I just caught a couple minutes of a Discovery channel program entitled “Expedition Unknown: Mysteries of Jesus,” and was once again appalled at the way the “stars” of the show misled the unwary viewer.
The onscreen expert was apparently flying the host to Galilee where, he said, Jesus may have been born rather than Bethlehem. The host quickly pulled out his pocket Bible to verify the possibility. He turned to and read a verse that said something along the lines of “Jesus from Galilee.”
“Ah,” said the host, assuring us that he always checks these things against the Bible, “the gospels contain conflicting information.” Or something like that. I didn’t have a pen in hand, poised to take notes, and my fury over this deliberate deception may have distorted my memory of his exact words.
But his message was clear: The gospels can’t even get Jesus’ birthplace straight. How can you possibly trust anything they say?
Never mind that the gospels are clear: Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea; Joseph and Mary had gone there for the census. After a detour to Egypt to escape the murderous Herod, they headed back to Israel with the infant Jesus and settled in Nazareth of Galilee—the town where Jesus grew up, lived and worked. Hence, subsequent references to Jesus said He came from Nazareth or Galilee.
It’s not really rocket science. I was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, but if someone asks me today where I’m from, I name my current town.
But the host of “Expedition Unknown”didn’t bother to investigate. Instead, he left hanging the implication that the Bible is inaccurate.
“Don’t pretty your little heads about the Bible,” he might as well have said. “It’s filled with error. We’ll tell you all you need to know about this Jesus.”
I’ll bet 90% of the audience for this program consists of people who have some level of interest in Jesus Christ, and almost no knowledge of scripture. And I’ll bet that very few, having watched this hatchet job, will bother to crack open a Bible in the future.
In short: mission accomplished, Discovery channel.
It’s hardly the first time such deception has distorted coverage of the Bible. I’ve blogged about such incidents in the past – for instance, one that occurred on the History Channel and another perpetrated by our local newspaper. And I’m sure someone out there is amassing daily examples of such blasphemous reporting.
I suppose we'd better get used to it. Satan knows he’s running out of time, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep his disciples from consulting the word of God.
The onscreen expert was apparently flying the host to Galilee where, he said, Jesus may have been born rather than Bethlehem. The host quickly pulled out his pocket Bible to verify the possibility. He turned to and read a verse that said something along the lines of “Jesus from Galilee.”
“Ah,” said the host, assuring us that he always checks these things against the Bible, “the gospels contain conflicting information.” Or something like that. I didn’t have a pen in hand, poised to take notes, and my fury over this deliberate deception may have distorted my memory of his exact words.
But his message was clear: The gospels can’t even get Jesus’ birthplace straight. How can you possibly trust anything they say?
Never mind that the gospels are clear: Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea; Joseph and Mary had gone there for the census. After a detour to Egypt to escape the murderous Herod, they headed back to Israel with the infant Jesus and settled in Nazareth of Galilee—the town where Jesus grew up, lived and worked. Hence, subsequent references to Jesus said He came from Nazareth or Galilee.
It’s not really rocket science. I was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, but if someone asks me today where I’m from, I name my current town.
But the host of “Expedition Unknown”didn’t bother to investigate. Instead, he left hanging the implication that the Bible is inaccurate.
“Don’t pretty your little heads about the Bible,” he might as well have said. “It’s filled with error. We’ll tell you all you need to know about this Jesus.”
I’ll bet 90% of the audience for this program consists of people who have some level of interest in Jesus Christ, and almost no knowledge of scripture. And I’ll bet that very few, having watched this hatchet job, will bother to crack open a Bible in the future.
In short: mission accomplished, Discovery channel.
It’s hardly the first time such deception has distorted coverage of the Bible. I’ve blogged about such incidents in the past – for instance, one that occurred on the History Channel and another perpetrated by our local newspaper. And I’m sure someone out there is amassing daily examples of such blasphemous reporting.
I suppose we'd better get used to it. Satan knows he’s running out of time, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep his disciples from consulting the word of God.
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