Walking the Bible (2006)
Walking the Bible (2006) Inspired by faith and curiosity, writer Bruce Feiler goes to the Holy Land to find the places where important events from the first five books of the Bible took place. The resulting journey is the PBS documentary Walking the Bible in which Feiler travels through Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Jordan to gain a better understanding of the land and people who inspired the stories in these books along with uncovering new perspectives on his own faith. His journey focuses primarily on the stories of Noah, Joseph, Abraham and Moses when seeking important Biblical sites on this program. Excerpts from the Bible provide the textual evidence to support each site’s religious importance and to give spiritual meaning to Feiler’s quest. The journey is also occasionally interrupted by Feiler, who expresses his persistent questions and spiritual discovers in monologues directed at his audience.
In a religious sense, the program proves relevant to those who want to learn more about the Holy Land. The film seeks to depict followers of different faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) with sensitivity and respect, because Feiler consults people of these faiths for insight into his quest and to confirm a particular area’s Biblical relevance. He also treats his journey as one that applies to anyone who seeks a deeper connection with God and some answers to faith-inspired questions. The film also shows the ordinary settled, nomadic and religious inhabitants of the Holy Land living and worshiping in various ways. Feiler observes these people and their traditions, and he realizes that the Bible emerged from people who learned to respect the difficult terrain and to survive through faith and reliance on one another.
While Walking the Bible is rich with theological inquiry, it greatly lacks adequate historical scholarship to support Feiler’s journey. For instance, he relies heavily on the Bible as his primary resource, but never mentions other, more historically based scholarship, to prove a site’s authenticity. Feiler does consult the Bible in Ancient Greek and Hebrew in order to obtain a more accurate reading, and his guides include Avner Goren, an Israeli archeologist, and Father Justin, a Greek Orthodox priest, who give Feiler more informed perspectives on these sites. He confers with a professor of archeology, Dr. Trude Dothan, but he asks if his journey is realistic instead of seeking her expertise on the subject. Furthermore, when investigating the location of Noah’s Ark, he finds that the story itself cannot be confirmed to prove its existence on Mount Ararat. Like many Biblical sites, he must rely on legends rather than documented facts to guide his journey.
Feiler explains at the conclusion that the land should encourage people to discover God rather than to seek the land itself. This idea is what drives the program: to encourage others to take a similar journey. For novice Biblical students, this program provides an adequate tool to commence inquiry into the Bible. However, this piece’s lack of academic substance leaves more advanced students and scholars wanting more detailed information about the Holy Land.
Sarah LaBeau Delahousse Wayne State University al5146@wayne.edu
