“Bible Secrets Revealed” Marathon to Re-Air on Friday, April 18, 2014

Bible Secrets Revealed will be re-airing in marathon format on Friday, April 18, 2014 on History.

Here are the titles and times from the schedule:

The Forbidden Scriptures – 08:00-09:00 AM ET
Lost in Translation – 09:00-10:00 AM ET
The Promised Land – 10:00-11:00 AM ET
Mysterious Prophecies – 11:00-12:00 PM ET
Sex and the Scriptures – 12:00-01:00 PM ET
The Real Jesus – 01:00-02:00 PM ET

For the names of the scholars appearing in each of the episodes, and for more information about the program in general, visit the Bible Secrets Revealed IMDB page.

And visit Bible History Daily to read further in-depth discussion about the topics raised in each episode.

Some Old Articles about Noah in Anticipation of the New Movie about Noah

In honor of the nationwide premier of Darren Aronofsky’s new Noah movie, I’m reposting some pieces I’ve written in the past about the subject.

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• “Forget about Noah’s Ark; There Was No Worldwide Flood” (Bible and Interpretation)
• the most clever argument thus far against a historical worldwide flood and noah’s ark (nonstampcollector web | YouTube)
  (and check out nonstampcollector’s Noah website!)
• no, no you didn’t find noah’s ark (robertcargill.com)

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I’ll actually be providing a review of the movie for ASOR sometime in the next few weeks.

For the time being, allow me a few introductory remarks about some of the reactions we’re beginning to see about the movie.

Religious conservatives always freak out whenever anyone messes with their ancient myths. Well, allow me to clarify: as long as you retell the myth as it is preserved in the Bible, you’re praised as a good and faithful servant and an excellent producer/director/actor.

But should you explain the origins of the myth, or offer your own mythological interpretation of the ancient biblical myth, or vary it in any way, well then you’re a heretic destined for burning flames of hell and the movie is immediately dismissed as the fanciful ravings of a godless atheist.

Remember, a worldwide flood has been disproved time and again. It’s a myth preserved in the Bible, which was based upon much earlier flood myths that were incorporated into the biblical narrative.

So why can’t a modern director offer his own interpretation of the ancient myth? When Baz Luhrmann reinterprets the Descent of Orpheus myth as “Moulin Rouge!“, or the Coen brothers reinterpret Homer’s Odyssey as “O Brother, Where Art Thou?“, everyone cheers (including conservative Christians). But when Darren Aronofsky retells the biblical flood myth as “Noah”, religious conservatives weep and gnash their teeth. And why are biblical myths so sacrosanct?

Because many religious fundamentalists still believe the account of the Flood in the Bible is historical. They believe it really happened, regardless of what science says. The myth is to be believed over science, but only when the myth is preserved in the Bible. If it’s a myth of another religious tradition, then it’s OK to accept science, and even to use science to disprove the myth. But if the myth is in the Bible, science suddenly sucks.

Look, they are myths. And this is modern motion picture art reinterpreting ancient literary art. So relax and enjoy the movie. And trust me, there will be plenty of scholars pointing out the places where the movie deviates from the biblical text and takes artistic liberties. Just please don’t confuse those of us who do this with the religious fundamentalists who criticize the movie because they believe the worldwide flood actually happened.

Cheers.

Episode Six of Bible Secrets Revealed – “Sex and the Scriptures” – airs today at noon/11 central

Don’t miss episode 6 of the six-part series “Bible Secrets Revealed” on History.

The final installment, entitled “Sex and the Scriptures“, debuts today, January 23, 2014 at noon/11 c. (And fair warning: it pulled a TV14 S-D rating.)

The episode explores:

“Millions of people around the world look to the Bible for moral guidance about marriage, faith and family. But could the Bible contain contradictions, or hidden meanings, that challenge our beliefs about what is right–and what is wrong–when it comes to human sexuality?”

If you missed the first five episodes, you can watch them for free online at History‘s “Bible Secrets Revealed” website.

Remember to tweet your feedback with the hashtag #BibleSecretsRevealed.

And send your questions to Bible History Daily, where I’ll be answering some of them and providing more in depth explanations of the material covered in the show.

Summaries and expanded discussions of Bible Secrets Revealed Episodes 1-4 available at Bible History Daily

I have provided episode summaries of History‘s documentary series “Bible Secrets Revealed” episodes 1-4 at the Bible History Daily website. I’ve also included expanded discussions of many specific issues, as well as answers to many questions posed by Biblical Archaeology Society readers.

The discussions range from the origin of Jesus’ title “Son of Man”, to the origin of the virgin conception of Jesus, to how translators of the Bible fixed the problem of who really killed Goliath.

The summaries are here:

Episode 1: Lost in Translation

Episode 2: The Promised Land

Episode 3: Forbidden Scriptures

Episode 4: The Real Jesus

I shall be providing a summary for Episode 5: Mysterious Prophecies soon, and will do the same for Episode 6: Sex and the Scriptures once it airs.

I may also pull some excerpts from those discussions and repost them here on occasion in order to highlight certain points and promote discussion.

Enjoy!

Episode 5 of Bible Secrets Revealed – “Mysterious Prophecies” – Airs Tonight, Dec 18 at 10/9c

Don’t miss episode 5 of the six-part series “Bible Secrets Revealed” on History.

The fifth installment, entitled “Mysterious Prophecies“, debuts Wednesday, Dec 18, 2013 at 10/9c .

The episode explores:

“Biblical prophecies are said to be messages and warnings sent from God, but what do they really foretell? Can they be decoded and used to predict mankind’s future?”

(The answer to the last part is, of course, no, but we’ll look at the nature of biblical prophecy and why misconceptions of prophecy are so prevalent in society.)

This will be followed by an encore airing of episode 4, “The Forbidden Scriptures”, at 11/10c.

If you missed the first four episodes, you can watch them for free online at History‘s “Bible Secrets Revealed” website.

And as a special Christmas gift: I’m pleased to announce that History has scheduled a Bible Secrets Revealed marathon for Christmas Day, Dec. 25. History will replay each of the episodes in order beginning with “Lost in Translation” at 5pm/4c, and the marathon will climax with the premier of episode 6 “Sex and the Scriptures” at 10/9c. The entire series will then re-air beginning at 11p/10c and continuing overnight in case you missed one of the episodes.

The Christmas Day #BibleSecretsRevealed marathon @HISTORY begins @ 5/4c & climaxes w/ the premier of Ep. 6 "Sex and the Scriptures" @ 10/9c.

— Dr. Robert R Cargill (@xkv8r) December 11, 2013

So spend this Christmas with friends, family, food, and Bible Secrets Revealed on History. You’ll be glad you did.

Remember to tweet your feedback with the hashtag #BibleSecretsRevealed.

(This has become a lot of fun, as many of the show’s participants (and critics) are live tweeting the episodes, and the many clever tweets have proven to be quite fun. Don’t miss out on your chance to ask questions and make comments with the over 1.3 million people who watch the show each Wednesday night.)

And send your questions to Bible History Daily, where I’ll be answering some of them and providing more in depth explanations of the material covered in the show.

Don’t Miss Episode 4 of Bible Secrets Revealed: “The Real Jesus” Tonight on History

Don’t miss episode 4 of the six-part series “Bible Secrets Revealed” on History.

The fourth installment, entitled “The Real Jesus“, debuts Wednesday, Dec 4, 2013 at 10/9c .

The episode explores:

“For billions of people around the world he is known as “The Son of God” — the Messiah — whose teachings have inspired one of the most powerful and influential religions in the world. Nearly everything we know about the life of Jesus comes from the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But just how accurate are these sacred texts?”

And if you missed the first three episodes, you can watch them for free online at History‘s “Bible Secrets Revealed” website.

Tweet your feedback with the hashtag #BibleSecretsRevealed.

(This has become a lot of fun, as many of the show’s participants are live tweeting the episodes. Don’t miss out on your chance to ask questions and make comments with the over 1.3 million people who watch the show each Wednesday night.)

And send your questions to Bible History Daily, where I’ll be answering some of them and providing more in depth explanations of the material covered in the show.

Don’t Miss Episode 3 of Bible Secrets Revealed: “The Forbidden Scriptures” Tonight on History

Don’t miss episode 3 of the six-part series “Bible Secrets Revealed” on History.

The third installment, entitled “The Forbidden Scriptures“, debuts Wednesday, Nov 27, 2013 at 10/9c .

The episode explores:

“The books, gospels and epistles found in the Holy Bible are writings considered to be divinely inspired. But are there chapters of the Bible that are missing? Have stories been censored and characters deleted? And if so, just who decides what is included–and what is forbidden?

And if you missed the first two episodes, you can watch them for free online at History‘s “Bible Secrets Revealed” website.

Tweet your feedback with the hashtag #BibleSecretsRevealed.

And send your questions to Bible History Daily, where I’ll be answering some of them and providing more in depth explanations.

Credits for “Bible Secrets Revealed” – Wednesdays at 10/9c on History

Below is the credit sequence for “Bible Secrets Revealed” on History.

I am pleased to serve as Consulting Producer on the show, but am equally proud of the work done by one of my students (and 2x Azekah archaeological excavation alum), Sanna Miller, a phenomenal artist who possesses an inexplicably keen eye for all things fascinating, as well as the contributions made by my colleagues in Israel at the Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University, and my good friend Dr. Oded Lipschits.

And of course, Executive Producer Frankie Glass is simply a tremendous professional, with whom I am always pleased to work.

Don’t miss the next episode of Bible Secrets Revealed, “The Promised Land“, which debuts on History on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013 at 10pm/9c.

Share your comments on Twitter with the hashtag #BibleSecretsRevealed. And feel free to submit questions to Bible History Daily, where I’ll be answering some of your questions throughout the remainder of the series.

Full Episode of History’s “Bible Secrets Revealed” Episode One: “Lost In Translation” Available Online

In case you missed it, you can watch the FULL EPISODE of History‘s Bible Secrets Revealed “Lost In Translation” online for free.

And don’t miss next week’s episode, “The Promised Land“, airing Wednesday, November 20, 2013 at 10/9c.

Tweet your comments and feedback about the show with hashtag #BibleSecretsRevealed

Have questions about History’s “Bible Secrets Revealed”? Ask them and get an answer.

I’m pleased to announce a six-week collaboration with Biblical Archaeology Society‘s “Bible History Daily“, where I’ll summarize weekly episodes and field questions about History channel’s new six-part documentary series, “Bible Secrets Revealed“.

If you have a question or comment about something said during the show, ask your questions on the Bible History Daily website, and I’ll answer as many as I can. It is my hope that this format will allow some interactive follow-up to the topics discussed in the documentary.

And tune in to “Bible Secrets Revealed” on History tonight, Nov 13, 2013 at 10/9c. The series airs every Wednesday for the next six weeks.

Live tweet your comments and feedback with the hashtag #BibleSecretsRevealed.

For more, visit the official “Bible Secrets Revealed” website.

And of course, send your questions to Bible History Daily.