There are challenges and benefits that come with Hollywood's recent 'holy' trend. This was the consensus of religious leaders and entertainment experts following the bevy of Christian based material that has sprung up on television and in cinemas.
The trend started with the surprise megahit miniseries "The Bible" produced by husband and wife team Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, which drew in close to 13 million viewers.
It has since continued with the productions of big blockbusters like Noah, Exodus: Gods and Kings, independent film Last Days in the Desert, and television specials like Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery; Killing Jesus; The Messengers; and The Dovekeepers.
"I think Hollywood is recognising that Christians are tired of the filth on TV, the junk that's out there now, and there is a huge Christian market available. Also, more people are realising that the Bible itself makes for incredible TV. The stories in the Bible are better than anything we can write or create - and they are real," Leah Hooper, outreach pastor of East Chattanooga Church of God, said in the Times Free Press.
The Bible spin off series, A.D. The Bible Continues, which premiered over Easter, has prompted the church to hold a weekly sermon series in connection with the show just so the faithful can openly discuss and ask questions about each episode.
"It's showing there is truth to the word, that the Bible is gaining popularity and through technology the word has an audience it never had before."
Hooper said that the show has even piqued the interest of the unchurched to ask about the Bible and this has resulted in more believers picking up their Bibles to reread the Gospels and answer their own questions.
While there is a definite benefit to bringing Bible stories to a wider audience, there are also drawbacks to having studios and networks that are not Christian at the helm of these projects.
One project that drew a mixed response from Christians was last year's Darren Aronofsky film production of Noah, starring Russell Crowe.
"They're driven by creative people who want to put their own spin on stories ... and since many of these filmmakers aren't believers, they look at these Bible stories the same way I'd look at a fairy tale," Hollywood evangelical writer and producer Phil Cooke said.
Rev. Reed Shell, senior pastor at Hixson United Methodist Church for his part, agreed: "Because of that creative license, it could lend some confusion for people who are not particularly well-versed with Scripture and who will use a movie as a basis for the Bible as opposed to going to the actual story in the Scripture."
