You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.
Deuteronomy 4:2I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Revelation 22:18-19
I pray that my arguments regarding images of Jesus in the previous post make sense and are convincing. But what about TV and movies depict biblical events? If there are no images of Jesus, what could possibly be dangerous about portrayals of other biblical characters and events?
First, this is not necessarily as dangerous as images of Jesus, but we need to be careful nonetheless. Why?
The first and greatest danger associated with TV and movie depictions of biblical characters and events is that these productions do not merely “take artistic liberty” (as some admit to in the opening credits). They routinely almost always leave out essential elements and emphasize their “artistic liberties,” inserting as major points characters and events that are nowhere to be found in the Bible. What is the serious danger of doing these? Here is the main point: Unless the viewer knows his Bible very well, said viewer is likely to believe “the Bible says” what the Bible does not say! I trust you can plainly see that this perverts the scripture because it blurs (or obliterates) the line between fact and fiction.
A personal experience: When Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” first came out (2004), I did not want to see it. I succumbed to adult peer pressure and attended with a group from our church. (This was before my convictions were cemented against images of Christ.) There was one scene in that film that dramatically impacted me more than any other. That scene is not in the Bible and it is virtually impossible that it ever happened. Because of my biblical and theological education, not to mention having been in full time pastoral ministry for nearly 20 years at the time, I believe I knew the Bible better than most. If that unbiblical scene was as impacting to me, how might it have affected someone who did not know it was unbiblical—and believe it was?
You might be aware of a series currently on Prime Video about the biblical king David. I decided to preview it because I figured some in our church would watch it. As is typical, the “artistic liberties” were rampantly prominent. One episode (the last I watched), was virtually all extra-biblical—emphasizing entire characters and sub-plots that are nowhere even hinted at in the Bible. How many people, including believers who do not know their Bibles, are left assuming that “the Bible says” what the Bible does not say?
Brothers and sisters, adding to or taking away from what the Bible says is disobedience to God’s clear declaration in His Word is sinful! We are incredibly better off reading our Bible, and not watching fictional (unbiblical) TV and movies that misrepresent the Bible, and mislead even Christians.
What about this movie or that TV series? Unless you know your Bible very well—read what the Bible says enough times before viewing these scripture-twisting dramas to know what is biblical and what is not—my advice is: boycott biblical dramas. If you do know the Bible well enough, why would you want to watch these dramas? Would you knowingly read a translation of the Bible done by a known cult?
May we be those who Peter describes in 1 Peter 2:1-3:
“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk [of the Word], that by it you may grow up into salvation--if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”