The approach taken in the four-disc, 10-hour French series Origin of Christianity, examining the first century-and-a-half of the Christian era, couldn't be less like a PBS program on the subject: there are no dramatic recreations, no omniscient narrator, not even--except for occasional shots of scriptural pages showing text in various languages--any artwork on which the camera lingers. Instead, filmmakers G(rard Mordillat and J(r(me Prieur offer what's essentially a parade of talking-head excerpts from interviews conducted with 23 international scholars, both Christian and Jewish, on the life of Christ and the development of the church following his death (with French and English narration). The approach isn't pietistic or homiletic, but historical-critical, as the participants effectively debate such issues as whether Jesus really founded a church, whether the early movement was essentially a Jewish sect, whether Paul was the actual creator of Christianity, and why the new movement and Judaism became so hostile to one another. The emphasis is always on the biblical text, but it's treated in a highly scholarly--some would say deconstructionist--fashion that will hardly appeal to literalists. The effect is rather like attending a long, multifaceted theological lecture in which the voices change in a mosaic effect. For those interested in the subject, however, watching this set will prove a fascinating, instructive, and challenging experience. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Origin of Christianity
(2003) 4 discs. 520 min. DVD: $99.95 (booklet included). Arte Video (dist. by Facets Video). Color cover. ISBN: 1-5658-0425-2. Volume 20, Issue 1
Origin of Christianity
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