# "The Bible's Buried Secrets" on PBS **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 19, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510 "2008-11-19T20:10:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/1 "2008-11-19T20:10:13Z")
Last night, Nova aired [the above-named program](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bible/). I’m wondering if anyone else here troubled to tune in, and, if so, if anyone had thoughts, impressions, praises, or criticims to share. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/2 "2008-11-19T21:51:29Z")
I recorded it, haven’t seen it yet. Looked like it was going to be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/3 "2008-11-19T21:57:25Z")
It was on while I was working on other things, so I didn’t pay full attention. I found it very interesting. It seemed fairly scientific. I didn’t notice any obvious religious bias, but I’m no expert. One error I did catch, in their physics: when explaining carbon-dating, they said carbon-14 decays into carbon-12. No, it doesn’t, but it’s only a minor point. I’ll have to catch it later in full. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/4 "2008-11-19T21:59:11Z")
I started a thread about it a week or so ago and some people expressed an interest in watching it. I have it on my HTPC and hope to watch tomorrow morning. I’m interested in knowing if Dio caught it, and if so, what did you think of it? How much salt did you have to throw over your shoulder? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/5 "2008-11-19T22:03:23Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > I started a thread about it a week or so ago and some people expressed an interest in watching it. I have it on my HTPC and hope to watch tomorrow morning. > > I’m interested in knowing if Dio caught it, and if so, what did you think of it? How much salt did you have to throw over your shoulder? 😉 The program wasn’t remotely fundamentalist; the major thrust of it was the literal untruth of the Old Testatment. Kim (skeptic) and Liz (undecided) were arguing about it the whole time. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/6 "2008-11-19T22:37:19Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > The program wasn’t remotely fundamentalist; the major thrust of it was the literal untruth of the Old Testatment. Kim (skeptic) and Liz (undecided) were arguing about it the whole time. Indeed. I haven’t finished it, but the major thrust is that the Bible was created by humans for a human purpose. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/7 "2008-11-19T22:46:07Z")
I look forward to a similar program about the Koran. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/8 "2008-11-19T22:48:12Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > I look forward to a similar program about the Koran. The Koran’s a different take. Whether you believe in it or not (I don’t), it’s unarguable that it came into being on Earth at a specific time; it does not relay the history, mythological or otherwise, of a people, and thus is not subject to quite the same sort of analysis. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/9 "2008-11-19T22:52:38Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > It was on while I was working on other things, so I didn’t pay full attention. I found it very interesting. It seemed fairly scientific. I didn’t notice any obvious religious bias, but I’m no expert. I recorded it, but haven’t watched it yet. NOVA is, IMO, the best science show on American TV. I would be floored if they exhibited religious bias. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/10 "2008-11-19T22:54:06Z")
I thought it was well done. The authorship of the OT was explained well as were the Exodus and development of Israel as an ethnic group of Canaanites. I’d like to see a similar NT show. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/11 "2008-11-19T22:54:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I recorded it, but haven’t watched it yet. NOVA is, IMO, the best science show on American TV. I would be floored if they exhibited religious bias. You need the word “very” between “the” and “best” above. And a yee-haw. And possibly an “especially compared to the crap on Discovery, 'cept for Mythbusters, whose appeal is largely Kari, though I admit she is stunningly hot. Hoo boo. I love it when…” Um, what was I talking about? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/12 "2008-11-19T22:57:59Z")
> [@photopat](#): > > I thought it was well done. The authorship of the OT was explained well as were the Exodus and development of Israel as an ethnic group of Canaanites. > > I’d like to see a similar NT show. I think that’d be harder. Once you get past the first five books, the New Testatment’s not much for narrative, and even Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, & Acts are fairly sparse. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bibles-buried-secrets-on-pbs/473510/13 "2008-11-19T23:04:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I recorded it, but haven’t watched it yet. NOVA is, IMO, the best science show on American TV. I would be floored if they exhibited religious bias. Oh, I would not expect intentional bias, but a topic like this is very prone to it. And the editorial bias might be non-existent, while individual experts interviewed are biased. I do love Nova, though. And as I said, I didn’t notice any bias myself. I would be interested to hear what some of our local Biblical experts think.