Video and DVD Reviews
This section is not for movies or t.v. shows. Sorry to dissapoint you but it is fo those videos and dvds which seek to present an academic viewpoint on theology, archaeology or even science. Some will be lecture series that are produced for the public and found at such places as Biblical Archaeology Society.
These views are solely the opinion of archiesarena.com and presented as we are led by God so that you can get the most honest perspective of what is being reviewed. To form your own opinion it is suggested that you buy/borrow the selected materials and view it for yourselves, what we provide here is only a guideline .
The first DVD to be reviewed is The Biblical Collector's Series , so far it has 4 volumes of about 3 dvds each and with a different topic on each disc. The volume looked at today contains the topics: 1. Biblical Prophecies, 2.Biblical O.T. Mysteries and 3. Biblical Women.
The producers of this series has gone to great expense to provide a very slick product and the professionalism shows. However after watching this set of DVDs we got the impression that this is how production should NOT be done.
It is full of great information but its presentation seemed scripted to ensure only one viewpoint was seen, the interviews felt cold, and heavily edited to make sure the experts appeared to be agreeing with the point of view presented by the producers of this series.
Very little honest exaination of the discoveries, the records or differing opinions took place and this is its weakest point. Yes it had some very good scholars and christian leaders interviewed but it also had many obscure ones as well. In fact more time was given to those who are unheard of than those who are respected in their fields.
All in all, one can get some food for thought here or tidbits of insight or information which will help the believer but in reality most of the theories are outdated, disproved or lacking in updated material. In one, the late Ron Wyatt was referenced and used as a credible source, unfortunately for the producers, Mr. Wyatt has been discredited quite thoroughly and pushed to the fanatical side of the field of archaeology.
This is what brings this series down as it looks to the extremes and not the truth and promotes ideas which really do not mesh with the Biblical record nor its message. We were sorry that we spent the money on this volume as we had high hopes for it, especially the segment on Sodom and Gomorrah. We had hoped it would shed new light on the topic and debates but no it didn't. It just rehashed the same old arguments wihtout coming to any new conclusions or possibilities.
Uninformed Christians may like this set as it looks really good to those who have not studied Biblical archaeology and do not know all of all that has been discovered. Sometimes a person puts too much trust in a DVD, movie or book, etc., just because the words Bible, Christian, Biblical appear in the title, on the cover somewhere or in an ad.
Well be fore-warned, not everything that proclaims to be christian is right or even good. A christian needs to be discerning and not blindly accepting whatever is shown them even though it seems to prove the Bible true. There ar many different Christian perspectives out there and false teachers love to hide their errors and avoid the truth.
This series is probably well meaning, not false, but it does error in many places and tends to give the wrong impression of what has been discovered or accepted by scholars or christian leaders. It would be a good starting point for those serious about learning more in the field of Biblical archaeology but it is not definitive nor is it the standard, at best itis the bottom of the field andone needs to not use it as the defining work, but as a stepping stone to more wise study.
