The Emmy Award-winning TV series 'The Bible' premieres this Saturday and two of the largest UK Christian charities have created a online guide for those who will tune in to watch.
The five-part series has had phenomenal success in the US with more than 100 million viewers. It covers Genesis to Revelation in one grand narrative, with each two hour episode focussing on two or three Biblical stories.
The executive producers, husband and wife team Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, have said they conceived the idea for the series with the hope that it would "affect a new generation of viewers and draw them back to the Bible".
"This was such an important project for us and throughout the production and each step of the way we worked with scholars and theologians to ensure we were accurate in telling these stories," Downey shared.
The series connects stories of the Old Testament with those of the New, revealing the arc of the Biblical narrative, and the threads that run through the whole of Scripture: God's love, his grace and his work of redemption.
Following the announcement that the series would be shown on British television, the Damaris Trust and the Evangelical Alliance teamed up to provide resources that will give viewers background Biblical information and will explore the major themes of the series, such as forgiveness and transformation.
Working directly with Channel 5, the Damaris Trust has produced a 24-page Official Souvenir Guide, which is integrated with Augmented Reality technology. This means that when the photos are viewed through a smart phone or tablet, the pictures turn into video features.
The Evangelical Alliance is offering free online resources which provide material that is linked directly to each of the discussion questions in the Official Souvenir Guide.
Executive director of churches and mission at the Evangelical Alliance, Krish Kandiah, described the series as a "fantastic opportunity for ordinary people in the UK to get a glimpse of the grand sweep of the story that has shaped British culture".
Nick Pollard, co-founder of the Damaris Trust, said he was "delighted" to work with the Evangelical Alliance on the project.
The resources will help everyone to "join the conversation", regardless of their religious beliefs and knowledge, he said.
Both the Souvenir Guide and the background Biblical resources are available at www.eauk.org/thebibleuk and discussion will be encouraged through the hashtag #thebibleuk.
The series will premier at 9pm on Saturday on Channel 5.
