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The Bible Project describes itself this way: “The Bible Project is a non-profit animation studio that produces short-form, fully animated videos to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. We create videos, podcast, and study guides that explore the Bible’s unified story by focusing on its overarching themes and each book’s literary design. We are committed to understanding the Bible in its historical context and communicating its wisdom for the modern world. Ultimately, we want to change how people read and use the Bible” (https://thebibleproject.com/brand/).
The Bible Project was founded in 2014 by friends Jonathan Collins and Timothy Mackie. The men wanted to help people read through Scripture and understand it without falling into the common trap of seeing the Bible as a rule book or as a “devotional grab bag”; rather, they desired to present the Bible as a “unified story that leads to Jesus.” They started with two videos and have rapidly expanded—the team, the amount of content, and the type of content—from there.
The Bible Project’s team, as an organization, has no denominational ties. Collins and Mackie both attended Multnomah University; Mackie teaches at Western Seminary as does one of their board members, Gerry Breshears. The team includes those with backgrounds in biblical studies, animation, and technology, among other fields.
The Bible Project’s videos are high quality and engaging. The combination of the audio and the visual helps aid understanding. The videos also include study notes, related blogs and podcasts, suggested books, and even suggested classes. The Bible Project encourages broad use of its content, with appropriate citations. Their aim is genuinely to help “everyone, everywhere” have access to the Bible. They know “the Bible speaks God’s word to his people” and believe it will lead people to Jesus, “who has the power to change individuals and whole communities when we let the biblical story speak for itself.” The projects are crowdfunded, or supported through donations.
The Bible Project has received some criticism regarding their portrayals of the atonement and hell. They do not present the atonement as substitutionary, but rather seem to emphasize some of the other theories of the atonement. At times, they seem to deny that hell is a place of eternal suffering. Combined, it would appear that they do not sufficiently emphasize God’s wrath toward sin. As with any teaching, users are wise to evaluate what they see and hear against what the Bible actually says. Overall, The Bible Project’s mission is biblically sound, and it seems the content they produce is genuinely helpful in furthering people’s understanding of and engagement with God’s Word. Please visit their website to check out their videos and other resources for yourself: https://thebibleproject.com.
