AD. Season 1

The first season of NBC's mid-year hit AD: The Bible Continues wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. I've been watching it and as the season went on my enjoyment of the series went down with it. 

First of all, I feel guilty even saying that.  With such shows as Keeping Up With the Kardashians on TV, I feel blessed that something like AD is on at all.  And it's earnest in it's portrayal of early Christianity. It's respectful of the faith of the apostles and their sincerity in preaching the Gospel.  It is a dramatization of the Book of Acts, so I can forgive some artistic license with historical facts.

But it's a deeply Protestant show.  Again, I don't exactly care about that, but there are some things in the show that seem to be in direct conflict with the Book of Acts and all those things seem designed to highlight the Protestant version of early Christianity.

Acts 5:42 says that the "And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." However, in AD, the apostles are only occasionally preaching.  In the short season that just ended the apostles are typically depicted hiding in the Upper Room with the windows drawn, pacing back and forth debating what they should do.  Then one will say: "We need to preach!" and they'll spill out into the streets preaching about Jesus by they the next episode they are back in the upper room.  The depiction of the apostles huddled together is consistent with the Book of Acts before Pentecost, but there is nothing in Acts that would suggest that situation after Pentecost.

But there's one exception: Paul.  Paul is on fire, man!  He's hot for blood before the road to Damascus incident and he's hot to win souls afterwards.  He's not one to let moss grow under his feet! Nosiree!  In fact, according to scriptures, Paul spent 3 years in instruction before he took off to preach the Word.  This is one of the "Protestant" things in the show: highlighting the work of Paul as superior to the efforts of the other apostles.  There's an evangelical theme here as well: preaching from the heart with the trust that the Holy Spirit will provide the words.  Never mind all that book learning: I have the Spirit.

Also Acts 2:46-47 says "And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people."  But in AD, there's only one scene so far where they celebrated anything like the Eucharist, and in that scene, it's unclear that they meant anything by it except a symbol.  There's also plenty of baptisms but no confirmation, though the depiction of Cornelius and his family receiving the Holy Spirit was interesting.  This downplaying of the sacraments is, again, pretty normal from a Protestant standpoint, but it's not consistent with the Bible.

The Book of Acts does not mention the apostles leaving Jerusalem to go their own ways.  In the show, the apostles seem to be drifting away one at a time, and that's probably OK from a narrative standpoint.  It might have happened that way.  But it gives the impression of more or less constant discord in the group of apostles.  Almost as if one by one, they are leaving Peter to go out on their own.  Hmm...

I should mention that the same people behind this series produced The Bible a few years back and in that show there was much more emphasis on the sacraments and the Apostles all split up at the same time by mutual accord to spread the Gospel to the ends of the Earth.  I think the one-by-one departure of the apostles in this series is a dramatic device to keep the story in Jerusalem. It's easier to depict the various struggles and intrigues if everyone is in the same place.

Finally, I do like the characters of Pilate and Caiaphas. I'm less sure about their wives.  I'd defer to someone else to tell me if that's an accurate or reasonable depiction.  But the depiction of how those two interact with each other and their motivations and the means by which they rule is interesting.

I'm also happy to note that there's no stuffy feminism or other modern hangups in this series. No crypto-women priests or ministers.  No claims that Mary Magdalen is Jesus' wife, or a leader of the apostles, nor is she depicted as being oppressed by the apostles.  And there is a subtle sacramental nature to the film as when it's time to baptize or cure someone or raise someone from the dead, people go find an apostle to do it.  And it's the only show on TV that's not advocating for gay marriage.

I read that the series was renewed but I don't know when it will start. I've been wondering how much longer they will go with it: how much material is there in the Book of Acts?  And I wonder if they'll spin off a series following Paul on his travels.