Thumbs down on 'Genesis'

In the beginning, "Genesis: A Living Conversation" seems like a great idea: Invite a disparate group of people to sit in a circle and talk about the first book of the Bible.

Alas, the ten-hour series on PBS, hosted by Bill Moyers, turns out to be so stuffed with half-baked ideas, scriptural misconceptions and theological nonsense that watching it requires the patience of Job -- and then some.

I have long admired Moyers for his efforts to treat religion seriously on television. He's one of the few who has done so with any regularity and success. But "Genesis" is not his finest hour -- or ten hours.

The premise of "Genesis" came from Moyers and Rabbi Burton Visotzky, who guides Bible discussion groups in New York City. They assembled dozens of authors and artists, clergy men and women, thinkers and scholars, religious educators and social activists. They were divided into groups of seven to examine -- in hour-long conversations -- the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Jacob, and Joseph and his brothers.

Assumptions

What should have resulted from this massive undertaking was insight; what does result is obfuscation, due to some fundamental (and fundamentalist) flaws:

1. The assumption of the dialogues, perhaps out of deference to the fundamentalists and literalists taking part, is that the stories of Genesis are 100-percent journalistically factual rather than, in some cases, inspired stories. This assumption leads, for example, to a tortured examination of the story of Cain and Abel that left me frustrated.

2. Most of the Christians on the panels speak about Genesis as if there is no New Testament. Seated among Jews, Muslims and even (why?) a Buddhist, they seem to want to be so delicate in their comments that they cannot mention Jesus as fulfilling the Old Testament.

3. The constant anthropomorphizing of God reveals a lot about the panelists, but very little about God. We are made in His image, not vice versa; but that doesn't stop the dialogue participants from constantly reducing the Creator to a confused guy who is puzzled by His creatures. Too often, the stories of Genesis are interpreted as telling us a little about a "changing God" (whatever that is) rather than telling us a lot about people's changing understanding of God.

4. The on-air participation in every segment by Rabbi Visotzky, who teaches at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, was a large mistake. Moyers keeps his participation low-key; the rabbi, on the other hand, comes across as an apodictic know-it-all. He also has a penchant for inventing things that aren't in the Bible, such as Noah's post-flood psychosis and Isaac's life as an abused child.

Catholics, too

The Catholic participants on "Genesis" are a mixed group. There's no surprise in that; we're a proudly mixed Church. Two examples are Rev. Alexander DiLella, a professor of biblical studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., who tries in vain to inject some sense into the nonsensical discussion about Cain and Abel; and novelist Mary Gordon, who comes across as being badly in need of a hug, a Prozac and several hours of basic catechesis.

If you want to watch the series but don't have ten hours to give away, check out the episode about Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac; it was the most coherent of the five hours I previewed, thanks in large part to the sensible ideas of a Muslim participant. Regardless of how many hours you tune in, be sure to have a Bible nearby so you can check out what it says versus what the panelists say it says.

Finally, do something Moyers hopes viewers do: Read the Bible yourself, study commentaries on it so you understand it better and join Scripture study groups to find out what others know.

("Genesis: A Living Conversation" debuts on WMHT, channel 17, on Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. The show's web site is accessible through www.pbs.org. Two companion volumes are available in bookstores. "Talking About Genesis: A Resource Guide," $5.95, can help start study groups. For $29.95, you can get the edited transcripts of the conversations with appropriate art. The shows are also out on audio- and videocassettes.)

(10-10-96)

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