Opinion
By Billy Hallowell, Faithwire
09-14-23
A new documentary from CBN Films, “Oracles of God: The Story of the Old Testament,” relies on reenactments, expert interviews, and stunning visuals to help bring the Bible’s history to life, with director Erin Zimmerman explaining how God placed the project on her heart.
The filmmaker recalled watching past documentaries on the Bible and quickly coming to an important realization.
“I couldn’t find one that I thought was doctrinally correct, or from a Christian standpoint, or even historically correct,” Zimmerman said. “They all seemed to come from the viewpoint that the Bible’s text is corrupt, that there was some chicanery in choosing the books, and that it was for political influence, and all of these things.”
Recognizing the need for a documentary to honor the Bible with truth and scholarship, she decided to focus on the “facts without an agenda.” And that’s how “Oracles of God” was born.
As Zimmerman dove into the Bible, she quickly realized the Old Testament’s formation was relatively quick and solidified.
“The New Testament canon, while that took about 300 years to develop, the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible canon, was fairly quick,” she said. “There weren’t really disputes. The Jewish people … they sort of accepted the books as they came along.”
In addition to the fact the books presented in the Old Testament were well-accepted, she was also captivated by something else.
“What really struck me was the continuity of the text,” Zimmerman said. “And this really couldn’t have been proven before 1947, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.”
The director said the film explores how the Book of Isaiah — the only fully complete scroll among the Dead Sea Scrolls — is a standard that dates back to before Christ’s life. Prior to its discovery, the oldest copy of Isaiah went back to 1,000 A.D., but the older version exhibited the aforementioned continuity.
Read the full article here: How Was the Bible Created? Filmmaker Explores Proof, Veracity of God’s Word – Faithwire
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.
