AUDIO BIBLE | AUDIO BIBLE REVIEWS

the-holy-bible-on-cd

Not Perfect But Excellent !

By Joe Felim

I am totally enthralled with this CD set of the Holy Bible. I like the reader of the Old Testament better than the New Testament, but I like the idea that there are two different voices. I have found a couple of glitches, like where the end of a chapter gets cut off abruptly and then the next chapter begins. This however was not enough in my opinion to give less than the best grade.

It totally amazes me how much I understand just listening to the CDs. I thought I was going to listen while I read and this would keep me “on track,” so to speak, but I find I enjoy just listening, and this way I rest my eyes, and also get great comprehension. I personally don’t find I get much comprehension while driving, but others have commented to the opposite, and I can’t disprove what they say, it’s just this isn’t an application that works for me.

If any producers of Bibles on CD are reading, I would like to give my “suggestions” for improvement. I would like no CD to start or end in the middle of a chapter. My utmost preference would be for each Bible book to be on its own CD, I realize that some of smaller books would have to be combined onto a single CD, and I also realize my “suggestion” would mean the CDs weren’t all of equal time length, that’s just the way I would like it! I also think I would enjoy a variety of voices in the complete set, perhaps a female voice, even a youth’s or child’s voice (but of course with clear pronunciation and soothing tonal quality.

All in all, I think this is a great CD set. I would recommend it highly as a gift for anyone who loves the Bible. The carrying case is also great, I didn’t expect that and it’s beautiful and useful and and “serendipity.”

the-visual-bible-dvd

Life Changing !

By Joe Felim

Are you tired of reenactments that aren’t faithful to scripture? Then the Visual Bible is for you. This entire four hour video is word-for-word from the NIV. No subtractions or deletions. It is beautifully filmed and would be great for group study. You can even follow along with the verses because they are placed at the bottom of the screen. The Jesus of this video is amazing. He’s full of life and happy. Yes, I said, “happy”. If you’re used to the older videos such as “Jesus of Nazereth” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told” then this portrayal of Jesus may be a bit of a shock. I’m not down-playing these videos, I think they’re great. However, the “Visual Bible” seems to better portray Jesus as the scriptures do. By the end of this video you truly see the bond between Jesus and the apostles. You will also see the most gruesome crucifixion scene that I’ve ever seen done. You can almost feel His pain. I would definitely recommend this video to anyone wishing to enrich his or her spiritual life through the powerful medium of video.

The Matthew film has made a huge impact on my vision of the personality and character of Jesus. This film is word for word to the NIV translation of the Gospel of Matthew, and shows the chapters and verses in the lower corner of the screen. There are no added stories, characters, or words; but all of the emotions are expressed to their fullest which gives you a great understanding and meaning behind what is being said. It identifies a very approachable and caring Jesus figure. This film has inspired everyone I have shown it to (and I have shown it to many). In my personal opinion, the character of Jesus that is portrayed in this film, matches the Gospel more than any other movie I have ever seen about Jesus. This video has given me a great picture to go with the words written in the Bible and has helped me get a better understanding of what I am reading. I highly recommend this and all the other films made by The Visual Bible; they really do an outstanding job of adding personality to the characters. I am convinced that this is very close to the way it really happened (besides being white and speaking english of course;) I hope this review helped!

The wonder of these videos, however, is the fact that they are able to make you think. While sticking so closely to the Bible and with well researched visuals, the producers, directors, and actors give their own interpretation of the story, which allows you to open your eyes to something new. The best example of this is Bruce Marchiano’s portrayal of Jesus. Instead of the solemn, serious person you usually picture, here we see a person who enjoyed life, laughed, and had some fun in between dealing with the serious issues of life. When I first watched these videos, it made me look at my preconceived ideas of God very differently. While expensive, these DVD’s are worth checking out for a different perspective on a familiar tale.

king-james-version-bible-on-dvd

Good Narration But Not Perfect

By Joe Felim

It’s for the first time that the entire scriptures have been made available on DVDs making it a whole new experience for everyone to listen to the scriptures. The DVD set has two DVDs - One for the Old Testament and other for New Testament. Stephen Johnston, with his clear, expressive baritone voice, is one of the foremost narrators of the Bible and he delievers excellent word-for-word rendition of the popular New King James Version Bible over a soft instrumental background. However, there are some shortcomings too. The pace with which the scriptures are narrated is not consistent throughout. Though most chapters of the Bible have been read quite nicely, some have been narrated in quite a hurry. Chapters like Revelation 13 and 17 have been read at such a lightening pace as if the DVD storage space was running short. The Gospels however, have been read beautifully by Stephen Johnston. In the Old Testament DVD also, some chapters have been read speedily. It may be due to the fact that some chapters like those in Revelation are not read much by the christians and hence the narrator took the liberty of reading them hurriedly.

Another improvement in the DVD could be the enlargement of the text of the scriptures being displayed on the screen so that one can read it also quite comfortably even from a distance. Presently, the verses are shown on both pages of the Bible in a open book layout and are not easily discernible. One option could be that only one page containing scriptures is displayed on the screen. The page may look like a scroll used in the older times.

The images stored in the DVD though beautiful, are not enough as they do not show many of the important places in the Holy Land mentioned in the Bible. To experience the Holy Land of Israel, I strongly recommend the beautiful book “Images of the Holy Land” by Israeli Photographer Hanan Isachar as well as the DVD “The Holy Land Revealed”, both available on Amazon. Despite above shortcomings, the Holy Bible DVD set is definitely worth buying for the bliss it provides while listening to the scriptures. Be refreshed and encouraged by God’s Word at any time of the day when you listen to the beloved and time-trusted King James Version of the Bible. I hope the points raised above shall be considered by the narrator and the studio before producing its next improved release