Reflexiones de mis 30 años, tomandomela bien light!

Agradecida con mi Padre Celestial por un año mas de vida, con el amor de mi familia, y enfocada en los sueños por alcanzar!

Por ahí lei un dicho que decia, "Si no empiezas a trabajar en tu sueño, alguien mas te contratará para que lo ayudes a alcanzar el de el"

1.Guardo mi Tesoro en el Cielo

Me he desprendido del amor a las cosas materiales de este mundo, el amor a las marcas, los nombres de diseñadores, las ediciones especiales, y el costo de tales cosas o de lo que pueda costar perderlas. Si, claro, yo disfruto de lo que tengo y lo cuido, simplemente mi lista de metas no gira al entorno a cosas materiales.

“no mirando nosotros las cosas que se ven, sino las que no se ven; pues las cosas que se ven son temporales, pero las que no se ven son eternas.” 2 Corintios 4:18

2.Hay que estar ahi!

Mi prima que tanto recuerdo, en sus ultimas reflexiones me marcó cuando se lamentaba no haber podido estar presente en mi boda debido a compromisos laborales. Ella me prometió estar presente en mi graduacion, y viajo especialmente para apoyarme cuando yo estaba caminando. Eso significó mucho para mi, y mas ahora. Hay momentos que no se deben de perder en la vida de los que amamos, esas visitas de nuestros familiares que viven lejos, celebraciones de logros, cumpleanos, momentos de cambios dificiles, matrimonios. A veces queremos asistir a un evento especial familiar y sacamos numeros y no queremos gastar el dinero para ir a tal evento. Al final todo esfuerzo vale, aparecer en esa foto en ese dia especial significa mas de lo que crees para esa otra persona a la que honras con tu presencia.

“El mejor regalo que le puedas dar alguien es: tu tiempo” - Anonimo

3.  Dios Pelea Mis Batallas

“Ustedes quédense quietos, que el Señor peleará la batalla por ustedes.” Exodo 14:14

Creo en la justicia divina y que Dios lo ve todo y examina los corazones de todas las personas y sus acciones. He concluido que no hay mejor satisfaccion que ser la persona mas grande, de mostrar bondad y paciencia, pedir perdon y olvidar es de personas grandes.

“La manera en la que la gente te trata a ti, solo refleja como se sienten por dentro” - Anonimo

Balance, todo es cuestion de balance

4.     Asi como cuidamos nuestro cuerpo, el cutis, el cabello, lo que consumimos, lo que vestimos, de la misma manera debemos cuidar como alimentamos nuestro espiritu. Nuestra naturaleza humana esta compuesta por cuerpo, mente y alma. Nos educamos, hacemos ejercicios (ó intentamos), leemos noticias, revistas y blogs para estar al dia con la moda y las tendencias. De la misma manera debemos seguir y leer a lideres en las redes sociales que inspiren. Todos las mañanas comienzo el dia leyendo un Salmo, un Proverbio, (tengo una aplicacion en mi celular que me lo hace mas facil, se llama Bible App) me da direccion, afirmacion, esperanza y alimenta mi Fe, en mi misma y en todo lo que ahnelo de esta vida.

“Mas tú, Jehová, eres escudo alrededor de mí; Mi gloria, y el que levanta mi cabeza. No temeré ni a una gran multitud que ponga sitio contra mí.” Salmo 3:3-6

Que tengas un excelente dia!

El Dolor Nunca Se Va, Es la Fé que Me Sostiene

Tres meses que se       sienten como un año…

Tantas palabras silenciadas, tantos abrazos no dados…

Extraño tus tweets, tus mensajes, tus comentarios.

Aunque vivías lejos te veía , te seguía, la red nos unía.

Ya no aparecerás más en    “Las fotos mas cool del día.”

Protestando, están las misses,  y la 2004, ahora es un cuadro,

Un cuadro negro en representación de tu vóz, de lo que dirías...

En este proceso tan grueso, inconcientemente no dejo de pensar,

Otras veces, tengo que a proposito tratar de bloquear

Todo lo que duele, todo lo que recuerda esta cruda verdad.

Y luego hay dias que simplemente entro en la realidad.

El dolor nunca se va, son tantas curitas que me pongo,

Es la Fé que me sostiene con este dolor en el fondo.

Las preguntas sin respuesta, el “hubiera” que no existe…

Tantos detalles que en cada visita me trajiste,

Al verlos, en vez de llorar escogo sonreir,

Porque fui bendecida al compartir

lo mejor de la vida

con mi prima,

Mónica
Spear.

Amo La Republica Dominicana… Los Colmados, Los Resorts y Las Paradas.

En mi tercer paso por este pintoresco pais, regreso nuevamente fascinada de su gente, su clima, paisajes y sobre todo, en lo tanto que me recuerda a la Venezuela en la que creci, y que ahora ya no es asi. En cuestion de seguridad, tranquilidad y abundancia de productos.

Lo que mas me gustó es que en cada cuadra, ó en cada esquina se encuentran unos kiosquitos llamados “Los Colmados” en estos abastos se encuentra todo al detal, leche, pollo fresco, viveres, productos de limpieza, lo que sea. Hay muchos colmados por todos lados, asi que nunca te sientes con la preocupación de que hay que hacer colas para comprar algo, o que se te acabó la leche (para mi niño) porque estos colmados abren de 7 a.m. hasta las 8 p.m. de verdad son una MARAVILLA! Le pregunté a la señora del colmado, como hacia si se le acababan los productos, si tenia que salir un dia a comprar mas? y me dijo que no, que en cuanto se le vallan acabado los productos ella llama y un camion le suple todo, y llegan el mismo dia en menos de una hora. Cuanta eficiencia!

Llegando a Santiago, quise comprar una Vitamina B12, para comprarla no tuve necesidad de ir a ninguna farmacia ni molestar a nadie que me llevara, pues con una simple llamada, llamas a un “motoconcho” y el motorizado te trae la medicina en menos de una hora. Que maravilla…!
El mismo dia para arreglarnos a la boda del hermano de mi cuñada, no hubo necesidad de ir al salon, pues el salon viene a tu casa, el maquillista, el estilista atiende a varias clientes en una sola sesion, es demasiado practico…! Aqui en los EE.UU. un servicio asi es solo para los ricos y famosos.

Ya estando en Puerto Plata y relajados en el resort, te das cuenta de lo amable que es la gente, ellos realmente aprecian a los turistas y son super atentos, cordiales, y hacen un excelente trabajo, esos resorts estan llenos de extranjeros, ves los Canadieneses, Europeos, Americanos. Caminas por esas playas limpias, y con basureros cerca para que no se amontone la basura, de manera que provoca quedarse alli… Mi esposo y yo nos miramos y nos preguntamos: porque en Tucacas no pueden haber resorts asi?...  

Despues de unos dias en el resort subimos a una montaña a un pueblo llamado El Rio San Juan. En este pueblo se respira serenidad por todos lados, nadie anda pendiente del malandreo, tanto asi que la gente deja abiertas las puertas de su casa. Mi hermano me decia: "Aqui las cosas son diferentes, no es como en Venezuela que te preocupas por que te pueden robar." Y al ver las calles y los negocios, empiezo a ver los carteles, “Bienvenidos a El pueblo de Cristo,” “Cristo Viene” la gente se identifica publicamente como Cristianos al escribirlo en las paredes, en los nombres que le dan a sus negocios. Tambien en una playa, (que siempre estan cuidadas por policias y militares,) veo a un guardia sentado leyendo su Biblia. Me alegra ver un pais asi, en donde todo funciona, no hay escasez, ni miedo a la inseguridad, y donde buscan estar mas cerca de Dios.

La parte que mas me recordo a la Venezuela de antes, fue al bajar de la montaña, hicimos las respectivas paradas, compramos mangos, conservitas de leche y coco, y paramos a comernos unos chicharrones UFF sabrosos! Olvidense de dieta que esto no se ve todos los dias; total... paramos como cinco veces en la carretera, y pienso, esto en Venezuela ya no se puede/debe hacer… parar en las carreteras? Que rico es disfrutar de la libertad de poder parar en donde quieras ahh, y las vías sin huecos!

En general los Dominicanos son muy alegres, estuve viendo la television y las propagandas en la gran mayoria son de salones de belleza, moda, y conciertos tras conciertos!

Bailate la vida, vete bonita, canta y goza. 

Selection of Poems Dedicated to my Homeland

The idea of this collection is to portray what is beyond the commonly known facts about Venezuela.  Most of the common references that come to mind when mentioning Venezuela are oil, Chavez -the crazy president-, and its beauty queens.  The title, Underneath the Oil, reflects on what is beyond the oil, beyond the land, there is richness, there are natural landscapes, family ties, strength and most importantly I wanted to show the optimistic spirit of the Venezuelan people.

The titles of my poems have been written and to show the realization of being a bicultural person and dual citizen of two great countries. I was born in Venezuela, but raised in the United States; my lifespan is equally divided in both places.  Being bicultural, is more than just speaking two languages, it is really embracing each culture, their inside jokes, the ‘street’ talk, their colloquial slangs, the food, the idiosyncrasy of each country and feeling part of it (in each culture).  This is something that I recently managed to do, because originally I always felt like a Venezuelan living in the U.S., like a resident from another country.  After becoming an American Citizen, voting for one of the most important presidential elections and traveling to foreign countries in Europe, my heart grew towards America and I completely fell in love with the U.S.A.  I came to the realization that the U.S.A is by far the best country to live in, and to me, the best in the world, it is a country truly worthy of admiration and won a place in my heart just as much as my native Venezuela.

-Written in 2009 for my Poetry Class

In “The Sun’s Beloved Land”

The irony of returning home,

and seeing the old streets as if they were new.

My mind only knew how to compare,

the drastic differences between

the Venezuelan lifestyle,

and the American life that I had embraced.

I had to become familiar with the words again.

Specially the strong accent that Maracuchos have,

I had lost it to my surprise.

“Oh my God” was more natural to me,

I said it quite frequently, unpredictably.

My cousins laughed with me,

it entertained them when I spoke in English.

There I was with the ones that I grew up with,

and I was not entirely her anymore.

She was inevitably a person from two

places, two spaces, two belongings. 

Underneath Venezuela’s Oil

You, my rich land in diamonds and gold.

You, the queen of the South.

The pretentious, industrious exporter of oil.

You, the happiest in the world.[i]

Even with your flaws,

you were as free as Bolívar wanted you to be.

These days your tongue is held back with fear.

When you said no, it meant no, but the injustice of corruptors

persuaded you to say yes to an unfair amendment.[ii]

Your citizens’ dollars were capped.[iii]

Your televisions have been trapped,

chained with the image of that man.

As he leaves his traces,

your bills change their values

and their faces.

All the absurd alterations made to the Carta Magna…

Enough with the limitations!

If only Bolivar knew, what has become

of the liberty he left you.

The Bi-Life

From here and from there,

the two worlds in my days.

The tropic and the winter,

the noise and the stillness.

The spice and the mild,

the uniform versus style.

It is like two different patterns of fabric sewn together,

to make one garment of clothing.

It is not one, it is not the other,

It is the combination, the appreciation,

of what each world has to offer.

Back in “The Sun’s Beloved Land”

“Maracaibo” the sign stands out in the gate, as I am waiting to board the plane. The combination of those letters makes my heart miss a beat. Almost as if there was something about Maracaibo that I was avoiding and my unconscious brings out. And I surely was…

I did not want to go back to see how deteriorated the city would be how more insecure, more corrupted, more “revolutionized”. But no matter how ugly those news feed, there was the pulling of my roots, and no matter how far from it I may be, my love for this land, I could not pretend to leave behind. As I arrive, the emotions flourish from my being. The difficult times, that lead us to leave, the losses of significant people in my life, the losses of material belongings that lead us to move out to a foreign country. The joys, of sharing with my relatives, all who together made sure, there was nothing that my brother and I could have lacked.  They did not want us to miss out on anything my dad would have given us. All that came to my mind… and then I realized how thankful I still am to this land. No matter how much was lost, there is more energy, more passion, and more happiness that ties me to "The Sun’s Beloved Land."

  

Opposite Poles

Often your stubborn mindset,

leads to pointless conversations:

“The leftists, the opposition…”

Pushing through individual conflicts

between diverse views and inclinations.

Throwing a load of words right in their faces

again and again.

Your respectable voice, your admirable heart

and good intentions, all the known facts,

only counts as another attempt to

convince a person of what is best or right

while outside, there is an infinite universe.

Oh but how hard it is becoming to make out

who is more complicated?

You, for insisting in showing your light

or them for blocking it out...

---

[i] Venezuela holds the Guinness Record for being “The Happiest Country in the World”- 2008

[ii] President Chavez wins the referendum on a constitutional amendment for indefinite presidential reelection -February 2009

[iii] Venezuelan citizens traveling to foreign countries can only spend a maximum of USD$2,500.00 per year per person –January 2009

Miss-Conception

Thinking of my World Literature class during my senior year in college, I was assigned to read the graphic novel “Persepolis” by the famous Iranian author Marjane Satrapi. In her autobiographical novel, the author portrays the realities of her childhood growing up in Iran during the Islamic regime. Her astounding story essentially seeks to break-down the misconceptions of how Iran is viewed by the western world. I found myself in shock to see how, I too, had a vague knowledge of what women dealt with in Iran. All of the reason that made me write at least two essays on her revealing and engaging book.

Not only was I becoming knowledgeable about the Eastern Culture and the misconceptions that I had about Iran, but I was finding myself identified with the way she told her stories. Many of those chapters reminded me of the atrocities and corruptions that exist in my home country as well as it reminded me of the huge misconception that exists for what Christians are like.

When I was in elementary school in Venezuela, my teachers knew that I was an Evangelical Christian and even though I attended a private school, they were so IGNORANT that they would automatically exclude me from participating in school dances, recitals and folkloric presentations. I complained to my mom and she complained to the principal, “Why isn’t my daughter participating the recitals?” Their response: “because she’s a Christian and we thought she was not allowed to dance.” Wow! Really? I happen to LOVE music, and dancing! They immediately put me in the choir and I became the lead singer in my 6^th grade recital. If they had only asked they would have saved themselves the embarrassment. But the stories really do go and on, I have heard people who don’t really know what is the difference between a Christian and a Jehovah Witness, aren’t they the same thing? Don’t you all wear long skirts and women wear no make-up? Um... no. What an erroneous way to look at the world, placing them in categories of misinformed definitions.

During my studies at a Liberal Arts college, I took 3 in-depth courses about Islam and religion in popular culture, besides that, I lived 7 years in Utah and I made many LDS friends, my families are both Evangelical Christians and Catholic, I have learned about them, and I can respect and co-exist with people of other beliefs, but no matter how many different cultures I come across, I will always remain true to my faith, and my faith in Christ will never be shaken. 

Paz en medio de la tormenta... Extrañandote

Recuerdo hace un casi un año cuando fui a visitar a mi abuela Teresa en el hospital y estando ella en la cama, entró al cuarto un voluntario que se identificó como un Capellano, un hermano de la Fé, que se acerco a orar por ella o lo que ella le pidiera. Cuando este hermano se acerco a la cama, algo dentro de mí se estremeció de solo escuchar su dulce vóz... mi abuela, que ya casi ni hablaba, le sonrió y con brillo en sus ojos le dijo: "Ella, mi hija, mis nietas, esta, y aquella y casi toda mi familia le servimos al Señor." Mi abuela estaba en sus ultimos dias, ella sabia para donde iba y la generación que dejaba. Al escuchar sus palabras, no pude evitar llorar pues me conmovió, que de tantas cosas que pudo haber dicho... mis hijos y mis nietos son profesionales, ingenieros, Americanos ó cualquier gran logro que la llenara de orgullo, pero en ese momento lo que mas la llenó fue tener la satisfacción que dejaba una familia que conocía y le servía a Dios. Ahora pienso y me pregunto si ese hermano "voluntario" habría sido un Angel? tal vez...

Mi abuela se fue con el Señor y su partida fue muy dura para la familia, pero teniamos Paz de que la habiamos disfrutado por todos estos años, y que iba a estar en un mejor lugar donde no sufriera mas de esa enfermedad.

Me hice la idea que la gente se moría viejita como mi abuela dejando nietos y bisnietos que no podia contar con las dos manos... jamas imagine que menos de un año despues, estuvieramos despiendo a otra miembra de la familia, y una tan especial para todos, pero sobre todo para mi, tan cercana, y tan unida, tan joven... que me he quedado impactada, asombrada, brava, ya saben que no hay palabras para describir este dolor.

Mi prima Mona... no saben... como eramos ella y yo, no nos alcanzaba el tiempo para sentarnos a hablar... tengo su voz grabada en mi cabeza, su risa, y su "ay prima..." entre tantas cosas que vivimos, sueños que cumplimos. No lo podia creer, no lo queria creer... y no logro entender... pero es asi, es la realidad, mi pana, ya no me va a venir a visitar, ni yo a ella... ya esos viajes que hicimos, esas anecdotas que vivimos no ser van a repetir. Apenas van dos dias en que he dejado de llorar, porque el dolor que siento es tan profundo, que solo mi Dios me ha podido sanar y me da fuerza para continuar. No hay mejor medicina para mi corazón que leer su Palabra, y cantarle en vóz alta.

Y me preguntan, como se puede conseguir la paz en Venezuela? y la verdad una estrategia no sabria proponer... Empezemos buscando a Jesús, el principe de Paz, la paz que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, el camino, la verdad y la vida.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q4Z_NLBBUc

“The Bible” from the Pulpit to America’s TV’s

This year families across America spent Easter watching a new show, instead of watching the traditional film Jesus of Nazareth, History Channel took it to a whole other level by surprising everyone with “The Bible Epic Mini-Series.” The series reenacted the main stories from the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The ten-hour mini-series aired every Sunday-night in 2-hour episodes. The premiere of the series aired on March 13, 2013, precisely four weeks before Easter, so that by the time the series aired their final episode, the scenes of Jesus’ crucifixion would coincide with Easter Sunday.

The anticipation leading up to the premiere night caused a ruckus on social media from major celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Russell Crowe, P.Diddy, Usher and Shakira tweeting and showing their support through hashtags promoting the one-of-a-kind show. “The Bible” became an instant success reaching over 13 Million viewers on the premiere night and over 100 million viewers by the last episode. While “The Bible” producers were successful in their attempt to make biblical narrative appealing to the popular audience, scholars struggle to credit the accuracy of their production in comparison to the original text. However, despite the unfavorable reviews by religious scholars, the massive response from popular culture made the series a smashing hit which strongly suggests that there is a resurgence of faith in America.

In a culture where reality television and celebrity talk shows lead the prime-time space, the media was not expecting “The Bible” to be the leader the charts. “The Bible” mini-series was produced by the mastermind of the world’s biggest reality shows: “Survivor,” “Celebrity Apprentice”, “The Voice”, “Shark Tank”, and “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader.” Why would then Mark Burnett and Roma Downey take such a drastic shift in their production from reality television to biblical television? Because they are devout Catholics and they felt the calling to make the stories of the Bible appeal to the popular audience as a way of evangelism.

The representation of the Bible through Burnett’s eyes is spectacular and full of momentum. However, because he added his own creativity to make the Bible stories stand-out to the viewer, he made certain parts of the Bible different than the original text. Some Bible Scholars called the production to be inaccurate. Specifically, the scholars’ problem with the narrative has to do with the chronology of the stories, character representation, and fidelity to the text used in the script.   

Some of these representations are readily noticeable on the first scene of the series, Genesis Chapter 1. The Bible reads: “In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth...” The narrator is unknown in the Bible, but Burnett added his own dramatic style to this story by having the series begin with an alternate beginning with two stories told in one scene. The words “In the beginning…” are told by Noah while he’s in the ark with the animals during the great flood. “I only watched the first thirty minutes of it… it was cheesy,” said  Mark Pinsky, a veteran religion writer.  For someone who may have never read the Bible before they would find this cinematographic effect to be engaging as the story begins, but for Bible scholars, this was a big turn-off.

However, “The Bible” series is not the first story that deviates from the original text when it is adapted to film or televised productions. When one reads a novel that is later adapted to motion picture, it is often the case, that the book is considered to be better than the film. Similarly, “The Bible” producers did not adhere strictly to the Bible because this is not a documentary film; it is an epic, highly-creative production used as an evangelistic medium with the intent to: “Tackle bible illiteracy in young people.” (Burnett, M.) Therefore, the producers emphasized on key elements that would make the old bible stories appeal to a young audience. Burnett focused on incorporating special effects, dramatic dialogue, sex scenes and epic sword fights to give his own interpretation of the bible on cable television that would attract a modern audience.

In order to make the stories of the Bible stand out to popular culture, Burnett, known as the godfather of reality television added elements of drama within the script in that were nowhere to be found on the Bible, therefore the new lines really surprised the viewers.  An example of some of those scenes is when an angel appears to Sarah to tell her that even though she is barren, God will give her and Abraham a child at an elderly age. That is the gist of the story from what we get from the bible, but on the series, the story comes out more melodramatic as it reveals the marital problems between Abraham and Sarah. The script includes a dialogue that focuses on Sarah being jealous of her servant Hagar and her son Ishmael because they get all the attention from Abraham.

The shift in the dialogue from the scripture creates a dramatic scene between Sarah and Hagar, similar to the cat fights featured on Celebrity Apprentice as the celebrities compete against each other. To watch Sarah and Hagar give each other dirty looks and fight for Abraham’s love, is seemingly as entertaining as watching the girls on “Rock of Love” dissing each other to get to Bret Michael’s attention. Perhaps that type of added element of entertainment in the series contributed to “The Bible” becoming “the most popular show on television.” More than likely that same type of superficial portrayal is what caused religion critics to refer to the series as “cheesy or inaccurate.”  

Nonetheless, such inaccuracy in the bible stories is only referencing an extended representation of what the dialogue could have truly been like between the whole Abraham-Sarah-Hagar ordeal. Mark Burnett did not change the outcome or the main message, in fact the producers aimed to adhere to the Bible in its accuracy: “We had over forty theologians and academics advising us to ensure that we were accurate and always telling the story in the spirit of the book.” Said Roma Downey.  What they did differently was to adapt the story to entertain the popular audience, and with his expertise in the field of reality television, he knew what to focus on based on the demands of popular culture.

Whereas religion scholars believe that representation of the bible on History Channel cheapens the scriptures, the ratings of the series and the amount of coverage it has gained in the media demonstrate that there is a resurgence of faith in America. Harrisburg Catholic Diocese Bishop McFadden was asked for his thoughts on the rating success of "The Bible," McFadden responded: “Studies have shown that America is seeking a spirituality. All studies in the last ten years have pointed out that people are searching and have a thirst for spirituality in their own life.” (Cook, P. web.) “The Bible” Series confirms what those studies have shown.

When Oprah Winfrey, an avid fan of the series interviewed the producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, she asked them what was their inspiration to make the “The Bible Series,” they responded that they tried to get their teenagers to watch “The Ten Commandments” with them, but they could not engage, they felt it was outdated and could not wait until the movie was over. Hence, the producers’ goal was to bring The Bible to life with state-of-the-art special effects, and to attract a new generation to The Bible. Also, because this country was founded on the Bible, they felt it this series would entice people into opening their Bible again. Forbes magazine writer concurs that: “the success of this show is a testament to the fact that faith plays an important role in people’s lives.” (Jankowski, P.)  Ultimately, the producers mission was to use the series as an evangelistic tool to touch the lives of Americans and to reach millions of people in an engaging way.

In order to present the Bible as a story that would captivate a popular audience Christians and non-christians alike, the producers portrayed the Bible heroes in a radical way. Characters like Samson, The Angels, and the club-like party atmosphere that they gave to Sodom and Gomorrah were some of the astounding factors that made the series engaging. Most depictions of Samson from graphic Bibles, or Children’s stories have made Samson to look like a strong He-man type of character, Caucasian, long hair sometimes blonde or brown hair, but with a very typical hero look. In the series, Samson appeared drastically different with a heavy weight, of African descent, long dreadlocks and a dirty, sweaty appearance, not the big hunk he was thought out to be. But their interpretation of what Samson might have really looked-like worked just fine, and perhaps is closer to the realistic depiction of Samson. In the same manner, the Angels that came to Abraham did not appeared with white wings or robes; instead they appeared as three multi-race young ninja fighters. One of them was Asian, another one was bald and black, and the Angel Gabriel was Caucasian. The Angels were in several fight scenes full of action and credible martial moves, an effect that amazed the viewers.

Mark Burnett’s idea for making “The Bible” series as a medium that would attract the masses to read the Bible again has been proven successful by the massive amount of support from viewers, religious and non-religious alike, celebrities, and spiritual leaders. Further, this massive amount of attention from popular culture demonstrates that faith is an essential part of the American culture and that there is a resurgence of faith in America.

There is no other work that has covered The Bible from Genesis through Revelation in a complete television series or movie that would make the message of the Bible more accessible to a large audience. The previous films that covered biblical narrative, like “The Ten Commandments,” “Jesus of Nazareth,” and even Mel Gibson’s gruesome take on “The Passion of The Christ” are complete different representations of The Bible. First, neither of these works is concerned with covering the entire Bible, they only focus on specific sections, whether it is the Old Testament, or the New Testament.  Second, the older versions are completely outdated. They may worked for a few decades, but in a digital era like we live today, the masses demand top-notch visual and sound effects to appreciate the message and thoroughly engage in a long series like “The Bible.”

While critics and religion scholars deem “The Bible” series to lack scholarship and accuracy, the representation of this program is not aimed at scholars, it was uniquely made to appeal to a new generation that is highly entertained by media and technology, but at the same time is ignorant of the Bible’s teachings. Roma Downey says: “Why not do a series on the Bible, if anything, we wanted to set the record straight, I have heard people say: “So Sodom and Gomorrah lived happily ever after right?” The series script was written with the help of over 40 theologians, because it was necessary that in their attempt to make the Bible “cool” and poignant, the content stayed true to the message.  

Are scholars right in their accusation that the producers deviated from the text? Yes, to a certain extent, but by any means did they construct alternate endings, or characters. If in the series we would have found 13 disciples instead of 12, or if they had given Jesus a wife, then that would have been outrageous and completely out of the line. But simply because the plot changed Jesus words to Peter from: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,” to “Change The World,” or when Jesus was dying at the cross he spoke to Mary, he called her “Mother” in the series, instead of “Woman” which is the original word in the Bible, it does not make the meaning and the context false as compared to the scripture.

Film and television are heavily concerned with creative ways in which to surprise the audience and motivate coherence and engagement with the stories and characters they portray, certainly “The Bible Series” was not the exception. The epic and modern representation of the greatest story ever told caters to high demanding audience, in which form is equally important as content. The success of the series reflects how important faith is for a nation that was founded on The Bible and where God’s name appears in our currency. For other atheist groups that are opposing God and Jesus to be in our bills and in our schools, certainly Mark Burnett and Roma Downy backfired at these types of groups with “The Bible Series,” because from the moment it came out, it has been the most talked-about show in the radio, television and churches across America. Even if the conversation stemmed from trivial thoughts about Satan’s resemblance with President Obama, or Diogo Morgado being referred to as “Hot” Jesus, “The Bible Series” achieved its main goal which was to reach millions with the word of God through television and DVD/Blue Ray. Certainly, it makes it easier for anyone to watch The Bible in five episodes, than to have a new year resolution of reading The Bible in one year, this is highly unachievable to do, but now we can all sit back and be entertained with “The Bible Series.”
http://www.history.com/shows/the-bible