“What’s In The Bible?” Answers Tricky Questions
“What’s In The Bible?” is a new DVD series for kids. It’s from the creator of VeggieTales, Phil Vischer.
VeggieTales had some critics who said that it was just a collection of Old Testament stories and morals, without actually joining any stories together or mentioning salvation through Jesus.
“What’s In The Bible?” aims to equip the next generation with knowledge of the Bible as a whole, not just as a group of stories. It attempts to give kids a full Biblical theology, and not just knowledge of some nice stories.
Here is a trailer for “What’s In The Bible?”
Recently I applied to review this DVD series as part of a Blog Tour with the Tyndale House Publishers, and below are a few of my thoughts after watching the first two DVDs from the 13 part series. Continue reading below for your chance to win a copy of DVD 1 or 2 (“In The Beginning” or “Let My People Go”).
Initial Thoughts
I was very excited when I first heard about this project. I always wished that Veggietales would move from stories to a whole picture of the Bible, and this is it!
The DVDs are very well made, and are accompanied by a supporting website (jellytelly.com) which I’ll talk more about in a later post. “What’s In The Bible?” is every part professional and as well produced as the Veggietales series and lives up to the reputation the Phil Vischer has created.
What’s so great about it?
When first watching the DVDs, I noticed that they did not shy away from any tough questions when tackling the Bible. Questions such as “How long did God take to make the world?”, “Who decided which books went in the Bible?” and “Why does the Catholic Bible have more books?” are answered, and answered very well! I hope that parents will watch this DVD with their kids, as I’m sure that many people in the church would benefit from these simple and well illustrated explanations.
The DVDs also use many different mediums when explaining the Bible. Real people are used, as well as puppets and cartoons, as well as popsicle puppets and pirates and songs and combinations of all. Interest is sustained throughout the DVDs through switching between these mediums, and I have no doubt that kids of all ages will be able to learn something from it (although not all kids will learn everything), and they will all definitely find it very entertaining.
What’s not so great about it?
This DVD is very obviously American, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but might be a bit confusing for Australian kids. Words such as prairie and Texas, as well as the American accents might be difficult for some Australian kids, but after watching for 5 minutes, I forgot all about the accents.
“What’s In The Bible?” has a large multitude of characters, and some of those characters can be hard to understand at times, this isn’t made easier by the accents. Buck Denver, the host of the show has a low mumbly voice, which could have been clearer. This meant that active listening was needed. However, I didn’t think this took away from the main messages of the show.
Conclusions
After watching DVDs 1 and 2 of “What’s In The Bible?”, I am very excited to be able to use this resource at Sunday School. It is very engaging and explains complicated truths in ways that are easy to understand for children and adults alike. It is entertaining and easy to watch, and I can’t wait to own all 13 parts and see how the story of salvation through Christ is told!
If you’re looking for a resource to teach primary school kids about the Bible as a whole, then look no further.
You’re chance to win!
As part of this review, I have 2 prizes to give away. A copy of “In the Beginning” and a copy of “Let My People Go”. The first two DVDs from this series.
To win, all you have to do is comment on this post by 17/3/2010. I will then select and notify two commenters at random and they will each receive a DVD certificate (via post) to be exchanged for a DVD.
What do you think of “What’s In The Bible?”?
Related posts from calumhenderson.com:
March 8th, 2010 at 9:23 am
These DVD’s look great. I’ve often used the Vegetails stuff in Scripture and youth ministry. Can already think of ways to use bits and pieces of these DVD’s.
Does each DVD cover only one book of the Bible?
March 8th, 2010 at 10:06 am
There are 13 DVDs and 2 episodes on each DVD. The episodes aren’t based on one book at a time, but more based on being part of a bigger story, and focussing on issues like what the bible is and how sin came into the world.
Hope that helps!
March 8th, 2010 at 10:08 am
Sounds good
March 8th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
An interesting review Calum! I too was wondering when Vegietales would move away from stories to tackle bigger overviews and questions kids might have. Teaching Sunday school in the past Ive found answering those tough questions kids have difficult to put in their language. Now hopefully a great, interactive and interesting aid for those teaching our kids about Jesus on sunday mornings!
March 8th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Thanks Gus!
I’m really looking forward to seeing how salvation is dealt with later on in the series. Something that VeggieTales never really portrayed to my knowledge.
March 8th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Veggie Tales had a rule about not portraying Jesus as a vegetable, so it limited them in many respects
March 8th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
I thought I remembered something like that.
Thanks for the clarification Joel!
March 9th, 2010 at 7:42 am
I’ve heard mixed reviews about this series: that’s it’s over the heads of preschoolers or addressed stories that may frighten them (sacrificing Isaac or selling Joseph). Do you have any opinions about that? Otherwise the majority of the reviews have been GREAT! I would LOVE to win and share this series with my kids. My son LOVED the trailer and can’t wait to find the movie to watch more! Thanks for the chance to win one for him!
March 9th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Connie, I would say that this series is not aimed at preschoolers, although I am sure they would have fun watching it, and would probably learn something from it.
I think that the fact that certain stories may scare children is a reason why they are not taught, and I am really excited that somebody has not stayed away from these stories for fear of that, but have taught them as Biblical truths that are important for children to know.
Thanks for commenting!
March 11th, 2010 at 3:13 am
Sounds like an excellent series ~ I didn’t have any doubts about the quality.
Thanks for sharing & for the entry!
empowered_life (@) yahoo dot ca
March 12th, 2010 at 1:58 am
would love to win one of these dvds for my 4 yr old.Loves Veggie Tales so this would be great!
March 12th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Hey calum, What do you reckon of using these (prob bits of them) on camps for primary kids as part of a broader teaching time? Do kids (say a 9yr old) have to have a level of Biblical literacy to understand the concepts?
March 12th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
@Karla Pleasure to share with you, and glad to be able to give away a great prize
@marina Thanks for entering
@Nick I think these could be used on camps, from a first view of the start of the series, they explain basic concepts very well, and do so without using jargon, so biblical literacy isn’t necessary to understand the DVDs. Though it does appear that the series will flow very well, so watching one off episodes might not be very helpful.
Watching segments of a few episodes could be very helpful however.
March 13th, 2010 at 10:45 am
[...] you probably know, just by commenting on my review of “What’s In The Bible?” by VeggieTales creater Phil Vischer, you can win a [...]
March 16th, 2010 at 11:45 am
I think this is going to be an awesome series. I will have to have a set for the grandkids at home and one for the church.
March 16th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
@Madonna thanks for entering.
March 18th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
This competition is now closed
March 19th, 2010 at 11:34 am
[...] Last week I reviewed “What’s In The Bible?”. A new DVD series for kids by VeggieTales creator, Phil Vischer. You can read that review here. [...]
March 29th, 2010 at 11:42 am
[...] I have never seen a Christian social media campaign like the recent “What’s In The Bible?” campaign. (You can read about “What’s In The Bible?” here.) [...]
April 7th, 2010 at 1:50 am
I have watched both episodes and they are very well done
great job Phil!!!
April 7th, 2010 at 3:17 am
I bummed to miss the giveaway, but just wanted to chime in and say how excited I am about this series. We are already big Jelly Telly and Phil Vischer fans. This looks great!
April 7th, 2010 at 4:17 am
Looks like a great new series! I’m very excited about its potential and can’t wait to learn more about it.
July 15th, 2010 at 2:01 am
Answers to these questions vary.