Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!iuvax!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian
From: apctrc!gpb6!zcnj01@uunet.uu.net (Cecil N. Jones)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Testament (was Re: nicaean council)
Message-ID: 
Date: 12 Aug 89 02:14:44 GMT
Organization: Amoco Production Company, Tulsa Research Center
Lines: 53
Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu


   An earlier poster wrote:

> i watched a show on the discovery channel last night called 'testament'.
> i suspect it's a series, but this is the first one i ever saw
> or even heard about. 

  I too saw one episode of this series.  It is based on a new book
  entitled "TESTAMENT" by John Romer (Holt).  A brief review from
  the newspaper:

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  The Bible has had more influence upon Western civilization than any
  other book. So splendid are its phrases that many have taken them
  to be the unmediated word of God.
  
  Since its texts were gathered, the Book has been venerated and en-
  shrined, execrated and burned. But whether we are believers or not,
  the Bible still remains the linchpin of modern Western culture.

  "Testament" describes the making of the Bible, the creation of both
  the Old and New Testaments, and charts the book's survival through
  the long centuries of its life.

  John Romer uses his considerable experience of the worlds of art,
  history and archaeology to advantage as he unravels the story of
  the making and the use and misuse of the world's most influential
  volume.

  From the silty plains of Mesopotamia, on whose floods many Noahs set
  sail, to the quiet Valley of the Nile, whose somber temples were   
  filled with a sense of the holy, Romer traces the seeds of Judaism
  and Christianity.

  The story of "Testament" is enormous and fascinating, stretching as
  it does from the ancient Israelites to the archaeologists who sought
  them. Its characters include the Rabbis who fought and died for their
  sacred texts; Jesus of Nazareth, whose preachings inspired St. Paul
  and whose life and death became a cornerstone of the Church; Constan-
  tine, who formalized the faith and made the Holy Land special; Irenaeus,
  who classified the Holy Scriptures; fiery St. Jerome, who translated
  them; and later, Martin Luther and King James.

  These are just a few of the people who held the thread of the Bible's
  story in their hands.  "Testament" tells all of their stories - and
  ours.
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  Cecil N. Jones    Amoco Production Co.  Tulsa, OK
  cjones@trc.amoco.com  _or_  uunet!apctrc!cjones
  The opinions expressed are solely my own.