NOVA: The Bible's Buried Secrets Series

Lectures curated around NOVA: The Bible's Hidden Secrets that tackles some of the biggest questions in biblical studies.

This program takes viewers on a fascinating scientific journey that began 3,000 years ago and continues today. The film presents the latest archeological scholarship from the Holy Land to explore the beginnings of modern religion and the origins of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. This archeological detective story tackles some of the biggest questions in biblical studies: Where did the ancient Israelites come from? Who wrote the Bible, when, and why? How did the worship of one God the foundation of modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam emerge?

ShopPBS.org
WGBH | Culture & Identity

Go To:
Recent Series | Popular Series | PBS & NPR Series

Audio-only
NOVA: The Bible's Buried Secrets I
Gary Glassman
November 6, 2008
01:05:17
Panelists discuss the historic, scientific and theological mysteries brought up in The Bible's Buried Secrets, NOVA's landmark two-hour special.
NOVA: The Bible's Buried Secrets II
Paula Apsell
November 12, 2008
00:43:20
Panelists discuss the historic, scientific and theological mysteries brought up in The Bible's Buried Secrets, NOVA's landmark two-hour special.
Science and Faith: Complementary or Contradictory?
Lisa Miller
November 13, 2008
01:23:17
Moderated by Newsweek Religion Editor, Lisa Miller, a panel of top scientists, theologians, and filmmakers preview selections of the new NOVA film, The Bible's Buried Secrets
Audio-only
Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals
John Buehrens
February 4, 2004
01:22:53
John Buehrens questions the fundamentalist reading of the Bible, offering those with a liberal or progressive outlook ways to reclaim the Bible from literalists.
Audio-only
God's Secretaries: Making the King James Bible
Adam Nicolson
May 3, 2004
01:00:16
Author Adam Nicolson discusses his landmark new book, God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible.
T. Anthony Perry: Erotic Spirituality and the Book of Jonah
T. Anthony Perry
April 19, 2007
01:03:23
According to T. Anthony Perry, a literary scholar who has taught at both the University of Connecticut and Hebrew University in Jerusalem, there is no biblical book that has been so maligned and so poorly understood and so viciously used as the Book of Jonah.
Audio-only
Interplay: History and Modernity in the New Testament
Nino Ricci
January 26, 2006
00:48:53
Canadian author Nino Ricci re-tells the New Testament story from a modern perspective, emphasizing the interplay of history and modernity in how we think. This event is cosponsored by the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum.
Audio-only
Language as Sacrament in the New Testament
Franz Wright
November 1, 2007
00:43:55
Pulitzer Prize winning poet Franz Wright explores the idea of language as sacrament in the Christian scriptures, as well as the poetic forms used by Jesus in his teaching. He also reflects on the possibility of religious poetry in our own unpropitious time.
Covenant Violated, Covenant Restored
Jon Levenson
April 3, 2003
01:36:55
Jon Levenson, the Albert A. List professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard Divinity School, focuses on the tension between the theological aspects of the flawed members of the Catholic Church and the holy community of people protected by God's promises.
God and Morality in the Public Sphere
Robert Drinan
February 20, 2006
00:44:49
Robert Drinan discusses religion and its place in politics and law. He is introduced by Justin Galacki '06, president of the College Democrats of Boston College.
Can God and Caesar Coexist?
Robert Drinan
April 13, 2005
01:15:54
Robert Drinan explores the challenges of balancing religious freedom with the rule of law, noting that the United Nations has never adopted a legally binding covenant guaranteeing freedom of religion.
Grace Under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War
Andrew Carroll
April 17, 2007
00:42:15
Andrew Carroll reads from his new book, Grace Under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War, a moving record of the importance of religion and spirituality to troops and their families from the American Revolution to the fighting in Iraq.
Danya Ruttenberg: Surprised By God
Danya Ruttenberg
September 4, 2008
01:00:56
Danya Ruttenberg reads from her novel Surprised by God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion. At thirteen, Ruttenberg (editor of Yentl's Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism), decided that she was an atheist.
Audio-only
Melissa Delbridge: Family Bible
Melissa Delbridge
May 22, 2008
00:42:51
Melissa Delbridge reads from her book, Family Bible, a collection of short stories based on memories of her early life.
Audio-only
Alan Keyes on the Challenge of Gay Marriage
Alan Keyes
March 9, 2004
01:32:22
Alan Keyes, former US representative to the United Nations, and two-time candidate for the Republican nomination for president, offers an argument in opposition to gay marriage.
Homosexuality in a Catholic Context
Andrew Sullivan
April 28, 2003
01:44:22
Authors Andrew Sullivan and David Morrison discuss homosexuality in Catholic culture. Sullivan argues that there is no scriptural substantiation for the Church's stance against homosexuality, while Morrison promotes chastity for those who are attracted to persons of the same sex.
Esther: The Feast of Masks
Ellen Kushner
June 28, 2003
01:11:02
In Esther: The Feast of Masks, author and narrator Ellen Kushner brings to life the Bible story of Esther by juxtaposing it with the stories of four modern characters, all dealing with their own issues of identity.
Lessons and Carols from Washington National Cathedral
Robert Aubry Davis
December 19, 2005
00:58:35
Robert Aubry Davis introduces "Lessons and Carols from Washington National Cathedral", a distinctly American service that embraces the nation's evolving musical traditions.