History Channel's "Bible" Series Expected To Convert Millions

An extended look at The History Channel's upcoming "Bible" series has been released on Friday. The 4-minute clip reveals powerful scenes involving the Bible's most beloved figures during gut-wrenching Biblical events. As previously announced, the "Bible" will debut on The History Channel on March 3. Married couple Mark Burnett and Roma Downey created the epic 10-part miniseries, which will bridge the Old Testament with the New Testament, or as Burnett said, "from Genesis to Revelation" with several in-depth portrayals of Bible stories. Burnett, who created the television series "Survivor," explained that the series is "a great story that happens to be our faith" while speaking to The Christian Post. "'The Bible' is going to be seen by millions of people, and it looks like a $100 million feature film," added the creator of "The Apprentice." Meanwhile, Downey, best known for her role on "Touched by an Angel," explained that she and her husband conceived the idea for the series on Scripture three years ago. "I've loved Jesus all my life," said Downey speaking to CP. "It's a passion project for Mark and myself." The Christian Post was able to preview segments of "The Bible" last month, and Burnett and Downey revealed a colorful, captivating take on some of the most important stories in the Christian religion. While sometimes violent, "The Bible" offers visually enchanting depictions of well-known and beloved Biblical characters. Noah's Ark, the Exodus, Abraham, and the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are among the Bible stories covered in the highly anticipated television series. The series sees stars such as "Game of Thrones" actors Sean Bean and Nonso Anozie, while Roma Downey herself portrays Mary, the mother of Jesus. Following its March 3 premiere, remaining episodes of "The Bible" will air each Sunday with the finale arriving on Easter Sunday, March 31.

http%3A//www.christianpost.com/news/the-bible-extended-trailer-released-89324/



• Will it have Michael Parks as the naked Adam? Yum.

• Roma Downey the hottest woman ever on OLTL and the greatest export of Northern Ireland, next to Liam Neeson that is. She played an angel on Tv and now she thinks she is one!Her brother is a Catholic priest but Della Reese officiated her marriage to her first, depressed hubby.As soon as I saw Mark's name I flinched.Is he going to place most of these stories on an Island away from civilization with a competition included for good measure too? Are they going to depict Adam and Steve in the nude as they first appeared? I can't wait for that.

• *holds flashlight under chin, immitating Rona's lilting speach* "I'm an angel sent frrrrom the Lairrrrd and he wonts ye to knooo yer an asshole and you'll burrrrn in hell."

  Skunk-Doo

• It won't convert anyone...

• They do need to depict the angry god ordering the unborn babies to be cut out of women (abortion) and the virgins in the village to be raped. Show the sick ugly stuff.

• R4, it will go on heavy rotation at every mega-church in the US even if it sucks. The first CON installment, "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" had my lard-ass cousin in fits as he tried to explain to adults that Jesus was Aslan. He tried selling the DVDs to family members at a Christmas gathering. He wasn't tortured with parochial school, so reading CS Lewis is new to him.

  You%20make%20more%20on%20fear%20than%20you%20do%20on%20hope

• Links to a Jesus web site. Thanks OP/frau.

• Looks awful. Downey's perfect teeth (and her age) make her look ridiculous as Mary. The acting in general looks mediocre. Some of the battle scenes look good, but the flame effects look very cheap. Doesn't look much more expensive than the dramatised scenes inserted into many History Channel documentaries.

• What part of "Expected To Convert Millions" mislead you, R7?

• There's a great scene where Adam is being chased by a dinosaur and falls down a big hole in the Earth. When he regains his bearings, he looks just like Pat Boone.

• I guess this explains why Mark Burnett keeps putting Fundamentalists on SURVIVOR.

• It's on the History channel, wedged in between Hitler biographies and American Pickers. Nothing to see here.

• As America's Best Christian said, the "History" channel either needs to not feature a miniseries based on fictitious fables -- or it needs to change its name.

• Fuck me with a well-nailed crucifix. I'm going to be converted because it looks like a "$100 million movie." Yeehaw. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Oh yeah. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Moooommmmmyyyyyyy!

  Regan

• Michael Parks ass needs to be worked over.

  http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z1QYIE7eG3Q/Taz7LcWB-qI/AAAAAAAASGc/8JDPiKBApRk/s1600/Parks%2C+Michael+002.jpg

• Well, people in basements believe Star Trek and Star Wars are true, so there is no harm in this.

  Flouncing%20Frau

• They need to change the name from History channel to Christian Fundie channel. Do you remmeber the show with the fairly good looking guy (Josh?)who went around trying to find the proof for the Bible?

  Still happy with Bastet and Isis, thank you.

• Wasn't Mark Burnett married before to another woman who died who helped him start the Real World series on MTV? And that kicked off every single reality program?

• It won't be converting me, because: 1. I won't be watching it and 2) It is Jewish mythology, much like Roman and Greek mythology. Even if you do believe in a supreme being, it has nothing to do with this. There were a lot of books left out of the "final edition" and one of them in Genesis talks about Adam's first wife, Lilith, who left the Garden of Eden on her own volition, because she would not be subservient to him. So I guess she was the first feminist. They are stories, period.

  Anonymous

• it's fine that they run some propaganda as long as they balance it with the bible unearthed....

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dt440bxhn1qA

• Yawn. Another northern European Jesus. Why can't they cast a hot Israeli with a bubble butt as Jesus? Like Matan Shalev. It would be both historically accurate and so much sexier.

• Why has the History Channel gone to hell? Even a few years ago they had programs about, well, history, and now it's all conspiracy theory stuff and bible crap. Did the wingnuts buy it or something?

• What about shows for us who worship fire? I feel completely left out and discriminated against.

• What is more interesting is if you look at the time periods between the Pentateuch and the rest to collectively become the Old Testament. Then there's the rise of the New Testament that took over 300 years. So a lot of very deep thought but no real god or christ.

  LuciferTheLightBringer

• expected by whom, OP? You? Because the link offers nothing from anyone re: an intention or expectation of conversion. Are you the same OP who is constantly headlining posts with a thesis which is not born out by the provided link? Because it's really fucking annoying.

• R19 It was Phillip not Lillith! Then Adam and Steve became an item......

• Why are you str8 frau Jesus freaks so drawn to this gay chat board OP? Just because your husband prefers men to your nasty cunt doesn't mean you have to punish us with your vile presence.

• I love Jesus. I have just the thing for this show.

  http://images.villagevoice.com/issues/0115/taormino.jpg

• I never understood the blanket Christian hate here on DL. I get that a lot of people are damaged due to religious upbringings and never got therapy. And I get that the Catholic Church is corrupt. But, why such searing hate for all things Christianity? People have sullied its reputation, not the faith itself. The actual faith is beautiful and speak of and teaches peace. There's such a nasty generalization and hate for Christianity here yet I barely ever ready anything condemning Islam. Not that it should be. It's just that Christianity seems to be singled out with this particular level of DL hate. Is it just one or two frustrated people, or are there really that many folks here who'll generalize an entire faith so blatantly?

• [quote]I never understood the blanket Christian hate here on DL. Cram it, churchy.

• r29, it's primarily Christian groups bringing new brands of stupidity into public discourse. The hypocrisy is intensified when you consider how wealthy so many of the evangelists and bigots are. At least with Muslims, there isn't such a hoarding of wealth and shit-stirring of the poor by the rich to obtain more wealth. You can't really separate the faith from followers whenever so many of the denominations DO preach what amounts to bigotry.

• [quote] Burnett, who created the television series "Survivor Wasn't the Survivor series created in Europe? He stole someone else's idea, he didn't create the series.

• The format for Survivor was created in 1992 by British television producer Charlie Parsons. Mark Burnett did not "create" Survivor.

• r29---the reason there are so many "anti-Christian" postings on DL is because many so- called Christians are anti-gay. These followers of Jesus--a man who taught love and tolerance for ALL people--want to destroy us. These hardcore fundies wouldn't bat an eyelash if we were tortured and killed. It would be "doing the Lord's work" to see us all dead. Now---SHOO! Don't you have an Applebee's or a Chick-fil-a to go to?

• "There's such a nasty generalization and hate for Christianity here yet I barely ever ready anything condemning Islam. Not that it should be. It's just that Christianity seems to be singled out with this particular level of DL hate." Christians are leading the anti-gay movement in the english-speaking world. And the anti-woman fight, which gives everone at the Datalounge excellent reasons to despise them.

• [quote]Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34, Luke 12:51-53 Christians are just doing what their religion tells them to do - spread violence and war.

• I think a lot will watch it for the SPECIAL EFFECTS, such as Noah's ark. The stories in the bible certainly are special effects worthy. Hope they do a good job. I'll watch it, but I'm not a big religious fanatic at all. Look at how the bible treated gays. I'm very leery of religious freaks. I think they're a bit mental in their obsession. Scary types.

• Because Islam is the latest update, R29. We're not knocking your beliefs, just the fact that you're still walking around with the spiritual iPhone 4 when there's a newer model. Although it still contains many of the glitches of earlier versions, you should consider updating.

• [quote] Because Islam is the latest update Hardly. Just a new arrangement of the same basic tune.

• All this religious stuff is getting pretty thick. On the Iron Chef America they had holy water as the Secret ingredient. They made all those St. such and such dishes and used the burnt stuff for ashes on their forehead. I was half expecting to fallen priest doing dishes as penance for all the alter boys they devoured.

• are they going to show that Abraham's wife was his half sister and the other concubine his cousin with whom he had children with? And also that he prostituted his wife,and denied having any link with her because he didn't want to get killed? those are the thing they should be talking about.

• Who "expects" it to convert millions? It won't. The only people who will watch it will either be xtians already or people who take a scholarly view of it for historical purposes.

• That's hilarious. When has the history channel ever been watched by "millions"?

• Convert whom?

• I want to see angles.

• "The Bible" belongs on a religious channel, not the History Channel. Unfortunately, "The Bible" did well in the ratings.

  Pantsy

• Mark Burnett is a Jesus freak?!

  Fan%20of%20first%20few%20Survivors

• I loved it!!! I laughed more than I have at Community this season, that's for sure!

• Fuck that bible, fuck it right in the vagina.

• We will need to order up more crosses and lions then.

• R29 Christianity is beautiful. Christians, for the most part, are vile, bigoted, backward, anti-logic hypocrites.

• Christianity is not beautiful. It is horseshit. Obviously you have not read the Bible R51.

• What r21 said. Everytime you see Jesus portrayed in a movie/tv show or those paintings of Jesus the fundies love and have in their homes, he's always a pale, WASPY white guy. It's completely historically inaccurate - Jesus most definitely would have looked Middle Eastern. But don't tell the fundies that, because they refuse to believe it.

• Watched some of it last night for shits and giggles. ATROCIOUS!!! The editing was horrible, the acting pathetic, the pace maddeningly slow. Whomever it might "convert", the secular world does't want nor need.

• I'm pretty much converted after watching Part 1.

• [quote]Watched some of it last night for shits and giggles. ATROCIOUS!!! The editing was horrible, the acting pathetic, the pace maddeningly slow. Whomever it might "convert", the secular world does't want nor need. Are you serious? I thought the acting was great.

• OP's source is the "Christian Post" (whatever that is) so I suspect they might be a wee bit biased in their "convert millions" claim.

• Watching the Damson and Delilah segment, I didn't know Samson was black. Can someone confirm that? I remember Victor Mature playing him.

• [quote]Watching the Damson and Delilah segment You should see the Dawson and Delilah segment. They really give each other a run for their money.

• Hey, George Lucas made millions of believers out of Star Wars. Hubbard made millions of believers out of Scientology. It could happen. And that sucks.

• Now how the hell would they know it will convert millions?

• I just flipped it on because of this thread. Apparently, Samson was black and Delilah cut his dreadlocks. I just spit out my tea.

  Dustin

• It's strange that the stories shown so far about the Jews don't seem to have any Jews in them. Samson is played by a black actor, for example.

• I just can’t believe people are fooled by this overly sentimental, anti-historical, cartoonish, ad-hoc, hagiographical pile of swill served up to us as some sort of seminal event. It is horrible. Monty Python’s Life of Brian had more historical veracity and verisimiltude in presenting characters of that era. It’s horrible for people of the faith because it just makes the stories look flat and lacking depth – and equally disturbing to people who don’t revere Jewish mythology over any other because this presentation doesn’t do anything to flatter it whatsoever. We’re given the creation monologue about how God created Man with free-will even as he murders the entire human race with a flood for not liking him enough. Then in the first hour we watch as Abraham is asked to murder his little boy in some show of fealty – Sodom is destroyed by Ninja Assassins for being well… not of the right tribe, and Egyptians babies are killed en mass because of the ‘sins’ of their leader. Putting all this into cute pseudo-costume drama and English/Scottish accents doesn’t cleanse it of it’s rampant tribalism and ethnic cleansing genocide. How the ‘pro-life’ set can huddle together and watch this as family entertainment with popcorn in their churches is just beyond me. No amount of CGI will help these murderous stories.

  TKP

• [quote]Roma Downey the hottest woman ever on OLTL and the greatest export of Northern Ireland Greatest export of N. Ireland my ass. She's a fundie, which you know most likely means anti-gay. I was just flipping through the channels to night and she was on TBN (that stupid Christian channel) with her husband along with Joel Osteen and his wife talking about this dumb movie. And she looks old now too.

• For consultants, Burnett turned to Focus on the Family and Rick Warren, major homophobes. He couldn't have consulted with mainstream protestant churches??

• R64, tl;dr. Adam: hot. The two scouts Joshua sends into Jericho: hot. Jonathan: hot. David: hot. Angels: Caucasian, black, and Asian. Samson: black. Black?! Nice try, but too much creative license. They should've used a Middle Eastern cast. Lots of hot men in those parts.

• Burnett and Downey became close personal friends with the Focus on the Family guy. Isn't that charming?

  http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_22756926/focus-family-ceo-jim-daly-consulted-tv-mega

• R68 I didn't watch his shows before and now I'll definitely make sure to never watch them.

• The other interesting thing...there was an article in the Times this week about how the head of FOF is toning down his rhetoric to be more media friendly. Clearly Burnett is helping him polish up FOF's image, which is disgusting.

• So why isn't this tripe on the SciFi channel?

• There will be plenty of violence, I'm sure... Nudity? Noooooooooooo - cos that might be corrupting.

• We have standards, R71.

  SyFy%2C%20Purveyor%20of%20Deborah%20Gibson%20Vehicles

• I missed the part where David and Jonathan got naked and promised their love to each other. I also missed the part where Lot's daughters got their Dad drunk so he would fuck them. Did they show Onan spilling his seed?

• Downey isn't a fundie, she's Catholic.

• HATEFUL BASTARD FUCKER ASSHOLES: may they burn in HELL for all eternity.

  http://www.eurweb.com/2013/03/history-channels-bible-casts-obama-look-alike-as-satan/

• Nice, huh, R76? I saw this this morning and of course idiots were like, I don't see any resemblance.

• The backlash from this should be the ruin of their careers. Naturally the moronic would claim there was no resemblance. If it looked like Chimp Bush they'd be screeching to the mountaintops for YEARS.

  R76, appalled and waiting for it to blow sky-high

• That's it. We're putting the head of George W. Bush back up on the spike.

  The%20producers%20of%20GAME%20OF%20THRONES

• r79, you beat me to it.

• "Folks are saying it’s no coincidence that the actor who plays the devil, Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, bears a startling resemblance to President Barack Obama." We knew that already.

  Tea Bagger

• Is the Devil actor the same guy Donald Trump used for his 'you are fired, Obama!' clip he wanted to use at some Republican convenction before the presidential election?

• My brother sent me that photo (not the split pic with Obama, just the guy from THE BIBLE) this morning and asked me to guess what it was. My response was that it was some sort of photoshopped Republican bullshit where they made Obama look like Emperor Palpatine for one of their stupid CPAC videos. Turns out I wasn't that far off base. And really, I guess the point is that without any prompting, I knew that was supposed to be Obama.

• Downy and her husband were on Sunday Morning on CBS this past week, plugging this dreck. She looks like she shares a plastic surgeon with their good friend Sarah Palin. It was eerie how much they now look alike. Roma denied that the inspiration for the series was her work. She let us know it was strictly from God himself. I guess she was the vessel. She had no intention of being in the series at all, but then after they looked and looked and auditioned and auditioned hundreds of actresses for the part, it was Roma to the rescue. She reluctantly agreed to step into the role and the day was saved! Whew.

• The similarity was first publicized by none other than noted Obama denouncer Glenn Beck. The commentator, who refuses to refer to the president by name, tweeted Saturday: "Anyone else think the Devil in #TheBible Sunday on History Channel looks exactly like That Guy?" The Bible is produced by husband-and-wife team Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, both of whom appeared on Beck's cable show earlier this year. Burnett, however, also donated to Obama's presidential campaign in 2008, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Burnett and Downey also released a statement saying they have "nothing but respect and love" for Obama, "a fellow Christian." "This is utter nonsense," their statement reads. "The actor who played Satan, Mehdi Ouzaani, is a highly acclaimed Moroccan actor. He has previously played parts in several Biblical epics— including Satanic characters long before Barack Obama was elected as our President."

• The execute producer of the miniseries was just fired from his job as an executive at Hearst after he was caught in a texting scandal with a stripper.

• So, not only do fundies get to enjoy a Satan who looks like Obama, the name of the actor playing Satan might reinvigorate the Obama-is-a-secret-Muslim claim.

• Mark Burnett is Barbra Streisand's Malibu neighbor. Supposedly they're friends and are guests at each other's homes.

• It's win-win!

• Please read their statement at R85

• Does BS(Streisand) go on about how fabulous Roma looks.BS was always fugly but Roma is slowly turning into Joan Rivers with a Northern Irish accent!

• I actually watched this. I happen to like Biblical history. I love when THC has biblical scholars talking about what it all maens. Hell, I'll watch King of Kings and Ben Hur anytime and anywhere. That being said, this seemed like such propaganda. I was born Catholic and have a certain reverence for the Church but I don't like being hit over the head with all this. The F/x were quite good. I was taken aback with the Christian Mingle (or whatever it's called) commercials. If one is going to make an extended series/movie about the Bible, for goodness' sake don't skip 500 years into the future! We saw all about David and see his son Solomon but we don't get to see said son's story.

• The costumes and hair from the time of Jesus are horribly inaccurate. They obviously used the old image of Jesus, called Surfer Jesus, as their model. Zeffirelli did the most accurate version, in my opinion.

  http://www.christcenteredmall.com/stores/art/hook/head-of-christ.htm

• Apparently duck lips were in fashion back then too... I haven't seen her since watching "Touched..." many years ago. I googled her name and would never have recognized her had I not known it was her.

  http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2012/12/16/the-bible-4_3_rx512_c680x510.jpg%3F0f5c31de35bf4ef88a50c2e35ee3bc4da4bf3083