Ancient Evidence:Mysteries of Jesus

Rating:
Summary: Ancient Evince - Mysteries of Jesus
Review:
The first part of this collection is about King Herod, and his infamous 'slaughter of the innocents' at Bethlehem. It's very well done, and Herod is accurately portrayed as a brutal despot. The only evidence against the 'slaughter' ever happening is that it's only mentioned in St. Matthew's Gospel, and no other ancient source, Biblical or otherwise. But then it's at last revealed that the actual number of children involved was at most 20, which would have been insignificant for a savage king like Herod, so that all the modern analysis comes together as being fully consistent with the Gospel account.

The 2'nd part. the 'Real Disciples of Jesus', is not so great, being much better done in Melvyn Bragg's earlier TV mini-series "The Apostles"; it tries to use modern forensic science where it can't really fit. Also, it assumes Jesus' miracles to be 'faith-healing', which doesn't really explain his feeding the multitude with a few loaves and fishes, or turning water into wine, or calming the storm, etc.

The 3'rd part, 'Who killed Jesus?' seems incongruous at first, but actually manages to blend the ancient accounts with modern forensics in a way that makes for good viewing.

The final part, about Mary Magdalene, is not bad, but again it was better done in Melvyn Bragg's series. It's good to see Mary's name cleared from the medieval notion that she was a woman of ill repute, but this probably goes too far the other way, giving undue emphasis to the so-called 'Gospel of Mary Magdalene'. That 'gospel' was probably written a century after Mary, by a woman trying to further her own career, not Jesus' message.



Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing!
Review: Aww... what a disappointment! I guess I should have waited for a description before ordering.

The box title says "Ancient Evidence - Mysteries of the Bible" but in fact should read "Conjecture and one sided assumptions - of famous stories from the Bible, fictionally embellished for your enjoyment". This is not a serious scientific/archaeological study of the various Bible stories which is what I though I was getting. The back of the DVD box give a better idea of what you are supposedly getting. Midway down the DVD back cover is says:

"This series examines scientific evidence to bring a fascinating new interpretation to the scriptures".

The "evidence" is pretty lame and missing vital information. In other words, much important archeological evidence is left out and only certain "evidences" are used inappropriately to write fictional accounts of what could have happened if these Bible stories were rewritten by a good imaginative fiction writer.

Also, the presenter of the series, Avery Brooks of Deep Space 9, has a voice that I personally found to be irritating and also to have a real arrogant tone to it. I think this was a terrible choice by the producers.

To sum up: This series is not about "Evidence" but about a good fictional writer rewriting some of the stories of the Bible. If you are looking for a real archeological study of these Bible stories you should look elsewhere.