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The Bible's presentation of history is in keeping with the manner in which other ancient cultures treated history, that is as a mixture of fact and fiction with nothing added to distinguish one from the other.
Roman history included the Romulus/Remus suckled by wolves claptrap, Homer's history of the Trojan war and Odysseus' journey home is full of references to the gods, Cyclops, sea monsters etc. Norse cultural history came with Thor's hammer and all that Gotterdamerung claptrap, Celtic history came with Arthur and Merlin and magic swords an dragons.
They all wrote their history this way.....that includes the Hebrews. Is is as absurd to take the supernatural events in the Bible on a literal basis as it would be to insist that there really was a Sleepy Hollow with a Headless Horseman.
And there is Greek mythology. We seem to be able to study and portray Greek history while retaining what everyone agrees is their mythology. Whey can we not do this with the christan zelots who claim their mythology must be true for their belief to be?
Too bad I can't tell Dish to discontinue the channel.
You can, call CALL 1-888-926-5457 or just simply not turn to that channel if it offends you that badly.
As far as just asking Dish to cancel the History Channel, you are showing your lack of knowledge of the popularity of their programming. Maybe you are not a fan but many others are. In our house it is one of the most watched channels and personally I am looking forward to the Bible series.
You might check out: http://tvfilmnews.com/history-channel-ratings-success-continues/
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So...the lesson is that we should gear our presentation of history for the least intelligent viewers? Because they are so likely to believe anything they are told, they should be told falsehoods?
Once more your point eludes me....because the History Channel presents other nonsense, that is a good reason to present this particular nonsense? If the problem is that the channel is cranking out bad shows, shouldn't the solution be to stop doing that in favor of better shows?
You can, call CALL 1-888-926-5457 or just simply not turn to that channel if it offends you that badly.
As far as just asking Dish to cancel the History Channel, you are showing your lack of knowledge of the popularity of their programming. Maybe you are not a fan but many others are. In our house it is one of the most watched channels and personally I am looking forward to the Bible series.
You might check out: http://tvfilmnews.com/history-channel-ratings-success-continues/
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Exactly! It really is quite interesting to observe how easily some people get upset over anything that has to do with the Bible. If you think the Bible is utter nonsense, just laugh about it and don't watch the program!...lol. I'm a Christian but it certainly wouldn't bother me in any way if the History Channel aired a similar program on the Koran, the Torah, the Book of Mormon, etc. In fact, I would probably watch those programs about other religions with even more interest because I'm already familiar with the Bible. I might learn something about those other religious texts that I didn't know.
Exactly! It really is quite interesting to observe how easily some people get upset over anything that has to do with the Bible. If you think the Bible is utter nonsense, just laugh about it and don't watch the program!...lol. I'm a Christian but it certainly wouldn't bother me in any way if the History Channel aired a similar program on the Koran, the Torah, the Book of Mormon, etc. In fact, I would probably watch those programs about other religions with even more interest because I'm already familiar with the Bible. I might learn something about those other religious texts that I didn't know.
I so agree with your post. My DVR is set, Looking forward to how this show portrays The Bible. I also would be interested in a show talking about other religions I am not familiar with.
So...the lesson is that we should gear our presentation of history for the least intelligent viewers? Because they are so likely to believe anything they are told, they should be told falsehoods?
No, you completely missed the point. The History Channel can't make stupid people smart. That's not their job either. You keep implying that they have some sort of responsibility to present factual information only, but history isn't just facts. It's myths and belief systems and more. Like others have posted this is no different than series they've done about other historical beliefs. Why do you think it's the responsibility of the History channel to educate people on the difference between myths and facts? Even if they did do you actually think it would make a difference to the people who don't understand it already?
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Once more your point eludes me....because the History Channel presents other nonsense, that is a good reason to present this particular nonsense? If the problem is that the channel is cranking out bad shows, shouldn't the solution be to stop doing that in favor of better shows?
Funny, your point eludes me. The bible actually does have to do with history. As I pointed out, it's actually a part of history. The bible was a driving force behind a lot of things that have happened through history. It's no different than covering the beliefs of other societies throughout history. The stories may not be true but there is absolutely no question that the book itself has been significant in human history.
No, you completely missed the point. The History Channel can't make stupid people smart. That's not their job either. You keep implying that they have some sort of responsibility to present factual information only, but history isn't just facts. It's myths and belief systems and more. Like others have posted this is no different than series they've done about other historical beliefs. Why do you think it's the responsibility of the History channel to educate people on the difference between myths and facts? Even if they did do you actually think it would make a difference to the people who don't understand it already?
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Yes indeed it is the responsibility of a channel advertising itself as "History" to make sure what they are presenting is history, not myths as history. Given the attitude you display, I also think it best that you are not permitted anywhere near any history classrooms in the public schools. The discipline of history is rooted in the primary obligation to tell the truth, as best as the truth may be unearthed. This is something which is taught in every Historiography class in every college in this nation.These classes begin by reviewing the ways that history was treated in the past and contrasting it with modern mentalities. Yours is an ancient mentality, one which fails to see why we need to differentiate between fact and myth.
Yes indeed it is the responsibility of a channel advertising itself as "History" to make sure what they are presenting is history, not myths as history. Given the attitude you display, I also think it best that you are not permitted anywhere near any history classrooms in the public schools. The discipline of history is rooted in the primary obligation to tell the truth, as best as the truth may be unearthed. This is something which is taught in every Historiography class in every college in this nation.These classes begin by reviewing the ways that history was treated in the past and contrasting it with modern mentalities. Yours is an ancient mentality, one which fails to see why we need to differentiate between fact and myth.
My mentality is ancient because I understand for-profit tv channels and that history involves more than just factual events?
No, you completely missed the point. The History Channel can't make stupid people smart. That's not their job either. You keep implying that they have some sort of responsibility to present factual information only, but history isn't just facts. It's myths and belief systems and more. Like others have posted this is no different than series they've done about other historical beliefs. Why do you think it's the responsibility of the History channel to educate people on the difference between myths and facts? Even if they did do you actually think it would make a difference to the people who don't understand it already?
Funny, your point eludes me. The bible actually does have to do with history. As I pointed out, it's actually a part of history. The bible was a driving force behind a lot of things that have happened through history. It's no different than covering the beliefs of other societies throughout history. The stories may not be true but there is absolutely no question that the book itself has been significant in human history.
Modern history is being driven by the (religious)beliefs of corrupted, power hungry people right now!
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