Son of God (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Son of God is an award-winning British documentary series that chronicles the life of Jesus Christ using scientific and contemporary historical evidence. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 1 April 2001, and was presented by Jeremy Bowen
. The series was executively produced by Ruth Pitt and directed by Jean-Claude Bragard—it took a total of 16 months to produce and cost . A full symphonic score was composed by James Whitbourn
. Son of God featured interviews with historians and other biblical experts, live action reenactments of the life of Jesus with Leron Livo in the lead role, and computer-generated images of what locations from the Jesus's time might have looked like. These images, created by design team Red Vision, were praised by critics and received an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2001 Royal Television Society North Awards.
Son of God ran for a single series of three episodes, each of which focussed on a different stage of Jesus's life. The first episode, "The Real Man", looked at the historical evidence for the existence of Jesus, and documented his life from his birth
to his temptation
. Episode two, "The Mission", discussed how Jesus became popular among Jews and Greeks, and why the Pharisees
of the area might have seen him as a threat. "The Final Hours", the third and final episode of Son of God, looked at Jesus's crucifixion
, and presented some ideas as to how the traditional views of the crucifixion may conflict with how it really occurred. The episode concluded with the construction of a computer-generated animation of how Jesus may have appeared.
Critical reception to the series was mixed. While some reviewers praised the programme for focussing on "history against spirituality every time" and being "worthy of all [its] publicity", others remarked that the series was "dumbed down" and "[went] off on some strange tangents". The reliability of the facial reconstruction was also questioned. Son of God first aired in the UK on BBC One
during April 2001, where it received a viewership of six million and an audience share of 25%. In the United States, the series was shown on the Discovery Channel
under the name Jesus: The Complete Story as a single three-hour programme, two weeks after its UK broadcast. The show was also licensed to countries such as France, Denmark and New Zealand.
and the Discovery Channel in association with France 3
and Jerusalem Productions. The show was directed by Jean-Claude Bragard—whose previous BBC work had included Kicking & Screaming – A History of Football and the documentary series Panorama
—and was executively produced by Ruth Pitt, who had worked on similar documentaries such as 42 Up and Channel 4
's The State of Marriage. During its promotion, Pitt described Son of God as "the most complete biography of Jesus that [had] ever been done".
Jeremy Bowen
, a former Middle East correspondent for BBC News
, was cast to present the programme for its UK broadcast. Despite not being religious himself, he was drawn to programme for its use of scientific and historical information. As well as presenting, Bowen also narrated and scripted large portions of the series. He stated that he brought a degree of scepticism to the show: before the first episode aired, he admitted that he did not think that you could "corroborate anything that was in the Gospels". In the US version of Son of God, which was broadcast on the Discovery Channel and retitled Jesus: The Complete Story, the footage of Bowen was edited out and his narration was redubbed by American actor Tom Hodgkins.
Son of God took 16 months to produce and cost approximately £1.5 million. It was featured as part of a £253 million season of new television programming on the BBC during the spring of 2001. British conductor James Whitbourn
was commissioned to write a complete symphonic score for the series, which was performed by the BBC Philharmonic
. The completed programme ultimately featured more than an hour and a half of Whitbourn's music, and his opening theme, "Son of God Mass", became popular enough to be still performed live several years after the show had finished airing. Computer graphic images were created by design group Red Vision, who employed techniques similar to ones used in the recent BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs
. Speaking in September 2001, a spokesman for Red Vision stated that their involvement in Son of God had been "incredibly successful" for them.
Promotional campaigns for both the British and American broadcasts of the series focused on the technology and science being used in the programme, and the special effects that Red Vision had created. In particular, a facial reconstruction during the final episode showing what Jesus might have looked like gained significant media attention. In the lead-up to episode one, several newspapers, including the Daily Mail
and The Guardian
, ran stories speculating whether the computer-generated image could show the true face of Jesus. British television listings magazine Radio Times
featured the reconstructed face on the cover of its 31 March issue under the headline "Is This the Face of Jesus?". This cover and its headline received criticism from some commentators for being sensationalist and misleading.
and Sepphoris—were recreated by archaeologists using evidence from buildings and street plans, and were then digitised into computer graphics by Red Vision.
, and details the historical evidence for his existence. Bowen visits Jerusalem, where he calls Jesus's death "one of the best attested facts in ancient history". He cites the Romano-Jewish historian Josephus
as one of eighty sources that confirms that Jesus existed and that describes him as "a wise man who did surprising feats, ... won over followers from among Jews and Greeks, ... was accused by the Jewish leaders, [and] was condemned to be crucified by Pilate". Bowen interviews Prof. James H. Charlesworth
from Princeton University
about the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. He travels to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity
, a structure built over a series of first-century caves and grottos, and speculates that Jesus may have been born in a cave rather than an inn, the more traditional image. Joe Zias, an archaeologist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
confirms this, saying that the Greek word "katalyma" is usually translated into English as "upper room" rather than "inn".
"The Real Man" also looks at the story of the Star of Bethlehem
, which Bowen states would have been an "astrological", rather than "astronomical" phenomenon. According to astronomer Dr. Michael Molner, astrologers from around time of Herod the Great
would have believed that Aries
would have symbolised his kingdom and the lands that he controlled – during 6 BC, the year that some scholars theorise that Jesus was born, a rare planetary alignment meant that Jupiter
, Saturn
, the Sun
and the Moon
would have all appeared in Aries. Bowen next looks at how Jesus would have been born out of wedlock: Dr. Mark Goodacre
, a historian from the University of Birmingham
, asserts that Jewish, pagan and Christian sources all confirm that Jesus was born out of wedlock, as do both the Gospels of Matthew
and Luke
. All four canonical gospels agree that the city of Nazareth was where Jesus grew up. Dr. Hanan Eshel, an archaeologist from Bar-Ilan University
, proposes that Jesus's interest in religion and politics might have been sparked off during a family visit to the Temple Mount
, the "headquarters of the Jewish faith". The episode ends with Bowen spending the night alone at the Mount of Temptation
just above Jericho
, where Jesus is traditionally was to have spent forty days and nights being tempted by the devil.
might have seen him as a potential threat. Bowen visits the Dome of the Rock
, the former site of Jerusalem's temple, and discusses how Jesus went to the Sea of Galilee
to recruit his disciples. He speaks with Orna Cohen, a conservator of antiquities who led the excavation of the Sea of Galilee Boat, who suggests that the boat may have been similar to one owned by Saint Peter
. Bowen then travels to Capernaum
and visits the House of Peter, where he speaks to Mordechai Aviam, an archaeologist from the Israel Antiquities Authority
. Aviam states that first-century Greek "graffiti" in the house suggests that the house belonged to Peter. Bowen travels to the tomb of Hanina ben Dosa
, and contrasts Hanina's life with that of Jesus's: for example, while Jesus was executed, Hanina was not.
"The Mission" then looks at how Jesus may have been viewed by the religious leaders of the time. The canonical gospels report over one hundred cases of Jesus healing or performing exorcisms, and "making the unclean clean again". Jesus told lepers to go up to the Temple Mount, where they were usually excluded, and claimed that he could forgive sins without going through the ordinary channels. Jesus met and ate with sinners, the disabled and prostitutes, and fulfilled Old Testament
prophecy by riding into the Temple Mount through the Golden Gate on a donkey at Passover
. Bowen concludes that all these reasons would have meant that the Pharisees of the time would have seen him as threatening.
would have been held in the guest room of "well-to-do" house in Jerusalem. Writings by Josephus suggest that the Last Supper took place in a triclinium
. As guest of honour, Jesus would have been at the end of the table with John the Apostle
at his side, rather than at the centre, as in traditional depictions such as Leonardo da Vinci
's The Last Supper. Bowen then looks at whether or not Jesus could have sweated blood at Gethsemane
. Leaving the Middle East for the first time, he travels to New York City and meets with Dr. Frederick Zugibe
, a forensic pathologist at Columbia University
. Zugibe states that Jesus may have been suffering from hematidrosis
, a medical condition brought about by stress from knowing that one is about to die. He also says that he has seen similar symptoms in sailors and men given death sentences. Experiments performed by Zugibe in Rutland County, Vermont also suggest that the traditional view of Jesus's crucifixion
, with the nails of the cross driven through his hands rather than wrists, may have been possible if his feet were supported. The skeleton of Jehohanan
, found in 1968, supports this theory. Next, Bowen questions whether the disciple Judas Iscariot
truly did double-cross Jesus. William Klassen, an historian at École Biblique
in Jerusalem, theorises that the Greek word "paradidomi" was mistranslated, and that Judas simply "handed over" Jesus to the Romans, rather than betrayed him.
"The Final Hours" ends with a facial reconstruction suggesting what Jesus may have looked like. Using one of three first-century Jewish skulls from a leading department of forensic science in Israel, a face is constructed through forensic anthropology
by Richard Neave
, a retired medical artist from the Unit of Art in Medicine at the University of Manchester
. The face that Neave constructs suggests that Jesus would have had a broad face and large nose, and differs significantly from his traditional depictions in renaissance art. Additional information about Jesus's skin colour and hair is provided by Goodacre. Using third-century images from a synagogue—the earliest pictures of Jewish people—Goodacre proposes that Jesus's skin would have been "olive-coloured" and "swarthy", and much darker than his traditional Western image. He also suggests that Jesus would have had short, curly hair and a short cropped beard.
for focussing on "history against spirituality every time". However, Billen also contrasted the show with The Lives of Jesus, a similar series from December 1996, remarking that it was "flash and filmic", whereas The Lives of Jesus had been far more "discreet". BBC News
's Michael Osborn acclaimed the series, saying that it was "worthy of all [its] publicity" and that Bowen was "well placed" in his role as presenter. The graphics created by Red Vision were well received: The Daily Record
described the computer imagery as "stunning", while Gareth McLean of The Guardian
noted that the series was "visually, ... quite a treat". McLean also commented that the programme itself was "rather interesting", but that it was contained "slightly odd, slightly irrelevant diversions".
A review of a more critical nature came from Catherine Bennett, also writing for The Guardian, who questioned the facial reconstruction from the third episode and suggested that it was "a little dismissive" to imply that it was how Jesus would have truly appeared. Speaking about the study, Bennett remarked: "We must hope that ... future BBC controllers do not dig up, say, Robin Cook
's skull, drape it in Plasticine, and ask: 'Is this the real face of Tony Blair
?. John Preston, writing for The Sunday Telegraph, questioned the reliability of the reconstruction as well, and branded the series as "dumbed down". The programme also received criticism from theological scholars: following the broadcast of the first episode, Rev. Dr. Tom Wright, the Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey and one of two consultants used during production of the series, felt that Jesus's mission had been misrepresented by the show. Wright claimed that the BBC had elected to portray Jesus simply as "a politically correct social worker". Father Heinrich Pfeiffer, a German professor of iconography at the Pontifical Gregorian University
, similarly felt that the computer-generated face conflicted with the ones seen in the Shroud of Turin
and The Manoppello Image.
Reviews of the American broadcast of Jesus: The Complete Story were also mixed. While some reviewers described the show as "fascinating" and "reverent", others were more negative. Writing for The Orlando Sentinel, Hal Boedeker agreed that the computer imaging was "spectacular", but that the rest of the show was a "hodgepodge" that "[went] off on some strange tangents". Eric Mink of The Daily News stated that the show relied too heavily on "exaggeration", and that it was "sloppy with facts".
, who broadcast the show on BBC One
. It premièred in the UK at 9:10 p.m. on 1 April 2001, and ran for a single series of three episodes, with each episode being shown weekly on Sunday nights. As well as being shown in the UK, Son of God was also licensed to New Zealand and seven European territories, including France and Denmark. In the United States, the show was aired by the Discovery Channel
, under the name Jesus: The Complete Story, as a single three-hour special on 15 April, two weeks after its UK broadcast. It was also repeated on Christmas Day 2002 and 2003.
In March 2002, a year after the show was first broadcast in the UK, an accompanying book written by Angela Tilby
was released. Tilby's book, also titled Son of God, was a tie-in
to the documentary series, and featured an introduction from Bowen. , Son of God is not available to buy on DVD in the UK, nor is it available on BBC iPlayer
, the BBC's on demand service. A VHS box set of Jesus: The Complete Story, produced by Warner Home Video
, was released in the United States on 15 May 2001. The set was rereleased on Region 1 DVD on 31 August 2004.
is a style similar to Son of God—it reunited Bowen and Bragard, who presented and directed/produced the show respectively. Like Son of God, Moses featured live-action reenactments, computer-generated images of the period and interviews with historians and scholars. It was first broadcast in the UK during December 2002.
Jeremy Bowen
Jeremy Francis John Bowen is a Welsh journalist and television presenter. He was the BBC's Middle East correspondent based in Jerusalem between 1995 and 2000, and has been its Middle East Editor since 2005.-Background:...
. The series was executively produced by Ruth Pitt and directed by Jean-Claude Bragard—it took a total of 16 months to produce and cost . A full symphonic score was composed by James Whitbourn
James Whitbourn
- Biography :James Whitbourn was born in Kent and educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was a choral scholar and gained a degree in Music. His international reputation as a composer for concert hall and screen, developed from his early career as a programme maker at the BBC, during which...
. Son of God featured interviews with historians and other biblical experts, live action reenactments of the life of Jesus with Leron Livo in the lead role, and computer-generated images of what locations from the Jesus's time might have looked like. These images, created by design team Red Vision, were praised by critics and received an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2001 Royal Television Society North Awards.
Son of God ran for a single series of three episodes, each of which focussed on a different stage of Jesus's life. The first episode, "The Real Man", looked at the historical evidence for the existence of Jesus, and documented his life from his birth
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
to his temptation
Temptation of Christ
The temptation of Christ is detailed in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. According to these texts, after being baptized, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the Judean desert. During this time, the devil appeared to Jesus and tempted him...
. Episode two, "The Mission", discussed how Jesus became popular among Jews and Greeks, and why the Pharisees
Pharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
of the area might have seen him as a threat. "The Final Hours", the third and final episode of Son of God, looked at Jesus's crucifixion
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
, and presented some ideas as to how the traditional views of the crucifixion may conflict with how it really occurred. The episode concluded with the construction of a computer-generated animation of how Jesus may have appeared.
Critical reception to the series was mixed. While some reviewers praised the programme for focussing on "history against spirituality every time" and being "worthy of all [its] publicity", others remarked that the series was "dumbed down" and "[went] off on some strange tangents". The reliability of the facial reconstruction was also questioned. Son of God first aired in the UK on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
during April 2001, where it received a viewership of six million and an audience share of 25%. In the United States, the series was shown on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
under the name Jesus: The Complete Story as a single three-hour programme, two weeks after its UK broadcast. The show was also licensed to countries such as France, Denmark and New Zealand.
Production
Son of God was devised in 1999, and was produced and joint-sponsored by BBC ManchesterBBC Manchester
BBC Manchester is the British Broadcasting Corporation regional headquarters for the North West, the largest BBC region in the UK. BBC Manchester also forms a key part of BBC North....
and the Discovery Channel in association with France 3
France 3
France 3 is the second largest French public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5, and France Ô....
and Jerusalem Productions. The show was directed by Jean-Claude Bragard—whose previous BBC work had included Kicking & Screaming – A History of Football and the documentary series Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
—and was executively produced by Ruth Pitt, who had worked on similar documentaries such as 42 Up and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's The State of Marriage. During its promotion, Pitt described Son of God as "the most complete biography of Jesus that [had] ever been done".
Jeremy Bowen
Jeremy Bowen
Jeremy Francis John Bowen is a Welsh journalist and television presenter. He was the BBC's Middle East correspondent based in Jerusalem between 1995 and 2000, and has been its Middle East Editor since 2005.-Background:...
, a former Middle East correspondent for BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, was cast to present the programme for its UK broadcast. Despite not being religious himself, he was drawn to programme for its use of scientific and historical information. As well as presenting, Bowen also narrated and scripted large portions of the series. He stated that he brought a degree of scepticism to the show: before the first episode aired, he admitted that he did not think that you could "corroborate anything that was in the Gospels". In the US version of Son of God, which was broadcast on the Discovery Channel and retitled Jesus: The Complete Story, the footage of Bowen was edited out and his narration was redubbed by American actor Tom Hodgkins.
Son of God took 16 months to produce and cost approximately £1.5 million. It was featured as part of a £253 million season of new television programming on the BBC during the spring of 2001. British conductor James Whitbourn
James Whitbourn
- Biography :James Whitbourn was born in Kent and educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was a choral scholar and gained a degree in Music. His international reputation as a composer for concert hall and screen, developed from his early career as a programme maker at the BBC, during which...
was commissioned to write a complete symphonic score for the series, which was performed by the BBC Philharmonic
BBC Philharmonic
The BBC Philharmonic is a British broadcasting symphony orchestra based at Media City UK, Salford, England. It is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The orchestra's primary concert venue is the Bridgewater Hall....
. The completed programme ultimately featured more than an hour and a half of Whitbourn's music, and his opening theme, "Son of God Mass", became popular enough to be still performed live several years after the show had finished airing. Computer graphic images were created by design group Red Vision, who employed techniques similar to ones used in the recent BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs is a six-part documentary television miniseries that was produced by BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom, in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in North America on the Discovery Channel in 2000, with Branagh's voice replaced with that...
. Speaking in September 2001, a spokesman for Red Vision stated that their involvement in Son of God had been "incredibly successful" for them.
Promotional campaigns for both the British and American broadcasts of the series focused on the technology and science being used in the programme, and the special effects that Red Vision had created. In particular, a facial reconstruction during the final episode showing what Jesus might have looked like gained significant media attention. In the lead-up to episode one, several newspapers, including the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, ran stories speculating whether the computer-generated image could show the true face of Jesus. British television listings magazine Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
featured the reconstructed face on the cover of its 31 March issue under the headline "Is This the Face of Jesus?". This cover and its headline received criticism from some commentators for being sensationalist and misleading.
Episodes
Son of God consists of a single series of three episodes. Each episode lasts approximately fifty minutes and documents a different stage of Jesus's life. The episodes take the format of Bowen visiting significant locations from the life of Jesus, talking head interviews with historians and Biblical experts, and reenactments of Jesus's life featuring Israeli actor Liron Levo. Locations from Jesus's time—such as Caesarea, YattaYatta, Hebron
Yatta or Yattah is a Palestinian city located in the Hebron Governorate on a high approximately 8 km south of the city of Hebron in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics it had a population of 48,672 in 2007....
and Sepphoris—were recreated by archaeologists using evidence from buildings and street plans, and were then digitised into computer graphics by Red Vision.
"The Real Man"
The first episode of Son of God, "The Real Man", documents Jesus's life up to his temptationTemptation of Christ
The temptation of Christ is detailed in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. According to these texts, after being baptized, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the Judean desert. During this time, the devil appeared to Jesus and tempted him...
, and details the historical evidence for his existence. Bowen visits Jerusalem, where he calls Jesus's death "one of the best attested facts in ancient history". He cites the Romano-Jewish historian Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
as one of eighty sources that confirms that Jesus existed and that describes him as "a wise man who did surprising feats, ... won over followers from among Jews and Greeks, ... was accused by the Jewish leaders, [and] was condemned to be crucified by Pilate". Bowen interviews Prof. James H. Charlesworth
James H. Charlesworth
James H. Charlesworth is the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature and director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is noted for his research in Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, the Dead Sea Scrolls,...
from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
about the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. He travels to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity
Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth, and thus it is considered sacred by Christians...
, a structure built over a series of first-century caves and grottos, and speculates that Jesus may have been born in a cave rather than an inn, the more traditional image. Joe Zias, an archaeologist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
confirms this, saying that the Greek word "katalyma" is usually translated into English as "upper room" rather than "inn".
"The Real Man" also looks at the story of the Star of Bethlehem
Star of Bethlehem
In Christian tradition, the Star of Bethlehem, also called the Christmas Star, revealed the birth of Jesus to the magi, or "wise men", and later led them to Bethlehem. The star appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew, where magi "from the east" are inspired by the star to travel to...
, which Bowen states would have been an "astrological", rather than "astronomical" phenomenon. According to astronomer Dr. Michael Molner, astrologers from around time of Herod the Great
Herod the Great
Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...
would have believed that Aries
Aries (constellation)
Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac, located between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. Its name is Latin for ram, and its symbol is , representing a ram's horns...
would have symbolised his kingdom and the lands that he controlled – during 6 BC, the year that some scholars theorise that Jesus was born, a rare planetary alignment meant that Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
, Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
, the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
and the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
would have all appeared in Aries. Bowen next looks at how Jesus would have been born out of wedlock: Dr. Mark Goodacre
Mark Goodacre
Mark Goodacre is a New Testament scholar and Professor at Duke University's Department of Religion. He has written extensively on the Synoptic Problem; that is, the origins of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke...
, a historian from the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
, asserts that Jewish, pagan and Christian sources all confirm that Jesus was born out of wedlock, as do both the Gospels of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
and Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
. All four canonical gospels agree that the city of Nazareth was where Jesus grew up. Dr. Hanan Eshel, an archaeologist from Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
, proposes that Jesus's interest in religion and politics might have been sparked off during a family visit to the Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
, the "headquarters of the Jewish faith". The episode ends with Bowen spending the night alone at the Mount of Temptation
Mount of Temptation
The Mount of Temptation was the hill in the Judean Desert where Jesus was tempted by the devil . The exact location is unknown, and impossible to determine. It is generally identified with Mount Quarantania, a mountain approximately 366 m high, located about north-west of the West Bank town of...
just above Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
, where Jesus is traditionally was to have spent forty days and nights being tempted by the devil.
"The Mission"
Episode two, "The Mission", discusses how Jesus became popular and why the PhariseesPharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
might have seen him as a potential threat. Bowen visits the Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik...
, the former site of Jerusalem's temple, and discusses how Jesus went to the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
to recruit his disciples. He speaks with Orna Cohen, a conservator of antiquities who led the excavation of the Sea of Galilee Boat, who suggests that the boat may have been similar to one owned by Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
. Bowen then travels to Capernaum
Capernaum
Capernaum was a fishing village in the time of the Hasmoneans. Located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500. Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues built one over the other...
and visits the House of Peter, where he speaks to Mordechai Aviam, an archaeologist from the Israel Antiquities Authority
Israel Antiquities Authority
The Israel Antiquities Authority is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of Antiquities. The IAA regulates excavation and conservation, and promotes research...
. Aviam states that first-century Greek "graffiti" in the house suggests that the house belonged to Peter. Bowen travels to the tomb of Hanina ben Dosa
Hanina Ben Dosa
Hanina ben Dosa was a scholar and miracle-worker, and the pupil of Johanan ben Zakkai . He is buried in the City of Arraba....
, and contrasts Hanina's life with that of Jesus's: for example, while Jesus was executed, Hanina was not.
"The Mission" then looks at how Jesus may have been viewed by the religious leaders of the time. The canonical gospels report over one hundred cases of Jesus healing or performing exorcisms, and "making the unclean clean again". Jesus told lepers to go up to the Temple Mount, where they were usually excluded, and claimed that he could forgive sins without going through the ordinary channels. Jesus met and ate with sinners, the disabled and prostitutes, and fulfilled Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
prophecy by riding into the Temple Mount through the Golden Gate on a donkey at Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
. Bowen concludes that all these reasons would have meant that the Pharisees of the time would have seen him as threatening.
"The Final Hours"
"The Final Hours", the third episode of Son of God, details Jesus's last days alive. Bowen claims that the Last SupperLast Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
would have been held in the guest room of "well-to-do" house in Jerusalem. Writings by Josephus suggest that the Last Supper took place in a triclinium
Triclinium
A triclinium is a formal dining room in a Roman building. The word is adopted from the Greek τρικλίνιον, triklinion, from τρι-, tri-, "three", and κλίνη, klinē, a sort of "couch" or rather chaise longue...
. As guest of honour, Jesus would have been at the end of the table with John the Apostle
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
at his side, rather than at the centre, as in traditional depictions such as Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's The Last Supper. Bowen then looks at whether or not Jesus could have sweated blood at Gethsemane
Gethsemane
Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
. Leaving the Middle East for the first time, he travels to New York City and meets with Dr. Frederick Zugibe
Frederick Zugibe
Dr. Frederick Thomas Zugibe is an American expert in forensic medicine. He was the chief medical examiner of Rockland County, New York from 1969 to 2002...
, a forensic pathologist at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Zugibe states that Jesus may have been suffering from hematidrosis
Hematidrosis
Hematidrosis is a very rare condition in which a human being sweats blood. It may occur when a person is suffering extreme levels of stress, for example, facing his or her own death...
, a medical condition brought about by stress from knowing that one is about to die. He also says that he has seen similar symptoms in sailors and men given death sentences. Experiments performed by Zugibe in Rutland County, Vermont also suggest that the traditional view of Jesus's crucifixion
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
, with the nails of the cross driven through his hands rather than wrists, may have been possible if his feet were supported. The skeleton of Jehohanan
Jehohanan
Jehohanan was a man put to death by crucifixion in the 1st century CE, whose ossuary was found in 1968 when building contractors working in Giv'at ha-Mivtar, a Jewish neighborhood in northern East Jerusalem, Israel, accidentally uncovered a Jewish tomb. The Jewish stone ossuary had the Hebrew...
, found in 1968, supports this theory. Next, Bowen questions whether the disciple Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
truly did double-cross Jesus. William Klassen, an historian at École Biblique
École Biblique
The École Biblique, strictly the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, is a respected French academic establishment in Jerusalem, founded by Dominicans, and specialising in archaeology and Biblical exegesis.-Foundation:...
in Jerusalem, theorises that the Greek word "paradidomi" was mistranslated, and that Judas simply "handed over" Jesus to the Romans, rather than betrayed him.
"The Final Hours" ends with a facial reconstruction suggesting what Jesus may have looked like. Using one of three first-century Jewish skulls from a leading department of forensic science in Israel, a face is constructed through forensic anthropology
Forensic anthropology
Forensic anthropology is the application of the science of physical anthropology and human osteology in a legal setting, most often in criminal cases where the victim's remains are in the advanced stages of decomposition. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification of deceased...
by Richard Neave
Richard Neave
Richard Neave is a British expert in forensic facial reconstruction.right|thumb|250px|Reconstruction of the face of [[Luzia Woman]] by Richard Neave...
, a retired medical artist from the Unit of Art in Medicine at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
. The face that Neave constructs suggests that Jesus would have had a broad face and large nose, and differs significantly from his traditional depictions in renaissance art. Additional information about Jesus's skin colour and hair is provided by Goodacre. Using third-century images from a synagogue—the earliest pictures of Jewish people—Goodacre proposes that Jesus's skin would have been "olive-coloured" and "swarthy", and much darker than his traditional Western image. He also suggests that Jesus would have had short, curly hair and a short cropped beard.
Critical reception
Critical reaction to Son of God was mixed. The series received praise from commentators such as Andrew Billen of New StatesmanNew Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
for focussing on "history against spirituality every time". However, Billen also contrasted the show with The Lives of Jesus, a similar series from December 1996, remarking that it was "flash and filmic", whereas The Lives of Jesus had been far more "discreet". BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
's Michael Osborn acclaimed the series, saying that it was "worthy of all [its] publicity" and that Bowen was "well placed" in his role as presenter. The graphics created by Red Vision were well received: The Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
described the computer imagery as "stunning", while Gareth McLean of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
noted that the series was "visually, ... quite a treat". McLean also commented that the programme itself was "rather interesting", but that it was contained "slightly odd, slightly irrelevant diversions".
A review of a more critical nature came from Catherine Bennett, also writing for The Guardian, who questioned the facial reconstruction from the third episode and suggested that it was "a little dismissive" to imply that it was how Jesus would have truly appeared. Speaking about the study, Bennett remarked: "We must hope that ... future BBC controllers do not dig up, say, Robin Cook
Robin Cook
Robert Finlayson Cook was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Livingston from 1983 until his death, and notably served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001....
's skull, drape it in Plasticine, and ask: 'Is this the real face of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
?. John Preston, writing for The Sunday Telegraph, questioned the reliability of the reconstruction as well, and branded the series as "dumbed down". The programme also received criticism from theological scholars: following the broadcast of the first episode, Rev. Dr. Tom Wright, the Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey and one of two consultants used during production of the series, felt that Jesus's mission had been misrepresented by the show. Wright claimed that the BBC had elected to portray Jesus simply as "a politically correct social worker". Father Heinrich Pfeiffer, a German professor of iconography at the Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
, similarly felt that the computer-generated face conflicted with the ones seen in the Shroud of Turin
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is...
and The Manoppello Image.
Reviews of the American broadcast of Jesus: The Complete Story were also mixed. While some reviewers described the show as "fascinating" and "reverent", others were more negative. Writing for The Orlando Sentinel, Hal Boedeker agreed that the computer imaging was "spectacular", but that the rest of the show was a "hodgepodge" that "[went] off on some strange tangents". Eric Mink of The Daily News stated that the show relied too heavily on "exaggeration", and that it was "sloppy with facts".
Ratings and awards
The first episode of Son of God shown in the UK gained six million viewers and an audience share of 25%, considerably high for a religious documentary. During its American broadcast on the Discovery Channel, the series was watched by 12 million Americans. It was repeated during March the following year, and gained a figure of 1.5 million viewers per episode. The series was nominated for two awards, both for the computer-generated images created by graphics team Red Vision. The show received a nomination at the 2001 LEAF Awards, and won an Outstanding Achievement award at the 2001 Royal Television Society North Awards.| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | LEAF Award LEAF Award The Emirates Glass LEAF Awards is an annual international architectural prize. It recognises innovative architectural design that sets the benchmark for the international architectural community of the next generation.... |
Special Area, Animation | |
| 2001 | Royal Television Society North Award | Outstanding Achievement in a Craft or Technology |
Distribution
Son of God was distributed by the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, who broadcast the show on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. It premièred in the UK at 9:10 p.m. on 1 April 2001, and ran for a single series of three episodes, with each episode being shown weekly on Sunday nights. As well as being shown in the UK, Son of God was also licensed to New Zealand and seven European territories, including France and Denmark. In the United States, the show was aired by the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, under the name Jesus: The Complete Story, as a single three-hour special on 15 April, two weeks after its UK broadcast. It was also repeated on Christmas Day 2002 and 2003.
In March 2002, a year after the show was first broadcast in the UK, an accompanying book written by Angela Tilby
Angela Tilby
Angela Tilby is an author and Anglican priest, who works in Cambridge. She has made fairly regular appearances on television and radio, including "Thought for the Day" on BBC Radio Four. She has also appeared on The Brains Trust, when the programme was presented by Joan Bakewell...
was released. Tilby's book, also titled Son of God, was a tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
to the documentary series, and featured an introduction from Bowen. , Son of God is not available to buy on DVD in the UK, nor is it available on BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer, commonly shortened to iPlayer, is an internet television and radio service, developed by the BBC to extend its former RealPlayer-based and other streamed video clip content to include whole TV shows....
, the BBC's on demand service. A VHS box set of Jesus: The Complete Story, produced by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
, was released in the United States on 15 May 2001. The set was rereleased on Region 1 DVD on 31 August 2004.
Sequel
Following the success of Son of God, a one-off sequel was commissioned by the BBC in July 2001. The programme, entitled Moses, documented the life of MosesMoses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
is a style similar to Son of God—it reunited Bowen and Bragard, who presented and directed/produced the show respectively. Like Son of God, Moses featured live-action reenactments, computer-generated images of the period and interviews with historians and scholars. It was first broadcast in the UK during December 2002.
External links
. Archived from the original on 24 April 2001- Jesus: The Complete Story at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...