What's in the Bible?

Okay.  Let me be honest right up front here at the beginning.  This is a product review...and yes, I did receive it for free in exchange for my opinion on the product, but there is a reason I'm doing this review at all.  I'm totally in love with the concept and the vision behind this series. 

My kids are Veggie Tales fans.  I'm a Veggie Tales fan.  My nine-year-old doesn't want to admit it, but when he puts on a DVD for the toddlers, he usually hangs around to watch, too. Last June, I picked up a copy of (Veggie Tales's creator) Phil Vischer's book Me, Myself, and Bob at the library because it looked like a fun read, but was not prepared for the depth of his story.  It was truly the best book I read all summer so when I first heard about Phil's new company and new video series, I was intrigued. 

Phil says, "Even at the peak of 'veggie-mania' in the late 1990s, it was beginning to dawn on me that we were teaching Christian values, but not really teaching Christianity.  We were teaching key Bible stories, but not teaching the entire Bible." 

What's in the Bible? aims to promote Bible literacy in families and when series is complete, it will be a 13-DVD set, designed to take families from Genesis through Revelations, sharing God's story and illustrating His plan for redemption.  Phil says:

A few people have pointed out that we'd probably sell more DVDs if we started with Jesus and didn't spend all this time slogging through the Old Testament...But God didn't start his rescue plan with Jesus.  God's rescue plan starts with Abraham, and then slogs its way through the entire history or Israel.  Why?  Because if we don't see how impossible it was for Israel to live under the Law, we really don't understand why the incarnation was so necessary.

We sat down as a family to watch the first DVD, "In the Beginning"-- 2 half-hour episodes which delve into topics such as "What does testament mean?" "How many books are in the Bible?" "Why do we have free will? and "Did God write the Bible or did men?") There is a lot of humor interspersed throughout and there was lot of giggling from our group of watchers, but I was amazed at what they gleaned.  When the movie was over and Brian asked the questions that are found in the parent guide on the DVD insert, the kids were able to answer knowledgeably.  I'm not talking one-word answers.  I'm talking well-thought out, passionate answers. 

Then we moved on to a little fun table time.  Also included in the DVD insert was a coloring page which we were able to copy and pass out to each child. We hung them on the refrigerator when the night was over and when we had weekend guests I saw a couple of my children point to their pictures and say to their cousins, "This is what we learned in Bible study this week."  It really made an impression.

What's in the Bible? is not intended to replace reading the Bible.  It is intended to get families talking and hungry to dive into the Word of God.  As with everything we bring into our homes, we should examine it in light of the Bible.  "For [the Bereans] received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."  (Acts 17:11 NIV) 

You know how I know my children really and truly love this DVD series?  They asked to watch it again on their own, even when it wasn't family time...and when it was over, the kept the conversation going by asking me questions about what we believe as a family.  Then the quoted endless lines from the movie at the dinner table and in the car, taking turns playing the various characters.   I think that signifies a winner.