The Bible Experience: Pentateuch
01/15/2008 02:50 Filed in: Faith & Reason
Before I received The Bible Experience, I had actually been listening off and on to an earlier recording of the TNIV that was simply a plain reading since the beginning of 2007. But I haven't been listening solely to that. I also listen to podcasts, lectures, sermons, and audio books on my commute. But by taking Tony's challenge, I decided to listen solely to The Bible Experience until I completed it, and offer periodic updates on This Lamp.
Now, I should be honest and say that I'm not going to finish by December 31. I am near the end of 1 Kings, and I actually finished the Pentateuch right before Christmas (so this review is late in coming). But it's been very enjoyable to listen to the Bible in large portions (the way it was originally intended).
As for The Bible Experience itself, I have to say that it's the best dramatized Bible I've ever heard. It's not perfect, but it sets the bar for such things pretty high. I'll be honest. In general, I don't like dramatized Bibles. Why? Well, because usually they're cheesy and not well done. Normally it's like this: "Then the door closed." [Thud]. The Bible Experience is subtly different with [Thud] "The door closed." In The Bible Experience, the background sounds and effects anticipate the narration and dialogue. It's very much like listening to a movie audio track without the picture.
The MP3 Edition. The Bible Experience is roughly 89 hours long. That's at least ten hours longer than the average audio Bible that is a straight reading. If you were to buy the full edition on CD, it would cost you retail $124.99 and comes on 79 CD's. 79 CD's--that's crazy! It makes much more sense in my opinion to get the MP3 edition which comes on only eight CDs (and one bonus "making of" DVD) and sells for retail $69.99. This is a much more sensible way to go, and it makes it much easier to transfer The Bible Experience to your iPod, iPhone, or other MP3-capable player.
The eight CD's contain 1217 separate MP3 files. The first CD contains installation instructions for moving the files to your computer and installing them either in iTunes or Windows Media Player. I was especially pleased to discover instructions specifically for Mac users as we are usually forgotten.
I sync segments of The Bible Experience to my iPhone and listen to it in my car via a cassette adapter.
The Pentateuch. I knew The Bible Experience was going to be powerful from the very first chapters of Genesis. The combination of music, sound effects, narration and acting is a powerful combination and as mentioned earlier, extremely well done. I'm not familiar with Matt Gibson who provides the voice of the narrator, but his voice is very well suited to what is obviously the largest task of the project. His speech is clear and almost soothing, a very good choice for a story teller. As mentioned, I'm not familiar with Gibson, but his voice reminds me of the actor Dennis Haysbert who currently is the spokesman for Allstate commercials. My only real complaint against Gibson is when he occasionally mispronounces a name, but I suppose I can blame the director for that.
For the uninitiated, the cast of The Bible Experience is composed entirely of African American actors, celebrities and other well-known figures. Some have better abilities as voice actors than others. Pastor Paul Adefarasin provides the voice of God throughout the Old Testament. According to a profile on Amazon.com, Adefarasin is Nigerian which in the cast of mostly American voices gives God's voice a noticeable distinction. I'll admit that at first Adefarasin's voice seemed so soft, I had to turn up the volume of my car stereo to hear it. But now that my ears are attuned to Adefarasin's distinct accent, I have no trouble hearing him. Another voice that seemed too soft spoken was that of Abraham's voiced by T. D. Jakes. I never got used to Jakes' voice and frequently had to turn him up.
Some voices are instantly recognizable such as Robert Guillaume as Noah. Someone like Guillaume comes across very well which no doubt reflects his ability as an actor. And Potiphar's wife, voiced by Mo'Nique sounded downright sultry when she propositioned Joseph. However, Danita Patterson's line as Zipporah in Ex 4:25 "Surely, you are a bridegroom of blood to me" fell extremely flat and without emotion.
I know many will disagree with me on what I'm about to say, but personally I feel the worst casting that I've heard so far is Forest Whitaker as Moses. I've very much enjoyed Whitaker's performances elsewhere in the past, but his voice is not "old" enough for Moses, and even worse, Whitaker delivers an absolutely flat performance. Deuteronomy, in which Moses reads the Law to the Israelites was practically unbearable and the only point in listening to The Bible Experience that I was tempted to fast forward or skip a few chapters (however, I did not). Whitaker failed to deliver any emotion whatsoever until Deuteronomy 27, when finally he started to sound like a preacher in rhythm with a congregation. But in what was surely a director's mistake, the refrain "Then all the people shall say, 'Amen!'" was not voiced by the crowd.
Listening in large blocks to an audio Bible offers the listener great insights that might be missed otherwise. Moses' question to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?" in Ex 3:13 is significantly set up by the fact that the name of God is conspicuously absent from most of the Joseph narrative. This was something that I could hear, but it's harder to read and spot such things.
And I have to admit that my face contorted as I winced in reaction to Genesis 34:25 as the narrator says "while all of them were still in pain" [from their circumcision] and the listener can hear men actually groaning in the background!
So far, The Bible Experience is just that--an experience. In spite of some criticisms, I again state that it is the best dramatized Bible I've heard, and one I highly recommend. I'll report some more when I complete my listening to the historical books of the Old Testament.