Anyone bothered by 'A.D. the Bible Continues'?

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I have finally caught up with the episodes, and yes, I agree with the others in this thread about the poetic license used to develop the political turmoil of the time. The thing is, presenting that drama and the shouting between Peter and Saul, kept me in awe over the whole Church thing. I mean, really, there is no way mere men could have convinced all those early christians to have held fast to a conspiracy. The Romans were brutally intense about snuffing out talk of a Kingdom for the Jews. No mercy. It had to be the Spirit which led these people to hold fast. I actually appreciate the brutality and political posturing for that reason.
Well when you say it like that…
 
My husband and I have been watching. We are behind a few episodes but trying to get caught up.

I’ve been frustrated at times because “that’s not how it is in the bible.” And we decided that the poetic license they have taken was to get it to draw a more mainstream crowd but still deliver on the message.

I want to support it because if we don’t they will stop making them and they won’t get better.

I came on here to see what others were saying because I have not heard a lot of people in my parish talking about it. And pretty much agree with what everyone has been saying.

I’m glad they made it and I will watch it till the end. It just feels like the message is just off a bit. When Peter says “we are all about love, and loving each other here.” Well that made me squirm a little bit and when Caiphas sentences the apostles to death by stoning, I kept thinking it was wrong, but Gamilel speaking to the Sanhedrin was 100% correct. And Caiphas’ wife is really driving me mad. It almost seemed like she was mocking his faith or saw it as a waste of time and that she would get things taken care of by herself and her secret meetings and bribery etc.

I’m glad we have it recorded so we can pause it when it gets to be too much and take a break. But then do a marathon when it is going along well.
 
I’ve enjoyed it. The thing is, a lot of the political posturing by Caiaphas and Pilate, though there’s no real record of it, it’s known that there was a lot of tension between the High Priesthood and Rome. By the way, all of Caiaphas’s wife’s brothers ended up being High Priest at one time or another. Honestly, though, the one character that I’ve had a problem with a depiction of is St. Cornelius the centurion (spoiler: he gets baptized in the last episode of the miniseries).

Regardless, though it’s taken some artistic license, but it’s seemed to stay as faithful as possible to Luke’s account.
 
I’ve enjoyed it. The thing is, a lot of the political posturing by Caiaphas and Pilate, though there’s no real record of it, it’s known that there was a lot of tension between the High Priesthood and Rome. By the way, all of Caiaphas’s wife’s brothers ended up being High Priest at one time or another. Honestly, though, the one character that I’ve had a problem with a depiction of is St. Cornelius the centurion (spoiler: he gets baptized in the last episode of the miniseries).

Regardless, though it’s taken some artistic license, but it’s seemed to stay as faithful as possible to Luke’s account.
Is it over?
 
I’ve enjoyed it.
I have been greatly enjoying the series. It is good to see a portrayal of this part of the Bible. I can only remember one other attempt. Sure it is a little soap opera-ish in its political background, but it they have to pay the bills. Some exposure to the Bible is better than none. If I was bothered by this, as tame as it is, I do not think I could ever watch any TV.

I am also enjoying the Texas Rising series, though that too takes liberties. It is the nature of television. It is, after all, entertainment.
 
Well, I have mixed feelings about it. I’m very glad that Hollywood (or whoever) is focusing on more of the New Testament, particularly the Book of Acts. However, unless one has actually closely studied it, there is quite a bit of stuff that has been added. Much of it is very probable, but some is clear speculation or even fictional. I’ve noticed that many people have commented that there is a lot of focus on the Romans, but I believe it is important that we realize the impact that had on both the Jewish nation and the early Christian church. After all, it was Constantine who finally “legitimized” Christianity and the hierarchy of the R.C. Church is based on many of the Roman customs, particularly dividing regions into diocese, etc.
 
I don’t even watch those kinds of shows anymore as they seem to always have some kind of nonsense in it. I end up more disappointed than entertained. God Bless, Memaw
Very unbiblical by Catholic Bible standards
 
Very unbiblical by Catholic Bible standards
I do not know what you mean by unbiblical, but it is not supposed to be “The Bible”. It is historical fiction in a biblical setting. The Bible is The Bible and movies are movies.
 
I’m actually really enjoying this series. I like how it fills in the blanks to the main story in the Bible.
 
By the way, all of Caiaphas’s wife’s brothers ended up being High Priest at one time or another. Honestly, though, the one character that I’ve had a problem with a depiction of is St. Cornelius the centurion
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True. Acts 10 describes him as ‘devout’ and ‘God-fearing.’ This Cornelius is brutal and inhuman.
 
We do not know Cornelius, but he was a Roman Centurion. His hands were unlikey free of blood. The portrayal seems more likely than not to me. Yet God looks upon the heart of a person. The movie does show this, though subtly, up until the last episode where he broke down crying.

Maybe the Bible refers to the man he was in the life he lived, or maybe it refers to him at the time of Peter’s visit. If the later, then God can convert the heart, especially of one already predisposed. I suspect his conversion will be portrayed more poignantly than that of Paul.
 
My wife and I watched the entire thing (last Sunday was the final episode). Overall, I enjoyed it; she thought it was great and is really bummed there won’t be more, at least for now.

My biggest annoyance was the over-emphasis on trying to be House of Cards/Game of Thrones. I guess I chalk that up to a need to engage the modern TV-going audiences, but I thought the political intrigue/backstabbing/betrayal was too over the top.

When I think of what makes up most of network TV, I’m glad this was on as an option. It sounds like it’s borderline to get renewed for a second season. I could see it leaving NBC but continuing on in some more niche cable medium. We’d watch a season 2 if they made one.
 
Overall, I enjoyed the first season, and I don’t have any issues with the back-and-forth between the stories of the Church and the apostles and the political intrigue between the Sanhedrin and Rome. Indeed, if A.D. stuck solely with the Biblical account, it would be an extremely dry TV series.

I was especially impressed by the Crucifixion and Ascension scenes (the latter was something I could especially imagine); to a lesser degree, the descent of the Holy Spirit scene. I was more disappointed with the lack of emphasis on certain Biblical truths, such as the fact that the Apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the Name, but here, they pictured Peter all torn up about his daughter returning to Galilee. Meh.

I liked the Saul thread and especially his portrayal. Saul starts out as a zealous persecutor, as we know, and then the same fiery personality shows as a new missionary wannabe. A very down-to-earth and realistic development of the man who would bring the Word to the Roman Empire.

Cornelius was also the other character whose conversion I was looking forward to, and him praying the Our Father with the Apostles as Romans and Jews were dying around them in the season finale was a nice touch. I’m curious to see how the series portrays him and his men if renewed.

I don’t mind the political thread because the political intrigues of both the Jews and Romans set the context of the early Church and the world it faced. Scripture is not detailed enough in this area and fleshing it out with contemporary historical sources brings the drama to life. Except the character of Leah bat Annas, wife of Caiaphas. She was just too conspiratorial for my taste and by the time of the finale, she was simply in my hair. My favorite scene of her was her motionless with her throat slashed as Caiaphas found her.

All in all, it didn’t lose me as “The Bible” did and I found the creative license of A.D. much more tolerable than the former. I do hope it gets renewed and that it better balances both the Biblical and secular histories of the Roman Empire, much as the 1985 A.D. miniseries did.
 
We do not know Cornelius, but he was a Roman Centurion. His hands were unlikey free of blood. The portrayal seems more likely than not to me. Yet God looks upon the heart of a person. The movie does show this, though subtly, up until the last episode where he broke down crying.

Maybe the Bible refers to the man he was in the life he lived, or maybe it refers to him at the time of Peter’s visit. If the later, then God can convert the heart, especially of one already predisposed. I suspect his conversion will be portrayed more poignantly than that of Paul.
The portrayal of Cornelius I believe is well-balanced. You don’t get to become a Roman Centurion without a commitment to duty, which includes obeying orders, even brutal ones. This version of Cornelius did just that, with deadly efficiency. The Roman Army would not have had it any other way.

Yet, on several occasions, we also see the decency in the man himself. On one occasion, he made it clear that while he would strike a Jewish woman if necessary, it was never his first recourse. As he was beating Tabitha, you could see that he was clearly pained by what he was doing, and was doing it only as his duty. His final breakdown was after his efficient execution of Joanna. He knew Pilate ordered it only out of brutality, and this centurion clearly was not one who enjoyed brutality for his own sake. The fictional backstory made his conversion all the more dramatic. His sobbing into Mary Madgalene (who witnessed his beating of Tabitha) brought to the fore that behind all that duty and armour, this was indeed a good, God-fearing man, who recognized that his hands were stained with blood, but that Peter had a message of new life waiting for him.
 
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