By India McCarty
Survivalist and author Bear Grylls wants to “strip away” the vision of the Bible many have and introduce a “wilder [and] more beautiful” version of the story.
“I think people sort of forget how regular [and] normal the disciples would’ve been. It’s like, bear in mind, the average age of the disciples, they reckon, was between 15 and 28,” Grylls said during an appearance on the “Wild At Heart” podcast.
Grylls continued, “We get this idea of all the paintings and the pictures of Peter with his long beard…they’re old men. They were ill-educated, poor, young people who, for 99% of the time, [were] scared, uncertain, confused, dazed, you know?”
“I kind of wanted to strip away this kind of vision and version of Jesus that I think 2000 years of church has portrayed to regular people,” he said of his new book, The Greatest Story Ever Told, adding, “The real version is wilder, freer, more irreverent, stronger, more beautiful and tender than we’ll ever imagine.”
In an interview with Premier Christianity, Grylls called the book “the proudest thing in my work world I’ve ever done.”
“I would give up everything — every summit, every Emmy — it pales into insignificance compared to this, because it’s history, it’s his-story, it’s the story of Christ, written in a way that is accessible,” he continued. “If I could only be remembered for one thing, this would be it.”
Grylls often talks about his faith publicly, saying he’s “learned not to shy away from” sharing that part of his life.
Related: Bear Grylls Shares Proudest Moment, And It’s Not What You Think
“If you want to know what helps me in life, then I’ll tell you [about my faith]. I won’t sugarcoat it. I won’t say it’s all perfect. There’s struggle and many doubts. But that’s OK,” he explained. “This is what’s helped me and I don’t mind sharing — whether it’s with Obama or however many millions of people watching. This is a quiet part of my life that helps me in the wild and in everyday life.”
In a column published by the Times on Saturday, Grylls wrote that his faith has “strengthened” him during various struggles.
“My Christian faith helps me to live more adventurously, be bold and take risks, but also to care and encourage, to love and support those closest to me and hopefully beyond as well,” he continued. “It’s easy to be cynical about faith and to push difficult issues and questions aside. But to explore is good. To question is wise. To seek truth is courageous.”
Grylls concluded, “To choose to have a faith takes courage. All too often it is the tougher path, but life and the wild have taught me that the tougher path often ends up being the most fulfilling one.”
Grylls’ new book gives readers a new way to look at the familiar biblical stories, as well as relate them to their own lives.
Read Next: Bear Grylls Wants to Be Remembered for This: ‘The Greatest Hope’
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