The Forbidden Book

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Isaiah 40:8 

We were given the opportunity to review a historical documentary from New Liberty Videos. The company, owned by Brian Barkley, produces Christian videos. They offer a variety of topics from the greatness of America to the UFO conspiracy to the mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls to life after an abortion and more. We chose The Forbidden Book.   

The Forbidden Book is a 58-minute DVD about the preservation of the Bible. From the beginning of time, the Devil has wanted to cause confusion and destroy God's Word.  This documentary is a walk through history and how godly men chose to fight for the preservation of the Bible. Even during the Dark Ages when superstition and ignorance attempted to control the people, men stood firm in their faith. This video tells the stories of early church fathers, John Wycliffe (who translated the Bible from Latin to English), Martin Luther (who exposed wrong doings in the church and preached that justification was through faith and faith alone, Ephesians 2:8-9), William Tyndale (who sacrificed his life in order to make printed Bibles in the English language available to the people), and the countless martyrs who defended their faith and taught their children the Scriptures and were tortured because of it.   

 Did you know . . .

• Ancient Bibles required an entire flock of sheep to provide the parchment for one 4th century New Testament.

• The cost of a Bible in the 1300s, easily amounted to a priests whole yearly income. 

• The Geneva Bible was quoted by William Shakespeare over 5,000 times in his plays. 

• The first Bible printed in the United States was in 1663 and was a translation for the Algonquin Indians.

• By 400 A.D., the Bible had been translated into 500 languages.

• By 500 A.D., the Bible had been reduce to only 1 language.

 

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 24:35

Having grown up in a Christian home, attending a Christian school, and graduating from a Bible college, a lot of the information was review for me. I was taught a love of the Scriptures early on. I learned how men and women defended their faith and refused to back down even when death was imminent. Too often, I think, we take our Bibles for granted. There was once a time when people gave all to hold a copy of God's Word in their hands, when seeing the Scriptures in your own tongue was all but a dream. Now, we have multiple copies lying around the house. May we always understand that It is a precious Book, one to be read daily and obeyed. 

This video is full of facts and information and is narrated by Dr. Craig Lampe, a Bible historian. While I have studied this subject over the years, it was a good review and reminder. The DVD, which costs $19.95, is recommended for a general audience, but I wasn't so sure a documentary would hold the attention of my littles (8 and younger). My husband and I sat down to watch it by ourselves. Within minutes of starting, I knew that I had been right. The kids even walked into the room at one point when they heard that a movie was on, and quickly went back to the other room to play. While the information is great and the topic is important, the execution is a little dry. It would be good for an older student or adult who truly wants to learn about the people God used to preserve His Word for us today.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 
for correction, for instruction in righteousness: II Timothy 3:16

To read more reviews of the Forbidden Book or one of the other videos offered, please head to the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.