“My knowledge has expanded and my love for the Bible has grown. It’s shown itself to me as a book that clearly changes lives.”
It’s a daunting task to adapt the world’s most popular book to the silver screen. Even more daunting when that book is a sacred text for millions: The Bible. Producer of ‘The Bible’ a docu-drama miniseries set to premiere on Australia screens tonight, Roma Downey tells Eternity she and her husband and co-producer Mark Burnett took the responsibility very seriously, and learned lessons about the Bible and their own faith along the way.
“I learned a lot. I had no idea, for example, that there were so many denominations of Christians, something like 30,000! Did you know that? I didn’t,” she says bewilderedly.
“So, you’re always going to have groups who say ‘we believe this’ and others saying ‘we believe that’. But so often the Christian church is defined by what separates us; the things we disagree on. Our hope with this series was to find a place where we could find what we were for, the things we could agree on.
“There’s an opportunity here for this series to reach people who maybe have never read the Bible, people who’ve possibly never been to church. But people will turn on their TV set and be encouraged to reach onto their bookshelves, to pick the Bible back up, or open it for the first time.”
Behind-the-Scenes; Mark and Roma Burnett with the cast and crew on set at the Ouarzazate Museum location.
Roma, who plays the role of Mother Mary in the later stages of Jesus’ life in the Bible series, is perhaps best known for her role as the angel Monica in the TV series Touched by an Angel. Her husband and co-producer, Mark Burnett, is the creator of reality television stalwarts Survivor, The Apprentice and The Voice.
Roma says she knew that working on the Bible and adapting it for the small screen was a “huge responsibility”. But she says the Bible has changed her in the process of making the series, and that the final product was “made with a heart and an intention to glorify God and to spread the good news”.
“I don’t think you can work on any material daily, for a length of time and not have it impact you,” Roma told Eternity.
“I’m four years into this journey and I’d say that working on The Bible has deepened my faith. I’ve never thought of myself as a Bible expert. I’m certainly not a scholar. But my knowledge has expanded and my love for the Bible has grown. It’s shown itself to me as a book that clearly changes lives.”
As Roma talks, it’s clear that she has a passion for Bible stories, and telling them in an engaging, contemporary way.
“I think there’s a real hunger for God and a hunger for hope. But we have a big problem here in the US with Bible literacy. In the absence of people reading the Bible and people going to church, our kids don’t know the stories.”
Roma recalls a scene in the early days of promoting the Bible Series in the US, where she was asked a question by a supporter: “Was Joan of Arc Noah’s wife?”
“And, you know, as funny as that is for a moment, the reality of that question is very, very sad.
“I see the value of a series like this just painting in broad strokes some of these beloved stories and bringing them back to our community. It’s a great introduction to the Bible.”
In Australia too, the need to promote Bible literacy is increasingly coming onto the radar of Christian organisations including Bible Society Australia which, as part of its mission, aims to engage more Australians with the Bible.
On Facebook today, Bible Society Australia’s CEO Dr Greg Clarke bemoaned a lack of Bible literacy in Australian society, taking aim at ABC Sydney radio host Adam Spencer:
“Amazing biblical howler from Aussie radio’s smart guy, Adam Spencer on ABC702, this morning. He asked a caller, “Solomon? Didn’t he sacrifice his son?’ This is why we need shows like The Bible miniseries, when even the brainiacs don’t know the basics of the Bible. #bibleseries.”
Dr Clarke has encouraged all Australian Christians to get behind the Bible series tonight and in the weeks to come, in a statement to Bible Society supporters:
It’s a pretty tall order to cram 1600 years or so of action and 2000 world-changing pages into 10 hours of TV. But that’s what you get in ground-breaking ‘The Bible’ mini-series airing now on Channel 9. The epic that has gripped America is due to screen in Australia-and we are a much more cynical bunch! Will Aussies get into the series as much as the Americans did? I guess that’s up to you.
As CEO of the Bible Society in Australia, I’d encourage everyone to view this series. It vividly brings to life the incredible narratives of Scripture, raising all the profound issues of human behaviour-courageous, wicked, faithful, faithless, admirable, despicable-that can be found in the Bible’s pages. It challenges us to lift our eyes from our own lives, to history, to eternal matters, and to God himself.
This is a moment when the Bible goes ‘public’ in Australia, occupying the senses and the minds of many Australians for five weeks of viewing. Can I urge you to make the most of this opportunity to debate, discuss and explore the Book of Books with your family and friends, church groups and colleagues? If they’ve seen the movie, they really ought to get into the book!
Every Christian will have a different reaction to this series (“They left out X!” “I can’t believe how they depicted Y!”). This is all part of bringing the Bible to life today. My hope is that every Australian, regardless of their faith, will be moved by ‘The Bible’ series to go deeper, to pick up a Bible and read it, to talk about it with those around them, and to consider its extraordinary claims about Jesus Christ.
My prayer is that the eyes and ears of Aussies will be overwhelmed by the living Word of God in the weeks to come.
Dr Clarke has suggested that anyone with feedback on his statement can contact him via email here.
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