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.

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.

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.

Audio of my interview on Iowa Public Radio’s “River to River” with Ben Kieffer

Dr. Robert Cargill in Qumran Cave 4. Photo by Yuval Peleg.

Yesterday, I was interviewed by Ben Kieffer on Iowa Public Radio‘s “River to River” show. Many thanks to Ben Kieffer for a great experience, and to Producer Emily Woodbury for setting it up and making me feel at home.

Description:

“On this edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer sits down with University of Iowa archeologist and religious scholar, Robert Cargill. They discuss Cargill’s trip to Israel with UI students for an excavation of Tel Azekah, as well as his latest project – a six-part documentary called “Bible Secrets Revealed.” It begins airing this week on the History Channel, starting Wednesday November 13 at 9 p.m.”

Give the interview a listen.

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.

Huffington Post on “Bible Secrets Revealed” premiering tonight on History

Jaweed Kaleem has written an article this morning for the Huffington Post Religion section, entitled “Bible Secrets Revealed, New History Channel Documentary, To Premiere.”

On the rationale behind the show:

“A lot of Biblical scholarship is controversial from simply making unsubstantiated claims or by saying things like ‘we found the Arc of the Covenant and the nails of the cross,'” says Robert Cargill, an archeologist and religion professor at the University of Iowa who was a consulting producer for the show. “We wanted the scholarship itself to be controversial, based upon the facts of what we have found in our studies.”

On the diversity of scholarly opinion in the show:

“In addition to Cargill, who was raised as a Christian but now calls himself an agnostic, experts were drawn from Islamic, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and secular backgrounds. They include Reza Aslan, whose book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, topped bestseller charts this year after a controversial interview about his Islamic faith on Fox News, and Los Angeles-based author and Rabbi David Wolpe.”

The article concludes:

“We look at the different approaches to the canon. There are some people who say the Bible is the word of God, while others say, ‘well, people did the best they could to believe in the Bible a long time ago, but now we accept that everything wasn’t created in six days, now we accept that there’s evolution,” says Cargill…”Some people say the Bible is a political document, an economic document or a legal document. At the end of the day, it’s a human document, and that’s what scholars look at,” adds Cargill. “But the reason it’s so popular is because people have found so much value in it, looking toward it for nuggets of wisdom and guidance for how to life a better life.”

Give the article a read.

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.

Official Website for “Bible Secrets Revealed” Series on History

History has unveiled an official website for their newest documentary series, “Bible Secrets Revealed.”

The description of the series is as follows:

It’s the world’s all-time best-selling book and has been read and studied by billions over the past 2,000 years. Yet, after all this time, there are still so many mysteries and unanswered questions about the Bible: Who wrote it? How old is it? And is it accurate? From the moral codes of the Old Testament to the apocalyptic predictions of the Book of Revelation, HISTORY’s new series, Bible Secrets Revealed, seeks to answer those very questions. Over the course of six episodes, scholars, archaeologists and religious leaders will treat viewers to stunning, on-location photography and compelling reenactments while revealing hidden facts and shocking information about this ancient text.

Dont miss the series premier Wed., Nov. 13 at 10/9c.

Live tweet your comments at #BibleSecretsRevealed.

The Gazette highlights “Bible Secrets Revealed” on History

Alison Gowans has written an article for The Gazette titled, “University of Iowa scholar on History Channel series“, discussing my work with the upcoming History documentary series, “Bible Secrets Revealed“.

A couple of quotes from the article:

“There are a lot of people making a lot of uniformed, sensational claims about religion, so we thought it was about time we do a responsible show about what scholars say about the Bible,” he said. “I like taking difficult issues about the Bible and making them accessible to the public.”

It’s nice to see Tel Azekah mentioned and represented well:

Part of the documentary was shot in Tel Azekah in Israel, where Cargill and UI students were participating in an excavation of a site on the border of the Biblical kingdoms of Judah and the Philistines.

The article concludes with a comment on the importance of social media and reaching out to the public in modern scholarship.

He said participating in documentaries, along with other tactics such as blogging and using social media, are important for scholars who want to share their knowledge outside university walls.

“There’s always been a criticism of scholars that they sit in their ivory towers and only talk to each other but it never makes its way down to the public,” he said. “The University of Iowa brought me here in part to reinvigorate the public discussion on matters of faith. Documentaries are one way to do that.”

Give the article a read.

And tune in to “Bible Secrets Revealed” on History 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.