IP#206 Sharon Doran - "The Bible" on an Inside the Pages Special

With “Seeking Truth” founder and teaching director, Sharon Doran, we take a critical look at the History Channel presentation of “The Bible”, produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. While we appreciate the opportunity to have the Bible lifted up in such a way on cable television, this presentation, and in particular the episode entitled “The Mission”, contains some problematic elements which subtly challenge basic tenets of our Catholic Christian understanding of the Gospel. The argument has been made that artistic license needed to be employed to present the scope of the Bible in 10 hours, however certain choices were made by it’s producers which could be questioned by the discerning heart. Also, several prominent Catholic leaders have encouraged the viewing of this presentation. Should we being viewing it as a means of Evangelization or as simply a piece of entertainment? Is there a danger in using this as tool in Catholic catechesis? With Sharon, along with our Bibles in hand, we address some these questions and take a deeper look at some of the more challenging depictions presented in “The Mission” episode.

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For solid teachings on the Sacred Scripture, we encourage you to check out “Seeking Truth” which is an in depth Catholic Bible Study, commissioned by the Archdiocese of Omaha in response to John Paul II’s call to the New Evangelization as well as Pope Benedict XVI’s exhortation for all Catholics to study scripture. To learn more go to:www.seekingtruth.net

1 thought on “IP#206 Sharon Doran – “The Bible” on an Inside the Pages Special”

Kris, Your discussion with Sharon is timely and interesting. I share your concern that this series was widely touted as a Catholic enterprise, yet has scenes that may actually scandalize Catholics. As you advised, anyone thinking of using this for catechises needs to have their approved Catholic edition Bible in hand.