensuousness, all drenched in water like that, busting in the door to present herself, humble yet aggressive. Whatever. The movie’s rendition does not begin resemble the scripture in the slightest, nor the level of risk Esther took.

When Haman is exposed by Esther he doesn’t fear his fate, he accuses the Queen in front of the king. The king leaves the room for a moment, and Haman mocks Esther to her face, feigning fear until the king returns and orders him hung. The actual history is much different. Once exposed, Haman was terrified, he knew he was about to die and pleaded with Esther for his life. When the king returned he thought Haman was trying to assault the Queen – in addition to his other offenses – and had him strung up by the neck.

Most important in the movie is the failure to portray the level of fear that Esther felt when she knew should would approach the king. Mordecai challenged her to approach the king, and pushed her to do it because of her great fear. Esther had become accustomed to the life of the palace, knew the fate of her predecessor and did not want to suffer worse. Her fear was so thick she asked the entire Jewish community to take neither food or water for 3 days on her behalf in hopes of averting disaster for the Jews and her own judgment by the king. None of this is portrayed accurately in the movie. Esther is presented as a wise young woman – which is good – but the Bible presents her as not only wise, but as someone who had nothing within herself with which she could approach the king – even though she was Queen. She had to rely completely upon the Lord for her salvation and that of her people. This foreshadows Christ who died on our behalf because we have nothing with which to come before the king for our own salvation. Only the mercy and grace of the king prevents our judgment. The movie One Night with the King misses the point of Esther’s story entirely.

There are other elements just plain silly: The adaptation of a Nazi symbol into a symbol of the Agagites, and Esther’s pendant that projects stars of David like a disco ball – which Haman can’t see but the King can see. It’s just plain stupid. The story of Esther is dramatic and captivating enough not to be poisoned with such fantasy nonsense.

Now as movies go One Night with the King is a nice movie. It’s well written and very entertaining as far as fiction goes. I will probably watch it again. But we will never air it on Eagle TV, and it should never be used by a broadcast or video ministry to accurately tell the story of the Bible. One Night with the King, and movies like it only serve to confuse people about God’s word – not disciple or educate. The missionary, the pastor, and the Bible teach are called to disciple – not dissemble the story of the Bible.

At Eagle TV we use a series of television dramas about the Bible produced, ironically, by Ted Turner. They are the best movies ever made about the Bible, and are about 90 percent true to the text. A few well placed edits and you have movies that tell the Bible’s story accurately that can be used to lead a person chronologically through the scripture until you get to Jesus. We do this regularly on-air, and with our Steppe-by-Steppe project. The results speak for themselves – thousands have seen the movies (and our originally produced matching Bible studies), and so many have come to Christ. The number one comment by people watching the movies we show is that they are learning things from, and about the Bible they never before knew, and that they are not learning in their churches. A movie like One Night with the King might contain some biblical elements, but people ignorant of the scripture cannot learn God’s word from it.

The scripture warns us about taking away or adding to the Word of God. Bible-based movies like One Night with the King are the only Bible that many people will see. By butchering the story, and adding elements which are not found in the biblical text, the producers have, in effect, taken away from, and added to the Word of God that which doesn’t belong. If this is going to be the standard approach by Gener8xion Entertainment (the producer) to it’s line-up of Christian fare, then I’ll skip their productions.

One Night with the King is a good movie as movies go. But if you want to share entertainment with friends that could lead to a discussion of the scriptures without confusing the biblical issues, then One Night with the King should be left on the shelf.