The Bible on Television

Description

This volume examines and discusses selected Bible documentaries and academically informed dramatizations of the Bible. With a major focus on recent productions in UK mainline television within the past 15 years, the contributors also engage with productions from the USA. After a critical introduction by Helen K. Bond, charting and reflecting on the use of the Bible on television in recent years, the book falls into three sections. First, a number of influential filmmakers and producers, including Ray Bruce and Jean- Claude Bragard, discuss their work in relation to the context and constraints of television - especially religious television - programming. The volume then moves to reflections of various academics who have acted as 'talking heads', historical consultants and presenters, allowing discussion of different aspects of the process, including the extent to which they had influence and how their contributions were used. Finally, a number of scholars assess the finished products, discussing what they tell us about the modern reception of the Bible, with additional consideration of how these productions influence biblical scholars and contribute to the scholarly agenda.

Helen K. Bond is Professor of Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and is the author of a number of books, including The Historical Jesus: A Guide for the Perplexed (2012). Edward Adams is Professor of New Testament at King's College London, UK, and has written several books, including The Earliest Christian Meeting Places (2013).

[T]he contributors to this series have done a service to the academic community by sharing their experiences as consultants to various Bible-related productions, a position that some of us may find ourselves in as such shows proliferate. For those of us who use such materials in the classroom, the chapters in the second half of the book provide a useful overview of productions that may be worthy of consideration. * Society of Biblical Literature * [A] easy and engaging study that those interested in the Bible and modern culture will want to read. * The Bible Today *